Abstract:
Obesity related illnesses and age-related cognitive decline are two increasingly significant issues facing healthcare systems in the developed world. Both of these issues are exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle, and mitigated by higher levels of exercise. Exergames are a useful tool to increase exercise levels, and their effectiveness increases when the user is immersed in the game. With the recent rise of affordable consumer level Virtual Reality (VR) equipment, the use of VR to increase exergame immersion levels is now practical. Despite the typical objective of exergames being to motivate players to exercise, few exergames are backed by a robust grounding in motivational psychology, and many fail to achieve suitable exercise intensity levels. This thesis builds on existing research by presenting a platform for VR exergaming with a core design driven by a psychological model for motivation and adherence, using traditional exercise equipment to maintain high levels of exercise. VR in exergaming presents new challenges on how to most effectively make use of it and avoid associated usability issues. Thus far, very little research has been done in this area. This thesis evaluates these issues, presenting design guidelines for effective use of VR and technological solutions for several usability and practicality problems, allowing for better prioritisation of hardware requirements. Several uses of the platform are evaluated using user studies: for training with virtual player representations and for cognitive testing using existing validated cognitive tests. Virtual players prove to be an effective tool for increasing user motivation to exercise, and cognitive tests can be effectively integrated into a VR environment to be performed while exercising. The results show that an immersive VR exergame can be a powerful tool to assist clinicians in the prevention and treatment of obesity related illnesses and age related cognitive decline. While there are several concerns around usability and practicality, most of these can be addressed with suitable game design and technology. Limitations are primarily around the physical constraints of exercise, and the potential for simulation sickness.