The Road to Making “Exergames” More Widely Available

Exergames are video games combined with physical activity with the purpose of making exercise more enjoyable and more likely to become a habit. However, most require a separate console like the Wii or Xbox to play, and none offer the option of measuring vital signs such as heart rate in-game. Because of this, we developed an exergame that can be played using any computer with access to a python editor and a webcam and only needs an extra band containing a circuit with accelerometers and ARDUINO to work. Using the measurement of the player’s heart rate pre and post-game, we found that, on average, the heart rate increased by 43.2 bpm, making the game physically challenging enough to be considered an adequate form of exercise but not overly challenging to discourage the player from playing again. This game paves the way to make exergames more widely available to everyone, needing only a computer and webcam and thus increasing the average activity levels of the entire population.