So here we are another recently released game where you take on the life of a vicious criminal roaming the streets and causing mayhem. I have to admit I love the games, and as of yet still need to purchase the newest addition to the GTA series.
What interests me from an exercise perspective is peoples mentality towards such games. Here I don't want to focus on how violence could effect kids yada yada yada. But I want to look at the idea that people enjoy games and exercising acts within games but otherwise avoid it at all opportunities outside of it.
An excellent example as illustrated above is riding bicycles and trying to catch moving vehicles or escape from various enemies. Of course the situations in these games are far more unrealistic then the real world and maybe this is why people enjoy it inside games yet despise it outside of it.
Are Kids becoming desensitized towards exercise?
This desensitized term is much more popular in the violence context yet it is very applicable to exercise as well. Movies and video games are becoming increasingly violent which lead to people arguing that kids become desensitized towards it, but what does this mean? Desensitizing is making people less sensitive towards something, meaning they are less likely to react favorably or negatively towards something as it becomes commonplace.
So Why do i think people becoming less sensitive towards exercise is a bad thing? Simply because they don't look on it favorably which is ideally what you want to achieve in order to get people exercising. It becomes commonplace for kids to exercise in games and not think about doing it in real life because maybe its less effective or exciting.
Are there ways to make exercising more exciting and game like then? There is, especially with the advances in technology and the growing popularity of the Xbox Kinnect, and Playstation Move.
Xbox Kinnect/ Playstation Move a step in the right direction for gaming
I believe this is a small but very significant step towards combining exercise with gaming. Yes, I am aware of Wii type games being out for a while now and providing a very active atmosphere for the players. I do feel however the Wii console isn't that used by more serious gamers, I believe that these serious gamers revolve around bigger consoles such as the Xbox and Playstation and even PC.
These serious gamers can be more of a problem to target and the brilliance of providing a chance to move which in turn effects the game is a masterstroke. For thos who are not familiar with the Kinnect or Move these are like cameras being set up which track a persons movement to some degree and this can effect a characters motion within the game.
It is a small movement change but it is a start in the right direction I believe, especially if it becomes popular among gamers. time will hopefully tell that it does and this increase in movement may even be enhanced further with more advanced technology, the possibilities are endless.
What does the Future Hold?
Granted the above clip doesn't show an increase in movement but if you think beyond this room becoming part of the world to a person also joining the mix, standing up running or walking on spot to get to place in the game/room.
There is so much possibilities with the exponential technological growth we are seeing today. Not just in the gaming world but everywhere such as medically helping people who are paraplegic to walk again.
There is also however the flip side to this technological advancement if nurtured wrongly we could see a more lazy society. This I see as the more likely, we as human beings constantly strive to make our lives easier it seems, Technology is arguably a means to this end.
I believe we need to control this technological advancement and focus it in the right places to help society grow but keep people active and healthy at the same time.
If anyone else has seen any upcoming technological advances they believe may have some good or even bad impact on people exercising I would love to see it.
haha xD I love having a mini-war with the cops xD I always try to see how many stars I can get before they really get pissed off at me
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NufHsmITjM
ReplyDeleteUsing gameplay to encourage people to learn stunts. \o/
The Pokéwalker is interesting too, a pedometer that charges the "energy" used for earning items and experience or catching pokemon in SoulSilver and HeartGold with the steps the user has walked.
I loved the video, I think the fist to fist fighting is very interesting and would provide an excellent fun version of the work out. The step counter I have found people tend to just shake instead of really walking and using it (Well I know I use too). But I guess that happens with everything if people really don't want to do it they will find a way around it.
DeleteThe idea of desensitisation to exercise is pretty interesting and it has some parallels with some study I've been doing about goal setting. So Derek Sivers says that when setting a goal the more open you are with sharing that goal the less likely you are to acheive it (http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html). The reason for this is because the act of simply telling someone of your goal gives you the same positive emotions of actually completing the goal. You might then be able to extrapolate that concept to suggest that digital exercise could be a disincentive for real exercise if it (riding a bike in GTA, using the gym in the SIMS etc) has the same positive affect as actually exercising in the real world.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of really cool games that do involve getting active while having fun. Dance Central is massively popular with children, WII Fit seems to hit the adult demographic and then something like Google Ingress has a very large base of young adult players. I think that Ingress is particularly interesting here. It's a game for Google Android phones where each player selects whether they want to play for the 'Resistance' or the 'Enlightened', once they pick the player is tasked with taking control of 'nodes' for their team and linking them with other nodes. The thing is, these nodes are spread out around the real world and the game uses the Google Maps API to help players find the nodes out in the real world. This sort of videogame actively rewards players for exercising which should be quite welcome for an otherwise fairly apathetic demographic.
that is actually very interesting, I would of thought if people shared a goal they would be more motivated to achieve it in the eyes of those they tell. Then again thinking back It makes sense from experience people have told me they are trying to lose weight and get really happy about it but never actually look to achieve (for long anyway).
DeleteDance games seem to be very big now as I can see new games being introduced almost on a weekly basis. I actually have never heard of Ingress, though it sounds like an excellent idea to get people moving and exercising. I do agree with your demographic points as well Wii seems to hit the mature and the very young though, the Fit obviously the more mature market but Wii sports is another good one which can be popular with kids. However it still leaves that gap in between for young adults which is where I believe more interactive gaming technology may help. The video shared earlier by Min I think is an excellent idea with a very popular game series.