Active-Adventure @ Games for Health 2009

Active-Adventure: A New Way to Play A New Way to Play

Seth Sivak

Carnegie Mellon University

Entertainment Technology Center

Seth Sivak Game Programmer / Graduate Student Carnegie Mellon - Entertainment Technology Center email: ssivak@andrew.cmu.edu website: sethsivak.com twitter: @sjsivak Game Engineer - Conduit Labs ActiveAdventureGame.com

What I am playing... altitudegame.com worldofwarcraft.com demigodthegame.com bit.ly/sethNikePlus

Summary

Graduate Program

Project Team

Project Genesis

Brief History of Exergames

High Concept

Project Overview

Core Design Ideas

Development Focus

Playtesting

Medical Research

Active-Adventure Advantages

Future Work

ActiveAdventureGame.com

CMU Entertainment Technology Center

2 Year Graduate Program

Focus on Interdisciplinary Project Work

Variety of Project Work

Video Games

Amusement Park Rides

Location Based Entertainment

Robotics/Animatronics

Computer Animation

Project Team Sean Kwon Nate Morgan Drew Davidson Jesse Schell Garth DeAngelis Zikun Fan Ryan Hipple Bard McKinley Seth Sivak ActiveAdventureGame.com

Project Genesis

Student Pitched Project

Make a Fun Exercise Game

Use the Wii

Research with Doctors

Use a Dancepad

Understand the Exercise Experience

Brief History of Exergames Atari Joyboard-1982 Tech: Human Joystick Games: Maniac Moguls (skiing) Off Your Rocker (simon) Surf’s Up (surfing) Wii Balance Board-2007 Tech: Human Joystick Games: Wii Ski (skiing) Wii Fit (fitness simulator) Shawn White (snowboarding)

Brief History of Exergames Cat Eye Gamebike-2009 Tech: Exercise Bike Games: Racing Simulator Atari Puffer - 1982 Tech: Exercise Bike Games: Racing Simulator

Brief History of Exergames Nintendo Powerpad-1986 Tech: Floor Pad Games: World Class Track Meet Dance Aerobics Dance Dance Rev-1999 Tech: Floor Pad Games: Dance Action Game

Brief History of Exergames Dreamcast - 2000 Wii - 2008

Problems with Exergames

Not much has changed in ~20 years

Sports, Dance, Training

Exergames require a peripheral

Games should be designed WITH/FOR the hardware

Inputs should be interesting and fun (and varied)

No deep gameplay experiences

High Concept

Active Video Game for Children

Utilize Traditional Action-Adventure Concepts

Allow Kids to Lose Weight Doing What They Love

ActiveAdventureGame.com + =

Project Overview

First Semester - Vertical Slice

Full Tutorial Level (~20 Minutes)

Seamless Story

Boss Battle

Second Semester - Horizontal Slice

Over 12 Unique Gameplay Mechanics

Core Design Ideas

Avoid Chocolate Covered Brocolli

Use Flow

Design Gameplay & Exercise Together

Give Juicy Feedback

Map Interaction Closely

Gameplay & Input Design

Make It Feel Right

Natural vs. Intuitive

Teach the Desired Behavior

Personalize the Controls

Test, Test, Test

Development Focus

Iterate on Core Gameplay

Combat and Controls

Rapid Prototype

Modular Design

Test, Test, Test

Playtesting ActiveAdventureGame.com

Playtesting Results

Interviews

Surveys

Parental Surveys

Play Style Video

Play Style Notes

Medical Research

Todd Miller - Assistant Professor of Exercise Science

Karen McDonnell - Associate Professor of Prevention and Community Health

George Washington University, School of Public Health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant - Games for Health

Medical Research

Motivation

DDR is in Gym Class

Tethered vs. Tailored

Study

Conventional Gym Class vs. DDR vs. Winds of Orbis

Accelerometer Data for Exercise Level (energy expenditure)

Survey (cognitive and behavioral preference on games)

Targeting Low Income, Inner City Minorities: 1st - 5th Graders

Active-Adventure Advantages

Deep Gameplay Experiences

Large Market Potential

Incentive Based Exercise

RPG Exercise Statistics

Story Based Learning

Future Work

Seeking a Publisher

George Washington University

IGF 2009 - Student Finalists

Indiecade 2009 (awaiting results)

PAX 10 (awaiting results)

Questions? Seth Sivak Game Programmer / Graduate Student Carnegie Mellon - Entertainment Technology Center email: ssivak@andrew.cmu.edu website: sethsivak.com twitter: @sjsivak If you are a researcher looking for game developers please come see me!!! ActiveAdventureGame.com