Michigan State University’s Wei Peng reviewed published research of studies of these games and says that most of the AVGs provide only “light-to-moderate” intensity physical activity.

And that, she says, is not nearly as good as what she calls “real-life exercise.”

“For those not engaging in real-life exercise, this may be a good step toward this,” said Peng, an assistant professor of telecommunication, information studies and media. “Eventually the goal is to help them get somewhat active and maybe move to real-life exercise.”

Of the 41 AVG studies the researchers looked at, only three of them proved to be an effective tool in increasing physical activity.

“Some people are very enthusiastic about exergames,” Peng said. “They think this will be the perfect solution to solve the problem of sedentary behavior. But it’s not that easy.”

It’s generally recommended that the average adult get 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day. Unfortunately, most of the games that were studied provided only light activity, “so they were not meeting the recommendations,” Peng said.

However, for some populations light-to-moderate activity can sometimes be enough.

“The games do have the potential to be useful,” Peng said, “especially for populations that are more suitable to light-to-moderate activity – seniors, for example.”

Peng said exergames also have proven to be useful when used in structured exercise programs, such as those used for rehabilitation or in senior citizen centers.

“Just giving the games to people may not be a good approach,” Peng said. “They may not use it or use it effectively. It’s better if used in a structured program where there are more people participating.”

Peng and colleagues’ findings are detailed in the recent edition of the journal Health Education and Behavior.

Other authors of the paper are Julia Crouse, a doctoral student in the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences, and Jih-Hsuan Lin, a faculty member at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.

The research was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio through its national program, Health Games Research.

http://news.msu.edu/story/-exergames-not-perfect-but-can-lead-to-more-exercise/

Twenty academic members from 19 universities were invited to attend the initial meeting including Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Florida State University, Georgia Tech, , Harvard, Michigan State University, MIT, Indiana University , Northeastern University, Northwestern, NYU, Parson’s New School for Design, Vanderbilt, UC Santa Barbara, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, and Yale.

In addition to consortium members, the event was attended by 43 consortium partners from government and industry, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, Office of Health and Human Services, DARPA, NASA’s Federal Games Guild, Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Pearson Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, California Endowment, Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Google, Microsoft Research, Microsoft Educational Games, Sony Corporation, Games for Change, Games for Health, Epic Games, Valve, Digital Promise, eLine Media, Global Game Jam, Learning Games Network, BrainPop, Wilson Center, HFG Enterprises, Gamedesk, and the Entertainment Software Association.

“It was inspiring to be present with such a diverse group of minds and interests, united in the desire to advance gaming and games research to make a difference in the world,” Heeter said. Constance’s introduction ended with a slide of Obama pointing at the group, and the remark “remember, Obama needs you…”

“I have a new appreciation for the big picture, of how our collective work fits in an historic, national, and international movement. The choices I make in teaching, design, and research related to impact games will be informed by that perspective. And I look forward to helping to grow and nurture the consortium,” Heeter concluded.

The inaugural meeting of the Academic Consortium on Games for Impact in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (Professor Heeter is on the far right.) Photo courtesy of Susan Gold, Global Game Jam.

Call for submissions deadline is Sunday, July 29, 2012.

Meaningful Play 2012 Paper, Panel, Poster, Roundtable, Workshop, and Game Submissions are sought from both researchers and practitioners in academia and industry. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students are also encouraged to submit either jointly with an industry professional or faculty mentor or alone.

Meaningful Play 2012 and the Journal of Gaming and Culture have partnered to bring a special issue of the journal containing top papers from the Meaningful Play 2012 conference. Top paper authors will be invited to revise their Meaningful Play paper for publication consideration in the special issue. The Journal of Games and Culture is a peer-reviewed, international journal that promotes innovative theoretical and empirical research about games and culture within interactive media. Complete details on the journal are available at: http://gac.sagepub.com/

Details on the conference, including the call for submissions, are available at: http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu

Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook for the latest Meaningful Play program announcements (http://www.facebook.com/GamesAndMeaningfulPlay )

Special events include:

* Special Presentation, Wednesday, Oct. 17 – Pre-conference Quello Center Lecture Series presentation by Dr. Constance Steinkuehler, faculty member in the Games, Learning and Society program at University of Wisconsin, who is currently serving as Senior Policy Analyst at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the U.S. President. Her speech will take place Wednesday evening before the first day of Meaningful Play and is open to all conference attendees.

* Conference Party, Thursday, Oct. 18 – Chance to mix and mingle with conference goers at the Opening Reception, view late breaking research at the Poster Session, and play “meaningful” games at the Game Exhibition (appetizers and drinks provided).

* Popcorn and a Movie, Friday, Oct. 19 – Get a snapshot into the trials and tribulations of an indie game developer in the screening of the Sundance Award Winning documentary, “Indie Game: the Movie”. A Q&A session with the directors of the movie will follow the screening.

* Conference Wrap Up, Saturday, Oct. 20 – Enjoy the provided lunch during the closing keynote with Michael John, General Manager of the “GLASS Lab,” an unprecedented cooperative effort between the Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and EA to create educational games.

* Game Room, Throughout – Build meaningful connections with your fellow conference goers while playing a digital or board game in the Meaningful Play Game Room.

Serious games, including games for learning, are among the core strands of Meaningful Play 2012, a conference about theory, research, and game design innovations, principles and practices. Meaningful Play brings scholars and industry professionals together to understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways.

The conference will include thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel sessions (including academic and industry panels), innovative workshops, roundtable discussions, and exhibitions of games and prototypes.

Presentation AND game submissions are due July 29, 2012. Complete details on the conference are available at:http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu/

Details on the conference, including the call for submissions, are available at: http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu/

And please visit http://seriousgames.msu.edu/ for information on our fully online serious games graduate certificate, undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in games and meaningful play.

Serious games, including games for learning, are among the core strands of Meaningful Play 2012, a conference about theory, research, and game design innovations, principles and practices. Meaningful Play brings scholars and industry professionals together to understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways.

Presentation AND game submissions are due July 16, 2012. Complete details on the conference are available at: http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu/

Keynote Speakers:

—>Michael John, General Manager, EA Glass Lab

Michael John (“MJ”) has been a senior Creative Director at Electronic Arts for over four years, coming on the heels of close to 20 years designing highly successful commercial video games. As an industry elder, MJ has been a leader in training and mentoring EA’s design community, as well as leading various R&D projects. Most recently, MJ has taken on the position of General Manager of the “GLASS Lab,” an unprecedented cooperative effort between the Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and EA to create educational games.

—>Ann DeMarle, Associate Professor, Champlain College

Ann DeMarle directs Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center and the Masters of Fine Arts in Emergent Media (EMC). Founder of the Game Development and the Multimedia undergraduate degrees, and upon the receipt of the Roger H. Perry Endowed Chair, she launched the EMC with a mission to bring Champlain students’ media and technology expertise to businesses and non-profits looking to explore and create new solutions. Key projects include UN sponsored BREAKAWAY—a game to address violence against women, two RWJ funded games for Cystic Fibrosis patients, and a Ford Foundation sponsored game on wealth distribution.

—>John Ferrara, author and Creative Director, Megazoid Games

John Ferrara is the creative director of Megazoid Games and author of the new book Playful Design. His nutrition education game Fitter Critters was a top prizewinner in the Apps for Healthy Kids contest, an initiative of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. John’s professional background is in software user experience design and his educational background is in film; today he is a forceful advocate for holistic integration across multiple disciplines concerned with the construction of human experiences. He believes that games can effect meaningful change in the real world, that game designers are permanently transforming culture, and that play is a fundamental function of life. You can follow John on Twitter at @playfuldesign.

—>Phaedra Boinodiris, Serious Games Program Manager, IBM

As producer of IBM’s award-winning INNOV8 series of serious games, Phaedra Boinodiris is responsible for IBM’s broader serious games strategy, leading their global effort of leveraging serious games to provide greater agility for businesses and organizations in an increasingly complex environment. Boinodiris’ INNOV8 games are being used in over 1000 schools worldwide to teach students the fundamentals of business optimization and her first Smarter Planet game, CityOne, is the #1 web-based lead generating asset for IBM’s largest brand. Boinodiris was honored by Women in Games International as one of the top 100 women in the games industry. Prior to working at IBM, she co-founded WomenGamers.Com, a popular women’s gaming portal where she subsequently started the first scholarship for women to pursue degrees in game design and development in the US.

—>Donald Brinkman, Manager of Digital Humanities, Digital Heritage, and Games for Learning Microsoft Research

Donald Brinkman manages external programs in digital humanities, digital heritage and games for learning at Microsoft Research. Donald supports the Games for Learning Institute, a consortium of 8 universities, 14 principal investigators, and a small army of graduate students whose mission is to explore what makes games fun, what makes them educational, and how to best blend the two goals. He is the Microsoft champion for the Just Press Play project, an experiment to transform the undergraduate education of 750 students at Rochester Institute of Technology into a gameful narrative. Other projects include Project Garibaldi and Game Show NYC.

Before joining MSR, Donald served for two years as a technical program manager for the Microsoft education group. In that role he was responsible for defining vision of innovative business intelligence and analytics for education as well as driving a variety of enterprise-scale server capabilities. Prior to joining Microsoft he spent eight years in developmental and technical roles acquiring and executing government research contracts in areas such as quantum computation; signals intelligence; electromagnetic and kinetic simulations; behavioral economics; game theory; and cross-cultural communications. Donald is a writer, painter, game designer, and a passionate advocate of the benefits of building bridges between technical and humanist disciplines. He is particularly interested in disruptive technologies that leverage crowdsourcing, social computing, culture jamming, transmedia, and other non-traditional approaches.

—>Kurt Squire, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Kurt Squire is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Educational Communications and Technology division of Curriculum and Instruction and Associate Director for Educational Research and Development at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Squire’s research investigates the design of game-based learning environments from a socio-cultural perspective, and he’s the author of over 75 scholarly works. Recently Squire received an NSF CAREER grant to study scientific citizenship through playing Citizen Science, a role playing game for scientific citizenship. With support from the MacArthur Foundation, Squire also produced ARIS, a mobile learning platform that is currently available on iTunes. Squire is a former Montessori and primary school teacher and was co-director of the Education Arcade. Squire is the vice president and a founding member of the Learning Games Network.

Squire earned his doctorate in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University; his dissertation research examined students’ learning through a game-based learning program he designed around Civilization III. Squire co-founded Joystick101.org with Jon Goodwin and wrote a monthly column with Henry Jenkins for Computer Games Magazine. In addition to writing over 75 scholarly articles and book chapters, he has given dozens of talks and invited addresses in North America, Europe, and Asia. Squire’s current research interests center on the impact of contemporary gaming practices on learning, schooling and society.

Does Culture Affect How We Play? Examining the Effect of Culture Orientations on Expected Outcomes and Usage Patterns of Social Network Games
Yu-Hao Lee, Donghee Yvette Wohn

Social network game (SNG) embedded in social network sites are one of the driving forces behind the expansion of digital gamer populations. Previous studies have observed difference in usage patterns between people in different ethnic groups and countries, suggesting that culture orientations may affect how people play and interact through social network games. This study included measures of vertical and horizontal individualism-collectivism to examine how people’s culture orientations affect usage patterns. The findings indicate that culture does not directly affect usage. Instead, culture orientations affect people’s motivations (expected outcomes) of playing social network games, which then result in different usage patterns.

Social Contributors and Consequences of Compulsive Game Play
Donghee yvette Wohn, Yu-Hao Lee

This study examines the relationship between social motivations, pro-social outcomes, and two different types of online game use—habitual and compulsive—in the context of simulation games on Facebook. Results showed that social motivations can be a double-edged sword: social motivations predicted compulsive use, but not habitual use, and also increased the likelihood of increased positive interpersonal relationships. Frequency of play, not time, was associated with compulsive use. The number of Facebook friends showed a U-shaped curvilinear relationship to compulsive use. Compulsive use was a positive predictor of pro-social outcomes, but this was mainly due to social motivations driving compulsive use.

Razing the Virtual Glass Ceiling: Gendered Economic Disparity in Two Massive Online Games

Rabindra A. Ratan Vili Lehdonvirta Tracy L. M. Kennedy Dmitri Williams

Research has consistently shown a gap between male and female income earners. Explanations have been found in social expectations and mechanisms relating to gender roles. In this paper, we investigate what happens to gendered economic disparity when those mechanisms are removed. We examine wealth creation within the virtual economies of two massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs)—environments where gender cues are malleable and meritocracy trumps identity—in the first study on economic disparity within multiple MMOs. Observed measures of player behavior indicate that player sex and character gender have a statistically significant relationship with virtual wealth, but in practice the effect is very small. While further research is needed on observed gender differences in play styles and motivations in virtual environments, the present results support an optimistic argument: as workplaces turn increasingly virtual, obfuscating physical gender cues and traditional allocation mechanisms, gendered economic disparity in society is likely reduced.

The Avatar Shadow Passenger: Physiological Effects of Self-Presence After Disconnection From the Avatar

Rabindra A. Ratan Christelle Williams Michael Dawson

The present article examines the role of self-presence in the ways that people feel connected to their avatars after avatar use, thereby contributing to an understanding of how people are influenced by avatar use even when they are no longer using their avatars.
Physiological measures of arousal (heart rate) and emotional valence (facial muscle movement) were taken after avatar use, while participants watched, without controlling, their avatars in a context where the avatars received negative treatment. The comparison of these measures to self-reported feelings of connection to their avatars (i.e., self-presence) suggests that people are more strongly affected by their avatars after avatar use when they develop greater emotion- or identity-level, but not body-level connections to their avatars during avatar use. These findings are relevant to a growing body of research on avatar use effects as well as to the development of virtual worlds and video games. The paper describes some of these implications and suggests future work based on the present findings.

Designing the Virtual Self: How Psychological Connections to Avatars May Influence Outcomes of Use

Rabindra A. Ratan Béatrice Susanne Hasler

The present paper examines how two important facets of avatar design – customization and personalization – may influence users’ psychological connections to avatars and outcomes of avatar use. Responses from students who engaged in collaborative learning within a virtual environment suggest that avatar design influences psychological connections to avatars, that the various measures of such connections included in this project are interrelated in notable ways, and that these connections may influence substantive outcomes of virtual world use. More specifically, this research suggests that virtual environments may best facilitate education-related outcomes by encouraging psychological projection of personality characteristics onto avatars as well as body-level connections to avatars, but limiting extreme avatar customization and personalization.

1. Peng, W., Lin, J-H., & Kim, G. (2012, May). The contribution of graphic and enactive realism to video game enjoyment and effort. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Realism is an important factor contributing to game experiences. However, conceptualization and operationalization of realism in previous video game studies vary greatly, mostly centering on the dimensions of graphic realism and external realism. We argue that it is important to examine enactive realism, particularly for interactive and participatory media such as video games. Additionally, previous studies investigating the effect of realism in video games predominantly focus on the outcome of player aggression, overlooking positive outcomes such as enjoyment. To fill the gap in the existing literature, this study examines the contribution of two types of realism—graphic realism and enactive realism—to enjoyment and effort in an active video game playing context. It was found that enactive realism was a significant predictor for enjoyment and effort in playing Wii games. However, graphic realism was not found to be a significant predictor for enjoyment, perceived effort or actual effort. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

2. Peng, W., Lin, J-H., Pfeiffer, K. A., & Winn, B. (2012, May). Need satisfaction supportive game features as motivational determinants: An experimental study of a self-determination theory guided exergame. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Note: Top Papers Award in the Game Studies SIG.

Empirical studies have validated that basic needs satisfaction supported by video game play predicts motivation and engagement outcomes. However, few studies specifically manipulated game features for each of the three basic needs specified in the self-determination theory (SDT) to examine how the game features impact players’ need satisfaction and game experience. The current study employed an in-house developed exergame and manipulated the game features in a 2 (autonomy supportive game features: on vs. off) x 2 (competence supportive game features: on vs. off) experiment to predict need satisfaction, game enjoyment, motivation for future play, effort for gameplay, self-efficacy for exercise using the game, likelihood of game recommendation, and game rating. The manipulated game features led to the corresponding need satisfaction. Manipulated autonomy supportive and competence supportive game features had main effects on most motivation and engagement outcomes. Need satisfaction of autonomy and need satisfaction of competence were both found to be mediators for the relationships between the game features and the motivation and engagement outcomes. The findings add evidence to support the underlying mechanism postulated by SDT for media enjoyment and motivation as well as the emerging entertainment research conceptualizing enjoyment as need satisfaction. The findings also have practical implications for intervention effort that intends to capitalize the motivational pull of video games.

3. Peng, W., & Hsieh, G. (2012, May). The influence of competition, cooperation, and player relationship on performance, motivation, and goal commitment in game play. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ.

We conducted an experiment to study the effects of goal structure in multiplayer gaming (competition vs. cooperation) and relationship type between players (positive pre-existing relationship [friends] vs. no pre-existing relationship [strangers]) on player motivation (as indicated by perceived effort put into the task), goal commitment, and performance in playing a balloon popping game. The cooperative goal structure was found to lead to greater effort put into the game than the competitive goal structure. In addition, playing with friends resulted in a stronger commitment to the in-game goals than playing with strangers in the cooperative goal structure context, yet no difference was found between playing with friends and playing with strangers with regard to goal commitment in the competitive goal structure context. A moderated mediation relationship was found among the variables. Theoretical contributions to the current literature on goal structure and motivation, practical implications for exergame design, and directions for future research are discussed.

4. Crouse, J., & Peng, W. (2012, May). The effects of competition and relationships on hostility and prosocial behaviors in video game play. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ.

Cooperation and competition have started to emerge as potential variables that may supersede violence as the main cause for aggression in post-video game play. However, few studies have examined how the relationship between video game players affects aggression and prosocial behaviors. In this study, we considered how game mode – competitive or cooperative – and relationship between players – friend or stranger – affects aggression and prosocial behaviors. Using experimental data, we found that cooperative play not only increased prosocial behaviors, but also that the relationship between game players affected hostility post game play. These findings indicated that cooperative game play attenuated aggression. Additionally, the relationship between players significantly interacted with the game play mode such that collaborating friends produced increased hostility and decreased prosocial behaviors, as moderated by who won the game.

The Telecommunication, Information Studies, & Media department at Michigan State University offers an undergraduate specialization in game design and development, an MA degree with concentration in HCI and emphasis on games and meaningful play, and a 3 course graduate certificate in serious games that can be completed on campus or fully online.

The GEL Lab includes many faculty members expert in designing and researching meaningful play and serious games. Faculty and students in meaningful play and serious games share the thrill of feeling like we are helping to invent the future of games, and in the process making the world a better place.

Our motto is, CHANGE THE WORLD WITH US.
If you’re interested, we’d love to have you join us.