Fullbody Exergaming Exertion
Apr 10th
A four year old technology is still at the forefront of Exergaming methodology, and four years is a long time in this arena. In conjunction with Kinetic SCE London Studio and Nike Motionworks, the Eyetoy and Kinetic are a credit to its designers. Many of todays game producers could do much worse than to use this inception as a yardstick for successful Exergaming implementation.
At Exergaming Finland we’ve been promoting the outstanding high intensity workout that can be achieved by the Eyetoy, particularly in relation to Kinetic and Kinetic combat. Exergaming can offer a total body workout which will tax the fittest of individuals…don’t believe me!? Watch this: Exergaming Finland Eyetoy Solutions
Like everything in life and fitness, you get out of it what you put into it. Eyetoy/Kinetic is a symbiotic fitness relationship that has the potential to get the very best out of you. If you’re after muscular endurance and a cardio maximised workout, it is hard to beat…period!
Exergaming Scandinavians
Mar 22nd
The Scandinavians produce some fantastic Exergaming products and services…check out these two I found recently: Virtuagym (still in Beta) http://www.virtuagym.com/about.php and their video at http://www.vimeo.com/3455005 and Positive Gaming at http://www.positivegaming.com/
Eyespy with my Exergamer’s eye
Mar 19th
The Eyetoy has been a favourite and a workhorse of our companies stratergies. It has a wealth of software available and fits well with our modular and portable service delivery. However, it can be finnicky or just a bloody nuisance to set up. Varying environments, creating varying result on the Eyetoy accuracy. I guess it has bad days just like the rest of us mere mortals.
I’ve been fortunate in the past of being able to create highly effective testing areas. This has allowed me to experiment at will with various exergaming models and programs across multiple hardware platforms. However, I’ve yet to create the ‘perfect Eyetoy environment’.
I’ve had indifferent results with different lighting techniques: ceiling lights alone, wall lights, standing lamps, spot light, very bright lighting down to quite dull plus combinations of all the above. I also experimented with reflective gloves and ankle bands. It seemed possible that the camera may track more 
accurately if it follows the extremeties more easily and reflective material seemed the obvious and easiest to test.
Unfortunately, moving back to Australia hasn’t allowed me the time to test its effectiveness further, has anyone else used reflective material with the Eyetoy? Or found a the ‘perfect’ lighting coverage?
I’m also curious to know if anyone has experienced any quality differences between the earlier ‘black’ bodied Eyetoy and the more recent ’silver’ bodied unit. It could be a single instance, but I noticed the wideangle lens (used for Kinetic and Kinetic Combat) seems to fit on the black bodies Eyetoy more snuggly?!
If you haven’t tried the Eyetoy yet, then do yourself a favour, DO IT!
Exergaming Repository
Mar 13th
Our startup company, Exergaming Finland, like many commercial and semi-commercial enterprises, relies heavily on investment, research and resources. Our single largest resource is our own Exergaming service. We are a fitness service provider, first and foremost, equipment utilization runs a distant second. I chose this format as I wanted the service to be delivered onsite, to the customer/s, rapidly and unobtrusively (and removed just as expediently). This pretty much dictated my choice of equipment from the outset. Creating customer programs from that point on became very clear, and our program variations have been finely honed over time, but of course, we have a LOT more to learn. As more Exergaming options arise (hardware and software), we have to filter and blend them to suit our needs, plus adapt them to suit our specific methodology.
In that regard, research becomes paramount. I have built a massive database that encompasses: digital offline PDF binders, online with Google Bookmarks all carefully catagorised, and mirrored with Mozilla Bookmarks, and good old fashioned printouts in indexed Folders. Plus of course, two websites, 3 blogs sites, twitter and our online 37 Signals Basecamp Project site, not to mention innumerable Skype and MSN sessions….phew. I’m not alone in having such a compilation, far from it, however its becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with every development happening in Exergaming worldwide, especially in relation to clinical research work. When I first began ‘investigating’ Exergaming around the world (late 2005), just a google search alone was ample enough, nowadays, its imperative to become active with Exergaming networks to stay vaguely up to date. This is still problematic, as the networks are disjointed – by nature of the online applications themselves, although twitters and blogs are very cooperative.
An ‘Exergaming Repository’ or Library if you prefer, seems the ideal solution for Exergamers and interested parties. A single ‘online presence’Â to find articles and research of interest. I therefore applaud the NMSU for creating the Exergames Advisory Network and hope it goes someway to achieving this ‘centralised’ thinktank and resevoir of knowledge for Exergaming…..my god, and I used to hate visiting libraries, my how ones habits do change 
Nokia and Mobile Exergaming
Mar 13th
This article caught my attention as ‘Mobile Exergaming’ is a fundamental strategy of our company Exergaming Finland. ‘Mobile’ in Finland means something quite different to how we use the term in Australia. In Finland it represents ‘mobile phones’, in Australia its twofold with both phones and portability, mainly the later. Follow the article: Mobile exergaming to get an idea of what is being toyed with in the mobile phone platforms.
Another bent on mobile exergaming, again by those natty Finns, is Exergaming for Tourists A novel way to sight see around cities!
My time spent in Finland (almost 10 years teaching communications at Nokia), showed me how inventive and innovative Finns really are. They are playing a prominent role in Exergaming in Europe and have been since at least 2005. Keep an eye on whats coming out of Finland theres a lot more to them than Nokia, Santa Claus, saunas and Exergaming Finland 
Remember handmade homepages?
Mar 12th
I just joined an Exergaming group at twitfitter which oddly enough, reminded me of the times when I lovingly handcrafted my first html homepage. Actually it was a semi-commercial website called the Cool Republic. An overclockers, water cooling haven for the hands on geek of 1998. Since then I’ve MS frontpaged, Dreamweaved, got someone else to do it, Joomla’d, Wordpressed and now Ning’d. Each has made me realise how impetuous I’ve become to ‘get my hot copy released’. I used to think writing and setting up a blog, and a blogsite was too speedy and ill prepared, now it seems downright waterlogged and sluggish compared with it’s colleague in arms, Twitter. Setting up my Twitfitter site was painless, warp fast and actually fun! I never thought I’d use those three phrases together when talking about website interfaces…wow! Thank you Biray for the link from your own old fashioned Wordpress site
Who, what, when, where, why and how.
Mar 10th
I’ve added ‘About Brett’ and ‘Our Direction’ to give an outline of our foray into Exergaming. It’s was rather theraputic, if not slightly disturbing experience, dissecting our past exploits to present day. It adds some clarity at the very least and highlights how far we still have to go. We have only been ‘active’ in the Exergaming arena for less than three years, it certainly feels longer – in a good way I might add .
Exergaming in Australia?
Mar 5th
I’d be thrilled to swap stories with any other Australians who are actively involved with Exergaming methodologies. Should you/they be involved in research, school/education systems, medical and rehab. applications, personal instruction or commercial gym businesses, it would be great to swap thoughts on Exergaming from a local perspective.
Since arriving back home from living in Europe for 10 years, I can already see substantial differences in how we (Australians) seem to grasp the fitness alternatives offered through Exergaming, particularly in comparison to ‘tech savvy’ countries such as Finland. I’d be very interested to hear what others have experienced and how our cultural and social habits deal with Exg.
Exergaming saved my soul
Mar 3rd
Exergaming is the ‘alternative Fitness’ methodology I’ve been waiting for my entire life! Phew, I’m thrilled I finally got that off my chest.
At 44, that represents a reasonable timeline I’d say. I’m almost embarrassed confessing this, one sentence to sum up my ‘Fitness/Career’, to this point. I certainly don’t wish to sound overly dramatic, but it’s true, unequivocally true.
I remember the moment. Its since became one of those ‘pivotal moments’, please no Dr. Phil analogies, that everyone experiences, in one way or another. My ‘timeline’ was initially jolted by the media blitz of the Nintendo Wii console at ‘E3’, in 2006. By the time of its commercial release, near the end of 2006, I was in raptures – seriously! The possibilities offered by this ‘hardware/software’ combination had my mind reeling. I could think of little else other than how to alter its basic form and redirect its potential into Fitness, and I didn’t even own one at this point.
Obviously, the new Nintendo Console platform meant something entirely different from my perspective. Quite frankly, I really didn’t give a damn about it as a gaming device, I was totally consumed by what it could offer as a new Fitness methodology. However, its gaming bent certainly supplied the other ‘essential ingredients’. The ingredients I’d always found lacking in traditional Fitness methods. Things that I regard as intrinsic, even sacrosanct, in making fitness a lifestyle not a fad:
- Fun, and by fun I mean actual laughing hysterically, the unconscious childlike joy that adults exhibit when something pure tickles their fancy. Simple, honest and infectious fun.
- Intuitive use of the hardware and software. Everything Microsoft said it was BUT never became – plug and play.
- Applicable to any age and learning ability. Anyone can use this thing, anyone!
- Low to no impact, other than the possibility of hitting yourself or a friend with a flying wiimote (been there done that )
- Motivational and utterly non-competitive, should you want it to be.
- Easy, small, robust, clever, charming and reliable (just like me )
- Did I mention fun?!
Since my early teens, I’ve a personal motto – ‘remove the interface’. Bloody odd now that I think about it, but my mind was driven at that age by science, science fiction, sport and sex (the idea of sex at least ). I felt compelled to find the essence of experience, whatever that experience may be. I wanted a direct line to that ‘experience’ and anything that got in the way, was a contaminate and diluted the effect, so it had to go. Removing the contamination became my personal saga, finding the ‘beginnings of the answer’ is my revelation.
Making the connection between you and your desire, seamless and intuitive is extremely difficult. A connection that seems natural, where the technologies involved, quite possibly very complex technologies, just disappear and not get in the way of your purpose. Exergaming, done correctly, gets close, very close to my ideal…much closer than any methodology (Fitness wise), I’ve ever encountered.
For me, the Wii got the Exergaming ball rolling. The Wii has spawned an amazing variety of useful and useless software/hardware. Its popularity has pressured other manufactures to raise their game (so to speak), and realise the enormous potential in Exercise + Entertainment. The Eyetoy, Bodypad, PS2, DDR to name but a few, have offered tremendous Fitness opportunities, before and after the release of the Wii.
ExergamingFinland Coaching Team
My own version of Exergaming – Exergaming Finland - which began in 2007, is a bastardised version of the Wiki definition of Exergaming. Exergaming Australia will adapt to suit the Australian market but never lose sight of its origins. Our companies goal is to merge ‘all the good stuff’, ‘remove the rubbish’ and ‘innovate’ our own into a Fitness potpourri that will create a Fitness lifestyle that few people have ever experienced. The ingredients are all available, our job as ‘Fitness chefs’ is to get the mix just right and then customise to each individual. Some of the ingredients are:
- Established’ Exergaming equipment manufactures/innovators (Cybertrazer, Sportwall, Gamerciser, Expresso, TACX, Makoto etc),
- Conventional equipment and software such as Reebok Core Balance Board, Suunto PC pod and HR monitoring, GymStick, Fitness Boxing,
- Quality Web 2 Online Fitness applications (Traineo, Body Daemon),
- Large screen projectors,
- ExergamingFinland ‘Sim’ sports equipment (Tennis, Golf and Cricket),
- ExergamingFinland ‘plugins’ for Treadmills and Crosstrainers.
There is no shortage of ideas, my problem is time, and money, funnily enough. Nevertheless, my hope is to start a ‘Centre’ for the clever and meaningful use of Exergaming and make Exergaming a ‘mobile and portable’ model. I really hesitate to use the ‘Gym’ word, it seems so sanitised, formulated and soulless. Gyms have become Cardio machine factories, human poker machines…horrible, the antithesis of what I want to achieve. Oddly enough, I also dislike the phrase ‘Exergaming’. Gaming in Australia means gambling, which makes Exergaming = Exercise + Gambling – well there’s an interesting business idea for someone I’ve no real alternative to the name, plus its well established and well understood. So be it.
Welcome to my view of Exergaming, where it’s going and where ‘we’ (ExergamingFinland and Australia), want to take our own version of it. Time for some ‘Serious Fun’.
