A Virtual Reality Exergame to Engage Adolescents in Physical Activity: Mixed Methods Study Describing the Formative...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Game Design

Background:

• Early adolescence is a critical period for establishing physical activity habits.
• Virtual reality (VR) exergaming presents a novel strategy for promoting adolescent physical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a VR exergame intervention (vEngage) for adolescents.
• To describe the formative intervention development and academic-industry collaboration process.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Medical Research Council framework for intervention development.
• Incorporated iterative feedback from an adolescent user group, surveys, interviews, and prototype testing.
• Employed inductive thematic analysis of public VR exergame reviews and user feedback from an augmented reality app.

Main Results:

• VR exergaming is appealing and acceptable to adolescents and parents.
• Identified key features for VR exergames: realistic movements, graphics, progressive difficulty, rewards, multiplayer, and real-world integration.
• Identified barriers: cost, headset discomfort, and motion sickness; developed and user-tested a prototype with positive feedback.

Conclusions:

• This is the first VR exergame for adolescent physical activity developed within a public health intervention framework.
• Formative work indicates VR exergaming is a promising avenue for health promotion.
• Highlights the success of academic-industry collaboration and user involvement in intervention design.