JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Reducing inactivity in patients with chronic disease is vital since it can decrease the risk of disease progression and mortality. Exergames are an innovative approach to become more physically active and positively affecting physical health outcomes. However, current commercial exergames with ‘‘one size fits all’’ approaches might not optimally meet the needs of patients with chronic heart failure, who are often elderly. The development of serious games poses a challenge due to the high costs associated with traditional game development, especially when working with limited budgets. This can lead to games of lower quality or a noticeable disparity between user expectations and the gameplay experience.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to describe how to apply a framework to guide the design and development process of a mobile exergame app for patients with heart failure.

Methods:

The player-centered, iterative, interdisciplinary and integrated (P-III) framework for designing and developing serious games has been modified and used for designing and developing a mobile exergame involving stakeholders and end users.

Results:

The exergame was developed iteratively using the P-III framework divided in seven iterations: iteration 1: physical activity and physical interaction design; iteration 2: concept design; and iteration 3-7: exergame design and development. The last four iterations contained three phases: (1) exergame design prototype (iteration 3), (2) working prototype (iteration 4), and (3) exergame development (iterations 5 – 7). The exergame’s concept was about taking care of a farm and expanding it by sowing, watering, and planting fruits and vegetables. To do activities on the farm the patient has to walk in the physical world, either indoors or outdoors.

Conclusions:

The P-III framework for serious games can successfully be applied to design and develop exergames by including (1) the design of the physical activity and physical interaction as well as (2) early and integrated deployment of the exergame. Furthermore, involving stakeholders with different roles is a successful approach for developing exergames.