The User Experience of an Immersive and Interactive Wall Exergame in Older Adults.

Abstract

Exergames are promising options for modulating the effects of aging on physical and cognitive functions. A new-generation immersive and interactive wall exergame (I2WE) has emerged in recent years, offering users freedom of movement as well as greater and varied interactions with other players, the environment, and the system than traditional games (e.g., Wii™, Kinect). These features could improve the user experience (UX) and thus the engagement and benefits of the intervention for older people. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this kind of exergame could be an effective tool for multidomain training for the elderly. An exploratory study was conducted with 38 healthy older adults who tested a single exergame session to evaluate the UX and the perceived enjoyment, as well as the session's workload and intensity. The results show that I2WE generates moderate-to-high physical intensity, following recommendations for older people, while the perceived exertion is lower. Moreover, it creates a positive UX that correlates with high perceived enjoyment while producing a suitable session's workload. I2WE appears to be an effective tool to promote physical activity while concurrently stimulating cognition in older adults. The intrinsic characteristics (i.e., immersion, combined physical and cognitive activity, interactions, complex motor skills, playfulness, and variety of collective games) give this new type of exergame a promising future. Future studies should be conducted to investigate the effects of an I2WE program on the physical and cognitive functions of older adults.