Enhancing Exercise Experience with Individual Multi-Emotion Provoking Game Elements

Abstract: In this work we present a new affective game design method that includes multi-emotion provoking and continuous game elements. Evaluated with our physical cycling exergaming system it extends our previously designed single emotion game scene approach. In addition we introduce new entertaining content that includes game elements to provoke both physical and mental stress as well as emotions with a controlled intensity to provide an exciting but not taxing exercise. Our previously developed analysis method for facial expressions and physiological data has been enhanced by a near real-time emotion evaluation, to allow the system to adapt the gameplay dynamically and in this work new multi-emotion provoking game elements are introduced. A case study with 25 participants have been conducted to showcase and evaluate the enhancing exercise experience by individual multi-emotion provoking game elements.