The design development of VR exergame for wheelchair users

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) study and analyze design elements of a virtual exergame for wheelchair users, 2) to design and develop a virtual reality exergame for wheelchair users, and 3) to compare the physical performance of wheelchair users before and after the game, 4) to assess the wheelchair user's satisfaction with the virtual reality exergame. The research method combines both quantitative and qualitative methods. Firstly, the systematic review was conducted to study the information and elements of designing a virtual reality exergame for wheelchair users and summarized for a design guideline. Secondly, a prototype of a virtual reality exergame was developed. Then it was evaluated by in-depth interviews with 4 experts in VR game design and health fields. The improvement of VR game prototype was done based on the experts’ opinions. Finally, the VR game prototype was evaluated by 20 wheelchair users, 11 males and 9 females, recruited by using snowball selection. The data analysis was descriptive statistics, percentage, mean, standard deviation and the hypothesis testing statistic is the t-test, F-test including interviewing and observing the wheelchair user's behavior before, during and after playing the game. The results of the research revealed that 1) the design elements of virtual exercise games for wheelchair users consisted of 5 main components: virtual environment, immersion, sensory feedback, Interactivity, and accessibility for people with mobility disabilities together with the use of game design principles to increase exercise motivation. 2) the VR game prototype is a cardio exercise, i.e., a ball punching game. It consists of 3 stages which are a warm-up stage and how-to tutorial, first level (easy), and second level (hard). 3) After playing the game, wheelchair users had a statistically significant in physical performance in terms of fatigue level at p < 0.05. The overall of wheelchair users’ satisfactory towards the VR exergame are at the highest level (x̄ = 4.60, S.D. =0.60). Research results show that virtual exercise games can increase physical activity for wheelchair users.