learning and performance research done
in the context of sports provides sound
theories and practices for things like
optimizing feedback and considering
individual differences [ 3], relatively few
HCI publications on bodily interaction
cite sports science papers.
Motor-skill learning is an important
part of all action games in which players
move their bodies or manipulate
game controllers in real time to reach
goals. The role of feedback in motor
learning and performance has been
studied extensively (e.g., [ 3, 6]), and
computer-generated feedback is a field
that naturally bridges HCI and sport
sciences. While it has been shown that
properly designed augmented feedback
can both motivate and guide motor
learning, motor learning in the context
of non-realistic player-avatar mappings
(e.g., exaggerated jump height on a
trampoline) is still a new field.
Many consider it ideal to be able to
learn a real sport by playing a motion
game. Technology limits what can be
practiced realistically, in terms of what
movement qualities can be sensed.
However, we argue that what needs to
be practiced realistically is ultimately
a design choice: Why focus on teaching
an existing sport when one can create
whole new augmented sports by
designing both space and technology
for both players and spectators? One
example of this is the interactive
LED basketball court mentioned
earlier that may enable new types of
games and captivating visualizations
for the audience. Another example
is Kick Ass Kung-Fu [ 7], a full-body
martial arts game and performance
shown in Figure 4. Such experiences
can employ the principle of selective
realism and combine realism and
fantasy in appropriate proportions.
In Kick Ass Kung-Fu, one performs
real kicks, punches, and acrobatics
on a realistic martial arts floor, while
the fantasy elements include on-screen exaggeration of jumping height
and running speed, and an energy
supercharge triggered by shouting.
Additionally, the lack of real contact
with virtual opponents enables the
exploration of aesthetic and creative
movement that would be too risky in
real sparring.
In the future, it will be interesting
to observe the possible fusion of
eSports (competitive tournament
gaming) with the kinds of exertion
games discussed here. Digital games
are gradually becoming socially
accepted spectator sports, and there
are already professional gamers living
off sponsorships and tournaments. In
the future there might exist exergame
professionals, such as athletes
competing in martial arts or climbing
games optimized as both user and
spectator experiences. An open question
for HCI and game research is how one
can create motion games with eSports
potential. Presently, most motion games
do not have competitive communities,
with Dance Dance Revolution as the
notable exception.
Endnotes
1. Kajastila, R., Holsti, L., and Hämäläinen,
P. Empowering the exercise: A body-controlled trampoline training game.
International Journal of Computer Science
in Sport 13, 1 (2014).
2. Kajastila, R. and Hämäläinen, P.
Augmented climbing: Interacting with
projected graphics on a climbing wall. CHI
2014 Extended Abstracts. ACM, New York,
2014, 1279–1284.
3. Magill, R. A. and Anderson, D.I. The
roles and uses of augmented feedback in
motor skill acquisition. In Skill Acquisition
in Sport: Research, Theory and Practice.
N. Hodges and A. M. Williams, eds.
Routledge, 2012.
4. Wulf, G., Shea, C., and Lewthwaite, R.
Motor skill learning and performance:
A review of influential factors. Medical
Education 44, 1 (2010), 75–84.
5. Baudry, L. and Leroy, D. The effect of
combined self- and expert-modelling on
the performance of the double leg circle
on the pommel horse. Journal of Sports
Sciences 24, 10 (2006), 1055–1063.
6. Sigrist, R., Rauter, G., Riener, R., and
Wolf, P. Augmented visual, auditory,
haptic, and multimodal feedback in motor
learning: A review. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 20, 1
(Feb. 2013), 21–53.
7. Hämäläinen, P., Ilmonen, T., Höysniemi,
J., Lindholm, M., and Nykänen, A. Martial
arts in artificial reality. Proc. of the SIGCHI
Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems. ACM, New York, 2005, 781–790.
Raine Kajastila is a post-doctoral
researcher at Aalto University in Helsinki,
Finland. Raine did his Ph.D. on eyes-free and
gestural user interfaces. His current research
focuses on aurally/visually augmented exercise
and sports-training environments.
→ raine.kajastila@aalto.fi
Perttu Hämäläinen is a professor of
computer games at Aalto University. His
primary research goal is to advance the
understanding of computer science of human
movement, encompassing analysis (e.g.,
computer vision), synthesis (e.g., procedural
animation), as well as games and augmented
feedback for motor learning.
→ perttu.hamalainen@aalto.fi
DOI: 10.1145/2731182 © 2015 ACM 1072-5520/15/03 $15.00
Figure 4. Kick Ass Kung-Fu, a full-body martial arts game and performance.