My first workout on EA Sports Active....

5-19-09: Having just completed my first workout on the EA Sports Active that came out this AM, it's too early for me to rate the game on the whole, but I do have some initial observations.... 

While there were some components on it that were fun, like the kickboxing and punching section, running in place around a track was not that fun. Running around a track in real life is just as boring in the virtual world as well! 

Now if they had me running thru a minefield, or avoiding things, or trying to get things, whatever--if it actually was a GAME, then running in place in my living room might actually be fun. 

But my sense is that all the various workout "games", starting with Yourself Fitness, doesn't seem to really make it fun just because it's a workout in a virtual setting and I can choose the look of my avatar and the virtual trainer can give me compliments like, "You're poetry in motion."  

I hope that these workout games, with their celebs promoting them, aren't just a new version of their DVD workouts that is totally not interactive. Being interactive does not automatically mean it's fun. 

So if we're designing games for health to reach those folks who find running around a track boring, I think these game companies will have to really think outside of the box and come up with truly FUN and interactive games to reach the sedentary masses. 

Maybe I'm being a bit too rough after just the 1st day of working out on it, so I'll stick out the 30 day challenge I entered and see how it grows on me. Stay tuned! 

BTW, if you're in FB, I'm posting updates on this workout on my "Dr. Medina's We Wii Against Diabesity" group, so feel free to join us in there!

Games for Health Conf. just around the corner!

5-12-09: Greetings Exergaming Evangelists!

I am writing to let you know that the 5th Annual Games for Health
Conference is taking place June 11 and 12, 2009 in Boston,
Massachusetts. I am attending the event myself and the organizers
asked me to pass along basic notice of the event to people I felt
might be interested.

Games for Health is a conference which explores how videogames and
videogame technologies can help with health & healthcare.

Registration for this event is now open at:
http://www.regonline.com/gfh2009

15% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: dmgfh09
(enter this during registration for 15% off our current price)

This will be the events biggest content offering yet. Over 55 session
summaries are already available to browse online and more is to follow.

On June 10 the conference hosts its second set of pre-conference
events which includes Games Accessibility Day and Virtual Worlds and
Health.

Full details on the conference including travel and lodging
information are available directly at:
http://www.gamesforhealth.org

The Games for Health 2009 conference will be hosted in partnership
with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which has
served as a major sponsor of the conference since 2004. The Pioneer
Portfolio supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant
breakthroughs in the future of health and health care, providing Games
for Health with the opportunity to become the leading professional
community in the growing health games industry.

ps. Here are some other useful links:

Games for Health Schedule (June 11-12)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oLryMizeugTw

Games Accessibility Day (June 10 Pre-Conference)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9ekyWGoKP7oJbqar0v4zAg

Video from Last Year's Event
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/video-2009.html