Sam Kirk

The evidence base on physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and high body mass index is broad and strong, highlighting a negative impact across the economy, our health, and our mental wellbeing. Technology and screens are a pervasive part of this problem. Video games are a prevalent, powerful and persuasive use of technology. Active video games demonstrate clear potential to facilitate positive change. The active gaming evidence base has terminological and methodological issues. Active video games have issues of quality and variety, and in the facilitation of physical activity, whilst the supporting hardware has practicality issues. The purpose of this thesis is to leverage the issues identified to refine and unify the field-related terminology and technology, creating a spectrum of active gaming. The spectrum is informed and presented through a dialectically pluralistic and pragmatic narrative review. The Active Gaming Spectrum represents purposeful, strategic, and pragmatic categorisation of the following ordered terms: Non-active video games; virtual reality; active video games; location-based games; technology dependant augmented/built-environment games; asynchronous active games; esports; technology independent augmented/built-environment games; gamification; sport and exercise games. Several visuals are presented, showing the Active Gaming Spectrum, a practical decision tree for categorisation, and an example list of category-specific games (see figures 2-4). Use cases for several stakeholders are presented, such as identifying new research projects, new product development opportunities, and behaviour change facilitation in applied practice. Future directions are proposed that build on the foundation of the Active Gaming Spectrum. This includes iteration of the spectrum by seeking expert opinion and then consensus, developing case study protocols for each game, building a research network, identifying project management efficiencies and funding models, and solving the trilemma of speed, scale, and rigour. This thesis offers a challenge to the dominant paradigms of active gaming, presenting a pragmatic first step towards a better system.

Evidence shows inactivity and obesity are a substantial global burden, economically and physiologically. Sedentary screen time strongly contributes to this burden. Sedentary screen time is often achieved through video game play. Active video games (AVGs) tried to solve the screen time problem. AVGs work, having small to moderate positive effects on activity levels and body composition changes. However, they perform consistently poorly on the commercial market. This represents a paradox: AVGs work pragmatically, yet underperform commercially, limiting their impact practically. The purpose of this study was to explore this paradox with the aim of understanding how AVGs compare to non-active video games (NAVGs), based on gameplay experience. Findings revealed that AVGs have a significant negative comparison to NAVGs. Qualitative exploration highlighted several important considerations; gamer motivation, the lack of quality and variety in AVGs, the stereotype in AVGs, and the practical limitations of the hardware that supports AVGs. Perception of an augmented reality platform, a potential solution to the issues, was found to be positive.