INFO PANEL 2: Ian Bogost – videogame designer, philosopher, critic and researcher
GAMING CHANNELS
“Role-playing is the most compelling component in games: there’s something intrinsically appealing about being someone else, whether you’re a space marine, a professional football player or even just a farmer. But what makes games different from any other media is having a response to the choices you make, and seeing the impact of those decisions inside a simulated environment. “There are other gaming elements, such as presenting
a challenge, socialisation, rewards and status (think scoreboard). And there’s a trend – especially in marketing – to extract these features and apply them to other online and offl ine services. For example, collecting points/ rewards/unlocking badges for using a service, or having a leader board to distinguish loyal customers. Yet these elements are secondary systems that only matter – or that are certainly only heightened – if they’re connected to a primary system (a game) that offers the compelling experience in the fi rst place.
“There’s a lot of disagreement
around the gender dynamics in games too. One argument is that men are motivated by competitive games and women by collaborative or social games. But increasingly it’s hard to know how true these claims are, as they’re usually the result of small studies and very generalised. Games on Facebook, for example, are mostly social – but these are played by men and women alike, of all ages. I do know that there certainly isn’t the same gender disparity there used to be – over half of adult players these days are women. “Exercise games aren’t new – they go back some 25 years
– and this physical activity focus is going to continue with games such as Nike+. We’re also going to see development in the clinical sector, with games produced for very specifi c uses by medical professionals, such as training surgeons or games for patients. “There’s also an emerging trend in the relaxation/
meditation games arena. Deepak Chopra’s Leela is a good example, while Wild Divine, with its whole body relaxation training programmes, launched in 2002. There are new styles of games, such as PlayStation 3’s Flower, that are less about action and more about contemplation and observation.”
Deepak Chopra’s meditation game uses 43 interactive exercises
to ramp up games. For instance, more US enterprises are partnering with companies like Keas, which offers employee wellness programmes – getting staff to eat better and exercise – through a live social media and virtual gaming mix.
FITNESS MOVEMENT We’re beginning to see some gaming movement in the fi tness and wellness industry too. Mind-body guru Deepak Chopra has a meditation game, Leela, that uses 43 interactive exercises, focusing on the body’s seven energy centres, to relieve stress. Chopra spent three years designing Leela, and has explained that it was the addictive nature of video games that attracted him, allowing his philosophies to reach and engage far more people. Meanwhile, US spa Canyon Ranch – which already offers 360 wellbeing iPad apps on fi tness, meditation and healthy cooking – could easily transform its apps into games by adding layers like challenges, rewards and a social network.
june 2012 © cybertrek 2012
A professor at The Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, Ian Bogost teaches undergraduate and graduate programmes in computational and digital media. He’s written numerous books on videogames and is also the co-founder of Persuasive Games, which makes games about social and political issues. Details:
www.bogost.com
“THE FITNESS
INDUSTRY NEEDS TO CREATE ENGAGING
GAMES THAT CONNECT THEIR CLIENTS TO
CLUB PROGRAMMING” Online wellness gaming is projected
to generate around US$2bn in revenues by the year 2015, according to digital media delivery specialists RealNetworks. The challenge for the fi tness industry will be to create truly engaging games that creatively connect their clients to the health club/ leisure centre’s programming, experts and special community – either by using/customising third-party gaming platforms or by designing their own. And while I have mostly focused on online wellness gaming, they don’t
necessarily have to be online to be powerful: think of the many engaging ways gyms could integrate games and gaming mechanisms, rewards and social contests/challenges into their real-world programming. For example, the branded Biggest Loser weight-loss spa resorts in the US – based on the social, challenge-focused premise of the hugely popular TV show – launched in 2009, with a third destination now opening in New York state. Whether these strategies are online or
off, health and fi tness clubs need to realise that they have a strong advantage and an opportunity in wellness gaming, because they forge powerful, real connections with – and between – guests and members. These connections are far more real than what’s offered by most existing, generic online wellness gaming communities.
healthclub@leisuremedia.com susie ellis
This feature fi rst appeared in Spa Business issue 2 2012, p80
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 49
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