Keeping Players Engaged in Exergames: A Personality Matchmaking Approach

ABSTRACT

Playing exercise games together can be more enjoyable and motivating than playing alone. There are a variety of reasons why the experience of social interactions can motivate both participation in exercise and engagement in videogames. However, current game player pairing recommendation systems are unsatisfactory for facilitating social connectedness. Based on personality and social psychology theories, this work explores the possibility of matching players by personality for increasing enjoyment and social interaction in exergames. Maintaining high levels of enjoyment and positive social interactions are important because both can promote retention and continuation of gameplay and exercise adherence. Early results of a pilot study seem to show that player pairs who score high on openness and extraversion particularly enjoyed their game experience together.

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Index Terms

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)