Abstract
Many factors contribute to people's physical inactivity, but among the leading factors is a lack of motivation. Fitness trackers have been shown to encourage an increase in exercise, but they are frequently abandoned within a few short months. For this thesis I developed and asynchronous-play social gaming platform, FitPlay Games, to fill the gap in motivation left by current fitness trackers. By providing users with a variety of asynchronous cooperative and competitive gaming styles, this platform enable them to find a motivation technique that works best for their lifestyle and fitness prowess. The platform encourages prolonged use of fitness trackers, helping users to have more healthy lifestyles. Individual games are designed to allow both the novice and the maven to have a chance at winning, leveling the playing field, and increasing motivation to win. The effectiveness, usability, and enjoyability of the social games will be assessed, with an emphasis on understanding differences in play habits due to gender and lifestyle.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Technology
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Gonzalez, Dario Carlos, "FitPlay Games: Increasing Exercise Motivation Through Asynchronous Social Gaming" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 6181.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6181
Date Submitted
2016-10-01
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd8918
Keywords
fitness tracker, FitPlay, motivation, exercise, games, step counter; mobile, exergames, health behavior, Fitbit
Language
english
Technology Emphasis
Information Technology (IT)