Physiological and Perceptual Responses to Single-player vs. Multiplayer Exergaming

Aarón Soria Campo; Alf Inge Wang; Trine Moholdt; Jonathan Berg

doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.903300

Physiological and Perceptual Responses to Single-player vs. Multiplayer Exergaming

Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Jun 16:4:903300. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.903300. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Aarón Soria Campo¹, Alf Inge Wang², Trine Moholdt^{3

4}, Jonathan Berg^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
² Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
³ Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ St. Olav's University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

Rationale: Since many modern exergames include a multiplayer component, this study aimed to compare the physiological and perceptual responses between playing a cycling exergame alone or with others.

Methods: In this randomized crossover study, 15 healthy individuals aged between 10 and 30 years completed a single-player and a multiplayer exergaming session. The main outcomes were exercise intensity, measured as oxygen uptake (V°O₂) and heart rate (HR), and perceived enjoyment, pleasure, and exertion.

Results: Peak HR was significantly higher during multiplayer (172 ± 23 beats per minute [bpm]) vs. single-player exergaming (159 ± 27 bpm) with a mean difference of 13 bpm (95% CI: 2 to 24, p = 0.02). Peak V°O₂ was 33.6 ± 9.5 mL·kg^-1·min^-1 and 30.4 ± 9.1 mL·kg^-1·min^-1 during multiplayer and single-player exergaming, respectively with no statistically significant difference between conditions (3.2, 95% CI: -0.2-6.6 mL·kg^-1·min^-1, p = 0.06). Average HR, average V°O₂ and perceptual responses did not differ between single- and multiplayer exergaming.

Conclusion: Other than inducing a higher HR, multiplayer exergaming showed no significant benefits on exercise intensity or perceptual responses over single-player exergaming. However, the higher peak HR and a tendency of higher peak V°O₂ intensity during multiplayer exergaming imply that multiplayer exergaming may offer some advantages over single-player exergaming that could impact the potential health benefits of exergaming.

Keywords: active video game; cardiorespiratory fitness; exercise training; fitness; gamification; health technology; persuasive technology.