Go out, go running!

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the way how computer games could help the players to engage more in sportive activities.

Recently, I was playing the action-adventure game „Mirror’s Edge“[1]. In Mirror’s Edge the player is experiencing the story from the point of view of the female Runner „Faith“, who earns her money by delivering „hot“ packages by running and jumping across the rooftops of a fictive city in order to circumvent the police. During the story, Faith gets entangled into a conspiracy and is also trying to save her sister.

I was mostly hooked up by the game because of the innovative way of moving through the scenery. Faith is not only able to run and jump, but can also perform wall jumps and run across walls. In general, the whole gameplay is like a virtual version of the discipline of parkour[2].
This was especially engaging to me because running is one of my favorite outdoor activities. However, I mostly go out running through the forests and I am not jumping from the rooftops of high buildings, but still, being able to run in a computer game was really inspiring. Moreover, the immersive effect of being such a parkour runner was increased, because I was able to see Faith’s arms and legs when she was sliding down a slope or was grabbing onto the edge of a rooftop while I was controlling her through the levels.

I believe that running games like Mirror’s Edge can help the players to create a positive connection between running (or better doing sports) and experiencing exciting situations or beautiful views from special locations as a reward for their efforts. Additionally, the computer games can enhance the flow experience of running by changing the appearance of the environment. The visualization of the environment could become more beautiful, if the player manages to keep running over a certain amount of time.
After playing such an energizing game, the players might get inspired to try to improve their body control and their endurance. The only challenge the players have to come by is just to step outside and to go exploring. By adressing the players directly and inspiring them to step outside, they could get the incentive to try it out.

However, the transition from the virtual activity to the real world activity can unfortunately cause some disappointing situations or even result in situations where the players might injure themselves because they have not developed their body control yet.

This results in an additional requirement for an inspiring computer game: the gameplay should not only point out the positive and rewarding effects of running, but should also demonstrate how the players can safely start their running career. Furthermore, it is necessary to demonstrate the players how they could improve over time and that they need to start with small challenges in order to gain some first experience they can rely on while they are trying higher challenges.

As a conclusion, I think that computer games can inspire the players to engage in sportive hobbies by allowing them to see the beautiful rewards of running. However, such an inspiring computer game also needs to teach the players how they can approach these activities in their real life. Finally, the game should also help the players to regain motivation after a disappointing outcome after the first real world runs.