Turning training into play

Embodied gaming has been adopted and gained credibility in the field of physical rehabilitation. In this paper, we report on findings from a six-month-long study of three groups of senior citizens, and their use of Nintendo Wii Fit in a supervised physical training context. We argue that the study participants generally found physical training both fun and socially engaging, and experienced improved fitness. We also argue that embodied gaming motivates seniors to do more than they think themselves capable of, and allows seniors with different mental and physical capabilities to play together. However, there are also certain barriers, when seniors interact with the system. Speed and complexity of what is displayed on the screen are examples of barriers that affect the seniors’ satisfactory use of the technology. Based on these findings, we discuss how physical rehabilitation may be facilitated by computer gaming technology.