Tennis Attack: An Exergame Utilizing a Natural User Interface to Measure and Improve the Simple Reaction Time

Abstract

The present article demonstrates the process of designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating an active video game or exergame. The main goal of our proposed exergame is to develop the simple reaction time of players. The main target group are simple users; however, it can work on tennis specialists. Herein, we used the exergame to investigate the hypothesis that players can improve their reaction time through practice. To achieve this, players’ simple reaction time was measured at the start of the game. Then, the players took part in a 4-week training session. At the end of the training session, the simple reaction time of players was measured again and a questionnaire was completed. Another goal of this paper was to investigate the difference between perceived usefulness (general usability, usefulness, and user interface satisfaction) of experts and non-experts (sports science students and computer science students) and pro-gamers and casual gamers. The findings were encouraging. The majority of the players reported that the gaming experience was very satisfying and the game was easy to use and learn. Moreover, after the analysis, it was discovered that this game can significantly improve the simple reaction time of all players. This improvement was independent from the players’ background.

Keywords

• active video game
• natural user interfaces
• Microsoft Kinect
• simple reaction time (SRT)