Use of Fantasy in Serious Games to Assist Physical Rehabilitation.

Abstract

This study explores fantasy's role in keeping people engaged and motivated to perform physical rehabilitation, specifically incorporating fantasy elements. Physical rehabilitation helps people recover from injuries and pain; however, due to its monotonous and tedious nature, many people are not interested in it or leave the process in the middle. This research addresses the critical issue of how to keep the user engaged with the exercises. Serious games are being used in the recovery process related to health. Fantasy in games is also important in keeping the user engaged and motivated to play the game repeatedly. In this respect, in this research, fantasy elements are incorporated into the serious game to determine the user's engagement and motivation to perform physical rehab exercises. To answer the research question, a comprehensive literature review is conducted on serious games, the use of fantasy in games, and physical rehabilitation of back pain. A survey of the last five years of work in these areas has also been undertaken. After analysing the literature review, the research is further enriched by discussions with experts from the following fields: medical rehabilitation (rheumatologist and physiotherapist), physiology (physiologist and psychiatrist), and human-computer interaction. Incorporating the perspectives of experts clears many questions, and this interdisciplinary approach also enriches the research, providing diverse viewpoints and insights. Based on this literature review and the expert views, a trial is conducted using a game prototype with two distinct versions. One version incorporates a fantasy element, while the other is a non-fantasy-based environment. These versions serve as a tool to measure the impact of a fantasy-bas ed VR serious game. The trial is instrumental in assessing the significance of fantasy for users who may find their daily rehabilitation routine monotonous, thereby encouraging them to complete their required exercises. The analysis of this tool employs a mixed-method approach in the questionnaire, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. Data collection is done in two steps with the help of medical experts and participants. In stage one, the medical experts are requested to play the prototype and evaluate the proper implementation of exercises in the game. In stage two, participants are requested to play the game after the appropriate implementation of exercises in the game. They have assessed the game engagement and motivation by the usability of fantasy elements in serious games for physical rehabilitation. The findings not only demonstrate the potential of serious games with fantasy elements to enhance user engagement and motivation in physical rehabilitation but also suggest practical implications for applying the same work to other parts of the body.