What have you done in the past 12 days? Well this group in Zurich at the Zurich University of Arts, Departement of Interaction Design, created the Urban Defender as part of the Embodied Interaction Advanced HS 2009 in just 12 days. The team members (Karmen Franinovic, Max Rheiner, Dondup Shelkar, Philipp Läubli, & Nino Cometti) lay out in great detail how they conceptualized the game, interaction, and physical components. The goal of the game is simple: "t... Read Full Story
Sweedish game company Zoink Games posted a video for a puppet enhanced Wii game called WiiWaa. Although it is uncertain when or if this game/peripheral/wiiware will come out, it looks to use a stuffed animal/puppet with a Wiimote placed inside of it. Then the child would shake and twist the animal to interact with the game features. Interestingly, pulling on its' ears simulated a boomerang-type action - I'm not sure how the Wiimote would recognize that action. I'm also curio... Read Full Story
Instead of paying $100+ bucks for The Ride, or $500 for the iJoy board, why not try this $30 Wii peripheral to get active with all your older Shaun White, Tony Hawk and maybe even Whirl Tour. [Via Ubergizmo] Read Full Story
Norwegian Morten Skogly felt that playing Rock Band 2 wasn't hard enough, not close to playing a real guitar and nowhere near physical enough. So in this intricate teardown and DIY hack at his website, you see what it takes (besides patience and technical skills) to make playing Rock Band's guitar part closer to the real experience ...with the exception of another person punching you in your arm instead of strumming yourself. Wouldn't it make more sense to hit the other arm s... Read Full Story
In what can only be described as one of the largest multiplayer exergame / exertion interface / hacks around, the Kasabian Football Hero project is the mecca and future of ExerGming. Football Hero is a three-story high projection system that involves five different colored players kicking balls at their designated colored targets attached to a wall. Kickin' & Rockin' the night away! [Via Gizmodo]And here is the rest of it. Read Full Story
Speaking of bikes that improve health, look at what Honda has created to teach cyclists about road hazards and proper bike safety - the Honda's Bicycle Simulator. What ever happened to the good old bike rodeos when you took your bike to a closed parking lot and have the police and fire departments, or recreation staff teach you the proper techniques. BTW - We went to one last spring and we got a free (perfectly-fitted) kids helmet, Sweet. The release date is scheduled for February 2010. On... Read Full Story
Exergame Fitness USA just announced the release of the BrainBike XG which brings together a high-end recumbent bike loaded with a pc equipped with Gamercize's "patented response technology" and brain training software by NeuroActive. Essentially you will need to pedal to play any of the brain-training games (via arm supported mouse table) that works on 16 different brain functions (processing speed, selective attention, math skills, and visuo-spatial skills to name a few). It does not ap... Read Full Story
This Afghanistan OLPC invention is a practical solution to producing green-energy for the laptop and looks similar to the Stand Up Desk with Swinging Footrest pictured below. Except one will help students by allowing them to use computers and the other is a solution to being too plugged in over the years. Pick your poison.And here is the rest of it. Read Full Story
I am all for keeping things simple - KISS principle and that definitely applies to human theory and behavior around health. The WiFi Body Scale looks to be a promising device that will provide consistent information about specific health indicators that may help keep people healthier. Using a WiFi signal to pass your private information on to a secure website, this souped-up scale also packs a bioelectrical impedance device that measures a person's "body-fat percent or ratio of fat-mass to fa... Read Full Story
Similar to the several other flight simulator like the Electronic Sports Dogfight, the M-Cross Single Seat Simulator was trotted out at the KSF2009 Korean Serious Games Festival in Seoul, South Korea (Sept 25-27, 2009). This very maneuverable monster was equally great at playing traditional simulator games like HIS and Sonic-type action games. Now all we have to do is load up a version of one of my classic loves - 1942 and we're good to go. WIBC #? Let's strap some EMG's on some players an... Read Full Story
