CicloExergame: player experience evaluation of an exergame for patient telerehabilitation

Abstract

Numerous factors are involved in functional rehabilitation, including patient engagement in activities and active participation of physiotherapists. Challenges in accessing therapy have prompted initiatives focusing on telerehabilitation. In this context, therapists’ active involvement is compromised, and exercises are often repetitive and monotonous, reducing patient engagement and motivation, thus impacting session outcomes. Consequently, this study aimed to outline the evaluation process involving patients using an exergame (CicloExergame) designed with a distributed architecture for conducting telerehabilitation sessions incorporating a cycle ergometer. The experiments, focusing on assessing Player Experience, were conducted with two groups: 12 healthy individuals and 10 patients at the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. The study consisted of using the game in short sessions and administering questionnaires before and after use. Among the healthy participants, 75% rated the experience as “highly satisfactory,” while the remaining 25% found it “satisfactory.” This satisfaction trend was similarly observed among the patient group (60% “highly satisfactory” and 40% “satisfactory”). These promising results highlight the motivating and engaging potential of the proposed exergame.