Exergaming for tourists

Another interesting outcome from VTT's Exergame project is out. VTT is about to develop exergame / locative media services together with Finnish tourism industry. User generated content, free and proactive participation, exploratory travelling and experiences are strong trends also in the area of tourism. Finnish tourism industry is developing mobile services for tourist to get more out of the hiking experience in the Finnish forests.


VTT has developed a service to enable the travellers to make their own schedule as well as create plays, stories or routes to be shared with their families (travelogue) or other travellers (playful routing guide). The solution is as simple as PictoGame. One just have to take photos, add text and/or record sounds and make it a game. It can be anything from basic orienteering from one location to another to more complex games.

The prototype is now ready and further development will be started in the fall 2007 with companies.

Exergame approach to floorball training

Finnish starup A4SP has just released their first exergame product. They approach is a bit different than the typical idea of exergaming. This far majority of the solutions have been either home fitness equipment type of interfaces to console and PC games or alternative interfaces and new ways of interaction such as Nintendo Wii and Playstation EyeToy.

A4SP is developing exergames that improve the performance of team sports participants. At first A4SP product is utilized in floorball training. A4SP product enables measurement and comparison of the results worldwide in a playful way.

There is not yet too much public information available but this certainly is a refreshing and innovative approach to exergaming.