Development and Usability of a Low-Cost Kinect Game to Promote Movement Competence in Children with and Without Intellectual Disability

Abstract

Many children fail to meet recommendations for daily physical activity (PA). Skills like jumping and hopping indicate movement competence may positively shape PA trajectory. Because these skills are learned, it is important that children are exposed to them early. This paper presents the development and usability assessment of a low-cost 2.5D Kinect scroller obstacle avoidance game that integrates player ability and makes game object spatial properties editable using a text file. Seven children (age ± SD: 5.7 ± 1.5 years; height: 117.3 ± 12.4 cm; mass: 24.4 ± 8.0 kg) participated in the assessment. The game was developed using Unity game engine. The input device was Kinect v2. The objective of the game is to negotiate obstacles along the travel path and cross the finish line. Participants avoided obstacles by jumping, hopping, ducking, and sliding. Participants answered questions related to gameplay difficulty, discomfort, and desire to play the game again. Eighty six percent of participants had positive general impressions of the game, 14% reported feeling dizzy or experiencing pain/discomfort during gameplay, and 86% reported jumping as the difficult movement during gameplay. All participants reported that they would play again and felt the game could help them. It is concluded that young children found the game appealing and physically beneficial. Since the game is intended to help children practice joint stiffness regulation and improve their movement competence, future assessments should determine the longitudinal effect of exposure to the game on these parameters.