Question: Can Footgaming
be used with
the elderly or for rehabilitation?
Answer: The unique benefit of the exergaming capability of using FootGaming with the elderly or even in monitored rehabilitation is that it connects with a wide variety of games older gamers already enjoy. By adding the FootPOWR peripheral to a computer, anyone - including those in rehabilitation or the elderly - can add the dimensions of movement and balance to game play they already love. The games we choose for the elderly or those with a need for balance practice are not timed games.
This is important because the rate of "foot steps" is fully managed by the gamer. Points in the game are not dependent on speed. Unlike DDR and dance games in which a pattern and pace are pre-determined, FootGaming allows exactly the amount of movement and balance the gamer is capable of.
Please see more detail on Footgaming benefits of Bejeweled, Chuzzle, Bejeweled Twist and Bookworm Adventure.
We also have a three-sided rail system that can fit around the FootPOWR for extra stability and balance support while the elderly gamers practice.
Please take a look at how one of our favorite gamers, aged 82, enjoys playing Bejeweled Twist at home while gaining important balance, agility and cardio benefits.
PopCap commissioned an April 2008 survey of casual gamers and found that more than 20 percent of respondents reported having a physical, mental, or developmental disability, as opposed to just over 15 percent of the general population in the latest US census data. More than 2,700 disabled gamers responded to the survey and offered a glimpse at why and how they play.
For one thing, the survey found that disabled casual gamers are more hardcore than their abled counterparts, playing more often and for longer stretches at a time. As for why they play, 94 percent said they believed gaming produced physical or mental benefits, while 11 percent of respondents said they had casual gaming recommended or prescribed to them by a physician, psychiatrist, physical therapist, or other medical professional.
The most frequent benefits reported for those with physical disabilities were stress relief and distraction from their ailments. However, there are some commonalities that seem to be shared by casual gamers regardless of disability status. Disabled gamers' taste in games "closely mirrored" those of their abled counterparts, with their favorite game categories being puzzle, word and trivia, and arcade games, in that order. We target exactly those types of games for FootGaming.
