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. 2022 Jan 19;10(1):e29987. doi: 10.2196/29987

Table 3.

Playtesting sessions.

Playtesting name Objectives Participants Methods Main insights
Rowing and desired visual elements (number of sessions: 2) Game mechanics:

  • Rowing forward

  • Rowing backward

  • Rowing turning (left, right)

Game aesthetics:

  • Desired visual elements

Game technology:

  • Motion sickness and comfort

  • 7 persons living with dementia

  • 5 exercise therapists (from LTCa facilities)

 Face-to-face playtesting:

  • 20 minutes interaction

  • Individual, semistructured

  • Overseen by exercise therapists

  • Debrief with the therapists at the end of the session.

  • All players learned easily how to row in VRb using the prototype

  • Rowing backward/forward and turning left/right were intuitive for most participants

  • When asked about desired visual elements, end users preferred animals (eg, fishes and birds), nature and landscape (eg, sunset, mountains), and other boats and more people.

  • One player could not complete the test because the headset was uncomfortable.

  • Therapists mentioned the importance of adding cues or elements to guide the navigation.
COVID-19 outbreak
Rowing improvements and game level design (number of sessions: 1) Game mechanics:

  • Rowing and navigation around the level designed (Figure 3B)


Game aesthetics:

  • Oars aspect and positioning

  • Game objects and water effects


Game technology:
Capture player’s responses and behaviors		 4 community exercise providers with experience in dementia care (who were not working in LTC) Remote playtesting:

  • 1-hour discussion

  • Online (through Zoom)

  • Semistructured focus group

  • Add configurable menu to define (1) session duration, (2) player’s position calibration to facilitate rowing.

  • Add configurable menu to define (1) session duration, (2) player’s position calibration to facilitate rowing. Modify world physics to have more natural tree shaking and water waving effects.

  • Adding cues to guide participants (eg, signs, audio clips).
Conditioning and cool-down stages, rowing and fishing integration (number of sessions: 3) Game mechanics:

  • Rowing and fishing cohesion

  • Dolphin as exercise intensity modulator

Game technology:

  • Player’s responses and behaviors

  • Game aesthetic, story

  • Narrative to aid engagement

 Research team (without LTC exercise therapists) Remote playtesting:

  • 1-hour discussion online (through Zoom)

  • Add strategies to avoid getting stuck while rowing.

  • Better define the virtual world limits by adding buoys regarding the dolphin: (1) sounds should be added to facilitate prompting, (2) dolphin’s behavior should help in meeting exercise intensities in conditioning.

  • Variables such as attention paid to the animals in the scenario as well as the response of players to haptic stimulus can be used to quantify reaction time.

  • Consider movement limitations when fishing to avoid persons living with dementia from getting frustrated.

aLTC: long-term care.

bVR: virtual reality.