Chronology of self-competition in virtual reality exergames: A historical review

Abstract

Competing against others with better performances can demotivate and reduce players’ performances in Virtual Reality (VR) exergames. Due to this concern, previous studies have found a better solution to this which involves a system of players against themselves in VR exergames. However, the milestone of self-competition in VR exergames has not yet been compiled, compared, and discussed, as there is still room for future improvements. Therefore, this article discusses the evolution of self-competition in VR exergames, and highlights the state of the art for future studies. Related papers were gathered through keyword search strings, handpicking, and snowballing methods. Studies on self-competition in VR exergames have begun since 2007. Two categories of self-competition have been identified and suggested, which are “leaderboard” and “ghost”. The “ghost” category of self-competition is better than the “leaderboard” self-competition category in terms of enjoyment and motivation. Among the “ghost” self-competition studies, there have been implementations of a physiological technique called feedforward that has better significant results. The feedforward technique has a promising contribution towards society, especially for sedentary, less fit, and less competitive individuals.