They have collaborated with Fenomenmagasinet for many years. But the new premises open up completely new opportunities for Aseel and Erik Berglund’s research area, gamification. Gamification is about introducing game elements in areas other than entertainment, where the focus can be on learning and physical activity.
“We are passionate about physical activity, getting people to move,” explains Aseel Berglund. “Gamification can be used for physical training through steering and controlling motion games using the body instead of game controllers. The ‘right’ movement is rewarded in the game. The more you move, the more rewards you get.”
Own room
Like many other researchers, Aseel and Erik Berglund have difficulty recruiting participants for their studies. Fenomenmagasinet gives them the opportunity to meet people, young and old, they would otherwise not have come into contact with. They will also have their own, larger room on the second floor, with high ceilings where visitors can move freely and play undisturbed.
“We can be there, collect data and observe visitors,” says Erik Berglund. “How long do they stay? What do they do? How do they move their body? How many points do they get in the game?”
Testing research
Fenomenmagasinet is therefore something of a perfect place for researchers to collect data, come into contact with participants for studies and test their research. But Erik and Aseel Berglund also see other benefits.“Fenomenmagasinet will be a place to spread the message about why physical activity is important, that’s something we’re both passionate about. But also to make research available to the public by allowing them to try it themselves, and at the same time discover that it’s actually possible to both study and research about games,” says Aseel Berglund, who previously tried to attract participants to their studies at the annual games events NärCon and LinCon.
“One success story is the guy we met one year who came back a couple of years later to tell us that, thanks to his meeting with us, he was about to start studying for a Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering at LiU.”
