title: Towards exergaming commons: composing the exergame ontology for publishing open game data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been shown that exergames have multiple benefits for physical, mental and cognitive health. Only recently, however, researchers have started considering them as health monitoring tools, through collection and analysis of game metrics data. In light of this and initiatives like the Quantified Self, there is an emerging need to open the data produced by health games and their associated metrics in order for them to be evaluated by the research community in an attempt to quantify their potential health, cognitive and physiological benefits.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have developed an ontology that describes exergames using the Web Ontology Language (OWL); it is available at http://purl.org/net/exergame/ns#. After an investigation of key components of exergames, relevant ontologies were incorporated, while necessary classes and properties were defined to model these components. A JavaScript framework was also developed in order to apply the ontology to online exergames. Finally, a SPARQL Endpoint is provided to enable open data access to potential clients through the web.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exergame components include details for players, game sessions, as well as, data produced during these game-playing sessions. The description of the game includes elements such as goals, game controllers and presentation hardware used; what is more, concepts from already existing ontologies are reused/repurposed. Game sessions include information related to the player, the date and venue where the game was played, as well as, the results/scores that were produced/achieved. These games are subsequently played by 14 users in multiple game sessions and the results derived from these sessions are published in a triplestore as open data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We model concepts related to exergames by providing a standardized structure for reference and comparison. This is the first work that publishes data from actual exergame sessions on the web, facilitating the integration and analysis of the data, while allowing open data access through the web in an effort to enable the concept of Open Trials for Active and Healthy Ageing.
authors: Medical Physics Laboratory, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors: Giorgos
authors: G
authors: Bamparopoulos
authors: Medical Physics Laboratory, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors: Evdokimos
authors: E
authors: Konstantinidis
authors: Mathematics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors: Charalampos
authors: C
authors: Bratsas
authors: Medical Physics Laboratory, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors: Panagiotis D
authors: PD
authors: Bamidis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D018910:Video Games; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled
keywords: Active and healthy ageing; Exergame commons; Exergames; Linked open data; Ontology; Open clinical trials; Serious games