Boosting Self-Efficacy Through Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Virtual Reality Exergames

Virtual reality exergames showed to be promising for fostering self-efficacy, yet they primarily focus on tasks where outcomes depend on user-controlled motor actions. The current work presents a methodology to examine how and in which extent dynamic difficulty adjustment strategies shape self-efficacy in virtual reality exergames where outcomes blend user motor actions and uncontrollable environmental factors. We present a virtual reality punching game prototype implementing these dynamics, together with preliminary insights on usability, game challenge perception, and difficulty adjustment perception. Initial findings suggest good overall usability and appropriate challenge levels, with 50% of the participants noticing some changes in the difficulty parameters yet attributing them to personal factors, suggesting the potential of this approach in supporting self-efficacy.