The project is nearing its end, and the autumn has been packed with various events, as well as the testing and finalization of our innovative game demos and XR experiences!
At the Lapland University of Applied Sciences opening ceremony in September, we once again had the chance to showcase our fantastic Viking ship demo. This time, however, we encountered technical issues for the first time: the motion capture (mocap) sensors appeared to react to electrical and/or magnetic equipment in the auditorium, which interfered with the motion tracking.
Despite these technical difficulties, the student groups provided excellent feedback, describing the game experience as great fun. Once again, the Viking ship served as an outstanding attraction at the event!
The University of Lapland also finalized its work package (2) regarding XR/VR demos; videos and descriptive texts for these have been published on the project’s results page. Lapland University of Applied Sciences will complete the perceptual-motor game “Nerve Track” by the end of 2026, though a finished version will be available for testing as early as the final seminar on November 19, 2026.
We also co-organized the Pelisilmä 3 perceptual-motor seminar at Santasport on October 23, 2026. During the event, we hosted an interactive testing workshop for the Nerve Track -game, accompanied by poster presentations and refreshments. The game proved engaging enough to encourage participants to play multiple times; however, because both the game (still in the demo phase) and the controllers were not yet fully polished, the process of swapping between testers was somewhat slow.
Attaching the controller’s power unit to the player’s wrist took time, as did explaining the tasks. Fortunately, the final version of the game will include an in-game tutorial that guides players through the tasks. Once again, we observed similarities to the “running game” (endless runner) format in terms of competitive elements—players were highly motivated to reach the top of the high-score list!
Finally, we have been preparing for the project’s concluding seminar (held in Finnish), which will be held at the University of Lapland on November 19, 2026, from 12:00 to 15:30. The seminar will feature engaging presentations about the project results, as well as a keynote on the study of gamification and playfulness by Timo Nummenmaa, a tour of the XR Lab and virtual studio, and—of course—coffee, tea, and refreshments.
At the event, you will have the opportunity to test several demos developed during the project, as well as explore other results through videos and a collection of publications. You are warmly welcome—please register by Wednesday, November 11!