FitPlay: An Exercise-Gated Gaming System Using Real-Time Pose Detection for Behavioral Screen-Time Regulation

This paper presented FitPlay, an exercise-gated gaming system that connects real-time webcam pose estimation with controlled access to an independently developed 2D plat-former. The system combines MediaPipe-based body landmark de-tection, exercise-specific geometric analysis, finite-state repe-tition recognition, atomically written session-state communi-cation, timestamp validation, and Unity-based pause/resume control. Four activity pathways were implemented: squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, and in-place walking. Unlike a conventional screen-time restriction mechanism, FitPlay makes verified physical activity part of the access condition for subsequent gameplay. The project also imple-ments an original game environment containing dual-input projectile combat, physics-based hazards, and a projectile-triggered chain-reaction platform puzzle. Development revealed practical challenges involving state-machine design, cross-platform path resolution, concurrent file access, Unity collision callbacks, animation pivots, and user-interface blocking. Resolving these issues resulted in a functional end-to-end prototype. The current results establish technical feasibility rather than clinical or behavioral effectiveness. Quantitative recognition accuracy, false-positive rates, latency measurements, and lon-gitudinal behavioral outcomes remain important areas for future evaluation.

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