Video games may be a possible medium by which to increase activity during screen time. Both presence (the sensation of being in the game) and intrinsic motivation likely play roles in the frequency and/or intensity of video game play, but have yet to be studied in these games. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate physiological and psychological reactions across several types of games, both active and traditional. One hundred young adult participants (N = 100) played a series of eight different video games. First, traditional and motion-sensing controllers were compared within the same game type (shooter). A small increase in energy expenditure compared to a traditionally controlled game was found in one of the motion-sensing games (18% vs 28% increase over rest, p = .013), and psychological reactions were varied. All games were sedentary (< 1.5 METs). Next, four game types were compared: shooter, band simulation, dance simulation, and fitness. All but the shooter games significantly increased energy expenditure compared to rest ( p < .001). Fitness and dance simulation games produced the highest energy expenditure, with increases of 322% and 298% over rest (3.10 ± 0.89 and 2.91 ± 0.87 METs), and did not differ; band simulation games (1.28 ± 0.28, 73% increase) were more active than shooters (0.91 ± 0.16, 23% increase). Only fitness games produced moderate intensity activity (> 3.0 METs). Motivation scores were higher in band simulation games than in the other game types (p < .001). Finally, a path model was tested to investigate the relationships between variables in an exemplar game (dance simulation). A direct effect on energy expenditure was found for intrinsic motivation (p = .002), and indirect effects through intrinsic motivation were found for presence (p = .032) and perceived competence (p = .026). These studies suggest that psychological variables can affect energy expenditure. Presence and motivation differ across game type and are lower in active games than in some other games. There is a need for new games that include motivating aspects of traditional games and activity-encouraging aspects of active games.