By Patrick Klepek
Thinking about a new way to get your body moving?
The author Patrick shares his experience and love for the game Ring Fit Adventure. It’s a game on the Nintendo Switch that measures an individual’s real-world actions and turns into-in game movements. The game aims to establish a workout routine and encourage users to stay active.
Patrick was a runner. When he started to consider an alternative for running, he was disappointed by personal trainer and online exercise. He says “Everything was boring, frustrating, and the fruits of their labor weren’t immediately impactful in the way running was.” Like a lot of people, Patrick finds working out with a personal trainer very intimidating. And, he dislikes the lack of guidance when following online exercise programs.
Patrick feels empowered when working out through Ring fit adventure and that sparks a new way of thinking about the relationship with his body. After using it for a while, users think about their postures in daily life more. The software would be used to better engage people with their bodies, and it goes beyond the simplistic notion of “gamifying” exercise. Ring Fit Adventure is doing just that.
Ring fit Adventure help people better understand the exercise. The design of the game is that exercise routine are spells/attacks. The more exercise users do, the more they level up. The more they level up, the higher their attack and defense stats. It’s the idea that exercising is a gradual process and possibly a lifestyle, something to be sustained. In the game, the presence of an enemy’s life bar and other features pushes the users to keep going. When they pick an exercise/attack, the game shows a character model in proper form, and the user’s motions are captured for form correction. There is also a great feedback loop on the exercise and reward.
Overall, it was a great way of staying active at the convenience of being at home. Patrick says that it has helped him in building confidence in exercising.
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The idea of having a good thorough work out through a digital game might sound crazy 10 years ago, but now it’s accessible for a wide range of people to stay active. There are going to be more ways of getting people moving in the future as new technology continues to emerge. The design of the game is brilliant, filling the holes of what traditional trainer can’t be by providing an entertained experience throughout the game and a private exercise environment.
