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With a myriad of people now feeling much wider around the midriff due to Christmas over indulgence, the usual mass rush to the gym and hollow resolutions about overeating in the New Year will ensue. I’ve never been to a gym in my life, as I’ve never really needed to, as no matter what I eat, be it greasy burgers or big sugary cakes, I’ll always be built like a wiry whippet. However, there are many people who find that, especially after Christmas, they need to exercise to lose the “gello-arm”. But why waste loads of cash on gym membership when video games can be the answer…
In today’s society, if you want to lose weight, there’ll always be a faded celebrity wearing lyrca or some kind of thin over paid orange-skinned hyperactive health and fitness guru to help you out by flogging you countless stupid videos of them working out on a tropical island, and gym membership is pretty darn expensive nowadays too. Forget all that overpriced rubbish; all you really need is a games console, a few dancing games and a dance mat or two.
I’ve never really been a fan of dancing games. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of dancing and jumping around like a mad loon in an arcade and making a complete muppet of myself in front of total strangers, yet recently, I’ve found them to be darn good…and very tiring.
Having played on and enjoyed a dancing game recently, my younger brother decided to get Dancing Stage Euromix on the PSone together with a couple of dancing mats for Christmas. After a few average goes with poor foot coordination from me, where I was dancing worse than an elderly relative at a wedding reception disco, I was soon into the groove and dancing like some kind of disco hip-hop dance master. Not only was it really fun, but also great exercise, as after I’d been on the ‘stage’ for a few goes, I sat down with sweat beads running down my brow and gasping for breath.
So, not only had I had a fast paced high-energy work out, but I’d also had lots of fun dancing like a crazy fool.
For the uninitiated, dancing games are really very basic; you step on the pressure sensitive dance pad on whichever direction appears onscreen. Gradually, as you get better and better, you can try out harder difficulty levels that are either faster or have more complex step routines to dance to, plus the faster the pace of the dance routines, the more strenuous the aerobic workout. So, if so much fun and exercise can be garnered from a very basic game, how about if more complex games were made, or games utilising different exercise machines?
I’d imagine that spending lots of time on a cycling machine could get pretty tedious eventually, as all you do is pump your legs and stare into space. On some there’s probably digital displays with details on how you’re doing, but in short, there’s no real goal to reach or objective to aim for. So how about if cycling machines had a lead to attach it to a games console which then let you play a variety of cycling based exercise video games that gave both a good workout plus a fun game experience at the same time.
You could have a Tour De France style game or perhaps a fast paced vellodrome racer, or maybe even an all-new version of Paperboy…on second thoughts, forget the Paperboy idea. You could even have some mini-games like having to cycle fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time. Basically, you could have a whole selection of bike based racing and mini games centred on the cycling machine.
Cycling machines wouldn’t be the only beneficiaries of the video game treatment either; rowing machines could also be used with a selection of rowing based games, such as ‘Wild Wild Rapids’ or ‘Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race’, or maybe even a mini-game where you have to row fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time...again.
You could have treadmill-based games like ‘Olympic Sprint’ or even a pressure sensitive boxing punch bag for boxing games. They could even re-release the Popeye arm wrestling arcade game peripheral (the one where Popeye always wins) for the home consoles.
Plus, you could strap the controllers to your waist to let the rumble feature act like those silly muscle toning belts, to give you a firm stomach or, with enough rumble, even a six pack.
But wouldn’t all these games be a bit ‘characterless’ you say? No, because we could have keep fit celebrity guests in the games, such as Mr. Motivator or perhaps Wolf and Shadow from Gladiators. They’d introduce the games and guide the player through them, giving tips and hints on the best ways to workout.
In an age of rising obesity levels, keep fit video game peripherals could not only keep more gamers fit and healthy, but may also introduce a whole new market to the world of video games and may even make working out fun. We’ll all be fit; what was chunky and podgy shall be slim and what was floppy and soft shall be *cough* firm.
In today’s society, if you want to lose weight, there’ll always be a faded celebrity wearing lyrca or some kind of thin over paid orange-skinned hyperactive health and fitness guru to help you out by flogging you countless stupid videos of them working out on a tropical island, and gym membership is pretty darn expensive nowadays too. Forget all that overpriced rubbish; all you really need is a games console, a few dancing games and a dance mat or two.
I’ve never really been a fan of dancing games. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of dancing and jumping around like a mad loon in an arcade and making a complete muppet of myself in front of total strangers, yet recently, I’ve found them to be darn good…and very tiring.
Having played on and enjoyed a dancing game recently, my younger brother decided to get Dancing Stage Euromix on the PSone together with a couple of dancing mats for Christmas. After a few average goes with poor foot coordination from me, where I was dancing worse than an elderly relative at a wedding reception disco, I was soon into the groove and dancing like some kind of disco hip-hop dance master. Not only was it really fun, but also great exercise, as after I’d been on the ‘stage’ for a few goes, I sat down with sweat beads running down my brow and gasping for breath.
So, not only had I had a fast paced high-energy work out, but I’d also had lots of fun dancing like a crazy fool.
For the uninitiated, dancing games are really very basic; you step on the pressure sensitive dance pad on whichever direction appears onscreen. Gradually, as you get better and better, you can try out harder difficulty levels that are either faster or have more complex step routines to dance to, plus the faster the pace of the dance routines, the more strenuous the aerobic workout. So, if so much fun and exercise can be garnered from a very basic game, how about if more complex games were made, or games utilising different exercise machines?
I’d imagine that spending lots of time on a cycling machine could get pretty tedious eventually, as all you do is pump your legs and stare into space. On some there’s probably digital displays with details on how you’re doing, but in short, there’s no real goal to reach or objective to aim for. So how about if cycling machines had a lead to attach it to a games console which then let you play a variety of cycling based exercise video games that gave both a good workout plus a fun game experience at the same time.
You could have a Tour De France style game or perhaps a fast paced vellodrome racer, or maybe even an all-new version of Paperboy…on second thoughts, forget the Paperboy idea. You could even have some mini-games like having to cycle fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time. Basically, you could have a whole selection of bike based racing and mini games centred on the cycling machine.
Cycling machines wouldn’t be the only beneficiaries of the video game treatment either; rowing machines could also be used with a selection of rowing based games, such as ‘Wild Wild Rapids’ or ‘Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race’, or maybe even a mini-game where you have to row fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time...again.
You could have treadmill-based games like ‘Olympic Sprint’ or even a pressure sensitive boxing punch bag for boxing games. They could even re-release the Popeye arm wrestling arcade game peripheral (the one where Popeye always wins) for the home consoles.
Plus, you could strap the controllers to your waist to let the rumble feature act like those silly muscle toning belts, to give you a firm stomach or, with enough rumble, even a six pack.
But wouldn’t all these games be a bit ‘characterless’ you say? No, because we could have keep fit celebrity guests in the games, such as Mr. Motivator or perhaps Wolf and Shadow from Gladiators. They’d introduce the games and guide the player through them, giving tips and hints on the best ways to workout.
In an age of rising obesity levels, keep fit video game peripherals could not only keep more gamers fit and healthy, but may also introduce a whole new market to the world of video games and may even make working out fun. We’ll all be fit; what was chunky and podgy shall be slim and what was floppy and soft shall be *cough* firm.
It's been done. Nintendo had a thing called Family Fun Fitness years ago to alleviate concerns of a "break through" Japanese report that claimed sitting around on your behind and playing games could be bad for your health. It was basically one of those dance mat controllers, but about a decade earlier and with the emphasis on getting fit rather than busting moves. A game called Athletic World was the only title that would ever admit to being compatible (though in theory any game is as the "system" is just another form of controller), so alas, we'll all pile on the pounds while we play.
There's another wee interesting fitness and computer game tie-in. Bio Tetris, only released in Japan, was bundled with a little plastic device which looked like a bulldog clip. This was attached to your ear so that the N64 could know how stressed your game of Tetris was getting you and hence the game's difficulty was changed according to the mode you'd earlier selected. So you could then play a calm game after a taxing day at work, or a nail biting man versus machine encounter designed to keep your heart thumping at ever increasing rates.
That said, you go into any gym with decent equipment and you’ll see most of what you’re talking about. It’s been long recognised that you need a more immediate incentive than a slim waist somewhere down the line to keep training. Some machines only have you running around an LED track with the illuminated one tracking your progress, but that’s surprisingly effective. I frequently use a rowing machine that has you racing another rower with the battle displayed in very crude graphics on the machines 14 inch (roughly) monitor. Danger in this machine is that it has two “boats” side so you can race a friend – this almost always ends in someone pushing themselves too hard and suffering injury. I’ve even seen news about new cycling machines that are compatible with PlayStations. Not sure exactly what they do, think you just use them with traditional racing games and your car’s acceleration in linked to your peddling. It was on loads of news programs a couple of weeks back as the “and finally” piece.
There's another wee interesting fitness and computer game tie-in. Bio Tetris, only released in Japan, was bundled with a little plastic device which looked like a bulldog clip. This was attached to your ear so that the N64 could know how stressed your game of Tetris was getting you and hence the game's difficulty was changed according to the mode you'd earlier selected. So you could then play a calm game after a taxing day at work, or a nail biting man versus machine encounter designed to keep your heart thumping at ever increasing rates.
That said, you go into any gym with decent equipment and you’ll see most of what you’re talking about. It’s been long recognised that you need a more immediate incentive than a slim waist somewhere down the line to keep training. Some machines only have you running around an LED track with the illuminated one tracking your progress, but that’s surprisingly effective. I frequently use a rowing machine that has you racing another rower with the battle displayed in very crude graphics on the machines 14 inch (roughly) monitor. Danger in this machine is that it has two “boats” side so you can race a friend – this almost always ends in someone pushing themselves too hard and suffering injury. I’ve even seen news about new cycling machines that are compatible with PlayStations. Not sure exactly what they do, think you just use them with traditional racing games and your car’s acceleration in linked to your peddling. It was on loads of news programs a couple of weeks back as the “and finally” piece.
Cheers SR. Ignored by the masses but never mind.
YAY! Sexual Innuendoes rule!
With a myriad of people now feeling much wider around the midriff due to Christmas over indulgence, the usual mass rush to the gym and hollow resolutions about overeating in the New Year will ensue. I’ve never been to a gym in my life, as I’ve never really needed to, as no matter what I eat, be it greasy burgers or big sugary cakes, I’ll always be built like a wiry whippet. However, there are many people who find that, especially after Christmas, they need to exercise to lose the “gello-arm”. But why waste loads of cash on gym membership when video games can be the answer…
In today’s society, if you want to lose weight, there’ll always be a faded celebrity wearing lyrca or some kind of thin over paid orange-skinned hyperactive health and fitness guru to help you out by flogging you countless stupid videos of them working out on a tropical island, and gym membership is pretty darn expensive nowadays too. Forget all that overpriced rubbish; all you really need is a games console, a few dancing games and a dance mat or two.
I’ve never really been a fan of dancing games. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of dancing and jumping around like a mad loon in an arcade and making a complete muppet of myself in front of total strangers, yet recently, I’ve found them to be darn good…and very tiring.
Having played on and enjoyed a dancing game recently, my younger brother decided to get Dancing Stage Euromix on the PSone together with a couple of dancing mats for Christmas. After a few average goes with poor foot coordination from me, where I was dancing worse than an elderly relative at a wedding reception disco, I was soon into the groove and dancing like some kind of disco hip-hop dance master. Not only was it really fun, but also great exercise, as after I’d been on the ‘stage’ for a few goes, I sat down with sweat beads running down my brow and gasping for breath.
So, not only had I had a fast paced high-energy work out, but I’d also had lots of fun dancing like a crazy fool.
For the uninitiated, dancing games are really very basic; you step on the pressure sensitive dance pad on whichever direction appears onscreen. Gradually, as you get better and better, you can try out harder difficulty levels that are either faster or have more complex step routines to dance to, plus the faster the pace of the dance routines, the more strenuous the aerobic workout. So, if so much fun and exercise can be garnered from a very basic game, how about if more complex games were made, or games utilising different exercise machines?
I’d imagine that spending lots of time on a cycling machine could get pretty tedious eventually, as all you do is pump your legs and stare into space. On some there’s probably digital displays with details on how you’re doing, but in short, there’s no real goal to reach or objective to aim for. So how about if cycling machines had a lead to attach it to a games console which then let you play a variety of cycling based exercise video games that gave both a good workout plus a fun game experience at the same time.
You could have a Tour De France style game or perhaps a fast paced vellodrome racer, or maybe even an all-new version of Paperboy…on second thoughts, forget the Paperboy idea. You could even have some mini-games like having to cycle fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time. Basically, you could have a whole selection of bike based racing and mini games centred on the cycling machine.
Cycling machines wouldn’t be the only beneficiaries of the video game treatment either; rowing machines could also be used with a selection of rowing based games, such as ‘Wild Wild Rapids’ or ‘Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race’, or maybe even a mini-game where you have to row fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time...again.
You could have treadmill-based games like ‘Olympic Sprint’ or even a pressure sensitive boxing punch bag for boxing games. They could even re-release the Popeye arm wrestling arcade game peripheral (the one where Popeye always wins) for the home consoles.
Plus, you could strap the controllers to your waist to let the rumble feature act like those silly muscle toning belts, to give you a firm stomach or, with enough rumble, even a six pack.
But wouldn’t all these games be a bit ‘characterless’ you say? No, because we could have keep fit celebrity guests in the games, such as Mr. Motivator or perhaps Wolf and Shadow from Gladiators. They’d introduce the games and guide the player through them, giving tips and hints on the best ways to workout.
In an age of rising obesity levels, keep fit video game peripherals could not only keep more gamers fit and healthy, but may also introduce a whole new market to the world of video games and may even make working out fun. We’ll all be fit; what was chunky and podgy shall be slim and what was floppy and soft shall be *cough* firm.
In today’s society, if you want to lose weight, there’ll always be a faded celebrity wearing lyrca or some kind of thin over paid orange-skinned hyperactive health and fitness guru to help you out by flogging you countless stupid videos of them working out on a tropical island, and gym membership is pretty darn expensive nowadays too. Forget all that overpriced rubbish; all you really need is a games console, a few dancing games and a dance mat or two.
I’ve never really been a fan of dancing games. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of dancing and jumping around like a mad loon in an arcade and making a complete muppet of myself in front of total strangers, yet recently, I’ve found them to be darn good…and very tiring.
Having played on and enjoyed a dancing game recently, my younger brother decided to get Dancing Stage Euromix on the PSone together with a couple of dancing mats for Christmas. After a few average goes with poor foot coordination from me, where I was dancing worse than an elderly relative at a wedding reception disco, I was soon into the groove and dancing like some kind of disco hip-hop dance master. Not only was it really fun, but also great exercise, as after I’d been on the ‘stage’ for a few goes, I sat down with sweat beads running down my brow and gasping for breath.
So, not only had I had a fast paced high-energy work out, but I’d also had lots of fun dancing like a crazy fool.
For the uninitiated, dancing games are really very basic; you step on the pressure sensitive dance pad on whichever direction appears onscreen. Gradually, as you get better and better, you can try out harder difficulty levels that are either faster or have more complex step routines to dance to, plus the faster the pace of the dance routines, the more strenuous the aerobic workout. So, if so much fun and exercise can be garnered from a very basic game, how about if more complex games were made, or games utilising different exercise machines?
I’d imagine that spending lots of time on a cycling machine could get pretty tedious eventually, as all you do is pump your legs and stare into space. On some there’s probably digital displays with details on how you’re doing, but in short, there’s no real goal to reach or objective to aim for. So how about if cycling machines had a lead to attach it to a games console which then let you play a variety of cycling based exercise video games that gave both a good workout plus a fun game experience at the same time.
You could have a Tour De France style game or perhaps a fast paced vellodrome racer, or maybe even an all-new version of Paperboy…on second thoughts, forget the Paperboy idea. You could even have some mini-games like having to cycle fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time. Basically, you could have a whole selection of bike based racing and mini games centred on the cycling machine.
Cycling machines wouldn’t be the only beneficiaries of the video game treatment either; rowing machines could also be used with a selection of rowing based games, such as ‘Wild Wild Rapids’ or ‘Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race’, or maybe even a mini-game where you have to row fast enough to keep a light bulb alight for a set period of time...again.
You could have treadmill-based games like ‘Olympic Sprint’ or even a pressure sensitive boxing punch bag for boxing games. They could even re-release the Popeye arm wrestling arcade game peripheral (the one where Popeye always wins) for the home consoles.
Plus, you could strap the controllers to your waist to let the rumble feature act like those silly muscle toning belts, to give you a firm stomach or, with enough rumble, even a six pack.
But wouldn’t all these games be a bit ‘characterless’ you say? No, because we could have keep fit celebrity guests in the games, such as Mr. Motivator or perhaps Wolf and Shadow from Gladiators. They’d introduce the games and guide the player through them, giving tips and hints on the best ways to workout.
In an age of rising obesity levels, keep fit video game peripherals could not only keep more gamers fit and healthy, but may also introduce a whole new market to the world of video games and may even make working out fun. We’ll all be fit; what was chunky and podgy shall be slim and what was floppy and soft shall be *cough* firm.