Tech and Fitness - Ring Fit Adventure
Another day, another day indoors where it’s safe from the troubles that are roaming outside right now. The main issue with staying at home is the ease of accessing a chair or sofa. It would appear that the lockdown lifestyle could potentially lead to weeks of sedentary habits which I am keen to avoid. People all over the internet are sharing how they keep fit in tough times, staying away from the coronavirus is no excuse to gain weight and potentially cause even worse side effects. With this momentum in mind, I look to fun and tech related ways that I can burn a few calories while getting a decent workout.
Towards the end of last year, I had the chance to pick up a copy of Nintendo’s latest fitness stint, Ring Fit Adventures. I’ve played through Wii Fit and the Wii U version, previous consoles that offered people a workout experience by tracking their weight distribution and movements using a controller named the Wii balance board. I’ve taken these apart before for curiosity purposes and explored its load cell sensor configuration. Some bright minds have reverse engineered this and it has to lead to interesting projects over the years. The Wii is pretty much in the past now however, and there wasn’t any dedicated fitness hardware coming from Nintendo, until Ring Fit Adventure arrived.
I bought the game on a whim, I was truly interested to try it and there were great reviews. The dedicated Pilates ring used is used in a number of creative ways during the RPG experience to work out the entire body. I’m usually sweating at the end of a workout and the gaming element has kept me coming back for more. Now that I’m finally at home with family, it’s time to bust it once again during these times of lockdown and needs of fitness and general uplift of spirit. The coronavirus has had great impact on the game’s production and it has since become a scarce commodity, with even more people wanting the game during this time indoors, prices have sky rocketed. If factories ramp up production in the coming weeks, it’s a fitness gaming experience I’d definitely recommend. While there are third party ring-cons on the market, the game is only sold physically with no digital option. Meaning for most, a wait is necessary. I wish there were more social elements to this game in general, perhaps even an online multiplayer mode! Nonetheless, if you’ve got access to this game somewhere, give it a shot and let me know how it goes.
