Most of our world shares hatred for a common task: exercising. A challenge for most people who seek a healthier lifestyle. As our world is modernizing, there is less of a need for manual work, resulting in unhealthy lifestyles.
In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “28.0% of Americans, or 80.2 million people, aged six and older are physically inactive.” Additionally, Christina Gough, a researcher who explores sports and video games, published that the United States plays an average of 6.76 hours of video games weekly.
Most video games and exercising share a common goal: the individual has to complete a task. However, more individuals find interest in completing tasks in video games, rather than in real life.
The main factor lies in motivation. Motivation to solve a quest to see a story unfold is far more exciting than enduring pain to live a healthier lifestyle. Video games are an addictive experience: they draw players in using storytelling elements, offer rewards, and often give instant gratification. All aspects that exercising doesn’t provide.
That’s before the world’s first virtual reality gym opened in San Francisco.
Ryan DeLuca and Preston Lewis founded the world’s first VR gym: Black Box VR. Their mission, to “help our members transform their lives through addictive fitness experiences that harness the power of immersive technologies.” An amazing concept that combines video games, virtual reality, and fitness, to motivate users to achieve their fitness goals.
At Black Box VR, the team noted that, “Game creators are the world’s best behavioral psychologists. They have perfected the art of getting people addicted to an experience so the person plays longer and more often, sometimes while sacrificing other parts of their lives. These same strategies can be harnessed for good.”
Video games, for the longest time, have been deemed “unhealthy” by many stereotypes. Nevertheless, the addictive experiences in video games can be used to benefit others, to develop good habits, such as exercising!
To add on, players love experiencing immersion. Robert Long, a user of virtual reality for fitness described how, “VR has the ability to trick the mind into thinking it's a game and not exercise.” Especially with exercise, players would rather feel like they’re in another world, instead of exercising. To convert a task into a game that not only is fun, but feels real, can divert pain.
In all, Black Box VR is changing the “game” in the fitness industry. Motivating others to workout using the addictive experiences of video games, while diverting the pain of exercising using virtual reality, the VR gym is a well-thought out advancement. It’s the start to “level up your own body instead of just your on-screen characters”.
To learn more about the research behind Black Box VR, visit this website!
Authored by Sirisha Velavan
“Immersive Virtual Reality Gym and Fitness Experience.” Black Box VR, 3 Dec. 2020, www.blackbox-vr.com/.
“Why People Are Playing Beat Saber and Other Virtual Reality Games to Exercise.” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/beat-saber-virtual-reality-video-games-that-double-as-exercise/.
Clement, J. “Average Time Spent Playing Video Games Worldwide.” Statista, 29 Jan. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/273829/average-game-hours-per-day-of-video-gamers-in-selected-countries/.