This idea is like a good dog. It's good.

"Encourage children to play outside"

Isn't that what handhelds are for? =)

Yeah, i'd be game for that.

Very interesting. And funny. Interesting and funny.

Oh hell, bad idea all around.

I'd get tired of running after 20 feet. GTA wouldn't really be fun at that point, unless Hot Coffee was reintroduced. Then I could go for hours with my staying power!

Great idea, in theory. But aren't some of the main complaints against the "get up and play" aspect of Wii Games is that people are asked to get up off their asses and actually do something. I've heard quite a few people bitch about having to actually work at a game. But all that aside, I would call this an interesting premise...though you can potentially alienate some people who are unable to beat things because they are incapable of getting in the shape needed to play.

The game you described sounds amazing but people well probably find away around it like strapping whatever monitors your stats to their dog or car.

Funny video, serious message.

With Wii Fit doing the rounds, I had already tought about the possibility to make a game where your weight counts for your character (maybe wrestling or sports...).

If I tought of that, im sure Nintendo also did. Mario Kart Wii selects your Mii wight based on its height/weight of your Mii designer. Its a shame that they could not make an update to record to the Mii your real weight with the Wii Fit Board.

Make it happen, Nintendo!

"Cater to us dammit"... new stuff?

@Stefanten: Ah, I loled, my good sir.

Why would I want to to escape into a fantasy world where everything was the same as the current world I inhabit?

I'm for it. But then again, I ran 7.5 miles the other day, so maybe if this were in effect my Halo 'pWning' skills would increase too?

I felt obese just by watching it :( I'm suing! Discrimination!

Oh wait...I'm not really obese. Crap. Ah well, I'll take this implemented in a game then :D

Heh...just thinking about a Metroid homebrew which uses the Wii Fit board makes me smile. And giggle.

"Can you imagine, a game where your character can only run as fast as you can? A game that would get you to go to the gym to improve character stats."

Worst. Game. Idea. Ever.

If my actual character for the games I played was as good as I humanly was, I would definitely spend more time grinding some stats.

Super Mario Galaxy would be the world's most difficult game.

Why stop at FPS? I want to be able to wing Ratchet's wrench clear across the level. It's a good thing he's got a jetpack too, 'cause I can't quite jump 3 times my height yet. I'm still working on that.

That video was great. lmao

My character would be emo-thin, but would be so out of shape you'd wonder why he's not a fatass...

Man that is an awesome idea. Kinda like GTA San Andreas, but real life. I'd love that.

@Wolfers: Just strap the device to a cat.

If it worked it would be good. But probably to easy to cheat :(

See, that's why I always loved the Silent Hill games: you're kinda clumsy, don't have quick reflexes, can't run very fast or for very long, and when given a gun you can't hit the broad side of a barn. It's just like me!

Grinding IRL?

This just in:

Fat kids pay skinny kids to boost their stats in latest video game.

Would my in-game accuracy increase the more I played with guns in real life?

Now I really CAN say video games influenced me...

Interesting idea. This is kind of what Wii Fit does. Your avatar gets skinner or fatter based on your BMI index over time.

Anyway though, I'm pretty good at COD4. If it were to require me to physically run everywhere and do the stuff I do in that game, I would get pwned.

@Jericho114: Or better yet, a cheetah. Which is a type of cat!

You learn something everyday.

Bulldog Interactive Fitness in Halifax, Nova Scotia apparently has connected treadmills and stationary bikes to videogames. I saw this on the local news two years ago and thought it was hilarious. If you don't pedal on the bike, your character doesn't pedal on the screen.

Read the article here:
[www.ctv.ca]

You calling me fat Crecente? How dare you!

@DugDawg: Agreed. Or imagine sprinting from the cops in GTA IV. I work out two or three times a week, but damn, I'd be done like dinner after an hour of running. Good way to limit how long kids play these games, I guess.

Then, of course, there'd be the heart-attack lawsuits from families of overzealous gamers...

@Stefanten:

You sir, are the winner of one internet.

Then the whole Baseball steroid controversy would translate over into MLG Halo! Good going Crecente, you just made Barry Bonds awesome at Halo!

I would not like to be running around in a ginormous Power/Biohazard/Mech Suit, because, well I'd bet Marcus Fenix's armour would weigh about twice that of me.

But really, what we'd end up with is Shemnue. Remember how Ryo could run for about 10 metres, then got tired and decided to amble his way around town? (And then go play some darts, or feed the kittie, despite desperately chasing a father murdering homicidal sociopath...) How freaking annoying was that?!

To be honest, real life isn't that fun...

@Cruithne:

Imagine if movies or television tried to market the same way.

There is a reason that even "reality" TV is over-the-top.

Don't like that idea at all.

I'd like the complete opposite. If I play crackdown enough, I can start jumping up buildings. And kicking people several hundred yards.

+ Watch video

haha I would own in video games, that would be so much fun!

To the general idea... meh.

One of my favorite parts of videogames is that jumping is disproportional.

Believe me, if I could jump twice my height and change my trajectory mid-flight, I wouldn't be playing videogames.

+ Watch video

I like the idea....

When I was in high school, my friends and I actively played sports, lifted weights...we were in pretty good shape. One friend, though, worked harder than the rest of us in the weight room.

When I asked him why, he said "if I fall off a building I want to know I'd be able to pull myself up off the ledge."

Interesting thought, because for the majority of us our lives have turned out to be pretty sedentary. If I had to chase a pickpocket, how long would I last? What would my reflexes be like if I was in the path of an oncoming vehicle?

Maybe a video game can answer that question for us...but then again I suspect we already know the answer.

@satsantokh: shit sorry for the double post.

Interesting idea. I wonder how the women will take it when their cup size gets noticed and there's no way to increase the size easily.

It likely wouldn't encourage people to exercise though, unless you can break limits but yes no one would honestly use actual stats, they'd fake it like many others to exploit the game.

BMI isn't 100% accurate though for some people, so its a possibility the game could hamper you as a fatass even though you're just simply bulky and ripped.

Okay, I found it.
Bulldog Interactive Fitness.
Check out this picture of these kids on their bikes with their fat screens in front of them:
[www.bulldoginteractivefitness.com]

Gonna need a lot of extra lives for all the heart attacks that'll happen. lol.

Seriously though, I think this could be a good idea.

two words: cheat codes

I don't care for the idea, I have to be a fat guy in my every day life, when I play video games to ESCAPE that everyday life and relax, I don't want to have the physical characteristics of a fat guy, I want to be be a built guy in spandex and a cape, and I wanna throw some damn cars around!

What kid dresses like that these days? Does he have a propeller beanie too?
I would be interested in a game like this though. I would rule as the fast but weak skinny guy. Catch me if you can... and get an easy kill.

This is only a good idea if you don't have a job. Imagine running all day around an office and coming home to do it around Liberty City.

@satsantokh: I like your hat.

And the fact you can do backflips. I always feel my neck would just snap if I landed badly...

...then again, I suppose summer would be a good time to take up parkour.

:P

This would be the perfect way to get me to surf for more porn.

This looks more like a Public Service Announcement, and a really effective one at that!

reminds of a penny-arcade comic...

Gabe: "what's going on? what is this? what's happening?"
Tycho: "it's sweat."
Gabe: "It's like my body is crying. Am I about to die?"
Tycho: "Maybe"

[www.penny-arcade.com]

The idea is fine for something like DDR or that balloon collecting flying bike arcade game where you pedal, but not for anything like an escapist fantasy.

Sure, fine, my running ability affects my in-game running ability. But how do you get that from a heart rate? I can sustain a heart-rate of 190-200 for 20 minutes or so, but it doesn't mean I got much further than a couple miles (if that). What it sounds like you're saying is that your character is limited to what you can do, but you don't actually do that thing to get the character to move in-game. Instead, the game is designed around going in to some place and getting a fitness measurement.

If that were the case, it might be interesting in some ways. Taking bench and squat measurements to verify if you can pick up a motorcycle and carry it, for instance.

But, really, how often does everyone on the 'inside' of gaming leap to the idea of escapist fantasy whenever someone starts trying to draw a link between gaming and reality. I think there's a deep-seated urge to *not* make ties between gaming and real life--or at least, not ones of physical limitation. Compare this idea to having to show ATM slips in order to verify that you have the available credit in Gran Turismo to purchase a 3000GT? Or having a fasting blood sugar measurement taken to verify that you are not diabetic, and therefore may collect a piece of cake for 10,000 points.

The connection between reality and gaming should be one way. You play a game, it teaches you about reality or the possibilities of reality, and then you go out and carry that knowledge with you. Like chess giving you an appreciation for looking several 'moves' ahead.

To take reality and then inject it into gaming is really just the urge to go down the road of the holodeck, where we replace life with a simulation that can't hurt our feelings. If you want to move faster, go do things that help you move faster. Don't play FPSes. America's Army doesn't want you to go to a recruitment center, get tested, and go back to playing the game--they want the game to whet your appetite for war and glory.

Really, what this sounds like is a desire for the powerful urge you feel to play games and enjoy them, to translate to a powerful urge to turn into a ninja. They've got stuff like this on the horizon with powergridfitness and so forth.

There was this sweet arcade shooter (lightgun game) that had motion sensors, it was called Police 911.

You had to physically lean and duck and so forth in order to hide behind cover and shoot the enemies.

It was as tiring as doing squats for however long your quarter lasted.

It was also amazingly fun. If I had the money, I'd buy the arcade machine

Ok, this is creepy. I have had the exact same idea for some years :S

You go somewhere and run the fastest and longest you can on a treadmill, shoot at a range for accuracy measurements and so on.
Then all those results transfers to your MMO character.

And then we have my other idea, to make clone of ourself and let them battle in a gladiator arena. And see how long you would have lasted ]=D

But that will be available in the MMO... So we don't need to make clones... Ok, brain overpowered, need to stop thinking. Bye.

@Islandkiwi:

Was he big to begin with? Because muscle just adds more weight.

Not that that matters if you've seen the Discovery channel about the guy who threw a half ton piece of rock off himself after having it fall on him.

Our bodies are stronger and more capable than we can generally access.

Turning games into paintball wouldn't be the greatest idea. Unless it was actually paintball, that's fun.

aha this would totally change the balance of power in online FPS. Stay inside and practice gets you good but also gets you fat. Go exercise, no practice but woo you get to zoom about the map.

Can't catch me fatty fat fat!

Interesting Concept... I have a feeling I would do pretty good in FPS games. But if you were able to input all your stats. Well I would not be able to carry that many weapons and Ammo. The most I would want to carry would be around 50 pounds. That stuff would start to weigh you down. One upside is you would become a better shot. lol.

It interesting but I hope it doesn't happen. Because if I can help it, even though I wouldn't classify myself as a Hardcore dedicated gamer. I am a dedicated casual gamer who enjoys playing video games. I want to keep that up until 120. haha.

I could do a whole bunch of meth and keep my heart rate at about 180 all day while not even moving!

Good idea, health pickups would also have to be adjusted, cans of Sparks for energy and bravery (drunkedness), and the equivalent of a starman would definitely be illegal =P