My friend Justine sent me a link to some pics of this rock climbing wall at a fitness center in Tokyo, Japan.
When I first saw these pictures, they registered like I was looking into a dream…
It reminded me of Lewis Caroll’s Through the Looking Glass, where Alice’s physical environment permeated heavily with symbolic meaning.
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Just this week, I had an interesting conversation about creating a gym experience that consciously leveraged virtual reality/videogame technolgy to graft new narratives onto getting into shape.
I am constantly amazed by people – who you wouldn’t catch working out in the gym – who for hours will jump around playing DDR, swing away with virtual light sabres, or play some sport game on the Wii.
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As a personal trainer, I think what the gym experience is lacking is narrative.
Through the lens of our hunter gatherer past, there would be no ‘getting into shape.’
‘Being in shape’ would have been embedded in our lifestyle. And the overarching narrative animating our physical activities would have been survival.
The modern world no longer supplies the survival narrative.
A gym that not only supplied the physical apparatus for exercise but also a narrative apparatus for exercise would open up some interesting possibilities.
I think this climbing wall is a move in that direction.
The wall couples fitness with subconscious exploration, which has all kinds of narrative potential.
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I think that is a good idea. I found that when i go to the gym I get bored and my mind wanders but when I play a game I have an objective and one that I can get sooner than just being in shape. I hate running but I love to play soccer. Running is boring you just run, but in soccer you run for a purpose. So anyways I think your idea is awesome.
i hope some of this thinking gains traction. i think video games could really be a bridge into this new narrative space. it’ll be interesting to see how nintendo builds on the wii paradigm…there are so many overweight kids and adults out there that could benefit.