Running Across Azeroth

By Shamus Posted Saturday Oct 4, 2008

Filed under: Movies 21 comments

For everyone like me who get bored running all over Azeroth to turn in quests in World of Warcraft:

But… I don’t understand why they needed to dress like their characters. Anyway, the whole thing reminded me of my post on exercise-based games.

 


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21 thoughts on “Running Across Azeroth

  1. Matis says:

    I definitely need to get one of those. 20 lbs off like magic

  2. Kimari says:

    That’s a not so practical way of making the running less boring. Still, awesome.

  3. Vegedus says:

    Wait, so they claim the characters in a video game have better stamina than their players?

    Preposterous!

  4. facus says:

    I guess the idea for the dress up was to simulate the extra weight their toons were carrying.

  5. Kel'Thuzad says:

    That was hilarious! Thanks for sharing.

  6. Sam says:

    I remember seeing this a couple of weeks ago. It was quite funny. I kinda like the idea, as ridiculous as it sounds. Of course, I’d have to pick up WoW again, and I don’t particularly want to do that at this point in time.

    However, if I ever do pick it up again, I’m gonna try to have a rig set up like theirs.

  7. Kris says:

    Maybe they should recalibrate the input to three mph and just walking would get you along instead of jogging. Or maybe they could go outside for a walk while waiting for their raid party? Hah. What a concept.

  8. Dev Null says:

    I guess the idea for the dress up was to simulate the extra weight their toons were carrying.

    I’d like to see you ride an exercise bike with 1200 arrows and 2 suits of armour strapped to your back… *grin*

    Did they rig the bike to a generator to run the computer? Because that would be amusing.

  9. Helm says:

    Words……………….fail……..me…………

  10. Carra says:

    Ah, a few more weeks and time to dig up my copy of WoW again.

    Gief expansion.

  11. Claire says:

    Maybe they should recalibrate the input to three mph and just walking would get you along instead of jogging.

    Good idea. The amount serious WoW players play, this kind of setup could allow you to live forever… or at least until your knees turned to dust.

    Or maybe they could go outside for a walk while waiting for their raid party? Hah. What a concept.

    Goddamned troll, gtfo. :’P

  12. ShadowDragon8685 says:

    This prompted me to make a comment on the “excercize videogames” thread. For the love of all that is holy, Shamus Young, take your ideas, package them with a game or three, and pitch them to anybody and everybody!

  13. Amstrad says:

    “Oh-no, spiders!”

  14. Janus Duo says:

    Wait, so they claim the characters in a video game have better stamina than their players?

    Preposterous!

    No, they claim their characters have better stamina than most humans of non olympic athleticism, if that.

  15. About 10 years ago, the Gold’s Gym in Chicago that I belonged to had a couple of “VR” exercise bicycles. Essentially, they were regular stationary exercise bikes with large monitors mounted in front. You had your choice of different scenarios that you could watch as you were pedaling, similar to the old arcade game “Pole Position”. There was the forest bike trail. The mountain bike trail, etc.

    As you increased or decreased the speed of your pedaling, the speed at which the scenery on the screen moved would respond accordingly. And the tension on the bicycle’s pedals would adjust according to whether you were pedaling up or down a hill in the video.

    The graphics were pixelated and rough, even by 1998 standards. And the entire system must have been hard to maintain because the bikes were often broken.

    Eventually the gym replaced the “VR” bikes with regular exercise bicycles. I guess the general public just wasn’t ready yet to mix video games with exercise.

  16. Vao Ki says:

    I love the concept.

    They were good sports about the whole thing as well.

    I regret that I play MMOs so little now. To think that my hobby could get me in better shape…

    Although, it would need a new controller set-up.

    Let’s get working on that.

  17. djtacoman says:

    If I could go out and buy this rig set up for under $50, I would. I would only hope that you could adjust the speed that you have to walk to make your character run. If I walked about 1/10 of what my character ran in a day, I would be exceptionally fit. Somebody get on this! I know I’m going to try it.

  18. Kevin says:

    The moral?

    Mana Potion water is dangerous.

  19. Parzival says:

    I once played an arcade game that used a bike as a controller. I giant screen depicted a hang glider with a man-powered propellor. You had to pedal to keep up speed while flying the “glider” through elaborate courses similar to the old N64 Pilotwings game. Really an imaginative concept, though the exercise benefits were hampered by the need to pump quarters in the thing.

    As a former fencer, I’d love to see a Wii sword fighting game that incorporated some sort of footpad controller as well as the remote… wonder what could be done with the Fit?

  20. hotsauce says:

    “But… I don't understand why they needed to dress like their characters”
    A couple ideas:
    a) because they thought it would be fun
    b) you know what? I don’t really think they needed any reason other than ‘a’.

  21. Lunafysh says:

    @Leslee

    Our YMCA has just added 3 new cycles that are the next generation from what you described. The cycles use magnetic resistance to simulate hills that the flat screen monitor projects as you ride. The imagery is almost PS3 quality, although the other “riders” are a bit 1 dimentional. But the “cycling on a mobeus strip while in space, as asteroids tumble by” is entertaining enough that you hardly notice the 30 degree incline. (that’s a lie, it’s still a beast). The only down side is that you can’t “coast” downhills, as your cyclist stops if you don’t move the flywheel.

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