This state of the art technology is makes these games available on smartphones and tablets.
Fitness games have become very popular on consoles, but now the concept is available through mobile gaming because of the addition of augmented reality into the field.
Now, fitness apps are available to be played on smartphones and tablets in addition to PCs.
Until now, console games have required physical controllers or the Kinect motion sensor equipment, for example, in order to detect movements. However, through the use of augmented reality apps, the camera features in smartphones and tablets have made it possible for mobile gaming to offer this same type of fitness opportunity.
The device cameras include the player into the augmented reality environment for a similar experience.
The very first app to take advantage of the augmented reality mobile gaming alternative to fitness console games is an application called BallStrike. This app is available at the Windows 8 store for devices that run on that operating system. It is also now available for Android and iOS devices. This game requires the player to punch and explode a number of balls that appear on the screen around a live image of the player. The premise is to encourage the player to move around so that he or she will become more fit over time. The application displays an estimated number of calories burned throughout the game.
To make sure that the augmented reality experience is as accurate as possible, the player must stand about 1.5 meters (5 feet) away from the device camera. The distance needs to be judged so that the entire person can fit on the screen. At that point, the “boxing” session starts. It starts off at a fun and easy learning level, but as the player progresses, the difficulty increases.
Another addition to the augmented reality fitness mobile gaming marketplace is Fuego’s River Adventure. This is currently available for iPad users, only. It is a combination of a fitness app and an arcade game in which the player floats down a river on a raft, and the user has to avoid obstacles. This requires the user to jump around in front of the device and, presumably, burn calories in so doing.
