Women put up with a lot to get in shape, the whole diet and exercise scene has an air of sacrifice about it. We put up with the pain and discomfort for a future goal, and slog away unhappily until we get there. Now there is a way to be distracted from the pain and boredom of exercise – all you have to do is press ‘START QUEST’ on your iPhone!
Imagine going for a run, you pop your earphones in……Bam. Instantly you are the hero at the centre of an immersive storyline. Welcome to the world of fitness entertainment…An audio world where your actual running performance influences the outcome of the story. You run up and smash down castle doors, dash to take down bad guys, and sprint to dodge a dragon’s fiery breath! That’s Fit for Battle, the latest in fitness entertainment from Sydney startup Dream Well.
When the creators of Fit for Battle were testing their running app on the public to see who would like it, they were impressed by the overwhelming excitement from women who were playing it. “We had assumed the male, college aged x-box player would be our customer, but we were wrong” Creator Joel Turner said “Women have really resonated with the game, and are most engaged with our social community too.” On the Facebook page, even a mum with a 6 week old baby strapped to her chest is raving about the great exercise she had!
Is it so surprising though? It is well documented that women read more books than men, and also make up the majority of recreational runners worldwide. The idea that women would not like the fantasy genre as much as men is also a fallacy. Likely based on the stigma of the garage-dwelling Dungeons and Dragons player from the 80s. The way titles like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones have hit mainstream pop culture in recent times is testament to the genre’s popularity to society as a whole.
The game incorporates the latest interval training science in an immersive audio drama. Your phone’s sensors measure your exercise performance and this changes the outcomes of the story. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure for running where your character can prevail or fail depending on your performance on the day.
Some early players wrote: “I absolutely love the game!!! I’ve played the first episode at least 10 times and it’s fantastic! I ran my fastest 5k with all the sprinting!”
“Hi! Can I just say that I absolutely *adored* the quest? The voice actors, the whole mechanics of the app – amazing! It definitely did feel like I was in an rpg and I enjoyed every second of it, even if the goblin in a helmet almost killed me in the end. Thanks for creating the best running app I’ve ever tried!!!”
Fit for Battle is suitable for all levels of fitness. It is easy for anybody to pick up and play, you don’t need to be a “runner”, which is a huge relief to most of us. Fit for Battle is free to play and launched today!
For your chance to try out Fit for Battle, click here.
