Fitness and gaming: that’s not an obvious connection many people would make these days, but podcasting star Joe Rogan seems to be willing to think outside the box.
The parts of your body that usually “work out” during gaming are your brain and fingers, but the latest episode of the Joe Rogan Experience suggests there’s much greater potential to achieve some physical fitness goals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzUuvAa2jPY
Spoiler: it has to do with the future of virtual reality (VR) gaming.
In conversation with Hugo Martin, creative director of Doom Eternal – id Software’s first-person shooter that is about to be released – Rogan revealed himself to be a VR gaming enthusiast.
He believes that the future is bright for this type of hardware and of games developed for it, and mentions the progress made over the past years.
And of course, players have been excited – not for years, but for decades – about this type of entertainment.
However, for many, “reaching full potential” here would be nothing short of a Star Trek holodeck-like experience. And that remains firmly in the realm of science fiction.
However, that is not to say the scene cannot get better. Rogan and Martin spoke about the way graphics have been steadily improving – but the host revealed he would like to see players get a chance to immerse themselves in VR. And that’s where the exercise and fitness would come in.
Rogan goes on to describe his hope for what sounds like be a less sophisticated, but still functional version of the fictional holodeck: a warehouse where, as demons chase you, and you shoot back – “you’re actually running for your life.”
Needless to say, the heart-rate would be through the roof. Exercise by any other name, in short.
Today, many people find gyms off-putting because of the bleakness and boredom of repetitive exercises; these are more likely to feel like a chore than anything resembling a good time. But introducing gaming into the mix would be, well – a game-changer.
Martin, however, poured some cold water on Rogan’s enthusiasm.
VR cannot rival controller or mouse in terms of accuracy and skill, and is not likely to replace them any time soon, he said.
