Ever played Skyrim? I remember my first time playing the game on PlayStation 3, trudging up the mountain known as the Throat of the World to meet the Greybeards, a caste of ancient priests who dwell at the top. The long journey up the mountain reminded me of Lord of the Rings; epic fantasy, regardless of medium, always involves an inordinate amount of walking. As I pushed the joystick forward and commanded my character to walk, the Northern Lights danced in the sky of the digital landscape, and I wished I could do this walk for real.
Ten years later, someone has answered my prayers and found a way to get their 10,000 steps in while playing Skyrim, all without using one of the best under-desk treadmills to do the trick.
I first saw this via a video published 10 days ago by YouTuber ShakeMistake, who is able to use the pedometer on his Android phone as he walks in place to propel his character forward in the game. All modern phones have pedometer functions that use the phone’s internal gyroscope, just like the best fitness trackers. ShakeMistake’s footage shows him walking in place in his gaming studio, and the character onscreen moves forward as he does so.
A handheld trackball mouse is used to pivot, turn and take actions, but you could use another controller to do this. It’s very Ready Player One, in which the characters playing the virtual reality game use an omni-directional treadmill to move around the virtual environment.
He has done this in in two ways: a cheaper, easier, less immersive solution, and one that’s more complex to set up, but more sophisticated and rewarding to play. The first is a purpose-built app called StepL, which you download on your phone and on your PC. The apps match with a QR code made available during setup, and using the desktop app, it’ll map your W key to your phone’s pedometer.
The second uses another gamepad mapper called reWASD in combination with StepL. You can check out ShakeMistake’s full methodology in the video below.
Analysis: levelling up your cozy cardio
When on long nature walks, hikes or trail runs, I’m one of those huge nerds who’ll occasionally listen to fantasy soundtracks to really make me feel as though I’m travelling across Middle-Earth, Tamriel or The Continent. I’m certainly not the only one: videos with titles like “Ambient Walking Tour in the Hogwarts Castle” have garnered millions of views online.
If we advocate for people to use under-desk treadmills and walkpads to get your steps in during work, and watching Netflix, why not do it for gaming? I’m a firm believer in removing barriers to fitness, and not letting perfect become the enemy of good. You might not be going to the gym or signing up for an endurance race, but if you do 1,000 more steps than you did yesterday, that’s a win in my book.
If you’re a big gamer, consider looking at ways to map your phone’s pedometer to your ‘walk’ button to create an accessible entry point to fitness in general, and walking in particular. There’s no better place to start your fitness journey than walking across a fantasy land on your way to slay a dragon…
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