Gamers are notoriously stereotyped as being … well… less than fit – but that is where VR flips the gaming world on its head. First of all, for the majority of games, you are best off standing while playing them – so there is a win right there.
As I have mentioned before, I swapped my traditional desk for a standing or dynamic workstation years ago to help me have a less sedentary work life. Second, I have yet to witness anyone who can stay calm and still while playing in the virtual world. Limbs fly, heads duck and weave, squats and lunges happen, and an inevitable sweat is broken.
Let me explain using arguably the most popular and well-known of the VR games, Beat Saber. In the game I am playing in this video, three-dimensional cubes fly toward me in various combinations, speeds, locations, and orientations and I must slice them in half with my two light sabers. There are markers on the cubes with tell me which way to slice them and occasionally there are walls and obstacles that I must also dodge. All the while, peppy music is playing and providing the beat that I must slice in time with.
Watching someone play this game is not pretty but here is a video of me so you can see how much of your body gets involved. It truly is a frantic, and somewhat violent, full-body dance.