: anniversary / technology special

Wii Fit: Shape your body while you play

María Carolina Sánchez | Special to The Journal
 

Nintendo is the one responsible for sending us head first into the Jetsons era with the creation of Wii Fit -previously called Wii Health Pack-, an exercise game that is played within a Balance board peripheral, which is able to read the player's movements as it projects them on the screen. It may seem that the game is only about stepping on a scale to move randomly in front of a screen, but it is certainly much more than that.
Wii Fit is now one of the guests of honor in many houses, because it has the advantage of letting all members of the family get involved in the fitness training.
It lets players experience different kinds of virtual activities that seem real, which can go from a yoga stretching to ski jumping.

How does it work?
To get started, the first step is to create a Mii character, which is a virtual caricature unique to Wii.
A Body test follows, for the measurement of the center of balance, the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is based on the age, height and weight, and other information that will lead to the Wii Fit Age (which can be from 2 to 99 years).
This fictional age can vary and be improved, based on the player's performance. It is important to remember that this is only a game; if it shows a chubby Mii, that doesn't necessarily mean that the person has an overweight condition, although it may remind the chocolate chip ice cream eaten for the past three nights.
Even though the game tries to be a reflection of reality, it cannot certainly show the player's health condition, based only on the tests taken. Wii has the advantage of allowing players to keep track of their efforts and establish goals, within certain periods of time. Additionally, if they play more, there will be bigger challenges available.
Not all the activities are shown from the beginning; they are unblocked according to the player's expertise and scored points.
Players must be careful of not falling down from the balance board and avoid leaning too much in one direction, because the board sensors monitor every movement and keep track of the person's center of balance.
With this game, the trainers cannot be fooled anymore when they turn away, because it is aware of any cheating movement.
The progress of all players is compared, in order to let them see how they relate to each other. Up to eight family members are allowed to create their profiles and check each one's progress.
A fitness universe
The activities available are divided into four categories: Yoga, Balance Games, Strength Training and Aerobics.
Virtual instructors lead the players while they perform the exercises for the activities in the Yoga and Strength Training categories.
For the other two groups of activities, the players follow a model's movements through virtual sceneries, while they play soccer heading, snowboard, ski jumping, hula hoop and jogging, among others.
This game does not substitute formal fitness training.
However, it is a great choice for those who enjoy the latest technologies available to use at home, and also understand the advantage of using them in order to improve the body shape. |||