I can use video games as exercise...because I'm a nerd?

Obviously, I'm a CA who's mission is to squeeze as much in as possible in the day- or face the concequences.

Exercise most of the time was not this....but then, after cleaning my room, I remembered something I could do now that I actually had a floor not covered in clothing.

Dance Dance Revolution.

Obviously, by now you know about this game, blah blah blah, and how it differs from what most consider the "standard" model of video games...the fact that you're using the controller with your feet and your body. It's one of the long line of attempts over the years to mix video games and physical activity. (I can still remember the days when I'd watch that Nick show "Wild and Crazy Kids" and the episodes with the Nintendo Power Pad and the track game...) .



(Yeah, THAT accessory went well...I mean....just look at the European version and it's a no brainer why the technology failed back then! I would have been too scared of those people on the box to even think about asking my mother to buy this thing for me if I had owned a NES!)

If I had more time around, I wish I could master the art of this. But I've never been able to hold my interest long enough due to burning calf muscles and 50 million other things I'd RATHER be doing.

But yet, when I took DDR out of my daily habit when I left high school and came here....or when I left that job as a camp counselor chasing and playing sports with kids last summer... my body...yeah...started to rebel from my Maya-filled lifestyle. In particular, those DARN CHAIRS IN THE CA LABS cause a fair amount of annoyance. I hope those things weren't ever labeled as "ergonomic" or something like that, as I can say they make my lower back cry to bloody hell after 10+ hours toiling away. (Which is not good considering I had a ruptured disc there a few years back from carrying a dictionary sized European History textbook to and from school everyday among the OTHER text books and art supplies.)

So I think, maybe I'll try this again, this whole "physical activity" thing. I will work. Then I will play with DDR. I have a feeling my body will like me better for it...I just played for like an hour and a half inbetween working and I feel a lot happier than before I started. Yay.

And on the same lines...I'm curious about Wii Fit which is coming out in a couple of months (although when it does in May- I do not own the Wii I use- so I won't be able to play it until next year- in theory). The Wii has made breakthroughs in how people aside from "gamers" view video games. Old people can play tennis, bowl...you can sharpen your skills both physically and mentally. Along side kicking butt as Mario and all the old school games I could want (as they are released on VC.) . I'm curious to see how the North American population will take Wii Fit. I'm not sure that it'll be come a big of a "fitness craze" as DDR was back in the day, but I guess I'll see...and then go back to playing Devil May Cry 4 or some other game I haven't beaten yet. Hmm.

So the message of the day I think is: This is one of the many ways video games are integrating into normal everyday life as something more than using a controller to move a character on the screen to accomplish objectives most people who were born prior to the 70's consider "useless". I've been really curious about what new innovations came outta GDC this year...how many other ways are on the horizon for games to be used as tools, not just entertainment. I probably should take the time to investigate gaming sites to see what happened.....after I do my CA work. >_>