Bored of training? Make it into a video game. Photo: YouTube
Wish your rock climbing session were more like playing a video game? Or a even a vertical, more-complicated game of twister? Enter Augmented Climbing Wall, a gaming system that makes you a character in a Pong-like video game as you climb.
It’s basically a projector programmed with a handful of games and a camera that can record your climb and project it back on the wall (as if you’re watching Tom Cruise climbing on the big screen in Mission: Impossible 2).
In the game mode, the projector lights up the wall, showing you which holds you can or can’t use. One game is sort of a Whack-a-Mole variety, another lets you use any holds you want but you can’t touch a certain line of light, and another is a two-player game that allows for competition or collaboration.
If you’re the type of climber who gets bored by the drudgery of training, Augmented Climbing could put a spark back into your routine? Are we reaching? Yeah, this is probably destined to find a home with the birthday party set.
One of the Augmented Climbing wall’s redeeming qualities for serious climbers, however, is the projected playback. It’s like watching video of yourself, only it’s life-sized so it might help you figure out body positions and moves. We rarely watch ourselves in action, missing a crucial means to understand how body movements affect our ability and style. And if your buddy was fiddling with his harness during the most difficult send of your sesh, you could play it back for him. Because what fun is climbing unless you have proof of how good you are so everyone knows?
