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Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

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Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#61

Post by newsbinator »

evo_9 wrote: post #56

I guess this might be an effective way to get someone into working out, but ultimately it's just a gimmick similar to those late-night products that generally don't do much. I'm a bit of a fitness buff, I've been working out pretty my whole life. I guess the things that jump out at me that are off: 1. I wouldn't personally say 'we hate working out'. That to me is the wrong message. Working out is rewarding and worthw…

I'm not a fitness buff because I hate working out. I'm not overweight (perhaps slightly underweight) and it's hard to convince myself on any given day to do a thing I hate doing because it can't feel like a "win" until 3 ~ 12 months from now.

I got excited about this concept reading OP's description, but the video makes it look like it's resistance band exercise for the arms, and nothing beyond that.

I guess my ideal version of this would involve full body weight exercise somehow or lifting heavy objects.

I'm not sure 20 ~ 60 minutes of extending arms with resistance bands is safe or effective. We didn't really evolve to work our muscles that way. Then again I guess we didn't evolve to cycle either.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#62

Post by douglaspaul »

gverrilla wrote: post #60

I like the idea, but the wearable doesn't appeal to me. You say it is like a game, but it really feels like this product is pushing serious fitness work. The problem with that is that people that are serious into fitness go to the gym. Is it even safe to wear those bands for the arms? I don't like the theme of the game too - seems disconnected from target userbase. I want to fight other players, not silly robots.

Thanks for the feedback, it's really helpful for us to hear you raise these points. The workouts are designed to meet your personal fitness level - the resistance bands can be swapped out easily, and different parts of the game focus on strength and cardio, meaning you can set the workouts to the goals you're chasing.

As for the story - you say you want to fight other players - what does that game look like to you? We're always interested in these ideas for future game titles we can bring into the platform. If you'd like to join our Discord channel I'd be happy to chat about this further in there.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#63

Post by douglaspaul »

radlad wrote: post #59
the_duke wrote: post #40

Love the idea, and I'd be very much interested in trying this out. Having done a little bit of boxing, it's a pretty good full body workout. It's hard to say how the resistance bands would feel compared to a punching bag though. Also: how do they work for different punches like uppercuts? How would you track blocking? How accurate is the position tracking? The tracking animation notably only measures one dimension (e…

> Including making me "feel" the impact. That means: smooth animations with accurate position tracking, quality audio, .... Since it's all you do, the punching must be satisfying. In addition to the resistance of the bands, I wonder if there is any sort of haptic feedback on contact? That seems like it could be very satisfying to me.

Great feedback, thanks for sharing!

As for the haptics, check our stretch goals on Kickstarter! It's something we're very interested in...

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#64

Post by m_tweedie »

evo_9 wrote: post #56

I guess this might be an effective way to get someone into working out, but ultimately it's just a gimmick similar to those late-night products that generally don't do much. I'm a bit of a fitness buff, I've been working out pretty my whole life. I guess the things that jump out at me that are off: 1. I wouldn't personally say 'we hate working out'. That to me is the wrong message. Working out is rewarding and worthw…

Hi there, Martin from Quell here. Thanks for sharing these insights!

To your first point, you're right—this is definitely not true for everyone. As a keen cyclist, I can say that getting out on my bike is definitely something I look forward to, too (less so now that London has returned to being one big puddle, but still)! We'll look into adjusting this to be more open-minded. You're also correct that, at present, it's not a full body workout. We're currently expanding the range of movements you can perform in the game to make it much more dynamic, including ducks and dodges, thereby providing a more complete experience here.

I love the idea of partnering up with a company like AltheanX. We're definitely keen to get people working out, and we know that our product can't be a replacement for a full gym, so partnerships seem like a brilliant way to provide a more complete workout.

Lastly, we too have enjoyed our experience with VR workouts. One of our early tests was to include wrist weights with games like Beat Saber, which makes it a much more challenging proposition. One problem that I'm sure you've encountered too, though, was that once the action got intense, we found the headset to be too sweaty and cumbersome for the experience to stay enjoyable for long. That's actually one of the big reasons why we started with a more traditional screen-based setup, but as VR lovers ourselves we're definitely keen to move into this space as people's adoption and comfort when using this amazing technology increases!

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#66

Post by mkoubaa »

hi! I'm an amateur martial artist and this looks cool! a lot of the training we do is for instance a single kick 100 times and getting the form right. it'd be a shame if a total beginner put on the wearable and punched with awful form. maybe you can make correct punches cause more damage(like a crit) so that players can get instant feedback of their form. Mike Tyson for example should be able to knock out a baddie in half as many hits as me. Imho it's counterproductive to learn the wrong way and it's really really hard to unlearn.

another option is skills drilling like minigames for players who want to level up without necessarily advancing in the game.

During covid quarantine I haven't been able to train with my teacher and I really miss it.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#67

Post by glitcher »

the_duke wrote: post #40

Love the idea, and I'd be very much interested in trying this out. Having done a little bit of boxing, it's a pretty good full body workout. It's hard to say how the resistance bands would feel compared to a punching bag though. Also: how do they work for different punches like uppercuts? How would you track blocking? How accurate is the position tracking? The tracking animation notably only measures one dimension (e…

I also love this idea, and the body harness looks like a very innovative approach.

I agree with many of the concerns OP mentions, especially the need for a variety of engaging games. The demo game feels a little too cartoony for my taste, would love to see more titles in different styles.

Another concern I have is how can it help reinforce proper posture, body positioning, and footwork? I realize this is very difficult to address, but those fundamentals are extremely important and seem to me to be areas where many beginners could develop bad habits if not corrected somehow.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#68

Post by evo_9 »

m_tweedie wrote: post #64
evo_9 wrote: post #56

I guess this might be an effective way to get someone into working out, but ultimately it's just a gimmick similar to those late-night products that generally don't do much. I'm a bit of a fitness buff, I've been working out pretty my whole life. I guess the things that jump out at me that are off: 1. I wouldn't personally say 'we hate working out'. That to me is the wrong message. Working out is rewarding and worthw…

Hi there, Martin from Quell here. Thanks for sharing these insights! To your first point, you're right—this is definitely not true for everyone. As a keen cyclist, I can say that getting out on my bike is definitely something I look forward to, too (less so now that London has returned to being one big puddle, but still)! We'll look into adjusting this to be more open-minded. You're also correct that, at present, it'…

You're welcome Martin, happy to help out.

I'm curious if you have thought of having something like a burpee as one of a few different 'dodges' to move things toward a full body workout and activate the legs more?

I'll also second the idea of selling the harness separately. I think something like that + VR could be a big hit. I also wonder if you have considered creating a lower body harness to add resistance to the leg?

One thing I'll say that is appealing about your approach is that it's not VR. I find it somewhat unpractical to do a real workout in VR because current headsets are both bulky and very warm/hot to wear. The lens tend to fog up along with just sweating like mad, it's just not ideal. This is mostly a problem that'll solve itself as future HMD design presumably shrink and become less intrusive/bulky. Generally I think no headset like this is a big plus for you guys.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#69

Post by m_tweedie »

the_duke wrote: post #40

Love the idea, and I'd be very much interested in trying this out. Having done a little bit of boxing, it's a pretty good full body workout. It's hard to say how the resistance bands would feel compared to a punching bag though. Also: how do they work for different punches like uppercuts? How would you track blocking? How accurate is the position tracking? The tracking animation notably only measures one dimension (e…

Hi there, Martin from Quell here. Thanks for sharing these insights.

We love boxing for its exercise impact—until you try it, you have now idea how quickly punching can get you out of breath! The main resistance is indeed to straight shots, but as we add new movements and improve our game and motion tracking, it is feeling more and more satisfying.

Blocking is quite natural—when your arms are blocking your face in real life, so too are your character's! Totally agree that variety is needed to keep people engaged, which is why we're developing a range of motions beyond traditional boxing strikes that players must perform during a session. We'll also be including a selection of modes, including a training mode which lets players jump straight into a fight when they don't feel like playing the main story. And yes, beyond our initial release and our ongoing support for it, we plan to open up the Quell system to other developers, via partnerships or otherwise, and grow into an ecosystem of immersive games aimed at our core desire to make working out fun, efficient and accessible.

Re: Launch HN: Quell (YC S20) – Immersive gaming and combat workout

#70

Post by m_tweedie »

mkoubaa wrote: post #66

hi! I'm an amateur martial artist and this looks cool! a lot of the training we do is for instance a single kick 100 times and getting the form right. it'd be a shame if a total beginner put on the wearable and punched with awful form. maybe you can make correct punches cause more damage(like a crit) so that players can get instant feedback of their form. Mike Tyson for example should be able to knock out a baddie in…

Hi, Martin from Quell here. Glad you like the sound of Quell, and totally agree that coaching on proper form is going to be key. We absolutely plan to make it so that, to succeed in the game, you need to be hitting hard, fast—and with good technique. We'll be coaching our players by analysing their form and giving them clear guidance on how to improve, as well as providing training throughout to make sure that they stay on point. Love the idea of using minigames to keep reinforcing this!
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