Do you remember the glory days of playing laser tag and dodgeball with your friends? Was that last weekend with your adult dodgeball team or years ago when you were in grade school? Or do you have an interest in virtual and augmented reality games that count as exercise? If so, you can experience the excitement and bragging rights of defeating them again at meleap’s HADO, the newest augmented reality (AR) sport that combines the intensity of dodgeball with AR technology.
What is HADO?
HADO is AR dodgeball that’s played on a court that has one side for each team. Players can play PvP, in teams of 2v2, or 3v3. The whole aim of the game is to work with your team to shoot the energy balls and hit the other teams players to gain points in a timed game.
Use shields and larger barriers to defend the players on your side from being hit, but be careful because the shield will get weaker with every hit and will eventually break and need to recharge. There’s lots of ducking, dodging and diving so players will need quick reflexes and coordination to escape those rapid-fire energy balls.
The Tech
Players wear an AR device on their head and a motion sensor with skill information that’s worn on the wrist like a smartphone with a secured running arm or wristband. Players view the game through augmented reality, which also decreases the chance players will experience motion sickness.
In a VRScout article, Jasper Tan, the founder of HADO Singapore spoke about why the company uses AR over VR technology. The founder explained, “In a VR world, you basically put on the head-mounted display and you kill zombies […] But you are restricted by not having the ability to move even three steps away from where your position is, or where your original position is. You can’t move around, you’re probably tied down by cables in that environment or you are seated in a chair, in a roller coaster simulation, or whatsoever.”
Although wireless VR technology like TPCAST for the Oculus or the Wireless Adaptor for the Vive could be options for other esports, we can see how the wireless AR technology that they are using is effective for an intense sport like HADO where diving to the floor is involved. Expensive VR headsets are not cost-effective for frequent repairs and have tech specs that weigh more, which makes AR a lighter and better choice for this sport.
Tournaments
Most recently, HADO teams competed in the HADO World Cup 2017 on December 3rd and started their 2018 Spring season February 4th, 2018. Participating players will compete against 8 teams in the HADO Spring Cup 2018 on Saturday, April 21st at Star Rise Tower Studio Jupiter in Japan.
HADO teams that are participating in the Spring Cup will be competing for the first place prize of 50,000 yen from a competition sponsor. Teams in a race to the top spot will play tournaments from February to April, and from what we can see it’s only at select locations in Japan.
AR and VR Fitness Potential
The game of HADO is going to reward players that move the entire time to escape getting hit or scored on like in dodgeball. If you stand still, the lack of movement isn’t going to reward your team with points and the body won’t be seeing any benefits. Shooting energy balls at people in a punching motion is going to activate the upper body while ducking and even sliding on the floor (with knee pads) to get away from these glowing balls is going to tap into lower body conditioning.
Training for HADO can be done on the AR dodgeball court, but can also be done by using VR games like Sparc to practice the hand-eye coordination and fast reaction times of dodgeball and blocking, or Audioshield to keep players on their toes and to practice blocking from challenging angles. Both of these VR games have difficulty options to amplify your training sessions and boost your effectiveness on the HADO court.
Other meleap Games
Players who are interested in HADO augmented reality games will love HADO’s Monster Battle, HADO Shoot!, HADO Kart. Go here to meleap for more info!
The Future
HADO will be hosting a Spring Cup 2018 tournament on May 29th and is expected to have a Summer Cup 2018 tournament on September 3rd. HADO is also aiming to host a Techno Sports Olympics by the year 2020, so you can anticipate an augmented reality style sporting event in the future. You can find out more about HADO on their website and through their social media below.
Find HADO
Players from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Spain, Korea, and the United States who are fortunate to have an arcade or VR center near them with a HADO Arena can compete against each other locally. There are currently 2 locations in the United States: Zone Lazer in Dublin, California and Aloha 9D-VR in Hilo, Hawaii.
Facebook: HADO
Twitter: @hado_info
Instagram: hadoinfo
YouTube: meleap_HADO