I imagine most people who are looking to play VR games for fitness purposes typically aren’t looking to be engrossed in a compelling storyline. However, that doesn’t mean that a good narrative doesn’t have to be found in VR titles that emphasize getting in a good workout. To prove this point even further, one studio is now looking to create an all-new VR fitness project that simultaneously allows players to get in a good sweat while witnessing enjoyable storytelling.
Gym Masters is the specific name of this new game that is being developed by a group of mainly four developers from Spain. The studio, which is called ViFit, says it is looking to create what it believes is the “first story-driven virtual reality fitness game.” However, the studio can’t make this dream come true on its own and has now turned to Kickstarter to raise some money for the project.
The pitch for Gym Masters is that it places you into the world of Gym City, which is dubbed the “mecca of fitness.” Players will set out to build their own perfect gym throughout the experience, but they’ll also come into contact with a number of mini-games as well. These games are, of course, the part of Gym Masters where players get in their own exercise. “These mini games will vary from punching soda cans and dodging pizzas to washing Rock’s mustang with guitar riffs, running on a treadmill escaping from lava using your arms, organizing Rock’s garage, catching flyes with an electric fly swatter in Burraito’s gym, shaping his bonsai with Kame Hame Ha style movements, or doing CrossFit style Wall Ball workouts with Criss,” explains the Kickstarter page for Gym Masters. Best of all, these activities are able to be played multiple times over and get more difficult as you advance.
When it comes to the storyline, ViFit already has an extensive idea of what it wants to tell. Players will fill an unnamed character role and will have to attempt to do battle with a baddie by the name of Condor Brusnawer. This character previously defeated your in-game father in a “Grand Battle” in the past, and now you want to get back at him. To do this, you’ll need to rebuild your gym within Gym City. After you do, you’ll then gain the respect of those in the city and will eventually be able to try to take down Brusnawer once you are prepared to do so.
However, yourself and Brusnawer aren’t the only prominent characters in Gym City. The three main characters of Gym Masters are, well, the Masters themselves. Rock Johnson, Criss Fit Body Power, and Yotoi Burraito Do are the three Masters in question, each of whom are “top athletes” in their own right. With the support of all three Masters, you’ll proceed throughout the game and continue to grow stronger.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf-LbSKZ_Io&w=560&h=315]
At the moment, the Kickstarter campaign for Gym Masters has only just started. ViFit is looking to accumulate a little more than $11,700 in total to make Gym Masters a reality. Obviously, though, the studio has more plans in the cards depending on how this fundraising period goes. If the game raises a little more than $20,000, ViFit says it will add a fourth Master to the game. And if it goes over a bit more than $90,000, a PlayStation VR version will then be put into development. As of this writing, the project has accumulated a little more than $4,000 with the campaign ending on April 29, 2021.
On paper, it sounds like what ViFit is trying to do with Gym Masters is quite ambitious. The notion of creating a fleshed-out narrative in a VR fitness title is something that isn’t necessarily unfounded, but pulling off this idea is something completely different. And when it comes to the fitness mini-games themselves? Well, it sounds like Gym Masters should do more than enough to ensure that even if the storytelling doesn’t land with you, you’ll be burning lots of calories while playing.
Obviously, we won’t know for another month if Gym Masters will end up being put into full production or not, so we’ll have to see how the Kickstarter campaign goes before we know what the future holds. That being said, if all goes well, we should expect to see Gym Masters release later this summer, specifically in July. As for where it will be coming, a launch on PC VR headsets and Oculus platforms seems to be in the cards.
