Augmented Reality and the Future

            In the past couple of weeks, the internet (and, indeed, the world) has exploded about the new augmented reality game, Pokemon Go. There are two major opinions – the people who love the game and those who think it’s stupid. To me, though, the important thing to look at is what this game means for the future.

            Last year, I shared the story of the Zombies, Run! app and how it got Colleen and myself out exercising regularly when otherwise we could hardly dream of it. Pokemon Go has done the same thing across the whole world – people who would normally be inside all summer playing video games are now outside, exercising, exploring and socializing. People with mental health issues, such as depression and PTSD, are reporting improvements.

So, what do those two games have in common? They make exercise fun, rather than a chore.

            Now, the term “Augmented Reality” is something I’ve become quite familiar with over the past year. Why? Because one day, while out running from zombies, I said to Colleen, “Wouldn’t it be cool if someone developed a technology that would let us actually see the zombies that are chasing us in the story?” I then went on to hypothesize that you could take a virtual reality headset, mount cameras to feed in the scenery and then add in the digital characters.

            I figured I couldn’t be the only one to come up with this idea, so I did some research. What I found was astonishing – in particular, a company called Magic Leap that is working on a piece of technology far beyond what I had been imagining. My brain was flooded with ideas for the possible uses of this technology – yes, games were at the forefront, but there are so many practical purposes as well. It functions as an immersive mobile computer, an art platform, a communications device. With it, people have the potential to holo-comute to work.

            To me, though, the best application of augmented reality is the ability to combine work and play. Imagine being able to go into work and have the work you do become part of a game. You could have high scores that you try to beat each days, achievements and awards for completing a certain amount of work at a certain speed. Goals and praise that can break up an otherwise dull and tedious work shift. From an employer’s standpoint, it could be used to improve worker output and even work quality through turning work into a game.

            Pokemon Go is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re entering a future where science fiction is becoming a reality, and it has great potential for improving life in innumerable ways. All it takes are some deceptive photons and a little imagination to make the world a better place.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Moving with the Times

            As the colder weather moves in, so do we. Some outdoor activities must be cancelled, others can be moved indoors. Such is the case with the exercise routine my wife and I finally got in to this year.

            Some of you may remember me talking about Zombies, Run! earlier this year, which helped Colleen and I get into a regular routine of running. Sadly, that has had to grind to a halt as temperatures drop more and more.

            Exercise is important, though, so we’ve shifted to a new indoor routine! Now, on every morning we would normally be running, we’ve switched to playing Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance games.

            It’s a good combination for exercise because Dance Dance Revolution is a video game that focuses on foot movement, while Just Dance has an emphasis on arm movement. Together, they provide quite the workout.

            It also turns out to be a good combination for us because each of us is better at one of them. Having spent a summer playing Dance Dance Revolution all the time, I’ve gotten to be quite good at it (I’m a bit rusty after years of not playing. When I was still in practice, I went on a drama department school trip to England and astounded my classmates when we went to the arcade. I was quiet and reserved, so I really took them by surprise when I stepped onto the dance mat). However, for some reason, I just can’t seem to get the dance moves right on Just Dance (I suspect it’s the way I hold the Wii-mote).

            Colleen, on the other hand, lacks my Dance Dance Revolution experience, yet excels at Just Dance. It works out well because, with how competitive the games are designed to be, there’s no point watching how one of us always has a higher score in one game because it will switch when we change games.

            So, the exercise routine will continue indoors. I just feel sorry for my sister-in-law whose bedroom is below the room we’re dancing in.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Zombies, Run!

            One of the failings in my lifestyle is that I've always found exercise hard to come by. It wasn't a problem when I was in school because I rode my bike to school every day, year round (up hill both ways, in the snow wearing a t-shirt – no, really, that actually happened once). The problem for me came after I graduated and there was no more purpose for my exercise.

            Purpose is a big thing for me – I have a hard time going anything without it. My friends can attest to how hard it is to get me to “just hang out” and going somewhere just to visit and talk to someone it unfathomable to me (luckily my grandparents are understanding of this). As for exercise, going to the gym is to social for an insecure introvert like me and if I'm walking or biking, I need to be going somewhere and have a good reason for it. As for running, I’d better have something chasing me.

            I had a solution for a while with the Wii Fit. The goals it gave me helped me exercise every morning. Then my work hours went from a couple of evenings a week to four mornings a week and I didn't have time any more. When I quit that job to work with chainmaille and writing, I didn't have enough space where I lived. Now I have enough space, but said room with space is above my sister-in-law’s bedroom and as a person who hates making any sound I can’t bear the thought of stomping over her head every morning.

            Colleen recently found a solution in the form of an app called Zombies, Run! (I bet you were wondering what any of this had to do with the title, weren't you?) This is a phone application that tells the story of a zombie apocalypse – and you’re one of the characters in it. You play the role of a runner for a camp trying to survive all the zombies, with the important role of going out to fetch various supplies or information – which inevitably ends in running from zombies.

            Colleen never thought running was a viable form of exercise for her until she found this app – and its counterpart, which trains you from nothing to a 5k runner. She started on the training program and was surprised at how well she took to it. The clips of the story she was sharing with me caught my interest, so I decided to join her. Now we have a regular running routine and are getting closer to that 5k every day – and we’re amazed at how effective the training program is. Not only that, but we look forward to running so much that we’re disappointed on the days we aren't running.

            So it is that I've discovered that to get me to do anything, I simply need to find a way to turn it into a video game. I now have that “something chasing me” requirement for running filled – even if the zombies are only in my mind (and the app sound effects).

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.