ThriVR Tinkers with a Fitness-Based VR eSports Competition
In the heart of Texas, one of the few instances of VR eSports implementing equipment outside the standard HMD and controllers is being experimented with. At ThriVR, the first and perhaps still only athletic VR gaming center in Texas, they look to be a pioneer in merging eSports and virtually-enhanced workouts for local events. Their claim to fame is the TriBoxalon, a triathlon format competition with three events that merge virtual reality and fitness equipment.
The second leg of the TriBoxalon is an adventure in core strength on the ICAROS flying machine. This station requires you to engage your upper body and core to maneuver the roll and pitch of the highly maneuverable machine to control virtual ships as you essentially maintain a perpetual plank position. ICAROS offers two competition-ready modes – aerial combat and racing. Racing is primarily a test of tight core control and finesse, while dogfighting requires a more varied and exaggerated movements to chase other competitors down. The ICAROS is one of the more “affordable” VR fitness machines and is available to the public at around $2500 if you’re keen on doing a bit of premium ab-destroying VR at home.
The final stretch of the event is a pure cardio session on the Virtuix Omni. Users must virtually propel themselves around the experiences by running on the Virtuix Omnis. This one is particularly interesting for players hyped about the eSports portion of the event. On top of the TriBoxalon event locally, Virtuix sponsors a standalone high score based eSports league for these machines that awards over $7500 monthly to top scorers. Each competitive mode consists of a fairly expansive arena with a plethora of enemies and collectables you will have to zoom your way over to in order to top the leaderboard. Nothing quite like it for a cardio burnout at the end of the triathlon.
TriBoxalon ends up engaging virtually every part of your body during your quest to become the virtual champion. Online variants of these sort of competition are becoming increasingly frequent, but there’s something special about having the tangible equipment that can’t yet be recreated with a traditional at-home virtual reality setup. As Meta, and pretty much everyone else, in the VR space continues to tie more workout activities to VR apps, expect further merging of the eSports and fitness. If you’re ever in North Texas, give ThriVR a look!
