![]() What else does the future hold for Tiina and team? It's not unreasonable to predict that the addition of Health & Breath to Yoga Retreat will remake the game for a whole new audience, and potentially recruit a lot of non-gaming fitness app users into the smartphone gaming fold. "The best strategy in my opinion is not to be a copycat, but to make the use case really integrated to the game theme - and story - so that it doesn't feel artificial." "Obviously if I didn't strongly believe so, we wouldn't bring these types of features and mini-apps to the market," she laughs. Is that the way forward with wearable tech gaming? Harnessing such new hardware features is the key to proper user engagement, and Gajatri has carved itself a unique niche that brings wearable tech into play without it feeling superficial or forced. But as Heart & Breath illustrates, we're very serious, or as serious you can be about playful and healthy features, and how to use mobile software platforms capabilities in innovative ways in our games and apps." "Most likely we'll not be porting, but utilising some device features in ways yet to be innovated within the game. "Smartwatches are a very interesting opportunity for us in 2015," Tiina continues. Yoga Retreat will evolve to make use of these Bluetooth-connected monitors, but will it also embrace smartwatches once they reach a wider audience? The popularity and excitement that's been building around smartwatches has spilled over to give more fitness focused wearables - the fitness bands, as we like to call them - a shot in the arm. While addressing one concern, it also embraces a solid business model intended to keep players engaged on a daily basis. Every day a new challenge will open and they will teach you how to breath better and calm down in a playful way."Ĭoncerns over the connection between video games and health (or a lack of health, moreover) have been around as long as the industry, and Gajatri's approach is a unique and very interesting one. ![]() "The first task will be to connect the game with a heart rate monitoring wearable or belt. " Yoga Retreat will have a mini-app called Heart & Breath, where players can complete daily breathing practice together with the game," she explains. Speaking to Tiina, we discovered her bold aspirations to integrate the player's fitness level into the gameplay, just as it already has with their mental health. Plans don't stop there for Yoga Retreat, however. These two aspects aren't easily compatible, but reactions to the game on iOS and Android suggest that Zilliacus and Gajatri have uncovered the successful recipe for medatitive gaming. That's the wellness aspect blended into the design.īut it has to remain just as much fun as any lifestyle simulation game, and this is its fitness equivalent. What's the difference between fitness and well-being? Well, much like yoga cultivates mental and spiritual health, as well as physical fitness, Yoga Retreat works to give its players a more engaging and personal experience. Gajatri Studios was born from a philosophy that aims to not only bring fitness into mobile gaming, but well-being. The game is pegged as one of the few - if not the first - yoga-themed simulation games, and is the flagship product of company founder and CEO Tiina Zilliacus. Yoga Retreat is a new social game from Helsinki-based Gajatri Studios that set off at a sprint when the Android version launched recently, and grabbed an impressive 75,000 downloads within a week.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |