My RuneScape inspired indie fitness MMORPG WalkScape is looking for more beta testers

Hello!

First off, I’ve struggled to exercise, and I also have ADHD. Gamifying exercise works really well for my dopamine-craving brain, but I’m also easily distracted, so the current mobile fitness games on the market didn’t really work for me. That’s how I came up with this idea.

Here are some info about the game and how it’s different from Pokemon Go for example:

  • no distractions. I love games that value my time. WalkScape is designed so that it encourages you not to open it while you’re walking, but afterwards. And even if you open it while walking, changing things in the game is super quick.
  • no GPS. So you can walk where ever you want. The game tracks your steps even without an internet connection, but you need a connection when you open the game.
  • no ads, no MTX. I hate predatory monetisation practises, and they encourage unhealthy spending habits. This game is about both mental and physical health.

In the game, you explore and work in different skills such as woodcutting, foraging, fishing and crafting by walking in real life. The game uses your phone’s pedometer to track your progress. It’s also online, so you can work with your friends towards common goals without needing to be physically in the same location.

The game has dozens of locations, hundreds of items, NPCs, shops and more is coming as I work towards the full release of the game. There’s a lot of different unique and cute activities in the game you can set your character to do in addition to the typical woodcutting and mining, like volunteering in soup kitchen or helping locals repairing their boats. All fueled by walking IRL.

If you feel like you’d like to try it out, you can either apply to the closed beta (we’re inviting more people right now) or if you like to support the development, you get instant to access through Patreon or Buy me a Coffee to start playing. The game is completely community funded.

Whether you decide to support or apply to the closed beta, you’ll need to sign up at WalkScape Portal to the game and then apply or connect your Patreon on the account page.

You can also check our this video to hear me and the artist explain more about the game: Youtube introduction video

Or you can visit the website.

We also have my devblogs released every two weeks available at portal.walkscape.app/development

It’s been a wild journey for me growing this thing from my personal hobby project, and awesome to see the game helping so many people to exercise more. I’ll answer any questions you might have in the comments!

Stay hydrated, and keep walking ❤️

AverageGoob,
@AverageGoob@lemmy.world avatar

Saw this and tried the game. It is fine but what is not fine is the battery drain. 25-30% per charge is way too high to justify playing this game, sadly.

Hello_there,

@schamppu a friend is running a marathon this weekend. Any chance they can get into beta by then?

h3mlocke,

Got into the beta a couple days ago! So far I love it, looks like a lot of thought/planning/work has gone into it and I hope this ends up being really successful for you! I will be playing it for a long time I can already tell 🚶‍♀️

NaoPb,

Sounds interesting. I’ll be waiting for a release.

theneverfox,

I was just able to get in just now - it took me a couple tries before I realized it wants your email, not username

Not sure if that’s what was happening for you, but I figured it’s with mentioning

hornedfiend,

Joined the closed beta yesterday and the game seems very nice,however I’m not sure how the step counter works. In Statistics,at least , they are way off,by thousands of steps.

Edit: typo

youronlyone, (edited )
@youronlyone@c.im avatar

@hornedfiend @schamppu I think the game is set to medium sensitivity, or Low. There are some fitness apps with a sensitivity setting, and if you place it high, it is more accurate. The problem arises if you're just moving your phone, since it's high sensitivity, it counts those as steps. So, most apps have it at medium or Low. That's my guess at least.

trashgirlfriend,

Wonder if it would be good to add a “actively walking” mode that’s in a convenient place and just turns up the sensitivity for a while

youronlyone,
@youronlyone@c.im avatar

@trashgirlfriend Ooh. I like that! It could be a widget too for easy access.

youronlyone,
@youronlyone@c.im avatar

@trashgirlfriend I remembered, , a space gamification fitness app, have an option to "boost" steps when you're about to go on a long walk/run/jumping rope session. You can use it once every 24 hours only (and only lasts for 2 hours IIRC).

I think, now that you suggested it, that was maybe their solution to keeping the sensitivity fixed for their game, but giving users a chance to earn more if they're about to engage in a long session.

🤔

dandroid,

This is a neat idea. I never exercised more than when I played Pokemon Go.

deezbutts,

Signed up and already find myself adding extra ways to my day to get steps, the gamification works!

Is there a Lemmy community to discuss this with other scapers?

schamppu,

Not yet, we have a fairly active one over Reddit. I’ll need to consider opening one here as well!

Guthix,

Sold 👀

Blackmist,

If only Blizzard hadn’t shit the bed, you could have called it World of WalkCraft.

thisistricky,

This looks really cool!

BorisBoreUs,
@BorisBoreUs@lemmy.world avatar

In the future, when this is wildly successful, please develop a plugin for my smart watch so i don’t have too keep my phone in my pocket. /stuffthatsnotrelevantnow

Abird1620,

You should do this now just to spite this man and go against his wishes.

schamppu,

Deal

Big_Boss_77, (edited )

I’m a dumb and can’t read good.

schamppu,

What do you mean full up?

Big_Boss_77,

… I’m a dumb. I just skimmed, saw the date and assumed it would be full. It is not, however, after March 31st. I’ll edit the original post.

Big_Boss_77,

Alright, I’ve signed up as a supporter, looking forward to digging in. Thanks!

wizzim,

I looks wonderful!

I am a Pogo player and I hate having to stay looking at the phone, under the rain or with cold hands or bloody sun 😂

You write “no mtx, no ads”. How do you plan to monetize your app ? Will it be a one time payment or with DLCs?

schamppu,

Free to play so you can first try it out before making a purchase decision. Then you can either play it single player with single purchase, or if you want to play it online it’s affordable subscription. This is the least predatory way of doing monetization that in my mind works great both for the players and makes sure we can support the game for long.

And thank you!

pound_heap,

Will be there a way to purchase or subscribe outside of Google Play? Or even use the game without google services?

schamppu, (edited )

Probably. I’m not too keen on paying the 30% Google Play tax anyhow, as that cost would fall to be paid by the players with increased subscription cost. I want to keep the subscription as affordable as possible. I’ll try my best to find ways around it, probably easy enough on Google Play but might prove to be more difficult on AppStore.

Edit: and even as of now, the game requires no Google Services. I’m doing my best to keep it that way.

xkforce,

It amuses me that my first thought was that this would be great for ADHDers like myself and then it turns out thats why you created it lol

schamppu,

Haha :D ADHD minds think alike I guess

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