I'm the developer of WalkScape! My game is an online RPG that is inspired by RuneScape, where all of the in-game progression happens by walking in real life.

I myself have struggled to exercise enough, and I'm diagnosed with ADHD. This project started off as something I was working for myself to help me exercise more. The game has been in Closed Beta since January 18th, and the player feedback so far has been awesome!

There are three key things that make the game very unique for a mobile game, in addition to just being a nice and cozy game that incentivizes you to walk:

No GPS. Unlike games like Pokemon Go, WalkScape uses pedometer instead of GPS. This means you can walk where ever you like, including at your home or gym on a treadmill. And doesn't compromise your privacy.
No MTX or ads. I'm against all kind of predatory trends in gaming, especially predatory monetisation. WalkScape is completely community funded with Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee with no external investments.
Not hungry for your attention. WalkScape doesn't even need to be opened in the background for you to gain progress in it. The game is designed in a way where you only need to open it after your exercise, and if you forget to the game it doesn't punish you. It saves your "missed steps" for later.

If you're interested to give it a try, you can check out https://walkscape.app to find how to join the upcoming beta wave, see some stats about the game (people have already walked more than 1.5 billion steps!), and our roadmap.

I'll answer any questions you might have. Happy walking and stay hydrated ❤️

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[–] SupraMario@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Let me in! Looks fun, guess I'll have to wait for the next round of beta entries.

[–] Grayox@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 months ago

Juat got approved so hyped!

[–] Vexing@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago

So RuneScape X Poke'mon go?

Hmm

[–] illi@lemm.ee 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sounds great! So I understand you skill up stuff by walking, I assume traveling through the world as well? The site mentions there is combat as well, how does that work?

[–] Ruben@feddit.nl 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yes, travelling through the world is also done by walking irl. Though obviously the distances aren't quite 1 to 1. Combat is not implemented yet but coming later. Current plans are that it will be a turn based system and will be what's called "couch content", something you can do at home from your couch without having to walk. But all subject to change still.

[–] 0xD@infosec.pub -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

From my view: If I get a game called WalkScape I don't want to play it actively. So if those things can only be progressed on the couch, I won't touch them. And if that locks me out of other content, that sucks.

And if it's just AFK, then it also goes against the purpose/vision of the game. Not saying that you're doing it, but don't bloat it with unnecessary mechanics.

[–] arvere@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

what's the main engine looking like? only using pedometer? if yes, what's the availability of the sensor nowadays?

asking because I used to run a similar kind of game years ago and I had to give up because it was a very difficult fight against battery optimization tools, localisation/sensor policies, etc

[–] Ruben@feddit.nl 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yes only pedometer. iOS has been a walk in the park (no pun intended) since the beginning, Android was a mess until they released the Recording API like 2 weeks ago. Now it's on the same level as iOS.

[–] arvere@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

glad to see this going forward. hopefully this allows the "idle walking" genre to finally flourish

thanks for posting your progress! and keep doing it!

[–] AverageGoob@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Tried it the last time I saw it it posted. Be warned, this takes a huge amount of battery life to run in the back ground. So much so I had to stop playing.

[–] schamppu@lemmy.zip 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This was already fixed like month ago! It was mostly happening on Pixel devices only.

Give a try to the new version, it shouldn't use much battery at all now.

[–] 0xD@infosec.pub -1 points 5 months ago

May I ask what the reason for the battery drain was?