[the_duke]

Love the idea, and I'd be very much interested in trying this out.

Having done a little bit of boxing, it's a pretty good full body workout. It's hard to say how the resistance bands would feel compared to a punching bag though. Also: how do they work for different punches like uppercuts?

How would you track blocking? How accurate is the position tracking? The tracking animation notably only measures one dimension (extension), not the direction in 3D. That seems quite hard just with the bands.

Another concern: I feel like for many users the punching motions would get boring really quickly.

Engaging game(s) would be key. Since it's all you do, the punching must be satisfying. Including making me "feel" the impact. That means: smooth animations with accurate position tracking, quality audio, ....

What I see in the video does not work so well for me. Having some variety would also be key. Eg have a basic boxing ring available for mindless punching, but also a more engaging RPG style game where you don't punch all the time - for longer sessions.

Building full-fledged quality games in addition to the hardware seems like a very big task.

Have you thought about searching for interesting indie games (including the various VR boxing variations) and looking for partnerships?

[glitcher]

I also love this idea, and the body harness looks like a very innovative approach.

I agree with many of the concerns OP mentions, especially the need for a variety of engaging games. The demo game feels a little too cartoony for my taste, would love to see more titles in different styles.

Another concern I have is how can it help reinforce proper posture, body positioning, and footwork? I realize this is very difficult to address, but those fundamentals are extremely important and seem to me to be areas where many beginners could develop bad habits if not corrected somehow.

[douglaspaul]

Thanks for the feedback, and you've raised some great points.

We're absolutely on-board with the idea of multiple games - we have the launch title being developed (that you've seen in our current artwork), and others in mind. Out of interest, what would be your preferred style of game for combat fitness? We've had some good discussions around this in our Discord server.

To your concerns re: body posture and movement; you couldn't be more right about the importance of getting these aspects right. We have experience both within our team and our advisers covering everything from international boxing to prosthetic design - we are taking the ergonomics and science very seriously for this exactly reason.

[gleapsite]

I'd love to see your interpretation of rails shooter like "The House of the Dead."

I'm imagining a branching "storyline"/exercise routine. One path might have many very weak enemies that take somewhat precise combos where another might have stronger minibosses where its a slugfest.

[glitcher]

For me personally, I would prefer a more realistic style fighting game for combat fitness where my opponent looks and moves like a real person. Or even something along the lines of the classic arcade fighting games like Mortal Kombat where the violence gets a little more graphic. Basically games that feel like they are targeted at adults instead of all ages family friendly. But I understand the need for variety, and applaud the progress made so far on this project.

[douglaspaul]

I can tell you we share that view - we're looking forward to growing out more games in the future, however we aim to make the launch time compelling to users of all ages, and that means getting the story absolutely right. There were definitely jokes in the team early on about licensing Mortal Kombat to up the ante of the fights!

[faitswulff]

After thinking about it for a day or so, I think what the Quell demo is missing for me is simplicity. Boxing is pretty fun by itself and there’s a lot of potential depth in building up different combinations of punches and the rhythmic nature of the exercises. So a simple Wii Sports or even Dance Dance Revolution style trainer would appeal more to me than a cartoon style game. If I were eight years old, it would be absolutely the reverse, but what I want as an adult is just the boxing.

[m_tweedie]

Hi there, Martin from Quell here. Thanks for sharing these insights.

We love boxing for its exercise impact—until you try it, you have now idea how quickly punching can get you out of breath! The main resistance is indeed to straight shots, but as we add new movements and improve our game and motion tracking, it is feeling more and more satisfying.

Blocking is quite natural—when your arms are blocking your face in real life, so too are your character's! Totally agree that variety is needed to keep people engaged, which is why we're developing a range of motions beyond traditional boxing strikes that players must perform during a session. We'll also be including a selection of modes, including a training mode which lets players jump straight into a fight when they don't feel like playing the main story. And yes, beyond our initial release and our ongoing support for it, we plan to open up the Quell system to other developers, via partnerships or otherwise, and grow into an ecosystem of immersive games aimed at our core desire to make working out fun, efficient and accessible.

[jansan]

Wouldn't AR with an actual punching bag be the better approach? I mean, the proper AR hardware is lacking anyways at the moment, so your approach makes a lot of sense. But in the end nothing can replace the feeling of your fist hitting a real punching bag when it comes to boxing.

[radlad]

> Including making me "feel" the impact. That means: smooth animations with accurate position tracking, quality audio, ....

Since it's all you do, the punching must be satisfying. In addition to the resistance of the bands, I wonder if there is any sort of haptic feedback on contact? That seems like it could be very satisfying to me.

[douglaspaul]

Great feedback, thanks for sharing!

As for the haptics, check our stretch goals on Kickstarter! It's something we're very interested in...