SuperSuit, Inc., the makers of the new gaming platform called SuperSuit, would have you believe this is the true virtual reality. By strapping on an apparatus, one piece around your chest, the other on your wrists, you become Ironman.
(Source: worldversus.com)
Well, not really, but you could imagine so.
The Suit borrows from likes of Laser tag, adding modern chipsets, LEDs, and other materials and technologies not available when Laser Tag was cool.
If you don’t know what Laser Tag is, you’re reading this on your parent’s tablet or something. Perhaps you shouldn’t be nosing around the grown-up’s things?
SuperSuit is hardly an improvement on VR gaming, but it is an awesome improvement on the squirt gun.
They’re crowdsourcing the production now, so it looks like they have a model they like. The only consideration for you, assuming we’re talking to Mom or Dad, is whether you should get one for yourself instead of the kids.
Toss out all your paintball and Laser Tag gear. This is way better.
SuperSuit
(Source: venturebeat.com)
It’s not so much a suit, but a framework. SuperFramework doesn’t sound as cool, though.
They say there are three, but to us it seems there are two parts, the Super Vest and the Super Gloves. The vest houses the power and the brain for the Suit. It comes preloaded with games.
The Vest has straps like seatbelt buckle, adjustable to your body. There are haptic feedback engines in the Suit, so you know when you’ve been “hit.”
The chipset in the Suit is so smart, it has the ability to adapt to your playing style, communicating with other suits. They’ve trademarked their wireless connectivity as “Zi-Fi.”
The Vest is also where you keep your SuperBot, a little pull out accessory which can function as a sniper or the target of your game, like in capture the flag.
You read that right. Your kids are gonna play capture the flag.
SuperGloves
(Source: indiegogo.com)
Like the Suit, gloves is a bit of a misnomer. There is no actual glove in the SuperGloves. They cover your forearm, closing about your fist.
The fist portion is where you shoot from, the forearm where you collect information or control the game.
The glove has built-in gesture technology, so it knows where your hand is in space… I mean, where your kid’s hand is.
There is an LCD screen where you can navigate menus for choosing games or checking the score. The blaster portion of the Glove is an IR blaster, like your TV remote.
There are no laser beams. [Insert: Boo!] For the record, even the aforementioned Laser Tag also used IR.
Outdoor Fun
(Source: indiegogo.com)
The biggest criticism of gaming in the last twenty years or so is that it moved children from the playground to the living room. Board games are of no interest to anyone under forty, and video games are just so much cooler than anything outside.
If your kids are into something like paintball, you probably have a second mortgage on equipment, park fees, and ER visits.
SuperSuit won’t completely eliminate scrapes and bruises, but at least kids won’t be shooting actual projectiles at each other. It’s virtual. There are no real force fields or armor-piercing lasers produced.
Where VR promises to get kids moving again, SuperSuit will get them outside, like right now.
Remember when your parents had to drag you inside? That will be you when your kids have this if you’re not out there with them.
(Source: indiegogo.com)
The suit comes in black and white, but only if you support their Kickstarter.
If you’re one of those parents who posts on Facebook how much better things were when we were kids, how we used to play outside, you have to contribute.
Your kids have to be the first ones on the block to have this. Plus, you have to make sure to check it out first. You know, make sure it’s safe.