It’s been an exciting month here at HQ as we celebrate the launch of our second gym location. Now open in downtown Boise, Idaho, the response from new members has been amazing.
Opening a second location was much easier than opening the first one, as expected. We took a lot of the learnings and designs and adapted them for the new space. Every new location will get more and more streamlined which will allow us to roll out our VR fitness experience to more people like you.
Our entire team is laser-focused on taking your feedback from the last year and implementing it into the gym, game, and app. We’ve made huge strides in creating a more reliable and stable experience and hope you have noticed the improvements. We added new membership tier options to make it easier for you to choose the pricing and usage that works for you. We also have a lot of big feature updates releasing soon that we are very excited to share with you.
Thank you for being a founding member! Please continue to share your feedback with us by email, in the app, on Discord, or in person. We read it all!
See you in the Arena!
Ryan and Preston
Founders, Black Box VR
Black Box VR Athlete of the Month
Username: Intenex
Hero Level: 27
Arena: Diamond League Arena 10!
Why I love Black Box VR: I distinctly remember a revelational moment I had ten years ago, in high school. I was running on the treadmill in the middle of winter, thinking to myself that this was the absolute least enjoyable experience I can imagine. What if I could be put in a virtual reality machine where this was a game instead, and I had to run 50 miles to chase down an antelope or something? I would do this all day every day.
It’s not an exaggeration to say I’ve been waiting for Black Box all my life. I signed up and did my first workout battle the next day. I’ve been hooked since, and have averaged almost one workout battle every single day for the past three months.
Physical results so far: Weight loss, strength gained, confidence boosted!
My wife and friends all agree that I’m in the best shape of my life. My shoulders and lats, in particular, have had tremendous improvement, and I’m pulling more weight on every exercise than I ever thought possible. I’m even seeing the first signs of a baby six six-pack. I’ve now gained the confidence that it’s possible, and that when I’m ready, with a little cutting, I’ll be able to get there, all thanks to Black Box. 🙂
Gameplay tip: At the start of the game, wait until the enemy starts loading a champion, then immediately choose an exercise that’s strong against that champion and kill that champion and the next champion the enemy loads, if any. Next, quickly load up a Sheara and do the punch/slice sequence for her, but wait to deploy until immediately after the enemy finishes their current exercise, so they’re tired and undefended.
Next, immediately load as many Spearnadoes as you can if you have access to them, or Skadis if you haven’t unlocked Spearnado yet. Place these right behind your Sheara.
Try to keep a tank always alive in front of your range champions.
On the second round and going forward, you can bait the enemy into using their Firehawk early as long as you have three champions or so on the field, it seems. I like to use very cheap champions like Torchers to bait the enemy into wasting Firehawk before going all out.
Fun personal fact: I was featured in a WSJ article for being a cheapskate and getting a free car: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-live-in-san-francisco-without-spending-any-money-1525029628
Also featured in a video getting my free car stolen and chasing it down that got millions of views:
https://www.facebook.com/nasdaily/videos/591209358022749/
Proclaimed the “most interesting guy” in another video that got 35 million views, mostly for living in a questionable RV on the side of the street and eating really expired food https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=820983491387138
Battle Updates
Ahoy, Black Box Heroes! By now, you should be seeing the fruit of our hard work over the last month, namely some serious FPS boosts, a new arena, and a heap of bugs squashed.
Here are some of the new features coming your way in October:
– Daily quests and completely revamped in-game UI are finally in testing! They should be rolling out in the next week or two and will increase the visibility of various side activities you can dive into. Each day there will be three different side quests for you to accomplish that can boost your winnings, such as killing a crystal with a Windja, or fielding two Rockdudes simultaneously. We plan to build out the quest list going forward and make some unique and challenging ones!
– Also in testing is the foundation of our new friends platform, which should make its way out in October. This will allow you to add friends and see a feed of their Black Box activities, and in the future, will grow into a platform for some awesome new team-based challenges.Â
– We have completely redesigned our arenas to be more alive and much more detailed. All ten are in the process of being revamped and optimized and are a high priority as well.
As always, we appreciate your continued support and suggestions as we keep building the future of fitness. Keep sending in those bug reports, and keep crushing it!
“Captain” Duane Mathes
SVP of Game Development
Black Box VR
Exercise Science
We all know that the type of exercise programmed into the Black Box VR experience has been found to be optimal for gaining muscle, losing fat, and becoming more fit. But did you know that completing 3 – 4 workout battles per week can make you smarter?
A new scientific study suggests just that:
In a large study, German scientists have shown that physical fitness is associated with better brain structure and brain functioning in young adults. This opens the possibility that increasing fitness levels may lead to improved cognitive ability, such as memory and problem solving, as well as improved structural changes in the brain.
The author states: “It surprised us to see that even in a young population cognitive performance decreases as fitness levels drop. We knew how this might be important in an elderly population which does not necessarily have good health, but to see this happening in 30-year-olds is surprising. This leads us to believe that a basic level of fitness seems to be a preventable risk factor for brain health.”
Full details: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49301-y
Hero Trainer of the Month
Name: Jazmin Vanegas
Username: jazminvanegas
Hero level: 9
Arena: Gold League
Background: The only type of gaming experience I have is playing World of Warcraft. At least now, Black Box keeps me continually moving instead of sitting in one place.
Why I love Black Box VR: As a powerlifter, regularly lifting heavy can get tiresome. Black Box gives me a change in my workout routine.
Favorite champion: my favorite champion is Sheara. Who doesn’t love a strong female?!
Favorite direct damage exercise: My favorite exercise is overhead press, because I completely suck at them. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Gameplay tip: I quickly learned to first, load up the exercise I wanted to use and THEN load the Champion I want to use. It makes you continuously move, so you don’t have time to cry because the workout is kicking your butt.
Personal fun fact: I am currently planning a backpacking trip to New Zealand 🙂
Fitness Tip
Are you getting enough sleep to maximize your performance at work and in the gym? Studies show that even getting an hour less sleep than you require can make a huge difference for your brain and body.
It’s easy to stay up a little too late watching Netflix or playing video games. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on weekends, helps you to feel your best.
Join of Discord Community
Join our active Discord community and share your Black Box VR experiences.
https://discordapp.com/invite/taWr6wm
