I have only just realized that when the new fitness tracking features were released for the Laserforce Gen 8 system that some new fitness-focused achievements became available as well. I typically don’t spend a lot of time following the achievements because of my completist nature (I tend to either be “all in” or completely casual about such things). However, these new achievements caught my interest and so now I am “all in” on completing these particular goals. So I started my evening of tag with a goal in front of me, ready to take on a challenge.
I decided that tonight I would aim for the Step Serenity achievement, for which I would need to complete 4000 in-game steps in one day. At my local site the AYCP night is four hours long, so this was not really an “all day” goal. As it happens, I arrived a little late this particular night, so I figured I might need to step up my effort. Think I can do it?
It became quickly apparent to me that aiming for these goals made a significant difference in my play style. In a game of Color Conquest I found myself deliberately moving around much more than usual, traversing the arena thoroughly and racking up 1400 steps in that first game. I was focused on steps, not score…and yet somehow I actually played better as a result!
Over the course of the next two games I added 1150 and 1000 steps respectively, realizing as I went into only my fourth game that at this point it would be almost impossible for me to NOT get the achievement. I easily surpassed it with a total of 4700 in-game steps as I achieved Step Serenity.
At this point the evening was only half over, so I figured I had time to set a new goal. Could I capture the Epic Expeditionist achievement by getting 8000 in-game steps in one day? ;)
Within the next three games I accumulated 850, 1200 and 1350 steps respectively, which topped out my step count at 8100. Goal achieved!
So now I have accomplished the Epic Expeditionist achievement.
I asked the staff if there was any way to know if I was the first member at our site to accomplish this. They suspected the answer was yes, but had no way to verify that. It would be interesting if there were a way for centers to easily identify “firsts” with these achievements (as I know that would be something that would motivate me), but for now I was just delighted to have achieved both goals I had set for myself this night.
Time to celebrate and end the evening with some Photon emulation! Before this final game I sat down next to a woman who told me she noticed that I was doing laps of the arena during the last Color Conquest game and she asked me about it. She said that I inspired her and when I explained the reason was the step achievement she was excited about that too. I’ve often said that going to laser tag is what I do instead of going to a gym, but on this night I felt like the arena served both functions perfectly. The wonderful thing about laser tag is you can get in some great exercise without feeling like it is a workout because the focus is on fun instead. This was such an energizing night, tagging my way to achieving some goals while having a great time!
Comments or Questions?
Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com
