I’ve been feeling rather nostalgic for video games lately. The thing is, I have not been a gamer for nearly two decades. The last video game console I had was the Nintendo Gamecube, which came out in 2001. I don’t have much interest in getting back into playing video games on a regular basis. I think this feeling of longing for a semblance of my past gaming culture is largely due to the holiday season. Nevertheless, I occasionally take a trip down memory lane via Google searches and Wikipedia articles to reminisce about the video games I fondly remember indulging in.
When my family got the original Nintendo Entertainment System (sometime in the very early 1990s), it came loaded with accessories. One of which was the Power Pad. Essentially, the Power Pad is a floor mat game controller for two players to use simultaneously. It is activated by stepping on any of its twelve pressure-sensors. One player situates themselves on the left and utilizes the six blue button sensors, while the player stands on the right and takes control of the six red ones. We used the Power Pad to play World Class Track Meet, a fitness game where players compete in four different track and field type events: 100M dash, 110M hurdles, long jump and triple jump.
Since I was around six or seven years old at the time, World Class Track Meet and the Power Pad were extra challenging on my developing legs and lower body strength. Nevertheless, I was obsessed with the game.
A major draw to playing video games is that they enable us to transcend from reality for a period of time. But World Class Track Meet embodies both the virtual/fantasy world in its simulation of an Olympic-like competition, and the reality of cardio interval training through tangible exercise circuits. You not only compete against an opponent (whether they are computer or peer controlled), but you compete against yourself. “You versus you” is a term that a lot of trainers use to motivate their clients to grow and take on challenges. It certainly applies to the fitness game genre. Yes, we are striving to win the gold medal in each event, but ultimately, we are tracking our personal bests in time and distance. These quantitative elements show how we’ve leveled up in real life.
The Power Pad is a great low-impact way to build necessary motor skills, such as balance, flexibility coordination and speed. It was basically my segue into other avenues of physical fitness. Situated just five feet away from the Nintendo Entertainment System was a large treadmill, and after mastering the track and field events in World Class Track Meet, I had a hankering to apply those skills to what I considered to be a very adult piece of equipment and physical activity. I also remember my excitement during the track and field unit in elementary school P.E. class, because I would get to test out my coordination, speed and agility on a real track. Transitioning from doing hurdles in a virtual setting to jumping over actual hurdles was actually a much different experience. But I had a strong sense of familiarity and confidence due to training with the Power Pad.
The nostalgia of playing fitness video games helped me ease back into exercise in 2020. When I was starting out, I’d liken the process of the built-in interval training programs on my exercise bike to the gameplay of World Class Track Meet. And when I am on my rubber floor mat doing strength and bodyweight workouts, I can recall the times when I competed on the Power Pad. This makes the whole endeavor feel less tedious, more challenging and fun.