New Walking Game App releasing tomorrow from makers of Zombies Run!

[Alicia]

Hi everyone,

A few days ago I posted a thread about ths new app but since the old boards have been discontinued, I wanted to repost this here so everyone gets a chance to see it. If anyone of you are familiar with the "Zombies Run!" App on your phones, this is by the same makers and called "The Walk". From what I have read,it's an immersive game, geared more for all day walking instead of specific runs like Zombies was, which sounds like it would pair great with fitbit users who love to get credit for their all day walking and give you more incentive to walk more. Right now, Its on sale for $3.99 on itunes but I'm not sure for how long. I bought it but cant comment on how it is becasue I havent tried it yet. The one downfall I can see is having to have your phone on you, which I never have on me while I am at home. If anyone does try it, be sure to  post your review about it here! Thanks and happy walking!

[Mary]

Can't wait to hear more.  A lot of us used to play Walk It Out on Wii and that was fun.  In a bizarre way.  

[Baltoscott]

I did the first episode of The Walk today.  Looks like it will be a lot of fun. Neat, immersive story.  I like Zombies Run, too.  With The Walk you have to interact with your phone a bit more than with Zombies, but after the episode it keeps counting steps.  That's kind of cool.  Didn't seem to run the battery down too much, but it also seemed to lose track of my movement for some periods.  Not sure I've got all the settings right, yet, but I think I will enjoy it.  Great deal for $4.

[Mary]

I played the first two episodes today.  I'm not sure if it's my cell service or the app or user error, but it was pretty glitchy.  I had to restart the phone once and the app about 10 times.  

It had my steps count about 1.5 times what the Fitbit did, which is no biggie to me.  

It's a cute idea.  I wonder if there's an app out there that will let you listen to your own audiobooks but only when stepping.  

[Baltoscott]

I've done 4 episodes so far.  Like the story, but it severly undercounts my steps and activity so far.  Spotty cell service might be part of it as my first two episodes were on hiking trails.  But today has been all near home in Baltimore and my step count on The Walk is at about 16K right now, while Fitbit counts 25K.  Big difference.

I'm running it on an iPhone 5, so no coprocessor.  I hope tracking/step count improves!  I would also like if it gave me audio prompts when I've walked far enough for a new story segement so I don't have to keep pulling the phone out of my pocket to check my progress.  It should alert you with an old style phone ring!

Even so, I really like the story and I'll keep playing it. 800 minutes of story for $4 (now) or $5 (full price) is a steal!

[Mary]

That's weird it undercounts.  I have a Samsung Galaxy but the app way overcounts.  I noticed today it had me over 10,000 steps after about 50 minutes of walking.  I think that's about double the Fitbit, or nearly.  I even wondered if the game was counting a left/right stride as two steps and the Fitbit counting it as one.  

800 minutes of story?  That must be about 8000 minutes of walking!  It seems like I only get about 1-minute of audio every 10 minutes or so. 

I wish it just launched the next audio when you reach it.  I walk in the sunlight without reading glasses and I can barely see the brightest things on the screen.  

[Mary]

I've figured out a few things about it, so if it helps someone else-

When launched from the map screen, the audios cut off around 30 seconds when (I think) my screen timeout kicks in.  I changed the timeout to 2 minutes so I'll see if that solves it.

From the episode title screen, there is a yellow 'callout' that if you click it, you get a list of the audios unlocked in the episode.  If I launch them from there, the screen timeout doesn't affect them AND it automatically advances to the next audio in the list after one plays.  So I could go back to the prior chapters and easily listen to all the audios in a row.  So if you don't want to be interacting with your screen while walking you can just launch the game and if it says it's a 56 minute walk, you can walk 20 minutes and then bring up the list of clips and listen to all the unlocked ones, and then do that again in 20 minutes, and again at the end.  I can't take the longer detours but I can't see the map or the visual clues much, anyway.  

[Baltoscott]

Mary, I've copied some info from the makers of the app below.  It comes from here:  http://blog.zombiesrungame.com/post/69800506558/the-difference-between-the-walk-and-zombies-run

Hello everyone! We’re aware there’s some confusion about how The Walk works for those of you who are avid Zombies, Run! players. The thing is, despite both being awesome fitness apps that vastly improve your life, the two games are actually very different.

We designed The Walk to be more of an ‘all-day’ experience than Zombies, Run! We love that people are ‘going for a walk’ with The Walk in the same way they ‘go for a run’ with Zombies, Run! — but we also wanted the game to work in a broader way.

The Walk was designed not just based on the practical advice of scientists and doctors, but also with people’s normal habits in mind. That’s why it behaves as an activity tracker that encourages you to walk an extra five or ten minutes here and there throughout the day rather than making you go on hour-long walks with your headphones in.

The iOS version of The Walk even has push notifications that will alert you whenever you’ve unlocked a new story clip, so you don’t need to keep checking the app. Just set it running, forget about it, and check your lock screen to listen to clips in a row at your leisure. And when you’re ready you can view your rewards, listen to your new story clips, and plan your route.

We love long walks as much as the next person, but we know that’s impractical for a lot of people to do every day. Instead, we’re hoping to encourage you to take healthier routes and develop healthier habits — fewer car journeys or public transport and more walking, where possible!

Of course, you can still listen to the story as you walk, but as you progress through the story, you may find it easier to unlock a few clips before listening to them. You can do this by, visit the map selection screen and tap on the speech bubble icon, where you can queue up entire episodes to listen to.

Zombies, Run! is a great fitness tracker for bursts of exercise, such as jogging, cycling or long walks in the countryside. Whereas The Walk is an excellent way to track your every day activities. There’s absolutely nothing stopping you from running both simultaneously!

Have fun, and keep walking (and running)! Plus, stay tuned for more news about Zombies, Run! Season 3…

[Mary]

Thanks.  It sounds like they envisioned people doing sort of what I do (but without the long walks)... walking and then listening to your queued up story segments.  

Is that second screen cap, the one with the hospital, from Zombies, Run?  I haven't seen anything like that in The Walk (through ep. 5), but I can't see the little visual clues you can 'earn' by taking the long way, either.  I didn't know it had a Sim City like component, if that's what that is.  

[Baltoscott]

Yes - the second screen cap is from Zombies. Between runs in the game you build up and repair your city.

[Mary]

Thanks.  I've read that people use ZR on walks, with attacks turned off.  I'll try that when I finish this.  I refuse to run.  

It was overcast today and I could see the screen a LOT better.  

I'll be running around Disneyland a few days next week so I imagine I can get through a few episodes there.  I listen via bluetooth in one ear so it's pretty discrete and I can hear what's going on around me.  

[Baltoscott]

I usually walk with ZR too.  The attacks are turned on, but you only have to go 20% faster than your average for 60 sec to escape the hoard. And I think you have to walk fairly fast for them to chase you anyway.  I walk about 3.5 mph, and only get "chased" about twice/hour.

Have fun in Disneyland.  You'll definately get a lot of walking in there!

[Alicia]

Hi Guys, 

I'm glad to see some of you are playing and enjoying the game and giving such great pointers! I have yet to even try it! I've been working all week on Marathon Prep for Disney World so I havent had time to think about anything else right now..I dont even have Christmas presents yet and still work the next 3 days,eeek! lol

[Mary]

The Walk seems to have quit working for me, in episode 7.  

[Baltoscott]

That's a drag. I've made it through episode 10 of the iPhone version. No problems so far.