Kayaking in the Christmas Metaverse!

I kind of agree with /u/lordyimbis that virtual reality kayaking kind of misses the point, but at the same time it’s nice to see the sport represented in gaming.

A couple of thoughts:

It would be great to see the more advanced disciplines within kayaking represented, since the general public seems to mostly think kayaking is about dicking around on flat water without any safety equipment getting drunk. My take has always been, if that’s what you want why not just get a powerboat. To me “regular” kayaking was just an introduction, a gateway, to the serious sides of the sport: open water touring on the one side, where a roll is fairly essential because you can be miles from shore in harsh conditions, and whitewater, where again, a roll is pretty essential because swimming can be very hazardous. But also if it’s a game, why not include slalom courses?

It’s hard to make out because the video quality is fairly poor on my screen here, but it does look like you’ve included slalom elements here, as well as inviting a more athletic and less leisurely style of paddling. That’s a great start! Next I would take a look at some actual slalom and race courses for levels in your game. One good challenging slalom course I would look at is the competition channel at the US Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. You should actually talk to their staff about licensing some of their actual IP like the course design itself, maybe even VR footage of the actual place, and their logo. Similarly, I’d license boat designs from the major manufacturers, which in whitewater are Dagger, Jackson, Pyranha, Liquidlogic, Waka, and probably a few others I’m forgetting (and others that aren’t as popular in the US as well as smaller players like Soul). On the touring side, you’ve got Dagger again and their sister brand Wilderness Systems, Pyranha’s sister P&H, and quite a few others that I’m less savvy about.

Essential skills and strokes to include:

Definitely a roll, but maybe look into some of the different styles of rolls that exist. Heck, a powerful enough rolling simulator that actually helps practice the motions would be a worthy app on its own, but you’d need more sensors, such as on the knees. Definitely bracing strokes (low and high brace). The basic forward and turning strokes, such as power stroke, sweep stroke (forward and back), ruddering, draw strokes, and more.

Basically you should have at least one person on the design team take an ACA L4 or higher kayaking course and include what they learn.

It would be super cool to include some rescue stuff, start with just bow rescues boat-to-boat, maybe teach a hand of god rescue (that works for VR easily enough), and of course have a separate activity for throwing ropes. Could you fit CPR lessons in? Now I know I’m taking it too far, sorry.

/r/Kayaking Thread Link - v.redd.it