For many technology companies in 2016, a more immersive gaming experience means enclosing your face inches from the screen inside a VR headset, but that’s not the case for MadRat Games. Showcasing its SuperSuit at CES 2016, MadRat Games want you to avert your eyes from the screen… but not from gaming.
The SuperSuit is designed to get children outside for what MadRat CEO and Founder Rajat Dhariwal calls the “power of play." It's about being social, daily exercise and just getting out of the house, he said.
"Social interaction is a big part of this," Dhariwal said. "Kids see the world very differently (than us). They don’t care about screen addiction, for them it has to be exciting and that’s it. They don’t see a screen, they see exciting or not exciting. So if we create an exciting product they’ll use it."
MadRat’s SuperSuit has multiple layers, games and uses with the goal of attaining consistent attention from its users. Dhariwal said the SuperSuit is not a present your child will open on Christmas Day and then get bored within three months. It’s designed as a completely new gaming platform that will get updates through apps, accessories and games created to play with the suit.
“Imagine a PlayStation or Xbox that you can wear,” he said.
The suit comes with three main parts, the Super Vest, Super Glove and Super Beacon. The vest is two sided with a processor and sensors on the front and back. It has a location tracker and sensor for when you’re playing games like laser tag.
The super glove is what you use to control the SuperSuit and other connected devices (Sphero, drones, toy cars, etc). It fires zips/zaps (think lasers) when playing with other people using the suits. The glove also steers and manipulates the other devices. Last, the Super Beacon is an accessory players can shoot for games such as capture the flag or a scavenger hunt. It can be placed on most walls or surfaces in the playspace.
But how will a wearable game compete with the latest gaming technologies like the PlayStation VR or Oculus? Dhariwal said it comes down to usability. He’s not sure people will actually play with a VR headset for long periods of time.
“VR is a bigger trend, interesting, and has so much talent and funds going into it,” Dhariwal said. However, “It’s hard to imagine two kids and parents interacting with these headsets every evening.
"The future of gaming can be provided by wearable gaming," Dhariwal continued. “Up until now gaming and wearables didn’t really interact. Wearable to this point have been focused on becoming more compact phones. We are getting closer to the screens.”
Dhariwal created the SuperSuit with children’s health in mind. While studying at IIT and later teaching a science curriculum at Rishi Valley School, he realized how important stimulating this generation’s youth is with immersive gaming.
He taught almost exclusively in India with games. He said this made the learning atmosphere exciting, which kept the student’s interests high. This passion for gaming and improving the health of children led him to start MadRat Games and create the SuperSuit.
“SuperSuit is the first wearable gaming product designed for kids to get them away from screens,” Dhariwal said.
The SuperSuit retails for $199 and comes with two suits. It is available to pre-order at wearsupersuit.com, with the first models expected to ship during Q4 2016. After its initial launch and release, MadRat Games sees the biggest growth for the SuperSuit from developers. It is those designers and innovators that will keep the system fresh and truly make it a new gaming platform, Dhariwal said.
