<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"What if planting crops in FarmVille only happened when you burned calories in real life? That\u2019s what Striiv, a fitness startup in Redwood City, Calif., is hoping to accomplish with its new app, launched last week. \nThe Striiv fitness app, available for iOS devices, is free to download and tailors challenges and fitness-oriented games to your personal habits, and broadcasts your results on social networks. The app includes its own video game, called \u201CMyLand,\u201D which is powered by an iPhone user\u2019s exercise habits -\u2013 in order to grow a plant or expand the island, the user must complete a series of challenges, from walking a set amount of steps to climbing stairs.\n\u201CIf you create the right environment where it\u2019s fun to play a game, you can change people\u2019s behaviors\u2026what if we could turn billions of button clicks into a billion steps?\u201D says Lexy Franklin, head of strategy and design for Striiv.\nStriiv\u2019s team is comprised of game developers and designers that have ties with designers from World of Warcraft. The goal is to turn MyLand into something as addictive as WoW with the convenience of Angry Birds, Franklin says. \nThe app can tracks steps taken throughout the day and then calculates distance walked and calories burned. But the app does more than put this data into a chart: If you sync with your Facebook friends or other Striiv users, you can see how your physical activity compares. You can participate in Striiv\u2019s personal challenges, such as taking 200 steps in 15 minutes, or just try to beat another user\u2019s personal best. One of the coolest features is that a number of steps can be translated into real-life comparisons, like walking a certain number of steps becomes the equivalent of crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. \n\u201CWhat people really need is motivation: once you know that you take 4,000 steps per day on average, how do you then use that to move people to take 10,000 steps a day?\u201D Franklin says. \u201CHow do we change the conversation in people\u2019s brains from fitness feeling like just a chore, just more charts in graphs, into feeling like play?\u201D\nStriiv\u2019s answer is through its social challenges: users earn energy points throughout the day, which then must be applied to future challenges \u2013- users are more likely to follow through if they already have skin in the game, Franklin says. \n\nSEE ALSO: Next-Gen Fitness Gadgets Will Sync to Bluetooth-Enabled Devices\nThe app uses the iPhone\u2019s sensor to track movements, and was designed to connect with the Striiv Play Smart Pedometer, also released last week. Users can clip the two-inch device onto nearly anything and then connect to a phone via Bluetooth so the app can continue to calculate.\nUnfortunately, the Play only syncs with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and latest version of the iPod touch and iPad, and so stair challenges aren\u2019t available on older devices. The pedometer can be used as an independent step counter for those with older models, and maintains data for 60 days. \nFranklin says Striiv intends to keep the app free, but the physical Play device retails for $69.95, available through Amazon or at Best Buy. Striiv would not release how many people have downloaded the app, but says it is pleased with the release so far. Check out how Striiv works in the video below.\n\nWould playing a game make you more likely to exercise? Let us know what smart tools you use to work out in the comments.\nImage courtesy of Striiv."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/11/09/striiv-app/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mashable%2Ftech+%28Mashable+%C2%BB+Tech%29>