Quell Talks: Traversal

Welcome to Quell Talks, a series where every week we explore a different aspect of Quell’s Fitness Game, Shardfall. 

Quell provides a video game fitness experience using the Impact and launch title, Shardfall. But what is fitness gaming? In short, fitness gaming is where an immersive gaming experience is used to motivate your fitness journey. It helps you to maintain a consistent workout routine while having fun.

We’re fast approaching the day when our early backers can experience their first workout with Quell. In the Quell Talks series we’re unveiling the epic adventure that awaits our first 5000 backers. Not part of the Quell Community yet? You can place your order now and join in soon!

First up on Quell Talks is Shardfall’s Traversal section.

In the land of Shardfall, the Titan governs the world. It is a powerful creature which balances the forces of creation and destruction. The Sylvae are ethereal spirits that help to maintain the natural world. The Bellicus Tribe, fuelled by an expansionist ideology, are building new cities that are taller than mountains and span wider than forests. But in doing so they have angered the Titan. Colossal fragments of the Titan’s Rage have begun to thunder down and corrupt the natural world. The Titan’s Rage warps the Sylvae into dangerous and violent creatures. The only way to stop them is to free them from the Rage. 

The Elan Tribe live in harmony with nature and focus their efforts on healing and growing the natural world. As part of the Elan Tribe, your mission is to free nature from these shards of Rage, returning the Titan to serenity and ultimately restoring the natural balance. You must battle the Sylvae consumed by Rage in order to free them. However, the Bellicus Tribe have discovered that they can mine the Titan’s rage to accelerate their technological advances and they will defend their work at all costs. You will have to overcome Bellicus Soldiers on your journey to calm the Titan and restore the natural world.

Shardfall is divided into two main activities, Traversal and Combat. In Traversal you’re free to adventure through the world. Run to get your heart racing as you explore but watch out for tricky obstacles laid out by Bellicus in your path.

Rage Orbs

As you run along the winding paths you’ll see a stream of Rage Orbs. These are balls of the Titan’s Rage that have been captured by the protective magic of the paths. Collecting them will help you to restore the natural world to peace. 

You can pick up Rage Orbs by running on the spot and using the controllers to steer through the trail of Orbs. High effort is rewarded in Shardfall, you have to be running at a good pace in order to gather the Rage Orbs. When you’re running fast enough they will ignite and become collectable. 

Each time you collect a Rage Orb it will increase your Rage score. The higher your Rage score, the more challenging your sessions become. But the energy is worth it, you will unlock greater rewards as a result.

Obstacles

The Bellicus have mutilated the path through the world making your journey more dangerous in an attempt to thwart your mission. They think that they are mining the Titan’s Rage for a good cause. They believe that progress is sacred and will protect their work at all costs. They know that you are trying to calm the Titan and restore nature but this will inhibit their ability to build cities. They will do anything to stop you, including setting tricky traps along your path. 

Some of the obstacles you will encounter extend over the entirety of the path. They range from spiked fences to looming structures made from rocks and thorns. To avoid these you will need to jump over or duck under them. Running into the obstacle will damage your health so keep your eyes peeled and be prepared.

The Bellicus have set out closing wall traps in an attempt to stop you. If you run into one of these you will need to sprint through to avoid getting caught between the fast closing spiked walls. Once you’ve made it through safely you should return to a running speed - don’t let the Belicus slow you down. 

As if you don’t have enough to contend with, some sections of the path are obstructed by large shards of the Titan’s Rage. Try to navigate around these as you’re running because colliding with them is damaging. Keep collecting Rage Orbs as you go but stay alert, some of the orbs will take you dangerously close to an obstacle.

Biomes

As you adventure through Shardfall you will run through a range of sub-biomes. These different environments that make up the world of Shardfall.

Some show the natural world in all its beauty. They are filled with luscious green tones and lively branches full of leaves that arch over the paths. These places are peaceful, they have not yet been disrupted by Rage. 

Others demonstrate where the natural world has been corrupted by Rage. The undisturbed serenity turns to danger in the form of foggy swamps and daunting stalagmites. While these areas don’t pose a direct threat to you, you might quicken your pace to get back to more tranquil paths.

In the Bellicus Biomes you see how their mission for civilization has damaged and warped the natural world. Gigantic Bellicus structures take a menacing presence among wilted plants and a darker, threatening light is cast over these more barren environments. It’s worth persevering on your quest as even in these areas there are small but bright natural elements peaking through.

So, that’s a speed run through Traversal. Come back next week to find out more about the adventure our first 5000 backers will experience in March. 

Want to join the conversation? Head over to our Discord to get involved in the Traversal discussion.