Ascending The Heights

If you visited us at Wackenhammer's Clockwork Arcade and Cape Cod Carousel in Hyannis, MA. last summer (Thank you!), you might have seen the interesting device pictured here.  It is called a Treadwall and usually it is sold as a piece of exercise equipment for the rock climbing enthusiasts. While only 10 feet tall, it nicely simulates a much taller rock wall by cycling continuously a belt of plates with hand holds.  They appear at the top of the device, cycle down the front and disappear at the bottom, ad infinitum, essentially a vertical treadmill (hence the name).  The device is nice in that it has no motors whatsoever; your body weight pulls the handholds down as you climb.  There is a convenient lever which adjusts a braking system, so you can adjust the speed of your climb. On the whole, quite a wonderful contraption!

When I first saw one, I thought this would be a great addition to the arcade and fully in-line with our Steampunk mechanical philosophy.  However, over the course of the 3 summer months that make up our operating season, we only got about 520 riders out of the approximately 70,000 patrons who crossed our threshold. Of those, very few who tried it actually stayed on for the full paid duration.  People would try it briefly and get off.  Sometimes a family or group of friends would each try it for half a minute.  Sadly, most of our customers just glanced at it momentarily and kept walking.  Why is that?  It looks like fun.  It mimics rock climbing, which people like and will normally go out of their way to do.  It is perhaps even safer than rock climbing since you are ever only a few feet off the ground.  It is good exercise.  It is a unique experience.  I could go on...

Was it too expensive at $3 for 3 minutes of use?   Almost nobody rode it when we offered 5 min for $5, so we reduced the investment.  Do people who come to arcades in the summer not want to exercise?  Was it too challenging to use? Was it boring?  Was it daunting to look at?  Eventually, I decided that unlike most of activities in our arcade, this one did not have an apparent goal. In essence, there was no game. It does measure your climb height/time on a quite small display, but it does not really tell you if you are doing well or more importantly if you beat your friend (unless you keep your own careful notes).  Worst of all, you could not WIN!  In the end, I decided that if this device was going to make people want to play with it, it needed to be transformed into a competitive climbing game!  So that is precisely the result I intend to pursue...

Stay tuned to this forum over the coming months.  I will attempt to elaborate in some detail the design philosophy, materials, processes and methods used to evolve this simple aerobic apparatus into an extra-ordinary arcade challenge!  Wish me luck!

-Otto