M2 Master Cycle for Your Life In "Wasteland Courier" – a post-apocalyptic VR cycling game controlled by a real bicycle trainer

Motivation

Cycling outdoors is engaging and motivating, but training conditions are not always ideal due to weather, time constraints, or safety concerns. As a result, many cyclists train indoors using bike trainers. While these devices provide accurate performance data, the training experience itself is often repetitive and visually unengaging.

Goals

The goal of this project was to make indoor cycling more engaging by embedding physical training into a meaningful and immersive game experience.

We aimed to:

• Gamify indoor cycling without abstracting away physical effort
• Use real-world training data as direct game input
• Increase motivation through narrative context and gameplay challenges
• Create a strong sense of immersion using virtual reality

The player should feel like they are actively riding a bicycle in another world, rather than simply exercising in front of a screen.

The project started with a game design phase in which we explored different approaches to combining cycling and gameplay. Early concepts were sketched and discussed using collaborative tools, focusing on motivation, physical interaction, and immersion. We then developed a series of technical prototypes to validate our ideas:

• Initial Unity VR prototypes
• Reading and interpreting bike trainer data
• Sending resistance and gradient information back to the trainer
• Testing gyroscope-based steering using a smartphone

These prototypes helped us refine both the gameplay and the technical setup before integrating everything into a cohesive game experience.

We developed a VR game called Wasteland Courier using Unity. The game is controlled entirely through a real bike trainer and mobile phone gyro sensors, translating physical input directly into gameplay mechanics.

The bike trainer communicates with the game via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Therefore, we implemented a BLE Connector in Unity that supports the Fitness Machine Service (FTMS) specification. Using this service, our game can receive live performance data such as power output (watts), as well as send back resistance data to the trainer, to simulate inclines and terrain.

To enable steering, a smartphone is mounted on the handlebar and used as a gyroscope sensor. The smartphone sends gyroscope data via UDP to synchronize real-world steering with the in-game bicycle handlebar.

This setup allows the game to react dynamically to the player’s physical performance and creates a direct link between effort and gameplay.

Gameplay and Features

In Wasteland Courier, the player prepares for each mission in a garage before entering the world:

Garage Phase

Before each tour, the player prepares in the garage. The bicycle can be assembled and customized by equipping different parts that affect both appearance and gameplay. New components are unlocked through progression and can be equipped to adapt the bike to different challenges. The player also chooses which goods to transport, balancing risk and reward, and selects a route to ride.

Route Phase

During the route, the player rides through the environment using a real bicycle mounted on a trainer. Pedaling controls speed, while steering is handled through the handlebar. Along the way, the player must avoid zombies and environmental obstacles while discovering items placed along the route. The goal is to reach the destination as efficiently as possible, as stopping or slowing down increases the risk of being caught.

We designed two routes with different difficulty levels:

• A beginner-friendly 1 km swamp route
• A more challenging 5 km desert route

Both routes are designed to encourage physical effort and create an immersive world while maintaining a clear gameplay goal. In addition to the technical implementation, we designed and built a coherent game world that supports immersion and storytelling. Custom assets were created specifically for the bicycle and its components to ensure consistency between real-world interaction and virtual representation.