VRChat Squat
A VRChat world where a character cheers you on while you do push-ups and squats.
VRChat
Unity / UdonSharp
State machine
Class design
Maker Faire
Platform
VRChat, built with Unity and UdonSharp
Input
Headset position only — no extra controllers or sensors
My role
Nearly every stage: planning, state-machine and class design, and Unity implementation
Released
Announced on Twitter in November 2022; shown at Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022
Background and technical challenge
Since the pandemic, the need to make up for lost exercise at home — and for fitness inside VR — has grown. We focused on a familiar problem: working out alone and in silence is hard to keep up. The aim was a workout world in VRChat where you can check your form alongside avatars and keep going, cheered on, and actually enjoy it.
The technical core was an interaction constraint: count squats and push-ups using only the headset position VRChat already provides (headData.position.y), with no extra controllers or sensors. The height of the head had to be tracked in real time so that every dip could be counted accurately.
Constraint. No extra devices: every repetition is counted from head height alone.
Role and scope
Developed within the ailab* team, but I handled almost every stage myself — from planning, through state-machine and class design, to implementation in Unity.
Planning
A workout world where you copy the avatar next to you and are cheered on to keep going.
State-machine design
Four game states, and the events that move the game between them.
Class design
Small classes that each watch the shared game status and act on their own.
Unity implementation
The world itself, with separate lanes for push-ups and squats.
Technology and architecture
Platform
VRChat: the world is built on Unity and UdonSharp.
Input
No extra devices. Movement is detected from the player’s head-tracking data (headData.position.y) alone.
State management
GameStatus defines four states — GameStart → TrainingStart → TrainingEnd → GameEnd — and a state machine moves between them on events: stepping on or off the mat, pressing Start, reaching the target count, pressing EXIT.
The game is split into small classes. Each one watches the shared game status and acts on its own:
GameManagement
Game flow and status.
MatON
Mat on / off detection.
PlayerUI
Screen and buttons.
Counter
Repetition count.
SoundSystem
Music and cheering voice.
CalorieCount
Calorie display.
Mirror
Mirror settings.
The field has several lanes — for push-ups, for squats and so on — so every player steps onto their own mat and plays independently.
What took some care
To count one repetition accurately from head position alone, I tuned the squat thresholds and timing.
So that several people playing on separate mats never cross wires, every mat has its own independent state machine.
Reaching the target count triggers a cheering voice — a game-like sense of achievement reinforced with sound and UI.
Results and impact
Public release
Announced on Twitter in November 2022 and opened to everyone as a world anyone can play in VRChat.
Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022
Exhibited at Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022.
Concept reception
The idea that you can copy the avatar next to you to work out with good form got a positive response.