Lining Yao, Sayamindu Dasgupta, Nadia Cheng, Jason Spingarn-Koff, Ostap Rudakevych, Hiroshi Ishii

Abstract

Jump roping, a game in which one or more people twirl a rope while others jump over the rope, promotes social interaction among children while developing their coordination skills and physical fitness. However, the traditional game requires that players be in the same physical location. Our 'Multi-Jump' jump-roping game platform builds on the traditional game by allowing players to participate remotely by employing an augmented rope system. The game involves full-body motion in a shared game space and is enhanced with live video feeds, player rewards and music. Our work aims to expand exertion interface gaming, or games that deliberately require intense physical effort, with genuine tangible interfaces connected to real-time shared social gaming environments.