Escape from the Hamster Wheel: Exploring the Role of Joy of Movement in Movement-based Games

Abstract

Movement-based games often leverage digital games as an opportunity to mask physical activity, neglecting the perspective that movement can be inherently enjoyable. In the work presented here, we examine joy of movement through Puzzle Ball Hamster, a game in which players need to move and bounce on a large sensor-equipped gymnastic ball to make game input. We invite the attendees of CHI PLAY to engage with our game, explore their own experience of joy of movement, and to safely lead a little hamster to escape.