Movement Empowerment in a Multiplayer Mixed-Reality Trampoline Game

Abstract

Insufficient physical activity motivation is a major public health problem. Exergames-games requiring physical exertion-can be designed to support motivation. For example, granting superhuman movement abilities to players has been shown to support one's feeling of competence, an innate human need and a core intrinsic motivation factor posited by self-determination theory. In this paper, we present Super Stomp, a multiplayer mixed-reality trampoline game that empowers movement by exaggerating jump height both in the real world and in the game. We contribute a novel dual-trampoline game system and game mechanics for implementing engaging multiplayer gameplay. This provides an exemplar of satisfying the challenging constraints that real-world movement empowerment technology can impose on exergame movement safety and feasibility. We further contribute insights into the effect of empowering movement on need satisfaction through an in-the-wild study involving 26 participants who played Super Stomp at an indoor activity park.