One of our studies investigated how playing a simple body-controlled game while jumping on a trampoline affects the exercise experience, and whether the game enables the learning of basic trampolining skills [ 1]. We also wanted to see if traditional game mechanics such as jump-height exaggeration affect skill learning and player motivation.

To study this, we developed a platform jumping game implemented using computer vision and a screen placed near a large trampoline. Players could see themselves jumping in a virtual world, and their jump height was either greatly exaggerated or matched to the real-world jump height on the trampoline.

According to the participants,
trampoline training was regarded
as fun by itself, but the game made
it more engaging. Furthermore,
jump-height exaggeration made the
game even more empowering, as
shown in the following reactions from
participants:
• “More rewarding, like driving a
race car instead of a scooter”
• “The exaggerated game feels
somehow like superpowers in a game.
Suddenly you get a boost.”
Our study found no differences
in learning high and precise jumps
between the groups playing a game
and the group without a game.
Focusing on the game did not disturb
the participants’ jump training, and
many participants considered the real-
time feedback beneficial:
• “I don’t pay so much attention to
the jumping; it comes automatically
when focusing on the game.”
• “I forgot how I was jumping and
concentrated on the result.”
Extra empowerment in the game, in
the form of jump-height exaggeration,
did not affect the performance
adversely, and most of the participants
preferred the exaggerated version of the
game. The participants felt the jump-
height exaggeration was natural. But
what really surprised us was that half
of the participants did not even notice
the exaggeration, even though they
could jump many times over their own
height in the game world. This suggests
that extra empowerment in the human-
computer feedback loop may be used

Figure 1. A real training environment can be combined with a fantasy world, where a player's skills can be exaggerated while still enabling motor learning and vigorous exercise. In our trampoline game setup, an image of a player on a trampoline is captured with a depth camera, allowing the player to see himself in the game world.