Light Up Fireflies: Towards Understanding the Design of Interpersonal Bodily Intertwinement in Bodily Play

Yingtong Lu, Zhuying Li, Ding Ding

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the design of interpersonal bodily intertwinement through a VR social game, “Light Up Fireflies’’. Inspired by works of virtual co-embodiment, our game lets two players embody a single avatar, where each player controls half of the body. The gameplay involves walking in a virtual forest and collaboratively interacting with floating fireflies. While moving, poor coordination can lead to unbalanced movements, causing the avatar to lose its center of mass and fall. Such a design might blur the body boundary between players, providing an intriguing bodily experience of interpersonal bodily intertwinement. We hope our work offers novel insights into bodily play where players experience interconnected physical presence within the digital space.