The Rules
8 semi-transparent blocks are overlaid on the video stream, which each player has to strike in order to score. These virtual blocks are connected over the network, meaning they are shared between the locations. If one of the two players strikes any of them once, they “crack”. If that block is hit again, it cracks more. On the third hit, the block “breaks” and disappears. This analogy was chosen to portray the idea of “breaking through” to the other person on the remote end. The player would only receive a point if the block breaks. This scoring theme creates an entertaining and interesting game because the players can watch what the other player is doing, waiting for her/him to hit a block for the second time, so they can then snatch the point by hitting it for the third and final time. In order to avoid a purely tactical game and encourage intense physical activity, an impact-intensity measurement component was added. If the player hits the block hard, it would not only crack a little, it would crack twice. A really hard strike could even break the block completely in one go. For this, the impact intensity was measured and mapped onto a three-point scale. The harder the player hits a block, the more it cracks.
