EyePlay Interactive Floor: Simple Yet Engaging

The first time I saw something that resembled an EyePlay Interactive Floor machine was when I was a bit younger at a mall. It was in an open part of the mall, and projecting bubbles for people to step on and pop. It was cool to see something new and innovative, but I thought ‘what is the point?’.

Now years later EyePlay exists with the same idea but with better technology and less limitations. They have three products the EyePlay Floor, EyePlay Wall, and EyePlay Table, with the EyePlay Interactive Floor being the focus here. With more realistic physic effects, accurate movement tracking, and a variety of games, the EyePlay Floor has improved on previous products and technology. Directly from the EyePlay Interactive Floor page:

“EyePlay Floor is a highly advanced video game platform for the professional market with motion-activated games that kids can play with their entire bodies. Part of what makes EyePlay Floor so much fun is the high level of natural interactivity that it encourages. Multiple players can run, jump, twist and dance, using their hands and feet to set sounds and projected graphics in motion. Our interactive playground system, combines the intuitive human motion with an interactive floor and the result is a highly effective interactive playground that captivates your target audience.”

We will be installing an EyePlay Interactive Floor at the Children’s Inn at NIH. You can take a little tour of their facilities and building here. They have lots of activities for children and families like video games, air hockey tables, a library, but nothing as interactive as this yet. When these children are in a new sometimes scary place, it helps to have an ice breaker with the other kids. The EyePlay Interactive Floor is the solution to that, helping kids breakout of their comfort zones and just play – while being active.

They truly strive at the Children’s Inn to make an extremely comfortable environment for these sick kids. That’s why games like this are not viewed as ‘extras’ but instead as necessities. From their Vision and Mission page:

“The Children’s Inn will fully and consistently meet the needs of children and families participating in groundbreaking research at the National Institutes of Health. We will:

• Respond to evolving family support needs from pediatric research and clinical care
• Provide a free, family-centered “place like home”
• Reduce the burden of illness through therapeutic, educational, and recreational programming”

It is very easy for kids to play multiplayer games on the EyePlay Interactive Floor as well, essentially anything can be played with more than one person. With the different variety of games that it comes with, kids can easily get lost in playing these. Below is a compilation of some of the best games from the EyePlay Interactive Floor. It becomes very easy to have kids jump in and out for these games, making them casual but very engaging. These simple games will be perfect for a child of any age, but have enough depth that kids can stay engaged longer. A stay at a hospital can be scary for anyone, especially a child, so it helps to have these interactive games to distract people from their stay if only for a little bit.

Also take a look at the NH Recreational Center’s new EyePlay Floor addition here.