Why do we jump? Why do we jump?

Insurmountable obstacles in games are frustrating to players, says Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester and co-author of the book Glued to Games.

"In some early ... games when characters could not, for example, jump over a log or pass over a short hurdle, it was a real disruption in both narrative and immersion," Ryan says. "It frustrated the player's expected feelings of competence and autonomy. ... Jumping is now just an expected capacity or competence in games, where the world involves movement in space, in part because it is useful, adding realism and strategic choice."

Sometimes jumping is all players do. Some aimlessly jump around virtual worlds, particularly in MMO titles, with no benefit to speed or progression — just because it's fun.

"In World of Warcraft or many other MMOs, it is not uncommon to see avatars bouncing about when in town or a safe zone; jumping is a primordial expression of joy in humans, and it signals play," Ryan says.

We jump, in other words, because we (virtually) are.

Jason Begy is an author and research assistant at the Technoculture, Art and Games Research Centre. In his paper, "The History and Significance of Jumping in Games", Begy argues that we have a positive association with height: "good is up."

Begy claims that jumping in a virtual world is "ultimately about expressing power." This is not just limited to power over the physical opponents in a game. In many games, the greatest challenge a player faces is the environment itself.

"Jumping over ledges, walls, or down stairs is defying the environment's attempts to constrain or influence your navigation of it," Begy says. "The dominating jump can be a means of attack or avoidance, but dominance is always present."

Donkey Kong's "Jumpman" jumps to dominate the barrels. If he does not jump over the barrel, it will dominate him. But by jumping over it, he can render it harmless.

Begy's theory is that the real world does not always grant individuals the control over their lives that they desire. However, through the jump, video games provide a virtual world in which freedom, dominance and autonomy can be expressed at the mere press of a button.