By Paige Trendell

A student-owned Pump It Up dance video game raised the energy at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union’s All Niter on Friday.

Pump It Up is the Korean version of the popular music video game, Dance Dance Revolution, according to Pacifico Murphy, game owner and leader of UMCP Rhythm Gaming. Players stand on a platform, moving their feet in a guided pattern to the music.

Students of all levels of experience tested their dance moves in front of the crowd of people waiting in line behind them. The game, which plays Korean music, attracted the attention of senior information science major Kelly Kameni and senior computer science major Uwamusi Ewanehi. 

“We saw this dance game, so I was like, Let’s do it. And they’re playing SEVENTEEN. I love SEVENTEEN,” Kameni said.

SEVENTEEN is a K-pop boy band, according to People magazine. Even though this was Ewanehi’s first time playing Pump It Up, it did not stop her from having a good time.

“It was fun. I was horrible, but it was fun,” Ewanehi said. 

Kameni, who also played for the first time, felt similarly.

“It was very hype,” Kameni said. “Great leg workout for people who don’t like to do legs at the gym.”

Murphy, a junior mechanical engineering major, said it took some help to set up the nearly 8-foot-tall game.

“I keep it stored in a storage unit, and I’ve rented out a 26-foot U-Haul, and I loaded it into the loading dock [at Stamp],” he explained. 

Kameni and Ewanehi said they were surprised to see the game at the All Niter given its size.

“We were wondering how they even got it in the building, because it’s huge,” Kameni said. 

Pump It Up has made other appearances on campus prior to the All Niter. Murphy said they recently brought it to the Xfinity Center for the men’s basketball game on Feb. 5 and the Terrapin Anime Society’s Kamecon on Nov. 16. 

Stamp reached out to UMCP Rhythm Gaming to bring Pump It Up to the All Niter after its success at Kamecon, according to Murphy. 

At one point during the All Niter, students gathered in awe and watched Murphy’s feet fly across the platform. 

“It’s really an incredible feeling … improving side by side, encouraging each other, cheering each other on,” Murphy said, adding that UMCP Rhythm Gaming “is a really wholesome, welcoming community.”

Rhythm is one of the many divisions of UMCP Gaming. The club meets weekly to visit arcades where they play other rhythm and dance games.

Murphy wants more people to have access to these rhythm games.

“My ultimate dream is to have this permanently on campus,” he said. 

He said he also wants students to have Pump It Up as a way to destress in between classes, or just for fun.  

“I feel like there’s not a whole lot to do here on campus, especially not a lot owned by students and especially not a lot that’s free,” he said. 

Murphy explained that many people who play the game competitively have it in a private collection or cabinet, but he does not want to keep it to himself.

“The thing is, I don’t want a private cabinet. I want to share it with everybody,” he said.

Featured Image: Pacifico Murphy, junior mechanical engineering major and head of UMCP Gaming, demonstrates his Pump It Up skills at the Stamp All Niter on Feb. 6, 2026. Photo by Paige Trendell.