rubberbanding

[ ruhb-er-ban-ding ]

noun

1. (in online video games) the backward popping of characters in motion to their recently occupied spaces that results from high latency in the network connection.
2. an aspect of game design that restrains the margin between the winning and losing players, either by awarding bonuses to the weakest player or handicapping the player in first place.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubberbanding¹

1995–2000; by analogy to the stretching and contracting of a rubber band ( def )

Example Sentences

This recent update focuses on rubberbanding, a particularly striking latency problem that makes it look like you’re moving forward before snapping you back to wherever you were a few seconds ago.

From Forbes

One of Apple’s many patents on user-experience programming covers its “rubberbanding” or “bounce” feature — when a user pulls a finger from the top of the touch screen to the bottom, the digital page bounces.

From New York Times