A wearable interface was designed, built and tested as a prototype to evaluate users’ engagement.
Game Design on Wearable Interfaces
Multiplayer Laser Game with Wearable Interface
Institute
Role
Project
Collaborators
9th AHFE International Conference 2019
Interaction Designer
Study Case
i2t Research Center Carlos Arce Jaime Giraldo
Description
A wearable interface was designed, built and tested as a prototype to evaluate users’ engagement in a game setting. Our results demonstrate how meaningful multimodal feed back and self-directed involvement in game design can address several human factors challenges faced by user engagement designers.
Context
Wearable tecnhologies and ubiquitous games are a new kind of computer sciente that, isntead of isolating human beings in artiicial digitaal worlds, provide a meands of continous and integrated expression with our social and physical environment.
Although they do not have enough difussion now some day they will become such an important part of our live as latptops, mobile phones or even the writeen word, a completely new medium that becomes meritorious of exploration and development.
Laser Duel is not only a game with an innovative interace, it is also a proposal to integrate the physical and digital worl more and more.
wearable + game Inspiration
Improving engagement in products
User Engagement (UE) is a measure of the quality of the user experience when interacting with an interface.
Mission
To build a wearable interface for social gaming setting, we decided to test the importance of the self-directed, meaningful involvement with game design as a powerful tool to increase user engagement.
Hypothesys
Wearable
Lilypad + Sock
The wearable interface consisted of a light sensor and three different types of actuators: a RGB led, a buzzer and a vibe motor. All components were connected to a Lilypad Arduino using a conductive thread. Therefore, the multimodal feedback stimuli was designed as a combination of audio, tactile and visual information.
The electronic components were sewed into socks that the users have to wear in one foot. A conventional laser pointer was given to be used in conjunction with the light sensor to activate the interaction. When the laser pointed to the light sensor, the feedback system was activated.
Evaluation
We designed and conducted evaluations of the interface performance focusing on two main components: the multimodal feedback system, and the involvement in game design over several rounds. The NASA-TLX was used as a tool to assess the perceived workload for each player on each round. Also, players’ accuracy and response time were recorded. To evaluate user engagement, the game sessions were recorded on video and analyzed manually to extract the different game strategies but also human gestures associated with frustration or enjoyment.
Results
Multisensorial Feedback
Experimental results show that the wearable interface is comfortable and imperceptible during the development of the game since the players understood the meaning of each multimodal feedback from the first round. The users were not instructed about how to interpret the feedback system nor were they aware of its multimodality. They only were told to point to the opponent light sensor to initiate the competitive interaction.
All users associated the visual feedback with the status of the player in the game; the green light was associated with the start of the game, the yellow light was related to a warning to a possible loss of the round and the red light was associated with the end of the interaction.
Video recordings
The video recordings showed increased gestures of enjoyment when the game obeyed the self-imposed rules. The subjective video analysis (see Fig. 4) classified users in three different categories depending to expressions of frustration, laughter, self-reported satisfaction and commentary by users. The three classes were excellent, very good and good.
The expressions of enjoyment, such as laughter and jokes increased by 20% as well as interactions between players, such as speech and physical contact.
Conclusions
We introduced a wearable interface that is comfortable and imperceptible. The interface is simple enough for users to be able to add game modes based on social agreements which demonstrates how meaningful multimodal feedback and self-directed involve ment in game design can tackle several human factors challenges faced by user engagement designers.
This project was made thanks to the i2t Center and published in the AFHE 2018 Internacional Conference. Check it out here.
Want to stay in touch arturocotacio@gmail.com
