The Physical Space of Physical Gaming
Masters Thesis Project - Empirical study of physical gaming in the home

Advisor: Beki Grinter

Physical games use the players' physical activity as input in game play. Over the past few years physical gaming has been taken out of the arcade and popularized in the home environment. These devices have spatial demands both in play and in rest. In the context of the domestic environment, these games must compete with other entertainment activities of the home. To this end, we are investigating how the home transforms to include physical gaming. The information gleaned from this study will be used to inform the design of physical gaming devices fitted for the home.

Qualitative Analysis of Dance Dance Revolution
Observation and grounded theory analysis of DDR arcade usage

Yelena Nakhimovsky, Allison Sall, Ji-Won Song

role: research

Our initial research question was, “what is the relationship between Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and its players?” We conducted observational fieldwork in two arcade settings in the Atlanta area. As we observed, our research question narrowed to look more closely at the interactions of the observers. Observers tend to shift roles from passive to active, and from observer to performer. Through grounded theory we identified concepts, categories, and groupings which looked to explain the interactions of an observer.

Don't Turn your Back to me
A detailed analysis and redesign of a Video Karaoke system to address
user needs

CJ Hutto, Elsa Eiriksdottir, Jessica McMillen, Yelena Nakhimovsky, Allison Sall

role: research, interaction design

Private video karaoke has seen a recent surge in popularity. This setting offers distinct advantages for a user’s experience over the traditional bar scene. Users are able to control and cater their karaoke experience by adjusting aspects of the system to their preferences, including song and video selection, frequency of performance, volume, and light levels. Handing controls over to novices requires more care in system design than is currently utilized. Every factor that introduces frustration or irritation jeopardizes the goal of the entertainment experience.

We conducted a detailed analysis of a private video karaoke system in Doraville, Georgia, based on the requirements imposed by its users, their tasks, and the environment. Targeting areas for improvement, we proposed and prototyped an improved microphone and a table that serves as a multi-station touch screen controller. The proposed system design improves ease of use by simplifying the controls, increasing audience participation, improving function allocation, and providing the user with better ways to browse and search songs. No one wants to spend the first thirty minutes of a fun Friday night reckoning with the karaoke machine. We don’t think they should have to.

Improving American Idol Voting:
Analysis and User-Centered Design of an ITV voting system for American Idol

Jason Alderman, Shaun Morber, Dan Klainbaum, Allison Sall

role: research, design

Although television is a passive medium, shows often attempt to include their audiences in the drama of the show. One popular method, in this era of “reality” television, is letting audience members vote. The television show “American Idol,” is a popular talent contest, which culminates each week with an audience call-in voting system to determine the top performer.

The present voting system is accomplished by phoning in a vote during a two-hour time window. Within this system are numerous problems. The most critical is access. According to MSNBC , only 4 out of 100 calls were able to cast their vote. In addition, the current system provides little to no feedback to let the voter know that their vote has been cast successfully, nor what effect their vote has had on the outcome. There are no explicit security measures in place to prevent ballot-stuffing through “power-dialing” and “phone-phreaking.” There is little room for error—no reversibility that allows users to correct a possibly misdialed vote for the wrong contestant.

By conducting a user, task, environmental, and existing system analysis we defined the problem space. Then, four alternatives were drawn to fit the usability criteria that we established. We presented the alternatives in a poster review session. The most popular were the more novel ideas, which lead us to decide on iTV as the format. ITV offers the potential to give users the feedback they need, and be flexible enough to offer reversible actions, clarity, and robustness. We liked the idea of keeping the act of voting in the same medium as the performance. We created a prototype in flash that used a remote control for navigation.

We then conducted user testing, keeping track of errors, and voting times. Users rated the systems on a Likert scale, and a questionnaire. The results verified our criticism. Users found the existing phone solution as aggravating, with a wide gulf of execution. The visual display of our prototype was welcomed, and users commented that they liked seeing the results of their vote. Problems found were due to a lack of familiarity with the remote control, users wanted a cursor. Yet overall, users rated our prototype higher than the existing system.

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