Defining Engagement and Characterizing Engaged-Behaviors in Digital Gaming

International audienceBackground. Although the analysis of engagement is crucial for digital entertainment or learning games, the concept of players' or learners' engagement is still confusing. Indeed, in digital games research, several concepts referring to the idea of engagement such as immersion, involvement, presence, and flow are used. Also, while the characterization of engaged-behaviors may be useful for designers or teachers in assessing players' or learners' engagement, the nature and the scope of these behaviors are still unclear. Aim. In this article, based on a multidisciplinary state of the art on the concept of engagement, we define and delineate the concepts related to digital gaming engagement. Results. We characterize engaged-behaviors by identifying four types of engagement: environmental, social, self, and action. We thus refine, disambiguate, and characterize the concepts of engagement and engaged-behaviors. This work therefore constitutes an effective support for analyzing, designing, assessing, and personalizing engaging activities in digital games

Experience Prototyping for Automotive Applications

In recent years, we started to define our life through experiences we make instead of objectswe buy. To attend a concert of our favorite musician may be more important for us thanowning an expensive stereo system. Similarly, we define interactive systems not only by thequality of the display or its usability, but rather by the experiences we can make when usingthe device. A cell phone is primarily built for making calls and receiving text messages,but on an emotional level it might provide a way to be close to our loved ones, even thoughthey are far away sometimes. When designing interactive technology, we do not only haveto answer the question how people use our systems, but also why they use them. Thus,we need to concentrate on experiences, feelings and emotions arising during interaction.Experience Design is an approach focusing on the story that a product communicates beforeimplementing the system. In an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, industrial designers, product developers andspecialists in human-computer interaction, we applied an Experience Design process to theautomotive domain. A major challenge for car manufacturers is the preservation of theseexperiences throughout the development process. When implementing interactive systemsengineers rely on technical requirements and a set of constraints (e.g., safety) oftentimescontradicting aspects of the designed experience. To resolve this conflict, Experience Prototypingis an important tool translating experience stories to an actual interactive product. With this thesis I investigate the Experience Design process focusing on Experience Prototyping.Within the automotive context, I report on three case studies implementing threekinds of interactive systems, forming and following our approach. I implemented (1) anelectric vehicle information system called Heartbeat, communicating the state of the electricdrive and the batteries to the driver in an unobtrusive and ensuring way. I integrated Heartbeatinto the dashboard of a car mock-up with respect to safety and space requirements butat the same time holding on to the story in order to achieve a consistent experience. With (2)the Periscope I implemented a mobile navigation device enhancing the social and relatednessexperiences of the passengers in the car. I built and evaluated several experience prototypesin different stages of the design process and showed that they transported the designed experiencethroughout the implementation of the system. Focusing on (3) the experience offreehand gestures, GestShare explored this interaction style for in-car and car-to-car socialexperiences. We designed and implemented a gestural prototypes for small but effectivesocial interactions between drivers and evaluated the system in the lab and and in-situ study. The contributions of this thesis are (1) a definition of Experience Prototyping in the automotivedomain resulting from a literature review and my own work, showing the importanceand feasibility of Experience Prototyping for Experience Design. I (2) contribute three casestudies and describe the details of several prototypes as milestones on the way from a anexperience story to an interactive system. I (3) derive best practices for Experience Prototypingconcerning their characteristics such as fidelity, resolution and interactivity as well asthe evaluation in the lab an in situ in different stages of the process.Wir definieren unser Leben zunehmend durch Dinge, die wir erleben und weniger durchProdukte, die wir kaufen. Ein Konzert unseres Lieblingsmusikers zu besuchen kann dabeiwichtiger sein, als eine teure Stereoanlage zu besitzen. Auch interaktive Systeme bewertenwir nicht mehr nur nach der Qualität des Displays oder der Benutzerfreundlichkeit, sondernauch nach Erlebnissen, die durch die Benutzung möglich werden. Das Smartphone wurdehauptsächlich zum Telefonieren und Schreiben von Nachrichten entwickelt. Auf einer emotionalenEbene bietet es uns aber auch eine Möglichkeit, wichtigen Personen sehr nah zusein, auch wenn sie manchmal weit weg sind. Bei der Entwicklung interaktiver Systememüssen wir uns daher nicht nur fragen wie, sondern auch warum diese benutzt werden. Erlebnisse,Gefühle und Emotionen, die während der Interaktion entstehen, spielen dabei einewichtige Rolle. Experience Design ist eine Disziplin, die sich auf Geschichten konzentriert,die ein Produkt erzählt, bevor es tatsächlich implementiert wird. In einem interdisziplinären Team aus Psychologen, Industrie-Designern, Produktentwicklernund Spezialisten der Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion wurde ein Prozess zur Erlebnis-Gestaltung im automobilen Kontext angewandt. Die Beibehaltung von Erlebnissen über dengesamten Entwicklungsprozess hinweg ist eine große Herausforderung für Automobilhersteller.Ingenieure hängen bei der Implementierung interaktiver Systeme von technischen,sicherheitsrelevanten und ergonomischen Anforderungen ab, die oftmals dem gestaltetenErlebnis widersprechen. Die Bereitstellung von Erlebnis-Prototypen ermöglicht die Übersetzungvon Geschichten in interaktive Produkte und wirkt daher diesem Konflikt entgegen. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation untersuche ich den Prozess zur Erlebnis-Gestaltung hinsichtlichder Bedeutung von Erlebnis-Prototypen. Ich berichte von drei Fallbeispielen im automobilenBereich, die die Gestaltung und Implementierung verschiedener interaktiver Systemenumfassen. (1) Ein Informationssystem für Elektrofahrzeuge, der Heartbeat, macht den Zustanddes elektrischen Antriebs und den Ladestand der Batterien für den Fahrer visuell undhaptisch erlebbar. Nach der Implementierung mehrerer Prototypen wurde Heartbeat unterBerücksichtigung verschiedener technischer und sicherheitsrelevanter Anforderungen in dieArmaturen eines Fahrzeugmodells integriert, ohne dass dabei das gestaltete Erlebnis verlorengegangen ist. (2) Das Periscope ist ein mobiles Navigationsgerät, das den Insassensoziale Erlebnisse ermöglicht und das Verbundenheitsgefühl stärkt. Durch die Implementierungmehrere Erlebnis-Prototypen und deren Evaluation in verschiedenen Phasen des Entwicklungsprozesseskonnten die gestalteten Erlebnisse konsistent erhalten werden. (3) ImProjekt GestShare wurde das Potential der Interaktion durch Freiraumgesten im Fahrzeuguntersucht. Dabei standen ein Verbundenheitserlebnis des Fahrers und soziale Interaktionenmit Fahrern anderer Fahrzeuge im Fokus. Es wurden mehrere Prototypen implementiert undauch in einer Verkehrssituation evaluiert. Die wichtigsten Beiträge dieser Dissertation sind (1) eine intensive Betrachtung und Anwendungvon Erlebnis-Prototypen im Auto und deren Relevanz bei der Erlebnis-Gestaltung,beruhend auf einer Literaturauswertung und der eigenen Erfahrung innerhalb des Projekts; (2) drei Fallstudien und eine detaillierte Beschreibung mehrere Prototypen in verschiedenenPhasen des Prozesses und (3) Empfehlungen zu Vorgehensweisen bei der Erstellung vonErlebnis-Prototypen hinsichtlich der Eigenschaften wie Nähe zum finalen Produkt, Anzahlder implementierten Details und Interaktivität sowie zur Evaluation im Labor und in tatsächlichenVerkehrssituationen in verschiedenen Phasen des Entwicklungsprozesses

Towards a Cognitive Architecture for Socially Adaptive Human-Robot Interaction

People have a natural predisposition to interact in an adaptive manner with others, by instinctively changing their actions, tones and speech according to the perceived needs of their peers. Moreover, we are not only capable of registering the affective and cognitive state of our partners, but over a prolonged period of interaction we also learn which behaviours are the most appropriate and well-suited for each one of them individually. This universal trait that we share regardless of our different personalities is referred to as social adaptation (adaptability). Humans are always capable of adapting to the others although our personalities may influence the speed and efficacy of the adaptation. This means that in our everyday lives we are accustomed to partake in complex and personalized interactions with our peers. Carrying this ability to personalize to human-robot interaction (HRI) is highly desirable since it would provide user-personalized interaction, a crucial element in many HRI scenarios - interactions with older adults, assistive or rehabilitative robotics, child-robot interaction (CRI), and many others. For a social robot to be able to recreate this same kind of rich, human-like interaction, it should be aware of our needs and affective states and be capable of continuously adapting its behaviour to them. Equipping a robot with these functionalities however is not a straightforward task. A robust approach for solving this is implementing a framework for the robot supporting social awareness and adaptation. In other words, the robot needs to be equipped with the basic cognitive functionalities, which would allow the robot to learn how to select the behaviours that would maximize the pleasantness of the interaction for its peers, while being guided by an internal motivation system that would provide autonomy to its decision-making process. The goal of this research was threefold: attempt to design a cognitive architecture supporting social HRI and implement it on a robotic platform; study how an adaptive framework of this kind would function when tested in HRI studies with users; and explore how including the element of adaptability and personalization in a cognitive framework would in reality affect the users - would it bring an additional richness to the human-robot interaction as hypothesized, or would it instead only add uncertainty and unpredictability that would not be accepted by the robot`s human peers? This thesis covers the work done on developing a cognitive framework for human-robot interaction; analyzes the various challenges of implementing the cognitive functionalities, porting the framework on several robotic platforms and testing potential validation scenarios; and finally presents the user studies performed with the robotic platforms of iCub and MiRo, focused on understanding how a cognitive framework behaves in a free-form HRI context and if humans can be aware and appreciate the adaptivity of the robot. In summary, this thesis had the task of approaching the complex field of cognitive HRI and attempt to shed some light on how cognition and adaptation develop from both the human and the robot side in an HRI scenario

Designing an educational interactive eBook for newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes: Mapping a new design space

peer-reviewedIn this paper, we report on a project investigating the role of Interactive Technologies (IT) and participatory design methods in supporting self-care practices in paediatric Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). In particular, we discuss the design of an educational interactive eBook to support newly diagnosed children and their families in learning about effective management outside the clinical–medical consultation. We use our design as an illustration of a potential new design space for type 1 diabetes learning resources. We map this space by identifying a series of oppositions that helps us to explore new design assumptions that could better support the education of newly diagnosed children and families: learning alone vs learning together, medical vs patient perspective, prescriptive language vs narratives and social stories, and static vs interactive educational contents. Through a discussion of these shifting of points of focus in the design of educational products in T1DM, we hope to open up new opportunities to rethink the design of tools to support the education of paediatric diabetes (and possibly of other chronic diseases and conditions)

Paradoxes of Interactivity

Current findings from anthropology, genetics, prehistory, cognitive and neuroscience indicate that human nature is grounded in a co-evolution of tool use, symbolic communication, social interaction and cultural transmission. Digital information technology has recently entered as a new tool in this co-evolution, and will probably have the strongest impact on shaping the human mind in the near future. A common effort from the humanities, the sciences, art and technology is necessary to understand this ongoing co- evolutionary process. Interactivity is a key for understanding the new relationships formed by humans with social robots as well as interactive environments and wearables underlying this process. Of special importance for understanding interactivity are human-computer and human-robot interaction, as well as media theory and New Media Art. »Paradoxes of Interactivity« brings together reflections on »interactivity« from different theoretical perspectives, the interplay of science and art, and recent technological developments for artistic applications, especially in the realm of sound

Paradoxes of interactivity: perspectives for media theory, human-computer interaction, and artistic investigations

Current findings from anthropology, genetics, prehistory, cognitive and neuroscience indicate that human nature is grounded in a co-evolution of tool use, symbolic communication, social interaction and cultural transmission. Digital information technology has recently entered as a new tool in this co-evolution, and will probably have the strongest impact on shaping the human mind in the near future. A common effort from the humanities, the sciences, art and technology is necessary to understand this ongoing co- evolutionary process. Interactivity is a key for understanding the new relationships formed by humans with social robots as well as interactive environments and wearables underlying this process. Of special importance for understanding interactivity are human-computer and human-robot interaction, as well as media theory and New Media Art. "Paradoxes of Interactivity" brings together reflections on "interactivity" from different theoretical perspectives, the interplay of science and art, and recent technological developments for artistic applications, especially in the realm of sound

Understanding aesthetics in a virtual environment performance. A

The virtual performance is a form of art that simultaneously develops with information technology, as IT provides the flexibility to develop sophisticated design Systems for the artist. Moreover, the intrinsic relationship between art and technology is apparent from the concluding research results. This research aimed to investigate the aesthetical value of VEs performances. The purpose of the study was to confront the location of aesthe tics in VEs. The qualitative method was employed due to the attempt to control the investigated objective. Literature review was employed due to the necessity to understand the VEs aesthetic phenomena in their entirely for developing a complete picture of the research field. Case studies and observation were mainly used because of the type of research conducted. The resulting findings were taken into consideration or rejected through interviews with creators of virtual performances. The research took place in three stages. The first step was to determine the research aims and objectives. The second, was to design the research plan which was divided along three basic axes. The first refers to the historical review and development of visual arts in order to determine the characteristics of the investigated art form. The second axis was the comprehension of the aesthetics that are produced via the determined characteristics. More specifically, these are interactivity, the interrupted flow of information and the audience participation. The third stage was the attempt to identify the elements that characterise a virtual performance. How the artist can handle the interactive element and- create conditions of immersion for his audience. The manifesto of virtual performances was created through the course of research and the analysis of the findings that belong to the third stage, which also includes the data analysis. Another element that also emerged was of the audience's interaction with the performance's development. This element, is in itself a product of aesthetics that has a great influence on the progression pf the thought processes of the audiences that interact with a virtual performance. The creator requires a spectator that is an active participant in order to develop the performance's plot. This does not indicate that the creator can manipulate the audience as a tool because each spectator has his own thoughts and critical evaluations. The spectator simply handles and combines according to his choices the elements that the artist offers so that he can project and co-create the performance's plot. The more the spectator experiences virtual performances through his interaction, the more lie will gain knowledge and freedom which will result in virtual performances to offer a larger selection and more powerful experiences. Besides, this art form is still in its embryonic stage and its maturity promises even greater developments

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion