Harnessing the digital records of everyday things

We address how, framed by the Internet of Things, digitally-enabled physical objects may acquire rich digital records throughout their lifetimes, and how these might enhance their value, meaning and utility. We reflect on emerging findings from two case studies, one focusing on wargaming miniatures and the other on an augmented guitar, that engage communities of practice in capturing and utilising rich digital records of things. We articulate an agenda for future research in terms of four key themes: How can the digital records of everyday things be captured using both manual and automated approaches? How can these records enhance the embodied use of things in suitably discrete ways? How can people generate diverse stories and accounts from these records? How can we revisit current notions of ownership to reflect a more fluid sense of custodianship? The findings of the studies reveal common emergent themes and preferences of the practicing communities that surround these objects and the above questions, while ongoing participatory and probe studies continue to reveal nuances and evaluate possible approaches

The lives of objects: designing for meaningful things

Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) is often employed to connect material artefacts to digital identifiers and a digital record of their history and existence. This has been heralded as a coming together of our material existences and our increasingly-digital lives. Bringing each object that we create, use and cherish into the IoT, is an outwardly appealing prospect. Using material objects is an accepted part of connecting with narratives and our history, and such a technological boon already enables the storytelling opportunities that are supported by rich digital records. However, in everyday life and in the practices that occupy them, people consider and share stories about the things that they feel to be meaningful to them in complex ways which do not necessarily conform to the expectations of the designers and developers who attempt to intervene and support such practices by focusing on the material objects at hand. This thesis draws upon observations from a thorough engagement with the community of practice of the Tabletop Miniature Wargaming pastime, which involves the acknowledged craft and use of objects deemed as meaningful, to reveal that the practitioners, in reality, construct their shared records and narratives around intangible Identities, both singular and collective, which they find to be the actual ‘meaningful things’ of their activities. These findings contravene the conventional emphasis on the material objects, and pose technological and conceptual challenges. Considering these findings through a lens informed by philosophical grounding, the thesis examines the distinctions between ordinary objects and extraordinary things; how things become meaningful; and the interplay between material and abstract things. The culmination of these efforts is the Meaningful Things Framework, which aims to help disambiguate the complex ways by which practitioners create, perceive and treat the meaningful things involved in their activities, and aid designers, developers and the communities themselves in understanding and supporting their practices

On Wargaming

Wargames are as old as civilization—and perhaps older. In his informative and entertaining Public Broadcasting series Connections, James Burke argued that the first invention, the one that enabled all later inventions, was the plow. It allowed agriculture, and as agriculture permitted denser populations, the frequency of inventions increased, due either to “connecting” with new applications or combining with other inventions to create one that was greater than the sum of its parts.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/usnwc-newport-papers/1043/thumbnail.jp

The lives of objects: designing for meaningful things

Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) is often employed to connect material artefacts to digital identifiers and a digital record of their history and existence. This has been heralded as a coming together of our material existences and our increasingly-digital lives. Bringing each object that we create, use and cherish into the IoT, is an outwardly appealing prospect. Using material objects is an accepted part of connecting with narratives and our history, and such a technological boon already enables the storytelling opportunities that are supported by rich digital records. However, in everyday life and in the practices that occupy them, people consider and share stories about the things that they feel to be meaningful to them in complex ways which do not necessarily conform to the expectations of the designers and developers who attempt to intervene and support such practices by focusing on the material objects at hand. This thesis draws upon observations from a thorough engagement with the community of practice of the Tabletop Miniature Wargaming pastime, which involves the acknowledged craft and use of objects deemed as meaningful, to reveal that the practitioners, in reality, construct their shared records and narratives around intangible Identities, both singular and collective, which they find to be the actual ‘meaningful things’ of their activities. These findings contravene the conventional emphasis on the material objects, and pose technological and conceptual challenges. Considering these findings through a lens informed by philosophical grounding, the thesis examines the distinctions between ordinary objects and extraordinary things; how things become meaningful; and the interplay between material and abstract things. The culmination of these efforts is the Meaningful Things Framework, which aims to help disambiguate the complex ways by which practitioners create, perceive and treat the meaningful things involved in their activities, and aid designers, developers and the communities themselves in understanding and supporting their practices

Partner Choices and Social Connections Among American Wargamers

Wargames are games that present conflicts, usually historical and military, using game tokens that represent specific participants in the conflict, interacting on a map or other representation of the conflict in ways described by a set of rules that provides deterministic or randomized outcomes for each interaction. They have been important for military strategy since the nineteenth century, and the study of wargames has focused on their military applications. The civilian hobby version of wargaming that developed in America in the 1950s has received less attention. My literature review showed that little is known about the relationships of wargame players and how they network with each other. I also found that studies of player networks in online multiplayer games have applications for understanding user behaviors and how players value and curate their relationships. Applying a similar approach to player networks in analog games offers the chance to gain new insights from a very different set of relationships. I decided to interview individuals who participated in the wargaming hobby between the mid-1950s and the late 1970s. My aim was to document their experiences and their interactions with other wargamers to understand how they established, maintained, and valued relationships with other players. I conducted 18 semi-structured interviews during 2020, then applied thematic analysis to find common elements in their play histories and relationships. The research showed that the informants’ experiences fell into two different groups that reflected cultural changes in America from the 1950s to the 1970s. The informants’ stable player networks were small collections of relationships that the informants valued heterogeneously, and their closest relationships extended beyond gameplay to involve emotional compatibility as much or more as utilitarian benefits. The results suggest that the intimate nature of face-to-face board game play may have an impact on how wargamers manage their relationships, and that design decisions like the number of players supported may greatly affect the game’s player networks and thus its commercial prospects

”Jos Tankki kuolee niin se on Hiilerin vika.” : English Elements in Finnish Gaming Discussions

Tämä Pro gradu-tutkielma tarkastelee englanninkielisten sanojen ja sanontojen käyttöä suomalaisissa pelikeskusteluissa. Erilaiset video- ja konsolipelit kuten myös ei-digitaaliset pelit ovat kasvaneet suosituksi viihteen muodoksi maailmalla ja myös Suomessa. Useimmat suositut pelit ovat kokonaan englanniksi, ja niiden termistöt voivat sisältää sanoja, joille ei ole vakiintunutta suomenkielistä vastinetta. Englannin kielen rooli internetissä ja muissa median muodoissa on tullut ilmeiseksi, ja se herättää kysymyksen, miten tämä ilmiö näkyy pelikeskusteluissa. Tutkittaviin keskustelunaiheisiin kuuluvat digitaaliset pelaamisen muodot, kuten tietokone- ja konsolipelaaminen, sekä ei-digitaalinen pelaaminen erilaisten miniatyyripelien osalta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteina on selvittää, kuinka usein englanninkielisiä elementtejä esiintyy pelikeskusteluissa, miten ne on sovitettu suomenkieliseen ympäristöön ja mihin aiheisiin ne viittaavat. Hyödynnän tätä tarkoitusta varten teorioita koodinvaihtamisesta, anglismeista ja pelisuunnittelun ontologiasta. Koodinvaihdot luokitellaan kahteen ryhmään, perustuen Auerin jaotteluun ja Myers-Scottonin MLA-malliin. Ensimmäiseen ryhmään kuuluvat yksittäiset vieraskieliset sanat, jotka on istutettu keskustelua hallitsevan kielen kehykseen ja toiseen ryhmään kuuluvat kokonaiset vieraskieliset sanonnat ja lauseet. Anglismeiksi katsotaan vieraskieliset sanat, joiden perusmuodoissa esiintyy suomenkielisiä ortografisia ja morfologisia elementtejä. Lopuksi, peliaiheiden luokittelu perustuu Zagalin ym. esittämään peliontologiaan, joka jakaa pelien ainesosat viiteen elementtiin, perustuen pelaajan näkökulmaan: entiteetit, entiteettien manipulaatio, säännöt, tavoitteet ja käyttöliittymä. Koska tutkimukseen sisältyvät keskustelut on pidetty pelaajien kesken, tämä ontologia soveltuu hyvin analysoimaan, mihin pelillisiin osa-alueisiin englanninkieliset sanat viittaavat. Tutkimusta varten ontologiaan on keksitty kuudes ryhmä, ”tausta”, johon sisältyvät sellaiset pelitermistöjen sanat, joita ei voida lisätä muihin edellä mainittuihin ryhmiin. Tutkimuksen luonne on kvantitatiivinen ja se luokittelee tutkimusmateriaalissa havaittuja englanninkielisiä elementtejä niiden peliontologian mukaisen aiheen ja kielellisen sovitustavan perusteella. Tutkimusmateriaali koostuu vuonna 2017 pidettyjen pelikeskusteluiden sanoista, ja siihen sisältyy yhteensä noin 200000 sanan tekstimateriaali, joka on kerätty suomalaisista Sotavasara- ja Ylilauta-nimisistä internet-keskusteluforumeista, ja kahdesta 15 minuutin pituisesta litteroidusta äänitteestä, joista ensimmäinen on peräisin paikallisen suomalaisen pelikaupan keskusteluista ja toinen Twitch-nimiseltä videoiden suoratoistopalvelusivulta. Tutkimuksessa tehtyjen havaintojen perusteella englanninkielisiä elementtejä esiintyy suhteellisen usein pelikeskusteluissa, mutta nämä ovat suurimmaksi osaksi suomen kielen lauserakenteeseen istutettuja sisältösanoja, jotka viittaavat keskusteltavien pelien virallisiin termistöihin. Keskustelut sisälsivät myös anglismeja, mutta näiden määrä koodinvaihtoihin verrattuna oli vähäinen. Erilaisten peliontologian ryhmien jakautuma oli sidonnainen keskusteltavan pelin genreen ja luonteeseen, mutta yleisimmät ryhmät olivat entiteetit ja entiteettien manipulaatio. Muiden englanninkielisten elementtien aihepiireihin kuuluivat pääasiallisesti pelaaja- ja internet-slangi. Tulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että pelien termistöjen lisäksi internet ja pelaajayhteisöt ovat suurimpia vaikuttajia englanninkielisten sanojen käytössä pelikeskusteluissa

Iot for playful intergenerational learning about cultural heritage: the LOCUS approach

LOCUS is a three-year multidisciplinary project with the goal of co-design, develop and evaluate an IoT system and understand its potential to support playful intergenerational engagement in creating and exploring cultural contents and learning about cultural heritage of rural territories from the Centre Region of Portugal, namely Amiais village, in Sever do Vouga. By implementing a playful and immersive cultural heritage tourism approach to foster Amiais' cultural and socioeconomic development, LOCUS will allow visitors to have immersive gamified experiences, by using a wearable device (bracelet) and their smartphones to interact with augmented everyday things around the village and to collaboratively learn about Amiais' culture and produce and share multimedia georeferenced contents.publishe

Beyond The Box: A Comprehensive Market Research of The Board Game Industry

The board game industry is witnessing an unprecedented era of growth, projected to double from $13.06 billion in 2023 to$26.04 billion by 2030, In other words, We are in a golden age of board games. Amidst this expansion, our research provides an extensive overview and critical examination of the industry’s progression and potential, emphasizing the need for sustainable and inclusive practices to navigate future growth. This comprehensive study provides a detailed overview of the historical progression and current dynamics of the board game industry. We explore the industry's evolution from ancient games to today's diverse market, highlighting significant developments such as the rise of mass-market games in 1935, the birth of role-playing games in 1974, and the digital transformation of board gaming. Utilizing a meticulous research design that includes diverse data collection methods and rigorous analysis, this paper examines market trends, value, revenue, and segmentation by game type, region, sales channel, and user demographics. The study presents a thorough market overview, revealing the industry's competitive landscape and identifying leading companies like Hasbro, Asmodee, and others. Market dynamics are dissected to unearth driving factors such as the expansion of e-commerce, the upsurge in leisure time, and innovations in game design. Trends like the rise in adult gaming, influence of social media, and the emergence of hybrid gaming models reflect the industry’s adaptability. Additionally, we address the restraints challenging the industry, including competition from digital gaming, marketing hurdles, and economic barriers. The research delves into the value chain of board games, from idea development and playtesting to marketing and promotion, providing key insights into each stage. Consumer insights are gathered to understand leisure preferences, engagement opportunities, and spending patterns, with a focus on physical versus digital gaming inclinations. Overall, the research encapsulates the multifaceted nature of the board game industry, offering a valuable resource for stakeholders to navigate its complexities and leverage growth opportunities in an ever-evolving landscape

Forging Wargamers

How do we establish or improve wargaming education, including sponsors, participants, and future designers? The question stems from the uncomfortable truth that the wargaming discipline has no foundational pipeline, no established pathway from novice to master. Consequently, the wargaming community stands at a dangerous precipice at the convergence of a stagnant labor force and a patchwork system of passing institutional war-gaming knowledge. Unsurprisingly, this can lead to ill-informed sponsors, poorly scoped wargames, an unreliable standard of wargaming expertise, and worst of all, risks the decline of wargaming as an educational and analytical tool. This fundamental challenge is a recurring theme throughout this volume and each author offers their own perspective and series of recommendations