Barbara Grüter

An evaluation of authoring interfaces for image-based navigation

We present the development and evaluation of an authoring system for image-based pedestrian navigation which lets authors take pictures and annotate instructions on the go in three interface variants. Results indicate that a freehand manner of photograph annotation is fastest, while authors strive toward visually pleasing annotation compositions.

GangKlang: designing walking experiences

As mobile game researchers we focus on playful experiences emerging in everyday life interactions. In this paper we present GangKlang, a particular sonic interaction design (SID) to support and facilitate the activity of walking with reference to Csikszentmihalyis concept of flow. Tightly coupled with movement, sound becomes an element of sensorimotor cycles of hearing, proprioception and action.

Methodological issues in studying player experiences of location aware games

In the wake of ubiquitous computing and boosted by the proliferation of the Global Positioning System (GPS), a new genre of games emerged during the last 10 years, which combined two traditions of game play mutually exclusive till then, outdoor and digital games. Such games come under various names including but not limited to mobile, pervasive, ubiquitous, augmented reality or location aware games. What makes all of them location aware is that the player physically navigates within a game world, which blends the real world and virtual dimensions. This combination significantly changes what players, designers and developers have until now understood about digital games. Furthermore, as the GPS phone market grows, and the number of start-ups developing these games increases, proven concepts and appropriate play tests methods are required to guide the development and counterbalance the risks. This has all given rise to the need for researchers to not only focus on prototypes and demonstrate the technology but also aim for a comprehensive understanding of player experiences in location aware games. In pursuing this goal, however, researchers encounter unprecedented theoretical and methodological challenges that question traditional models, theories and methods of game research and human–computer interaction. Location aware games are not separated anymore from the everyday life. Situated in the real world, the borders of the playground of these games become permeable from the influences of everyday life. The issue of the unforeseeable context of play, which more or less could be ignored before, now has come to the fore. Every time a game is played, the game is played differently [cf. 1, p. 340]. What are the consequences for the designer, the player, or the researcher of location aware games? Is it possible to study such play experiences in a scientific manner and if so how is this possible? This special issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing focuses on methodological issues in studying player experiences of location aware games. It has been inspired by the interest in the first workshop on this topic, which was organized in conjunction with HCI2008 ‘‘Evaluating Player Experiences in Location Aware Games’’. The papers selected cover a range of topics in the field. Three papers argue directly at the empirical level. They report results of empirical studies representing different methodological approaches. There is a quasi-experimental study on location, play action and emotion in location aware games (Baillie et al.), and there is a quantitative study of players’ feeling present in an augmented reality game using additionally some qualitative observations (McCall et al.). There is also a study of social interaction in location aware games by means of a complementary approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods (Diamantaki et al.). Two further papers argue directly at the B. M. Gruter (&) Hochschule Bremen, Neustadtswall 30, 28199 Bremen, Germany e-mail: Barbara.grueter@hs-bremen.de

Prototyping sonic interaction for walking

Sounds play a substantial role in the experience of movement activities such as walking. Drawing on the movement inducing effects of sound, sonic interaction opens up numerous possibilities to modify the walkers movements and experience. We argue that designing sonic interaction for movement activities demands an experiential awareness of the interplay of sound, body movement and use situation, and, propose a prototyping method to understand possibilities and challenges related to the design of mobile sonic interaction. In this paper, we present a rapid prototyping system that enables non-expert users to design sonic interaction for walking and to experience their design in the real-world context. We discuss the way this prototyping system allows designers to experience how their design ideas unfold in mobile use and affect the walking.

Walking Phrases: Modeling the Walker's Context for Sonic Interaction Design

To design meaningful sonic interaction for the mobile context requires accommodating the users unfolding context. We explore the design of sonic interaction for the walking activity. In this paper, we discuss how the walkers movements can provide insight into individual contextual conditions. Our contribution is a set of semantic walking sequences (Walking Phrases) that allow for segmentation of the walking process into units that are informative for adapting interactive sound to the walkers context.

PsychoPhysioCollector: A Smartphone-Based Data Collection App for Psychophysiological Research

Flow is widely understood as a source of creativity and innovation, physical and mental peak performances, and wellbeing. Individuals who experience flow tend to find the activity enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, Abuhamdeh, and Nakamura 2005). In the research project “Flow-Machines: Body Movement and Sound” (2012-2015) funded by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) we addressed how flow while walking can be supported by means of mobile technology. Using the rewarding effect of flow on the future motivation to walk, Flow-Machines should help to change the sedentary lifestyle.

PsychoPhysioPipeline: A Processing and Analysis Pipeline for Psychophysiological Research

Flow is widely understood as a source of creativity and innovation, physical and mental peak performances, and wellbeing. Individuals who experience flow tend to find the activity enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, Abuhamdeh, and Nakamura 2005). In the research project “Flow-Machines: Body Movement and Sound” (2012-2015) funded by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) we addressed how flow while walking can be supported by means of mobile technology. Using the rewarding effect of flow on the future motivation to walk, Flow-Machines should help to change the sedentary lifestyle.

Navigation Experiences – A Case Study of Riders Accessing an Orientation Game via Smartphones

Usability and playability of a game are two dimensions merging into each other and affecting the experience. Within this paper we study the navigation experiences of a small rider group playing an orientation game by means of smartphones. The players are inexperienced in using smartphones and try to reach the first game station. Studying their navigation process we learned how the players adopted the game device, solved a navigation problem and entered the game world. The case study illustrates three development stages of navigational behavior of the rider group in the analyzed mobile game.

Proposal for the 4th workshop on mobile gaming, mobile life --- interweaving the virtual and the real

Over the last few years we have witnessed the smartphone dominating the market, the rapid growth of mobile apps, a surge in mobile augmented reality and location-based apps, and burgeoning mobile communities. While mobile topics continue to provide rich research challenges, people and companies outside academia already use these apps regularly. This is due to the increased availability of affordable devices, applications and technologies that support the creation of mixed reality experiences. Thus a core theme of our workshop at ICEC 2012 is authoring mixed realities, designing mobile games and creating mobile experiences. We would like to assess how professional designers and developers, as well as academics and end users, are using the technology to connect the digital and the real in a mobile context.

Visual Versus Verbal Location Information on the iPhone

Mobile games become more and more embedded in our everyday lives. In this industry, particular types of spatial information are often given predominantly by visual means, while verbal and other sensorial feedback (vibration) are used for additional or different information. Since this may provide an obstacle for some users in some contexts, exploring other ways of conveying equivalent location information may facilitate the development of successful and engaging future mobile games. This paper focuses on how the same location information, given either visually or verbally, affects player performance within a mobile game. We present an explorative study using a simple, location-based game on the iPhone, testing users’ reactions to the two types of spatial information. The results, which reflect a high amount of individual variation but no negative effects on performance, are discussed by opening up the space of possibilities for future designs.