Elena Márquez Segura

The design space of body games: technological, physical, and social design

The past decade has seen an increased focus on body movement in computer games. We take a step further to look at body games: games in which the main source of enjoyment comes from bodily engagement. We argue that for these games, the physical and social settings become just as important design resources as the technology. Although all body games benefit from an integrated design approach, the social and physical setting become particularly useful as design resources when the technology has limited sensing capabilities. We develop our understanding of body games through a literature study and a concrete design experiment with designing multiplayer games for the BodyBug, a mobile device with limited sensing capabilities. Although the device was designed for free and natural movements, previous games fell short in realizing this design ideal. By designing the technology function together with its physical and social context, we were able to overcome device limitations. One of the games was subsequently incorporated in its commercial release.

The NAO models for the elderly

This paper highlights initial observations from a user study performed in an assisted living facility in Spain. We introduced the NAO robot to assist in geriatric physiotherapy rehabilitation. The NAO is introduced in order to take over one of the usual roles of the physiotherapist: modeling movements for the inpatients. We also introduced a virtual version of the NAO in order to see whether this role of modeling is equally effective in a screen-based modality. Preliminary results show the inpatients adjust their movements to the NAO, although they react differently to the virtual and the physical robot.

Bio-Sensed and Embodied Participation in Interactive Performance

Designing for interactive performances is challenging both in terms of technology design, and of understanding the interplay between technology, narration, and audience interactions. Bio-sensors and bodily tracking technologies afford new ways for artists to engage with audiences, and for audiences to become part of the artwork. Their deployment raises a number of issues for designers of interactive performances. This paper explores such issues by presenting five design ideas for interactive performance afforded by bio-sensing and bodily tracking (i.e. Microsoft Kinect) developed during two design workshops. We use these ideas, and the related scenarios to discuss three emerging issues namely: temporality of input, autonomy and control, and visibility of input in relation to the deployment of bio-sensors and bodily tracking technologies in the context of interactive performances.

Embracing First-Person Perspectives in Soma-Based Design

A set of prominent designers embarked on a research journey to explore aesthetics in movement-based design. Here we unpack one of the design sensitivities unique to our practice: a strong first per ...

Designing for Transformative Play

Numerous studies have foregrounded how play is only partially shaped by the artifacts that their designers design. The play activity can change the structures framing it, turning players into co-designers through the mere act of playing. This article contributes to our understanding of how we can design for play taking into account that play has this transformative power. We describe four ways that players can engage with framing structures, which we classify in terms of whether players conform to explore, transgress, or (re)create them. Through the examples of three case studies, we illustrate how this model has been useful in design: as an analytical tool for deconstructing player behavior, to articulate design goals and support specific design choices, and for shaping the design process.

Social Affordances at Play: Game Design Toward Socio-Technical Innovation

In this paper we propose that game design strategies and theories can be useful tools for supporting the design of innovative socio-technical systems aimed at supporting social co-presence. We support this proposal with an annotated portfolio of a series of research prototype games that investigate sensor affordances and configurations to sustain and enhance social co-presence. We introduce relevant theory from game studies (the magic circle; the MDA (mechanics/dynamics/aesthetics framework)) to help ground and guide the use of game design in HCI practice. We conclude with recommendations for adopting game design as a supplementary research technique, with caveats about the limits of the approach.

The oriboos going to nepal: a story of playful encounters

We created a fictional story about a bunch of interactive robot toys, the Oriboos, which travel to different schools where children interact and play with them. The story is based on two workshops done in Sweden and Nepal.

Exteriorizing Body Alignment in Collocated Physical Training

Proprioceptive awareness is an essential but challenging skill to master. In HCI physical training research, the design space of how technology can help people to develop such awareness remains narrow. Here, we present a technological device that exteriorizes misalignments of different body parts by translating them to haptic feedback. We present preliminary insights gained during the design process and device testing, and trace the future steps of its technological development.

Movement Correction in Instructed Fitness Training: Design Recommendations and Opportunities

The use of technology to assist in instructed fitness training in collocated social settings is underexplored. Here we focus on how technology can be designed to fit within, leverage, and be part of the strategies and tools that fitness trainees and instructors use to detect and correct performance errors. Drawing on ethnomethodological approaches and using the concept of correction to focus our analysis, we scrutinize the interaction between instructor and trainees in two fitness activities, AntiGravity Fitness and Pilates. We identify social configurations and resources employed in instances of correction. We also present an analytical tool useful for deconstructing such correction processes, highlighting the strategies and resources used by the social actors, and their impact on performance. Based on insights gained from our analyses, we propose design recommendations and identify design opportunities that capitalize on existing tools and collaborative correction strategies, such as scaffolding the correction process.

SpokeIt: A Co-Created Speech Therapy Experience

We present SpokeIt, a novel speech therapy game co-created with users, medical experts, speech pathologists, developmental psychologists, and game designers. Our serious game for health aims is to augment and support in-office speech therapy sessions with an at-home supported speech therapy experience. SpokeIt was co-created using participatory methods involving multiple stakeholders and target users. We describe the technical details of SpokeIt, the process of working with multiple stakeholders, and the methods that allowed us to create medium fidelity prototypes in real-time with players. We share our emerging designs, tools, insights for the broader CHI audience, and plans for future work.