Elina Ollila

Designing avatars

This document summarizes three studies on avatars leading us to propose considerations for designing avatars. A background study was conducted on earlier avatar research and the key findings are summarized in this document. Based on the background study, we conducted focus groups discussion with active online community users (who participated in social networking web sites, virtual worlds, and massively multi-player online games) to gain a better understanding of what aspects in designing avatars are important to users. From those two studies we elaborated a list of considerations topicss pointing out aspects that designers can use for avatar design. Moreover, for our avatar design project, we conducted a third study where we investigated the use of online avatar design applications. Through the analysis of this third study, we evaluated the considerations from the user point of view. In conclusion, we discuss the findings and propose a summarized list of the considerations that appear essential when designing new virtual worlds involving avatars. These design considerations concern the way avatars look, what they can do, the way they can be used for communication, the context in which they are created, how many avatars can be created and in under what kind of governance, who owns the avatar, and how to plan avatar design.

The playful experiences (PLEX) framework as a guide for expert evaluation

The Playful Experiences (PLEX) framework is a categorization of playful experiences based on previous theoretical work on pleasurable experiences, game experiences, emotions, elements of play, and reasons why people play. While the framework has been successfully employed in design-related activities, its potential as an evaluation tool has not yet been studied. In this paper, we apply the PLEX framework in the evaluation of two game prototypes that explored novel physical interactions between mobile devices using Near-Field Communication, by means of three separate studies. Our results suggest that the PLEX framework provides anchor points for evaluators to reflect during heuristic evaluations. More broadly, the framework categories can be used as a checklist to assess different attributes of playfulness of a product or service.

Design for Research Results: Experimental Prototyping and Play Testing

In this article, the authors examine iterative design methods for experimental game prototype development. They recognize the area of game design as a wicked problem space, that is, an area where attempts at producing solutions change the understanding of the problems. They argue that it is vital in game-design research to build and test designs in order to explore how certain game mechanics can result in different play dynamics and play experiences. Depending on the scope of research questions and available resources, it is important to carefully plan the design process of prototypes, their development, and the testing of them. It is also important to consider what types of data to obtain, and how to treat the data, in order to acquire materials for analysis that can support the exploration of the research questions of a study. The purpose of this article is to provide a navigation aid through this process. Various methods of prototyping and types of prototypes are described, along with considerations regarding the type of game that is developed. Then, various types of play tests are presented along with recommendations, depending on timing within the production cycle and availability of test-players. Also, an overview of potential methods of obtaining data from play tests is provided.