Timo Nummenmaa

Applying game achievement systems to enhance user experience in a photo sharing service

Achievement systems are reward structures providing additional goals for players, and thus extending the play time of videogames. In this paper, we explore how applications other than games could benefit from achievement systems, and how users perceive this additional content in a service. For this purpose, we added an achievement system to a geo-tagged photo sharing service called Nokia Image Space. The results suggest that there is some potential in achievement systems outside the game domain. The achievements triggered some friendly competition and comparison between users. However, many users were not convinced, expressing concerns about the achievements motivating undesirable usage patterns. Therefore, an achievement system poses certain design considerations when applied in nongame software.

Social and privacy aspects of a system for collaborative public expression

In this paper, we are concerned with how a real-world social situation shapes the interaction with a novel technology that combines collocated mobile phone and public display use for groups of people. We present a user study of a system that allows collaborative creation and sharing of comic strips on public displays in a social setting such as a pub or café. The system utilizes mobile phones and public displays for shared collaborative expression between collocated users. A user study spanning three sessions was conducted in real-world settings: one during the social event following a seminar on games research and two in a bar on a regular weekday evening. We present and discuss our findings with respect to how the larger social situation and location influenced the interaction with the system, the collaboration between participants of a team, how people moved between different roles (i.e., actor, spectator and bystander), and the privacy issues it evoked from participants.

MurMur moderators, the talking playful seats

In this article we present the concept of MurMur Moderators, talking playful seats facilitating playful atmosphere and creativity at office environments. The article describes the design and technological composition of our first prototype, and our experiences exposing the concept to audiences at two science fairs in Italy (2013) and Finland (2014). This research has served as an informative pilot study, consequently directing our focus to the ways the accompanying narrative brings additional design value to the interactive seats. Our goal with the fairs was to investigate what are the preliminary audience reactions for the high level concept and how people interact with the initial prototype. The feedback was used for generating further ideas for ambient play and furniture-as-a-service, some of which carries on to future research and second prototype of the seat.

Simulation as a game design tool

In this paper we suggest using gameplay simulations on a logical event level as a design tool already in the early stages of the development process. The approach is centred on abstracting all unnecessary details of the gameplay to produce a highly simplified model of the game system. Compared to other kinds of intermediate design representations, such as sketches and prototypes, the simulations can reveal problems and opportunities in the longer term dynamics of possible gameplay. As an example we describe an implementation of a simulation model for the game Tower Bloxx using a simulation software package called DisCo.

Design Constraints in Game Design Case: Survival Mode Game Jam 2016

In this paper, we present the findings of an interview study of game developers participating to a constrained game development event, Survival Mode 2016 game jam. Survival Mode 2016 was organized in Finnish Lapland as the northernmost jamming site of Global Game Jam (GGJ) 2016. The event differed from the typical Global Game Jam site in Finland in terms of participants being mostly experienced game developers and that there were additional design constraints for their projects. In addition to the global theme, the participants of the Survival Mode 2016 had an extra thematic constraint and the setting of the event itself created such constraints as limited Internet connectivity and power supply. The interviewees reflected on their projects and experiences with design constraints providing interesting insight to the role of design constraints in game development and the difference between a jam setting and commercial game creation projects. These observations can be utilized in further studies of game design constraints as well as in the design of different game jam events.

Goofy Mus, Grumpy Mur and Dirty Muf: Talking Playful Seats with Personalities

The article discusses the concept of MurMur Moderators, talking playful seats designed to facilitate playful atmosphere and creativity at office environments. The concept of MurMur Moderators consists of five different personalities, grumpy Mur, goofy Mus, mellow Muh, sensitive Mut and shy Mum. The article describes the experiences and reactions to two personalities, Mus and Mur. Further, a sixth personality, Muf, consisting of rejected, provocative features is detailed. Consequently, the paper discusses play preferences, affordances and thresholds in connection to adult play. These will be the focus of future research by the authors.

Exploring Games as Formal Models

Computer games have become increasingly complex. Modern game specifications need to accommodate many detailed design documents, which results in increasing complexity. Complex games are difficult to understand, maintain and update, but their software cannot be extensively functional, as this might confuse the player. Consequently, game developers can benefit from following precise guidelines to design games for players. Formal methods can provide a suitable specification environment to formalize static and dynamic game aspects and realistically model game rules and events. At a higher level of abstraction, a formal game model can provide understandability and communication of the activities within a development process.

Need to touch, wonder of discovery, and social capital: experiences with interactive playful seats

In this article we present findings from a design experiment of MurMur Moderators, talking playful seats facilitating playful atmosphere and creativity at office environments. The article describes the design and technological composition of our two prototypes, and our experiences exposing the concept to audiences at science fairs and an office environment. This research has served as an exploratory design study, directing our focus to the seats as primary and secondary play objects with a distinct narrative. Our goal with the initial exposure was to first investigate preliminary audience reactions for the high level concept and how people interact with the prototype. This was then supplemented by testing the concept in an office environment. The data we have collected gives us insight on the seats as primary and secondary play objects and how users touch, discover and socialize.

Blending in Hybrid Games: Understanding Hybrid Games Through Experience

The meaning of what hybrid games are is often fixed to the context in which the term is used. For example, hybrid games have often been defined in relation to recent developments in technology. This creates issues in its usage and limitations in thinking. This paper argues that hybrid games should be understood through conceptual metaphors. Hybridity is the blending of different cognitive domains that are not usually associated together. Hybrid games usually blend domains related to games, for example digital and board games, but can blend also other domains. Through this type of thinking, designers can be more open to exploring how their games can be experienced.

On the Use of LTSs to Analyze Software Product Line Products Composed of Features

In product line engineering, it is common to define the products as sets of features, where each feature has a related set of requirements. Typically, there is a common set of features/requirements, and some variable features/requirements for building different products. In an earlier proposal to use labeled transition systems (LTSs) to model and check the products, the products were composed using the feature-oriented approach and LTS models were analyzed using a related LTS analyzer tool. However, no further details or analysis about the models and possible conflicts were given. We investigate in more detail the types of conflicts that may arise and discuss the integration strategies for building an integrated LTS for the product composed of features.