Interaction and Interface Design

Introduction (5 mins)

• Introduce selves & kids


• Census on Games



What’s their experience level with video games? What are their favorite types of games?




Does anyone have a game system? Which one? How often do they play?




Does anyone have or has anyone played with an EyeToy?



• What is their exposure to Music—Do they play any instruments or take musical lessons?


• What types of music do theydo they listen to? Who are favorite artists?

Overview of project—Music + Motion + Eyetoy. Research team should indicate current status of EyeToy and possible limitations (motion pickup)

AirBand: Motion Activity (15 mins) Informs Instrument Visualization
Research team will explain that audio from the game will be generated by players’ motions but that the motions need to be pronounced to be picked up by the EyeToy device. KidsTeam will mime actions for an array of instruments. Examples…

Guitar, Bass Guitar
Drums ( all varieties: Timpani, conga, snare, bass)
Bass, Viola, Cello, Violin
Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Piccilo
Trombone, Trumpet
Keyboard, Marimba
Cymbals, Maracas, Triangle
Tuba

Req’d equipment: Space for 4 middle schoolers to flail around safely

Music Sample Activity (20 mins) Informs Motion Activation and Interface Design

Research team will play samples of music. KidsTeam will alternately
1) describe/ act-out what physical activity corresponds with the music
2) sketch a representative display (what they think would be on the monitor)

Req’d equipment:
Music Sample CD and CD Player— LK
Drawing Paper, Crayons & Markers

Discussion: Competition Element (10 mins)
Cue questions:
Do you think it is important for a game to be competitive / have a winner and loser?
What are some ways you could stage a musical competition?
How would you know who wins?

Req’d equipment: White board/Flip Chart & Markers

Debrief (10 mins)
Opportunity for KidsTeam to provide any additional comments or suggestions.

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I found a article on the capablities of EyeToy. The following is from Understanding Movement as Input for Interaction – A Study of Two Eyetoy™ Games:

Eyetoy™ is a motion recognition camera that plugs into a Playstation2 game console with USB. The Eyetoy™ games can be played using movements of any part of the body, but tend to be played mainly with movements of the arms. The player has no direct physical contact with the technology; rather their movements are used to drive the interaction by coinciding spatially and temporally with buttons and game events that the player can see in a projected image of their body in the middle of the screen, together with the gamescape.

Accuracy is determined by the camera’s resolution and processing of frame rates. The camera is tailored to recognise specific objects in particular environments and is unable to cope with different objects, multiple objects, occlusion and changes in lighting. In terms of the technology and application, the Eyetoy™ camera functions successfully as long as sufficient coverage of the active area of the screen is achieved by the user within spatial and temporal constraints. During game play, only delimited areas of the screen are active (able to register input motion) at any point in time depending on the game context. The technology is constrained to detect movements only in the x-y plane and does not register depth as movement in the z-plane. There is an optimal distance for motion recognition given by a certain calibrated distance from the camera.

The technology is a GUI/movement hybrid, relying on movement for input and providing the players with feedback through graphical/visual and aural means. This positions the movements produced in the interactions with this technology amongst the intended candidates for evaluation with both frameworks being studied.

The available games for the EyeToy are: Play (contains 12 mini-games), Antigrav, and Play 2 (12 mini-games).

I suspect future EyeToy games will use Force Feedback (the technology that makes gamepads rumble) accessories with the games. For example, if the user is playing a swordfighting game with the EyeToy, the player will be holding a small controler, which he/she can move like a sword. Every time the sword hits something in the game, the controler will react in the player’s hand.

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Group Outline v 1.0

Team member & Area of Research
Larry K. > Music & Cognition
Amy K. > Sociological factors & child interviews
Larry W. > Gaming technology

Considerations for kidsTeam meeting…

• Music genres


• Relevant motions to complement music


• Display environment / artifacts


• Usage of child’s image or avatar in interface


• On-camera comfort level


• Inclusion of a competitive / social aspect

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Hi guys,
Here is a synopsis of my project activities this week.
To get a feel for the nature of kids and their daily activities, I conducted two initial interviews. One with Alison, an 11 year-old who attends the Eastern Middle School reading & writing magnet in Silver Spring, and a second with the parents of Halle (10) & Ellie (13), who attend middle school in Iowa.

While such a limited selection is hardly scientifically significant, it did provide a couple key insights that can inform our notions about 10-14 year olds. One thing that the parents of Halle & Ellie made clear is that there is an enormous difference in the scope of the world between the ages of 10 and 13.

Schedules are pretty standardized. Kids go to school; attend classes; go home; do homework and then play. There’s more flexibility on the weekends with play dates, sleepovers. Alison enjoys spending time outdoors—riding bikes or walking with her parents or younger brother. Halle & Ellie don’t spend much home-time outside.

COMPUTERS
Rules….
There seem to be clear rules about what is appropriate computer usage and the children follow them. None of the girls is allowed to IM or participate in chat rooms. No downloading is another rule in Alison’s house. She has a very clear perspective of the fact that there are dangers online and that people are not always what they seem.

Computer usage is a privilege that they don’t want to lose by doing something outside the set parameters. Perhaps for the same reason, there seems to be a clear cooperative nature for the use of the computer in the house. Alison and her younger brother play games together – or one watches while the other plays. There is an easy give-and-take of computer use between Halle and Ellie.

GAMES
Alison plays games online. She likes word games, particularly, and games on miniclip.com, the sites for Cartoon Network and Post Cereal. She doesn’t have a game system in her house. Halle plays games on websites spin-offs of her favorite shows/networks. Ellie has a PS2 but plays it “as a last resort.”

Alison mentioned she thought boys might be more interested in video games (and girls in cell phones). It might be helpful to get some input from the population in question.

PHONES
As kids get older, the desire for a cell phone seems to increase. Alison did indicate that more 7th graders in her school had them and “a lot of the 8th graders did.” Halle doesn’t have one. Ellie had one, as did “all her friends.” Alison didn’t really feel the need to have one even though some of her friends do.

Amy

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