Search

We describe work in progress on tools and infrastructure to support adaptive component-based software for mobile devices 'in our case, Apple iPhones. Our high level aim is 'design for appropriation', i.e. system design for uses and contexts that designers may not be able to fully predict or model in advance. Logs of users' system operation are streamed back in real time to evaluators' data visualisation tools, so that they can assess design problems and opportunities. Evaluators and developers can then create new software components that are sent to the mobile devices. These components are either integrated automatically on the fly, or offered as recommendations for users to accept or reject. By connecting developers, users, and evaluators, we aim to quicken the pace of iterative design so as to improve the process of creating and sustaining contextually fitting software.

This paper demonstrates how useful content can be generated as a by-product of an enjoyable mobile multiplayer game. In EyeSpy, players tag geographic locations with photos or text. By locating the places in which other players' tags were created and 'confirming' them, players earn points for themselves and verify the tags' locations. As a side effect of game-play, EyeSpy produces a collection of recognisable and findable geographic details, in the form of photographs and text tags, that can be repurposed to support navigation tasks. Two user trials of the game successfully produced an archive of geo-located photographs and tags, and in a follow-up experiment we compared performance in a navigation task using photographs from the game, with geo-referenced photos collected from the Flickr website. Our experiences with EyeSpy support reflection upon the design challenges presented by 'human computation' and the production of usable by-products through mobile game-play.

We introduce a location--based game called Feeding Yoshi that provides an example of seamful design, in which key characteristics of its underlying technologies-the coverage and security characteristics of WiFi-are exposed as a core element of gameplay. Feeding Yoshi is also a long--term, wide--area game, being played over a week between three different cities during an initial user study. The study, drawing on participant diaries and interviews, supported by observation and analysis of system logs, reveals players' reactions to the game. We see the different ways in which they embedded play into the patterns of their daily lives, augmenting existing practices and creating new ones, and observe the impact of varying location on both the ease and feel of play. We identify potential design extensions to Feeding Yoshi and conclude that seamful design provides a route to creating engaging experiences that are well adapted to their underlying technologies.

Outdoor multi-player games are an increasingly popular application area for ubiquitous computing, supporting experimentation both with new technologies and new user experiences. This paper presents an outdoor ubicomp game that exploits the gaps or seams that exist in complex computer systems. Treasure is designed so that players move in and out of areas of wireless network coverage, taking advantage not only of the connectivity within a wireless ‘hotspot’ but of the lack of connectivity outside it. More broadly, this paper discusses how the notion of seamful design can be a source of design ideas for ubicomp games.

Video games are of increasing importance, both as a cultural phenomenon and as an application of collaborative technology. In particular, many recent online games feature persistent collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), with complex social organisation and strong social bonds between players. This paper presents a study of 'There', one such game, focusing on how There has been appropriated by its players. In particular we describe how its flexibility has allowed players to develop their own forms of play within the game. Three aspects of There are discussed: first, how the environment supports a range of social activities around objects. Second, how the chat environment is used to produce overlapping chat and how the game itself provides topics for conversation. Lastly, how the 'place' of There is a fluid interaction space that supports safe interactions between strangers. The paper concludes by drawing design lessons concerning the importance of supporting shared online activity, interaction between strangers, and the difficulties of designing for play.

Persistent online environments, such as multi-player games, exhibit a complex social organisation. These environments often feature large social groupings and elaborate cooperative behaviours. This paper discusses 'There', one such environment, focusing on how users interact online. Resources such as overlapping chat and emotional gestures create a compelling social experience, although not one without its problems. We draw three lessons from There for the design of games and virtual environments: that text chat can be better integrated into the virtual environment, that gestures are valuable as communication topics as well as resources, and that social interactions can improve the social presence felt in virtual environments.