A Social and Emotional Approach to Games and Human Computer Interaction (HCI)

1. A Social and Emotional Approach to Games and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Katherine Isbister Associate Professor, Digital Media and CSE

2. Who I am • Ph.D. from Stanford in Communication (social science) with HCI focus. • A practicing HCI designer for many years (clients have included BMW, EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and others). • Teach computer game development and HCI/user experience courses. • Research focus on designing and evaluating stronger and richer social and emotional experiences with technology.

3. Why Social and Emotional? • Aren’t computers just machines, mostly for work? • Why would I get my feelings involved? • Isn’t it silly to apply social rules or settings to computers? • What do computers have to do with being social?

4. Why Social and Emotional?

5. Why Social and Emotional?

6. Social and Emotional = The Future • We now use computers for play and for being social with each other, and this is the biggest area of growth. • Computers can increasingly sense our social and emotional states and signals (facial expressions, tone of voice, body language) and react to these. • Engineers ignore this at their peril(!)

7. Research approach • Combine HCI and social science theories, research, and practices. • Analyze what’s most effective in supporting and enhancing social and emotional engagement, toward improved design and innovation. • Innovate methods and tools where necessary.

8. Example: Emotion and Motion • Movement affects emotional state and can produce stronger social connections. • How does/should this affect movement-based interaction?

9. Example: Emotion and Motion • Research approach combines: • Observation and analysis • Isolation and manipulation • Design iteration and articulation

10. Observation and analysis • ‘Waggling the form baton’ • Examining gestures and body movement in Wii games. • Linking the movements with emotional states and cues.

11. Observation and analysis • Used Laban Movement Analysis effort dimensions to better understand what makes certain movements ‘feel’ certain ways.

12. Observation and analysis • Conclusion: ‘happy’ games use light and sustained movements. More directed, sudden movements up the ‘competitive’ feel.

13. Isolation and manipulation • Examined 3 levels and styles of movement and how they link to player fun and frustration levels.

14. Isolation and manipulation • Created an instrumented game to confirm physical feedback loop effect for games.

15. Design iteration and articulation • Extending work to emotional contagion and social connection: which movement mechanics and cooperative play strategies build connections.

16. Design iteration and articulation • Presented research direction and preliminary recommendations at the 2010 Game Developers Conference

17. Conclusions • Social and emotional factors are of increasing importance in human computer interaction. • Core innovations and commercialization of technologies such as sensors, cameras, and multi-touch displays means this trend will continue. • Designing these interfaces successfully requires a multi-method approach.

18. Thanks! • isbister@poly.edu • http://socialgamelab.bxmc.poly.edu