cuboino

cuboino

Digitally extending Analog Games.

An Example.

Felix Heibeck // 2399089 Bachelorthesis // B.Sc. // 2012 Digital Media // University of Bremen // Dr. Bernard Robben Prof. Dennis Paul Hannes Hoelzl

Table of Contents

8 9

Introduction

27

Kinesthetic Involvement

Introduction

27

Spatial Involvement

27

Shared Involvement

28

Narrative Involvement

28

Affective Involvement

28

Ludic Involvement

Execution

Material 12

Previous Projects

12

Sifteo

14

Topobo

16

Marbowl

18

Creating tangible games

Method 32

cuboro

From Bodies to Embodiments to embodying

34

cuboino

Bodies? (A short overview)

34

First prototype

19

Qualities of Tangibles

35

Signal | Marble | Ping

20

Design challenges

35

Idea of cuboino

22

Are tangibles more fun?

38

Sensor Cubes

18

Contemplating Tangible User Interface Theory

29

24

Contemplating Game Theory

50

Actor Cubes

24

Entering Play

62

Supply Cubes

25

The problem of defining fun

70

Cuboino Networks Exemplified

26

The Player Involvement Model

72

Designing cuboino

Functionalities

74

Building cuboino

75

Cube Body

78

3D Printing

78

Electronics

80

Software

82

User Evaluation

82

User group

83

Evaluating Games

84

Test Method

86

Execution

89

Results

89

cuboro Exploration

89

cuboino Introduction

90

cuboino Embedding

91

Usability

92

Likeability

98

Discussion

99

Resume

Table of Figures Literature

Material

73

Result

Method

Connecting cubes

Result

72

Introduction

«5»

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

Introduction

While the digital game industry is flouris-

orally by a two year old, the same child will

When playing a videogame, players want

hing and releasing console, pc, and mobile

build a house with those cubes two years

to be immersed in the game. That is how

games, many players still have a preference

later.

the Nintendo Wii roped in people who

for physical/analog games. Players continue

were not usually playing videogames. By

to crave those tactile experiences of mo-

Analog games have a long tradition and

combining gestures and body movement

ving a figure or stacking up blocks.

still attract a lot of players of all ages.

to control the game, the gaming experien-

They foster social experience, collabora-

ce became more intuitive and thus more

Research and experience have shown that

tive gameplay, and are easy to learn. The

immersive.

interacting with physical objects is intuitive

interactions rely on the previously descri-

and engaging because it allows „embra-

bed qualities and therefore are intuitive for

However, when playing console or PC-ga-

cing the senses and skills that people have

most players.

mes, the digital world stays behind the

developed through a lifetime of interacting

screen. By combining digital technology

with the physical world“ [Ishii, 2008].

Videogames are able to create ecosystems

with physical objects following the para-

Therefore toys for young children are

that enable the player to do things s/he

digms of tangible user interfaces, digital

usually analog and physical. They encoura-

could never do in the analog world. Also

informations can be integrated into the

ge an exploration of spatial reasoning and

they often lessen the necessary non-game

physical world seamlessly. Physical objects

coordination while furthermore allowing

related effort by building the ecosystem of

can embody digital informations and offer

for various interactions. While Duplo-cu-

the game, controlling the rules or counting

an intuitive interface with rich and immer-

bes might be thrown around and explored

the score.

sive interactions.

My hypothesis is that by relying on the qua-

game/play theories with a special focus on

lities of existing analog games and exten-

tangible games/play,

ding them using digital technology, a new

While I will cover those theoretical topics,

category of games that combines aspects

the focus of this thesis is on designing and

of the two worlds can be developed. This

developing cuboino, a digital extension for

category is expected to leverage positive

the marble game cuboro.

aspects of digital and analog games and

Cuboino shall enhance the gameplay of

make traditional games more interesting to

cuboro and exemplify how analog games

older children and adults.

can benefit from the employment of digital

Material

ÂŤ9Âť

To validate the impact that digital technoIn this thesis I want to exemplify the pos-

logy can have on traditional analog games,

sibilities of digital extensions for analog

the gaming experience of cuboino will be

games in practical and theoretical ways.

evaluated with children. To gain insights

After looking at some previous projects

into the reasons for the likeability of cuboro

and products that extend analog games

and cuboino, the contextual laddering me-

in different ways, I will elaborate on con-

thod will be applied in the evaluation.

cepts of Tangible User Interfaces (TUI) and

Result

Execution

Method

technology.

Content 12

Previous Projects

12

Sifteo

14

Topobo

16

Marbowl

18

Contemplating Tangible User Interface Theory

18

From Bodies to Embodiments to embodying Bodies? (A short overview)

19

Qualities of Tangibles

20

Design challenges

22

Are tangibles more fun?

24

Contemplating Game Theory

24

Entering Play

25

The problem of defining fun

26

The Player Involvement Model

27

Kinesthetic Involvement

27

Spatial Involvement

27

Shared Involvement

28

Narrative Involvement

28

Affective Involvement

28

Ludic Involvement

29

Creating tangible games

Introduction Result

Method

Material

Fig. 2.1 - 2.2 Sources: http://www.topobo.com/, https://www.sifteo.com/

Previous Projects Sifteo Sifteo, formerly known as Siftables, is the

sponding to their motion as the way we

The playing experience of sifteo builds on

attempt to reinvent block based games in

play” [Merril et al., 2010] .

the described sensing abilities combined

the digital era and the only game presented

with generic qualities of the screen and

that is currently being produced.

„Embracing the skills that people have

embedded computer. The cubes have to be

Inspired by the natural interaction with real

developed through a lifetime of interacting

connected to a computer that installs and

blocks on block-based games like domino

with the physical world“ [Ishii, 2008], no

supervises the game. The user can choose

or scrabble, sifteo challenges spatial rea-

special instructions are necessary for the

between many different games or even

soning, logic, and creative problem solving

interaction with sifteo. In combination with

program his own game. This shows that sif-

skills.

the mutable surface created by the screen,

teo is not just a game but a platform that

Instead of the accordant static faces, there

sifteo offers new, more intuitive ways to

allows for many games and applications.

are small screens on one side of the cubes.

interact with digital informations that is in-

Additionally every cube contains an acce-

spired by the „skill that humans have at sif-

A great example of how sifteo leads to

lerometer sensing its orientation/accelera-

ting, sorting, and otherwise manipulating

enhanced experience of classic analog

tion and IrDA sensors creating awareness of

large numbers of small physical objects“

games, is a word-game shown in the TED

neighboring cubes. This way „sifteo cubes

[Merril et al., 2010]. This way it offers an

presentation of siftables, the predecessor

are game controllers that embody games

alternative to the drag-and-drop paradigm

of sifteo [Merill, 2010]. The game is descri-

directly by showing them on their screens

established in Graphical User Interfaces.

bed as a „mash-up between scrabble and

and interacting with each other and re-

boggle“ [Merill, 2010] [Figure 2.3]. Each cube

has to build as many words as possible by

by the number of cubes in the game. The

arranging the cubes. After 30 seconds, the

more cubes there are, the more possible

game „reshuffles and you have a new set

words can be found.

of letters and possibilities to try“ [Merill,

These additional features create a game

2010].

that appeals to more players as it creates

The game can be played alone, in collabora-

an experience that is satisfying on more

tion with others or even competitive, while

than one level and offers levels of comple-

the original games Scrabble and Boggle are

xity that appeal to players of a broad range

usually only played competitive. Playing

of ages.

this game alone is mainly fun because the Figure 2.3 >>

computer counts the points and thus creates a motivation to achieve a high-score.

The described game-word played with stif-

Through the introduction of limited time,

tables, the predecessors of sifteo.

the focus of the game shifts from finding long words to the interaction itself as the

Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_

speed of arranging the cubes becomes

merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.

more important.

html (10.10.2012)

Method

The level of complexity can be controlled

Result

is assigned a random letter and the player

Introduction

«13»

Previous Projects Topobo Topobo is a „3D constructive assembly

Topobo is meant to help children to under-

By adding these dynamic features to the

system embedded with kinetic memory“

stand certain physical principles affecting

otherwise static building structures of toys

[Raffle et al., 2004]. It is similar to toys such

kinematic systems. Therefore, the design

like Lego, Topobo creates a new gaming

as LEGO® which allow the player to create

of the game did not concentrate on the

experience that is educational and fun.

3D architectures and systems but additio-

fun aspects but more on the educational

The control paradigm makes kinetically

nally introduces digitally actuated compo-

aspect of teaching about modular robotics,

programming previously built systems easy

nents with kinetic memory. Kinetic memo-

system coordination, emergent dynamics

and thus inspires new kinds of creativity.

ries allows for easy motion-programming

and locomotion. It makes those complex

The ease of the tangible user interaction

that follows a record-and-replay paradigm.

ideas accessible by utilizing tangible in-

enables the player to reflect on the built

To record a movement the player presses a

terface paradigms and thus „endowing

system and draws attention to existing

button on an active part. All following mo-

physical immediacy to normally immaterial

movement patterns of real animals and

tions of the systems are then recorded until

dynamic computational processes“ [Raffle

robots. The findings can be tested ad-hoc in

the button is pressed again. Subsequently

et al., 2004]. Hence Topobo provides „a

an iterative process.

the creation goes into playback mode,

physical bridge for children to transition

While the possible complexity of networks

which repeatedly replays the input until the

from concrete to abstract operations“ [Raff-

and movements is very high, Topobo also

button is pressed a third time.

le et al., 2004].

allows young players to create more simple systems.

Introduction

ÂŤ15Âť

I think topobo is the best example of how digital technology can enhance and upgrade physical games. By adding a simple to use technology, players of a broad range of ages are empowered to build systems with complexities that can not be achieved by

<< Figure 2.4 An example of a topobo animal built from active and passive topobo blocks.

Method

purely analog games.

(10.10.2012)

Result

Source: http://www.topobo.com/

Previous Projects Marbowl With Marbowl [Faber, 2012] the authors are

based upon the areas of challenge, merging

important factors to the players.

digitally extending the „old school game“

of action and awareness, clear goals and

In step three prototypes were envisioned;

of shooting marble by applying the ga-

feedback, concentration, control, loss of

each enhancing one of the found success

meflow model [Sweetser et al, 2005]. This

self-consciousness, and transformation of

factors. Due to resources and time, only

resulted in a moving marble hole called

time“ [Faber, 2012] . Even though this model

one of them was build.

Marbowl. This work is of particular interest

was originally designed to evaluate digital

to this thesis, as it exemplifies the extensi-

games, the authors applied it successfully

In step four, both, the original and the

on of an existing analog game using digital

to the physical game of shooting marbles.

Marbowl game were evaluated in order to

media in the form of physical computing.

compare the fun experience between the

The approach to Marbowl is scientific and

The authors took four steps in order to

two.

following the goal of showing a successful

reach their goal. First they identified the

It showed that Marbowl was successful in

application of the gameflow model in the

game factors of the existing game follo-

its goal of enhancing the game of shooting

context of physical games.

wing the gameflow model. This meant

marbles with the help of the gameflow

matching specifics of the game experience

model.

The gameflow model was described by

to the eight areas of gameflow. Then the

Sweetser et al. and is based on the concept

success factors of the game were identified

While the project itself is very specific, the

of Flow [Csikszentmihalyi, 1990], which

through questionnaires and evaluation of

authors draw the general conclusion that

implies „that pleasure or enjoyment is

mock-ups. Success factors are the most

applying the gameflow model on physical

games is a valid step to increase its fun

Often these game factors are regarded

factors. Therefore the method fails when

experience. Additionally, by redesigning

as important because the game design

it comes to designing something that is

one of the games success factors new op-

neglected the other factors.

not just an extended version of the original

portunities for open-ended play and social

By limiting the redesign to already working

game but something new.

interaction have been created.

factors, the suggested method fails to

Introduction

ÂŤ17Âť

improve those weaker factors of the game The design approach for the new game is

or redesigning parts of the game in order

very appropriate to validate the application

to rebalance the importance of the game

and also showed a great outcome with the

Figure 2.5

Marbowl game. However it only allows for limited creativity and thus limited enhance-

Method

of the gameflow model on physical games

ments. ted the importance of the different game factors as seen by the players. This means

The Marbowl prototype

only the factors that were already working

Source: Jabe Piter Faber & Elise van den Hoven. MARBOWL: increasing the fun experience of

for the game were enhanced even further.

shooting marbles. (Paper)

Result

The authors analyzed the game and evalua-

Contemplating Tangible User Interface Theory Playing means interacting most of the

into a glass.

actions on/with the object means manipu-

time.

But what looks so easy, involves a multitu-

lating the object itself.

In classic, analog games that are so-

de of sensory feedback-loops and logical

metimes referred to as „old-school games“

insight from the performing individual. Not

This is where the biggest difference bet-

[Faber, 2012], this interaction is usually

only do we have the motor skills to handle

ween „usual“ interaction and interaction

collaborative and physical.

the bottle, but we can also tell what we

with computers comes to play. Using gene-

In this chapter I want to give a rough over-

can do with it by perceiving qualities of the

ric remote controllers such as mice and key-

view over the transformation that interacti-

object.

boards, the control is decoupled from the

on took through the introduction of digital

By recognizing the screw caps shape and

actual information. Displayed on a screen

technology, followed by the strengths of

thus the possible interactions, we know

by a GUI, originally abstract digital infor-

TUIs and the design challenges they rise.

that the screw capcan be turned in order

mation is represented in form of symbols

to open a bottle. This quality of objects

and metaphors - *embodiments*. Meta-

From Bodies to Embodiments to embo-

was called „Affordance“ by James J. Gibson

phors like e.g. folders help us to get an idea

dying Bodies? (A short overview)

[Gibson, 1977].

of how the digital world we interact with

Affordance is mainly made possible, by the

is working. Obviously sitting in front of a

Interacting with real, physical objects does

fact, that an object primarily represents

computer displaying visuals on a screen,

not seem like a big deal for us. For example

itself and by that means its own *body*.

sometimes supplemented by audio talks to

every healthy person is able to pick up a

Investigating the body will usually reveal

only a small subset of our senses.

bottle of water, open it and pour the water

all the functions it has to offer. Performing

Nevertheless we like using computers;

mainly because computers open a window

I will talk about later, there hasn‘t been a

with the rest of the physical environment

into the digital world and its plurality of

major breakthrough in this area, as tangible

within which we live“, which makes it hard

possibilities.

games are still research prototypes instead

to learn and perform actions that would be

of playable children products for the most.

easy for us otherwise.

Researchers and Designers of the field of

Facilitating physical objects on the other Qualities of Tangibles

combining these two worlds in order to

hand enables humans to use nearly all their

take the advantages of both, the physical

TUIs are special purpose interfaces provi-

very early ages, like spatial cognitive skills.

and the digital world and combining them

ding „physical form to digital information

Additionally, humans are able to think more

to a more meaningful and deeper interacti-

and computation, facilitating the direct

efficiently when a complex problem is

on experience.

manipulation of bits“ [Ishii, 2008]. Tangible

physically embodied. We often use physical

Led by the MIT Media Lab and its Professor

user interfaces facilitate physical objects as

objects to exemplify or learn through phy-

Hiroshi Ishi (Head of the Tangible Media

both form of representation and manipula-

sical engagement with objects as infants.

Group), a lot of research was done on this

tion for digital information.

Through their physical nature, tangibles

topic. Many interaction schemes that

As pointed out before, digital devices are

enable this „tangible thinking“ [Klemmer et

promise to be not only very intuitive and

making rare use of humans‘ manifold

al., 2006] and leverage the interaction.

exciting but often very playful have been

senses and abilities. As Hiroshi Ishi states,

created [Ishii, 2008]. There were some

the interaction with computers using a

Tangibles also have qualities for the colla-

attempts to bring this interaction paradigm

GUI is „inconsistent with our interactions

borative manipulation of digital informati-

to games, but besides some successes that

Method

senses and apply skills they learned from

Result

Tangible User Interaction (TUIs) aim for

Introduction

«19»

Contemplating Tangible User Interface Theory

on. Tangible interfaces seem to be familiar

artifacts and interaction has to be designed

While the first property is mainly of techni-

to the user. This accessibility lowers the th-

carefully in order to enable these advan-

cal nature, the second and third property

reshold of starting an interaction and lifts

tages, there are also challenges that come

require very thorough design work in order

the chance of users contributing. Another

with the application and implementation

to work well. For the embodiment of me-

„inviting quality“ [Horn et al., 2009] comes

of tangibles.

chanisms for interactive control, „a desig-

with the visibility of the objects. When located in a suitable and accessible place,

ner must design the interaction so that the Design challenges

the digital tokens can be viewed and mani-

actions supported by the object are based on well-understood actions related to the

pulated from different angles. People don‘t

As Hiroshi Ishi in his paper Tangible Bits:

physical objects“ [Ishii, 2008]. Whereas

have to gather in front of a monitor but can

Beyond Pixels [Ishii, 2008] pointed out,

perceptual coupling to the digital system

around the tangible interface, making it

there are three different key properties of

means designing a realtime feedback that

more accessible spatially. All manipulations

a TUI.

is well understood as an effect of ones tan-

and actions of others are easily observable.

„Computational Coupling of Tangible Re-

gible manipulation. This feedback is key to

This enhances parallel working.

presentations to Underlying Digital Infor-

convincing the user of the hybrid nature of

mation“

the interaction and the „spatial continuity

This list is not complete, but showed some

„Embodiment of Mechanisms for Interacti-

of tangible and intangible representations-

of the major advantages of tangible user

ve Control with Tangible Representations“

“[Ishii, 2008].

interfaces, especially when compared to

„Perceptual Coupling to Dynamic Intangib-

traditional GUI interaction. However, as the

le Representation“.

we have virtually unlimited ways of in-

he wants to understand how this transla-

cker, 2012] points out, there are two other

teraction but usually only a very limited

tion works. Through their physical nature,

design challenges that arise along the ones

subset of these interactions is mapped into

tangibles naturally support a try-and-error

pointed out by Hiroshi Ishi.

the digital system. If affordance of digital

approach but especially for complex trans-

The first challenge deals with Affordance,

tangible objects relies only on real-world

lations, this is not a sufficient method. By

which is a quality of an object that allows

knowledge and experience, it may mis-

giving meaningful feedback, this process

and indicates the possible action(s) to be

lead the user into treating it „like reality“.

can be improved. However designing this

performed with it. When enhancing physi-

Instead designers of tangible systems have

feedback is a hard task, as there are several

cal objects digitally, qualities of the physical

to create awareness of the hybrid nature

negative effects that can occur easily. While

objects, like Affordances are thought to be

of the interaction by giving e.g. visual cues.

continuous tight mappings can cover-up

inherited [Ishii, 2008]. This hypothesis is

By creating awareness, the object becomes

more complex and indirect effects [6], to

not entirely true.

„present-at-hand“ instead of „ready-at-

few can keep the object „ready-at-hand“.

Tangible user interfaces are always cou-

hand“.

Also basic physical properties provide

pled with invisible digital information and

Method

As the paper „Beyond Affordances“ [Horne-

Introduction

«21»

thus unpredictable laws of interaction. „It

Very closely connected is the problem

attentive understanding and thus can

is their very strength to offer functiona-

of the unknown translation or mapping

bypass them. However many mappings can

lity that is unavailable in the real world“

of input to the digital system. When the

only be shown in a way that requires the

[Hornecker, 2012], which makes real world

users conscious attention is drawn to the

user to reflect on the feedback. Lastly the

affordances unfeasible. In the real world,

existence of the analog-digital translation,

percipience of individual affordances can

Result

stronger perceptual clues than conscious/

Contemplating Tangible User Interface Theory

change with context [Hornecker, 2012].

ving their own perspectives on how fun

scriptions of the term fun, made it impos-

Creating adequate solutions for these

derives from the different values of interac-

sible to identify and validate the fun values

problems is the challenge that designers of

tions.

of tangible interactions empirically [Zaman

tangible interactions have to take.

Sweetser et al. described in their gameflow

et al., 2012].

theory eight different criteria for gameflow

However there are some successes of crea-

and thus emerging fun of games.

ting tangible games that increas fun. Espe-

Read et al. provided a way to measure three

cially the project Marbowl of Faber and van

Creating a tangible game, may it be educa-

dimensions of expectation, engagement

den Hoven, who created a digital enhanced

tional or not, usually is about creating an

and endurability with the Fun Toolkit.

version of the „old-school“ game of shoo-

interaction that is „fun“. Since fun has

Gordon Calleja argues that fun can‘t even

ting marbles and showed the increased fun

many different aspects and is definitely

be measured, as it „merely implies a clus-

experience by successfully applying the

highly subjective, this term is of a very bro-

tering of positive emotions surrounding

gameflow model stands out to me.

ad nature. Nevertheless many tangible de-

an activity „ and lacks the qualities of an

sign projects [Bakker et al., 2007] [Oschuetz

analytically productive term“ [Calleja, 2011].

Are tangibles more fun?

et al., 2010] laid base on the hypothesis that tangible interaction is „more fun“.

Nevertheless it still remains unclear which or even if - aspects of tangible interactions

This list is far from complete but only illus-

lead to a fun experience. Wyeth [Wyeth,

trates the different approaches to exami-

2006] and Soute et al.[Soute et al., 2009]

Different frameworks and models have

ning fun aspects in interaction and games.

postulated the hypothesis, that fun was

been described to define fun, each invol-

As one can imagine, all these different de-

derived from social interaction and col-

more fun was not answered in this chap-

physical nature of tangible interfaces. They

interfaces from a standpoint of design

ter. The following chapter „Contemplating

indicate that physical objects/interfaces,

opens a multitude of possibilities that

Game Theory“ will concentrate on this

through their visibility in space and ability

possibly lead to a better fun experience.

issue from general game theory and also

to be manipulated collaboratively, create

Things that are impossible to achieve in the

draw conclusions for tangibles.

a „social fun“, which seems to be the most

physical world can often be easily done in

important benefit of TUIs. However there

the digital world. Connecting to the inter-

are yet no empirical evidences that link fun

net, solving logic functions or generally

to aspects of interactions added by tangib-

creating a I/O interface are just a few of

le interfaces.

those examples.

The approaches above are basically aiming

Making use of this multitude of possibilities

for evaluating tangible interactions. Even

can make games more complex, immersive

though there is no general evidence for

or educational, just to point out some of

tangible interfaces creating fun experien-

the possible achievements.

ces, they seem capable of creating it. At last, there are examples like [Faber, 2012]

Due to the high complexity and

that recorded the creation of a fun experi-

among researchers on the topic of fun, the

ence.

initial question of whether tangibles are

Method

Looking at the potentials of tangible user

Result

laboration which is enabled through the

Introduction

«23»

Contemplating Game Theory Games are special. They connect us to other

of the game. It was referred to as „Magic

Next to the temporal border of play, one

people or seemingly take us into a different

Circle“ by Salen and Zimmerman [Salen

would expect a spatial border. While a

mood / a different world by creating a fun

Zimmerman, 2004], which is inspired by

game of soccer or chess certainly has a bor-

experience. But how are games doing this?

Johann Huizinga‘s work on play. To under-

der defining the spatial space of the game,

How is the border to this special experience

stand the nature of games and play, this

this border can not be found in the play

defined? And are there different borders for

boundary between the real world and the

with a doll. Since the doll can be dragged

analog and digital games?

world of play has to be examined further.

anywhere to play with it, a spatial border is

In the following chapter, I will discuss those

An obvious border of the game, is the

hard do draw for this play.

questions and see how the findings apply

temporal border. A game has to start and

to the hybrid nature of tangible play.

end in order to be played. But the exact

What is more interesting about the frame

start of a game is not as obvious as one

of play, and what really makes it a „Magic

might think. While the referee starts a bo-

Circle“ [Salen Zimmerman, 2004], is the

xing-match with a clear gesture, fans and

effect that it has on the player and the

When entering a game, a player is immer-

boxers might argue that the game already

objects relevant to the play.

sed into a space that is separated from the

started at the weigh in.

Because it separates the player from the

real world. This space is defined in various

This exemplifies the fuzzy and permeable

reality, the game creates a space of safety,

dimensions and creates a boundary that

nature of the temporal border of games.

which can be found in the definition of

separates the real world from the world

However, it still indisputably exists.

game by Chris Crawford [Crawford 2009].

Entering Play

More importantly within the Magic Circle

dant as usually the only space that players

does not mean that he left the space of

„special rules obtain“ [Huizinga 1980]. Th-

can act in equals „the navigable space of

play but that he is in a space where the

rough the rules of a game, e.g. a „Backgam-

the virtual environment“ [Calleja, 2011].

digital parts of the game are not relevant.

mon board becomes a special facilitates

Hence the player is restricted from doing

the play of the game“ [Salen Zimmerman,

things that are not related to the game

2004]. Certain objects and their arrange-

without leaving it.

ments may not have mattered before the

As tangible games are of a hybrid nature

It is safe to say that people play games

game but become extremely important in

this partially also applies to them. While

because they enjoy them. This enjoyment is

it. Since just putting them into the context

the qualities of the physical objects are

usually referred to as fun, even though fun

of the games ruleset fundamentally chan-

usually retained, the application of digital

is also used in many other contexts. After

ges the perception of objects, the possibi-

technologies creates new opportunities

trying to define play and games including-

lities that embedding digital systems into

that offer interaction in an artificial, prede-

fun, Huizinga concluded „The fun of playing

those objects seems very promising.

fined space. The servo-motors that are em-

[..] resists all analysis, all logical interpreta-

ployed in the toy modules of topobo only

tion. As a concept, it cannot be reduced to

While the „magic circle“ can be great for

rotate 170° and can only be controlled by

any other mental category. Nevertheless it

understanding the aspects of analog play,

following predefined inputs. If the actions

is precisely this fun-element that characte-

problems occur when applying it to digital

of the player alter from this artificial space,

rized the essence of play“ [Huizinga, 1980].

games. The separation of space is redun-

he leaves the digital part of the game. That

The problem with associating games with

Introduction

«25»

Result

Method

The problem of defining fun

Contemplating Game Theory

fun is that fun „spans a whole series of

Instead of focussing on the broad term fun,

Postgame experiences can range, for ex-

emotional stats that vary according to con-

he examines the different dimensions of

ample, from a sense of accomplishment to

text and individual“ [Calleja, 2011]. It „me-

involvement that players experience. This

recalling impressive interaction experien-

rely implies a clustering of positive emo-

model often varies from the definitions

ces. They often include strategies formed

tions surrounding an activity“ and „lacks

found in the context of the „magic circle“.

off-line, possibly in conversation with other

the qualities of an analytically productive

players and often resulting in social bonds

term“ [Calleja, 2011].

Instead of trying to draw a temporal border

caused by their engagement with the

Instead, Calleja argues that one should

that separates the play experience from the

game.

avoid „labeling the experience with a priori

rest of the world, he introduces the concept

Pregame experiences are very hard to

concepts such as fun“ [Calleja, 2011] and

of macro- and micro-involvement.

formalize. However, they are also an im-

focus on the complex and various experiential states that make players engage in play.

The Player Involvement Model

portant aspect of the game involvement as Macro-involvement deals with „aspects of

they create the context in which the game

a game that attracted players to the game

is played.

initially and kept them returning“ [Calleja, 2011]. Instead of usual research that focus-

Micro-involvement describes „aspects of a

In his book „In-Game - From Immersion to

sed on game experience primarily during

game which engage players in the moment

Incorporation“ [Calleja, 2011] describes the

the game, macro-involvement focusses

of playing“ [Calleja, 2011]. This involvement

Player Involvement Model as an analytically

on the off-line involvement that players

is indicated by the cognitive effort that the

productive method of analyzing games.

experience.

player puts into the game.

vironment“ [Calleja, 2011]. While usually

to pay attention to the game. Additionally

„Kinesthetic Involvement relates to all

found behind the screen, the same invol-

they have to be in the „disposition and rea-

modes of avatar or game piece control in

vements can be experienced when explo-

diness to act“ [Calleja, 2011], often involving

virtual environments“ [Calleja, 2011]. While

ring augmented realities.

phases of creating a plan or waiting for

usually the controls are internalized by the

the right moment to e.g. push a button. As

player after initially learning them, they

Shared Involvement

those involvements are internal processes,

draw conscious attention when becoming

Shared involvement is derived from the

the players micro-involvement can not be

challenging for the player through internal

awareness of the presence of other entities

measured by simply measuring his/her

or external challenges.

that are an active part of the game environ-

input to the game.

While Calleja puts kinesthetic involvement

ment. In digital games usually embodied

exclusively in virtual environments, I argue

in agents, those entities can be human- or

The player involvement model points out

that the involvement that comes with cont-

computer-controlled and participate in the

six dimensions of involvement, all consi-

rolling an animated, physical object also be-

play in form of cohabitation, cooperation or

dered relative to micro- and macro-invol-

longs into this category. In fact it is the very

competition.

vement. In the following I will give a short

involvement that draws many people to

As discussed in the previous chapter, espe-

overview over those six dimensions and

the hobby of remotely controlling vehicles.

cially collaborative engagement with TUIs

show the role that games with tangible

Spatial Involvement

is highly appreciated. The same obviously

user interfaces may have in each of those

Spatial involvement is the „engagement

applies to cohabitation and competition in

dimensions.

with the spatial qualities of a virtual en-

the real world.

Method

Kinesthetic Involvement

Result

As cognitive effort implies, players have

Introduction

«27»

Contemplating Game Theory

Narrative Involvement

2005] that can be utilized for TUIs. Further-

The dimensions are not „experienced in

Narrative involvement relates to the

more the creators of the topobo project

isolation but always in relation to each

engagement with two story elements. It

reported a similar involvement of the child-

other“ [Calleja, 2011]. With proceeding

addresses the narrative that is scripted into

ren of their evaluation as they emotionally

involvement, the direction of attention

the game as well as those that emerge

bonded with their creations [Raffle et al.,

usually changes dimensions frequently. For

from players‘ interaction with the game.

2004].

example when learning the controls of a

Those narrative elements can occur in tan-

game the kinesthetic involvement draws a Ludic Involvement

lot of attention. Once the player gets used

Ludic involvement describes the players‘

to the controls of the game, his conscious

Affective Involvement

engagement in his/her choices made in

attention shifts to other dimensions.

Affective involvement „encompasses

the game and the repercussions of those

Not all dimensions have to be equally rele-

various forms of emotional engagement“

choices. The choices are usually directed to-

vant to a game in order to be fun. However,

[Calleja, 2011]. This engagement can range

wards a goal but can also be spontaneous

it is important that after internalizing a

from enjoying an aesthetically pleasing

and without any relation to an overar-

dimension or being fatigued of it, the game

scene, to adrenaline rushes in action games

ching goal. Since rules and goals are part

offers different involvements for the play-

or the emotional attachment to the virtual

of almost every game, they also apply to

ers attention. Also individual involvements

avatar. In his book „Emotional Design“ Don

tangible games.

must not be too complex to enable the

gible games in exactly the same way.

Norman points out quite similar emotional qualities for everyday objects [Norman,

player to frequently shift attention.

creative process or result. All further a priori criteria can not be productive creatively or

When starting this thesis, I was planning on

scientifically.

developing criteria that have to be met for

Similar to the Marbowl project, I decided

a digital extension of an analog game to

to showcase the potential of building on

be justified and fun. Through research and

existing analog games and adding the

further reflecting, I decided not to do so

possibilities of digital technology. However,

and instead concentrate on exemplifying

I oppose the idea of concentrating only on

possibilities that this special application of

factors that occur important relative to the

TUIs have.

gameflow model. Restricting the creative

Especially when looking at the Marbowl

process like this may be helpful sometimes,

project, I came to the conclusion that

but eliminates possible opportunities of

establishing fixed criteria for the creative

creating something new instead of exten-

process itself can not lead to improved

ding already important parts of the game.

Method

Creating tangible games

Introduction

ÂŤ29Âť

of the creative process by establishing detailed criteria help. Aside from the basic requirement of adding something new to the gameplay, no criteria should limit the

Result

results. Neither would limiting the results

Content 28

cuboro

80

Test Method

30

cuboino

82

Execution Results

30

First prototype

85

31

Signal | Marble | Ping

85

cuboro Exploration

31

Idea of cuboino

85

cuboino Introduction

34

Sensor Cubes

86

cuboino Embedding

46

Actor Cubes

87

Usability

58

Supply Cubes

88

Likeability

66

Cuboino Networks Exemplified

68

Designing cuboino

68

Connecting cubes

69

Functionalities

70

Building cuboino

71

Cube Body

74

3D Printing

74

Electronics

76

Software

78

User Evaluation

78

User group

79

Evaluating Games

Result

Method

Method Material

Introduction

cuboro

To extend a game in a way that raises the experienced fun of play, the original game has to be analyzed first. Works like Marbowl [Faber, 2012] exemplify ways of doing this by applying theories like the game flow theory. While I think the idea of methodically analyzing a game can be useful, I pointed out that this can also lead to limited creativity when creating something new.

Since an extensive, methodical analysis of cuboro would be time-consuming and limiting, I will not pursue this in the context of this thesis. However I will point out some major factors of the game and thus lay base for the extension cuboino.

Fig. 3.1 - A marble track built with cuboro Source: http://cuboro.ch/de/Info/Produkte/cuboro_Kugelbahn (08.10.2012)

based marble-track building game. It was

lar with adult players. This might be caused

Here the player imagines a track and tries

originally constructed as a learning game in

by tangible nature and ease of interaction

to construct it with the cubes available.

1977 by Matthias Etter. The original game

that makes it fun and easy to construct

The track is changing and extended to the

name „Konstrito“ emphasized the focus

tracks following their own imagination,

players imagination.

of the game, which is constructing marble

engaging the player in ludic and affective

The building phase is often interrupted

tracks by using the available blocks.

involvement.

by the marble-run phase to test the track.

Playing cuboro the player learns spati-

Also the tangible nature of the game

After the player dropped a marble into the

al imagination and planning as well as

invites for collaborative play that engages

track, he just observes the marble running

knowledge of basic mechanical physics.

shared involvement.

and checks if there are errors in his const-

Building a marble-track is demanding, as

ruction of cubes. The track stays completely

the player has to anticipate the course of

Experience shows that players tend to use

static during the marble-run phase and

the marble before the marble is dropped.

modular testing to incrementally extend

does not offer any interaction opportuni-

The player course can also test parts of the

their marble track, starting with a small

ties to the user. This is a point that I wanted

track by letting the marble run through

system - testing it and then adding several

to change with cuboino.

them.

cubes. Nevertheless I observed two very

When looking at the challenge, that the

separate phases of the game. The building

game poses on the player it becomes clear,

phase and the marble-run phase.

that the targeted age is between 6 and 10

During the building phase, the player crea-

Material

tes, changes and extends the marble-track.

Method

years. However cuboro is surprisingly popu-

Result

The game of cuboro is a physical, block

Introduction

«33»

cuboino

First prototype In a first prototyping phase, I built a cube

marble-run phase without the need for a

system that is able to act as a shunting

player to intervene in the system.

switch activated by a marble running through a sensing cube. The system consists

Next to the implementation of this more

of three different kinds of cubes, that are

dynamic cubes, the concept of a traveli-

compatible in size with the cuboro cubes

ng signal was introduced as a side-effect.

and thus can be integrated into cuboro

When the sensing cube is triggered, in

architectures. In order to work together,

order to notify the shunting switch, a signal

the cubes have to be snapped together to

has to travel from one cube to the other.

connect the connectors on the sides of the

When they are directly connected, this

cubes.

travel distance is short and hardly notice-

Integrating a shunting switch into the

able, but if there are some other cubes in

cuboro architecture enables the player to

the middle, the traveling signal is observa-

build more dynamic marble tracks. The

ble. When a signal has reached a cube, this

track can be changing during the

cube lights up, making the traveling signal perceivable.

Fig. 3.2 Three cuboino cubes of the first prototype (top to bottom) marble-sensor cube / transmission cube / shunting cube

and how long it took *1. While the ping has

To extend cuboro, I found the concept of

track with the concept of signals in mind,

those informations encoded in the retur-

signals intriguing. As the marble can be

one could compare the marble to a ping. A

ning package, the marble embodies this

compared to a signal traveling through an

ping is a diagnostic tool that tests whether

information by rolling down the track and

artificial system, I decided to establish a

a certain host is reachable on an Inter-

coming out of the expected exit - observed

second type of signal that is not embodied

net Protocol (IP). A package is sent to the

by the player.

in the marble, but is of malleable form.

host; when it reaches the host, it sends a

Inspired by „The Way Things Go“ [Weiss

package back containing mainly the time

Fischli, 2002] and Rube Goldberg Machines,

of transmission. If no package is being

this signal adapts to the medium of its

returned, the host is unreachable.

transmission.

Traditionally, the most important aspect

Furthermore signals can be received by

of a signal is the information encoded in

multiple modules, creating more than

it. When looking at the marble running

*1

one signal at a time. This allows signals to

through a cuboro system as a signal, si-

In „cuboro challenges“, challengers are

intertwine and thus create more dynamic

milar to the ping, the important aspect is

trying to build a track that takes the marble

and complex outcomes.

whether the ping/marble reached its goal

the longest time to travel.

Material

Looking at the marble running down the

Method

Idea of cuboino

Result

Signal | Marble | Ping

Introduction

«35»

Idea of cuboino

Combining this concept of signals with

system according to their individual functi-

and their functionalities as well as some

modules that manipulate the marble track

onalities. For example as shown in [Fig 3.3],

concept cubes that were not implemented

or offer interactions for the user in a finis-

a marble-passing sensor an energy cube

will be presented.

hed track is what lead to the prototype of

and a shunting-actor work together is a

cuboino.

â&#x20AC;&#x17E;marble distributorâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. Not every cube senses or acts upon the marble or marble-track.

The modular structure of cuboro allows for

Some cubes offer interaction to the user,

a modular extension of the game. Cuboino

while others enable different physical

is a set of cubes that are seamlessly com-

networks to communicate via a signal in a

patible with the cuboro cubes. In contrast

perceivable medium like sound or light, as

to the passive cuboro cubes, cuboino cubes

[Fig 3.4] is exemplifying.

are active parts of a digital system consisting of sensor cubes, actor cubes and supply

Having the cuboino cubes with their

cubes.

different individual functionalities and

To enable these new digital cubes to build a

connecting them to small, modular distri-

digital network, they have to be connected

buted sensor-actor networks, complex and

to each other physically. When snapped

interesting causal chains can be created. On

together correctly, they create a functional

the following pages, the individual cubes

ÂŤ37Âť

<< Figure 3.3

Introduction

senses the marble and informs the actor-cube

A schematic example of a very simple cuboino network involving an energy cube, a marble-sensor cube and a shunting cube. marble-sensor cube, the shunting switch marble distributor.

emits a tone

Figure 3.4 >> This networks works in the same way as [Fig 3.5] does. However the sensor and actor now are parts of different

Method

provides all cubes with energy

is switched. Hence the system acts as a

physical networks.

The audio actor-sensor pair connects both systems in one direction, giving the possibility to remote control the shunting switch cube.

Result

shunting-switch

Material

Whenever a marble runs throught the

Sensor Cubes

A sensor-cube is a cube detecting/sensing physical activity that is evoked by game or its surrounding.

It notifies actor-cubes that are physically connected to it, whenever an activity is sensed.

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube is able to sense sound of a

ATtiny85

frequency Detection chip!

pre-defined frequency. It also reacts to loud

0.1 uF Capacitor

noises when occuring in the right frequen-

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

cy.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ39Âť

Fig. 3.5

Button-Sensor Cube Fig. 3.6 - 3.7

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube offers the player an opportuni-

ATtiny85

Some momentary switches are easily

ty to directly interact with built systems.

0.1 uF Capacitor

triggered without even being touched. To

When the button on the side is pushed, the

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

prevent premature activation, the switch

cube is activated.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

should be debounced via code.

functions of action cubes, as the system

Momentary Off/On Switch + pull-up resis-

Due to a consistent error in my eagle-files,

needed to see an action is minimal.

tor

the attiny-symbol is mirrored horizontally.

Additionally, this cube makes it easy to test

The pins should be labeled 9-x.

Introduction

ÂŤ41Âť

Result

Method

Material

pictures go here

Fig. 3.8 - 3.10

Light-Sensor Cube Fig. 3.11 - 3.12

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

When the ambient light level rises quickly,

ATtiny85

The correct resistance for the pull-up resis-

this cube is activated. This can be caused

0.1 uF Capacitor

tor is dependent on the resistance of the

by shedding a light onto the sensor side of

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

photoresistor (and the operating voltage).

the cube or quickly removing a shadow and

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

However the range of suitable values is lar-

thus increasing the amount of light. Hence this cube detects an activated light-actor cube if aligned correctly.

ge. In my case I tested some resistors and Photoresistor + Pull-Up Resistor

read the values with an Arduino to figure out the best resistor available.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

«43»

Fig. Fig. 3.13 3.11 - 3.15 3.13

Audio-Sensor Cube Fig. 3.16 - 3.17

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube is able to sense sound of a

ATtiny85

The output of microphones is just ambient

pre-defined frequency. It also reacts to loud

0.1 uF Capacitor

volume. In order to detect a certain fre-

noises when occuring in the right

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

quency a fast Fourier transformation (FFT)

frequency.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

has to be made. Since this is a very expensive operation, the ATtiny is not capable to

Breakout Board for Electret Microphone

do this. Instead I used the MSGEQ7 chip in a

MSGEQ7 + Capacitors

later prototype, which is especially designed for FFTs. The schematic shows the first prototype.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ45Âť

Fig. 3.18 - 3.20

Marble-Sensor Cube Fig. 3.21 - 3.22

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

When a marble runs through the track on

ATtiny85

Using a LED and a photocell is a cheap way

top of the cube, a light barrier is intersected

0.1 uF Capacitor

of building a perceivable light-barrier. Ho-

and the cube is activated. The cube can also

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

wever there are many different possibilities

be activated by putting anything else into

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

of implementing a â&#x20AC;&#x17E;presence-detectorâ&#x20AC;&#x153;.

the light-barrier.

For example IR-diode and receiver, distanLED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm Photoresistor + Pull-Up Resistor

ce-sensor or line-of sight sensors.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ47Âť

Fig. 3.23 - 3.25

Sensor Cube Concepts

Wind-Sensor Cube

IR-Light-Sensor Cube

The Wind-Sensor Cube has a little wind

The IR-Light Sensor works the same way

wheel on it and thus is able to sense the

as the Light-Sensor works, but instead of

ambient wind of the cube. The cube can

sensing perceivable light, it senses infra-

be activated by blowing on it, moving

red light. This makes it hard to understand

the wind wheel manually or letting the

cause and effect of the sensor-actor pair.

wind-actor blow on it.

However as children are used to remote controls, they should be able to recognize basic functionalities and requirements.

When the marble made it to the end of the

By having two light barriers in one cube, a

track, it usually just rolls onto the table.

speed sensor can be built. Having observed

Having a dead-end cube which collects and

children playing with cuboro showed, that

counts the arriving marbles would not only

especially children are keen to accelerate

be handy, but could also be used to activa-

the marble as fast as possible. By having a

te e.g. the marble-release cube. This way

Speed-Sensor displaying the speed of the

there would always be a marble running

marble, this motivation can be enhanced

down the track.

by giving the player a kind of high-score.

For more complex tracks, the cube could be

Also this would make competition possible

configured to only activate every second/

for who can accelerate the marble to the

third/(..) marble arriving.

highest speed.

Method

Speed-Sensor Cube

Result

Dead-End Cube

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ49Âť

Actor Cubes

An actor-cube is an active cube that manipulates parts of the game or emits physical signals.

To be activated, an actor cube has to be connected to a sensor cube . Only when the sensor cube is activated, the actor cube is activated.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ51Âť

Fig. 3.26

Light-Actor Cube Fig. 3.27 - 3.28

Functionality

Hardware

Problem

When activated, this cube sheds a light into

ATtiny85

Often a cuboro/cuboino architecture does

the direction it is pointed at. The cube can

0.1 uF Capacitor

not allow for a light sensor-actor pair to

be used to activate the light-sensor cube or

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

face each other. This raises the need to

just for debugging of a track.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

redirect the light into the right direction.

A mirror attachment would be useful to

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

reflect the light configurably.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ53Âť

Fig. 3.29 - 3.31

Sound-Actor Cube Fig. 3.32 - 3.33

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube emits a sound of a pre-defined

ATtiny85

To regulate the volume of the speaker, a

frequency when activated.

0.1 uF Capacitor

resistor can be used on one of the lines

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

connecting to the speaker. The higher the

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

resistance, the lower the volume.

Speaker

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ55Âť

Fig. 3.34 - 3.36

Shunting Switch Cube Fig. 3.37 - 3.38

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube acts like a shunting switch for the

ATtiny85

The three dimensional shape of the top of

marble track. When activated, the shunting

0.1 uF Capacitor

the cube was produced with a Makerbot

turns 90 degrees and thus

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

3D-Printer.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm Servo + 470uF Capacitor

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ57Âť

Fig. 3.39 - 3.40

Marble Release Cube Fig. 3.41 - 3.42

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube can hold a lot of marbles. When

ATtiny85

Because of the high current drawn by the

activated, the cube releases one marble

0.1 uF Capacitor

solenoid, a 470uF capacitor is used to buffer

onto the track. This makes this cube the

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

this usage.

ideal starting point for a marble track.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

The Schottky-Diode blocks negative voltages that can be caused by the inductance

Solenoid + Schottky-Diode Transistor + Resistor

of the solenoids coil.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ59Âť

Fig. 3.43 - 3.44

Actor Cube Concepts

Wind-Actor Cube

IR-Light Actor Cube

This cube has a directional fan on it that

Similar to the Light Actor Cube, this cube

starts blowing when activated. It is part of

sheds an invisible infrared light into a de-

a sensor-actor pair with a wind-sensor. Also

fined direction. The usage of this actor only

it can be used to accelerate marbles on the

makes sense when used as part of a sen-

track.

sor-actor network with a IR-Sensor Cube.

Similar to the regular shunting cube, this

This cube has the ability to accelerate the

cube can direct the marble in one of two

marble on a horizontal track by angling the

directions. Instead of letting it run trough

surface as soon as the marble entered it.

it horizontally, the marble is dropped into a

However it will only do so if activated

hole and released out of one of two possib-

priorly.

le holes.

Method

Acceleration Cube

Result

Vertical Shunting Cube

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ61Âť

Supply Cubes

Supply cubes do not have an external functionality in a network of cuboino cubes, but an internal.

They supply the system with electrical power or forward power and signals in the system.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ63Âť

Fig. 3.45

Energy Cube Fig. 3.46 - 3.47

Functionality

Hardware

Technical Details

This cube has to be part of every working

4.7 kOhm pull-up resistors

The pull-ups are pulling the connection

cuboino network as it supplies energy to all

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

lines high. Since an energy cube has to be

cubes physically connected.

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

part of every cuboino network, the lines are

Multiple energy cubes are allowed in one network.

always pulled up. step up circuit lipo-charging circuit

Since the step-up circuit is only able to supply 200mA, I created additional energy cubes with 9V batteries and voltage regulators.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ65Âť

Fig. 3.48 - 3.49

Connection Cube Fig. 3.50 - 3.51

Functionality

Hardware

This cube just transmits energy and signals

AKL 055-04 (Terminal)

and multiplexes the outputs with its six

LED duris e3 low pwr white + 220 Ohm

connectable sides.

Result

Method

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ67Âť

Fig. 3.52 - 3.54

Supply Cube Concepts

Logic Cubes Usually actors in a physical cuboino net-

plexity to the game that possibly makes it

work are activated when one of the sensors

more appealing for older players.

of the same network is triggered.

Logic Cubes would change this behaviour by adding logic gates that act like logical operators.

For example, if one AND-Cube was added to a cuboino network with two sensors, the connected actors would only be activated if both sensor were triggered.

As in math and computer science, the operators can be concatenated.

Logic Cubes would add a new level of com-

Delay Cube The Delay Cube takes a signal and releases it after waiting an adjustable amount

Material

Fig. 3.55 - Delay Cube

Introduction

ÂŤ69Âť

of time. This can be useful when building

Result

Method

time-sensible architectures or systems.

Cuboino Networks Exemplified After showing two simple examples of

<< Figure 3.56 â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Multiplexingâ&#x20AC;&#x153;

cuboino networks, here are some examples

Sound can easily reach points, that would

of higher complexity that can be built with

be hard do reach by e.g. light. Hence it can

the implemented cuboino cubes. Concept

easily reach more then one sensor. This

cubes are not included in these examples.

multiplexes the signal to the amount of sensor-cubes and enables the player to build simultaneously acting systems.

<< Figure 3. 57 „Infinity Loop“ When positioning two sensor-actor pairs in front of each other, a loop with a never ending cycle of signal transmissions can be

Introduction

«71»

signals in an ideally stable frequency.

Method

ded as a CPU-clock or crystal as it emits

Result

Metaphorically, this system can be regar-

Material

created.

Designing cuboino Connecting cubes As in cuboro, the most important part of

The limitations that this connection para-

feedback and the magnetic repulsion ma-

cuboino is arranging and connecting cubes.

digm brings to the game cause a higher

kes sure that the cubes are not electrically

In addition to spatially arranging them, the

complexity especially when building com-

misconnected.

cuboino cubes are also connected physi-

plex cuboino systems. To help the player

cally and thus electronically. However this

understand how the individual cubes can

To help the player cope with this technica-

addition does not come without a draw-

be connected and ensure that they are not

lity, every connector-side has a visual hint

back. As covered in the following chapter

connected incorrectly, there are visual hints

indicating its polarity. While on some sites

â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Building cuboinoâ&#x20AC;&#x153; , not every side can be

and haptic feedbacks and constraints.

there is a diamond, there is a diamond in

connected to any other side and even if the

Most importantly the magnets on the corn-

negative space on others. The symbols shall

sides can be connected, there is only one

ers of every connector-side are polarized in

work like a visual lock-and-key principle.

allowed rotation for the cubes. While this

a way that only allows a correct side to be

Only when a lock-side is pushed onto a

is a problem that would be erased when

connected in the right rotation. Whenever

key-side with both symbols touching each

producing the game on a larger scale, it had

to wrong sides are pushed together, they

other, the sides cubes will snap together.

to be dealt with for this prototype.

will repel each other at least at one corner.

[Fig 3.61]

This way the players learn whether the sides are connected correctly through haptic

understands the functionality of the cube.

Buttons invite the player to push and see

kind of cubes: actor, sensor and supply

For the actor cubes this method of openly

what happens, however a photocell or

cubes. The cubes are engraved accordingly

showing the acting element is enough in-

microphone is harder to understand. On cu-

to their category. Sensor cubes are engra-

formation to make the players understand

bes which functionality is not obvious, you

ved with circles, actor cubes carry squares,

the functionality of the cube. To prevent

can find symbols that explain more about

while the supply cubes are left blank. This

the players from covering the actors most

the functionality of the individual cube.

does not only make finding individual

important side with other cubes, the acting

cubes easier but also hints the functionality

elements stick out of the surface. This way

of unknown cubes.

this side of the cube exceeds the 5x5x5cm

The individual functionality of every cube is

3D grid of cuboro and thus implies that the

indicated by affordance whenever possible.

player has to makes this side direct out-

One of the best examples is the sound-

wards.

actor cube, which carries a big speaker on

While the functionality of actors is easy to

one of its sides. Since the player knows

understand for the player, the same does

what a speaker does, he automatically

not apply for the appearance of sensors.

Method

As said before, cuboino has three different

Result

Functionalities

Material

Introduction

ÂŤ73Âť

Building cuboino

Fig. 3.58

the prototype of cuboino, elaborate on

back of the cubes, the surface also has to

acrylic glass plates. MDF is great because

alternatives and discuss advantages and

allow for lighting up or to be partly trans-

it does not bend or have inconsistencies

disadvantages. In addition to the general

lucent. Having to build a large number ob

due to grain. Both materials can be cut and

decisions and techniques discussed in this

cubes, the cube should also be produced

engraved using a laser cutter, which makes

chapter, specifics about individual cuboino

using automated production technologies.

production fast and precise. However the

cubes can be found in the chapter „cuboino cubes“.

effort that had to be put in assembling the The cuboro cubes are CNC-milled from

cubes was considerably higher.

beech wood. This makes the cubes‘ measu-

The acrylic glass with a width of 2 mm

res very precise. Also since a cuboro cube

builds an „inner cube“ with interlocking

is milled from one solid block of wood, its

sides [Fig 3.58]. The teeth of the individual

The faces of cuboino cubes are the visually

perceived quality is very high. I originally

sides are built to fit together and still have

dominating part of the cube, since they

planned producing the cuboino cubes using

enough friction to stay in the position

build the surface of the cube. The primary

the same technique, however after talking

they are put in. This makes assembling

function of the cubes surface is to carry an

to the workshop leaders of HfK and the

the final cubes easier and even allows for

actor or sensor and indicate its individual

University it became clear that this was

a re-openable side of the cube. To achieve

functionality. However, most of them have

not possible with the machinery and time

this perfect fitting, the plans have to have

to carry a physical interface that allows to

available.

an accuracy of 0.1 mm, which a laser-cut-

connect cubes physically and electronically.

So I decided to use a combination of MDF

ter easily provides. However next to some

Cube Body

Material

(Medium-density fibreboard) plates and

Method

Since I decided to use light as visual feed-

Result

In this chapter I will explain how I built

Introduction

«75»

Building cuboino

minor inaccuracies that most CNC-routers

Attached to every acrylic glass plate that

easily combined.

have, the plans have to consider the materi-

is a connector-side, are 4 contact springs

After attaching the tongues to the acrylic

al that is lost on the edges due to laser-cut-

(also called tongues). They are made of

glass, the MDF plate has to be glued on

ting the material. I found the best way to

copper and have a height of 3mm. The MDF

top of it. To align the MDF plate perfectly

determine the thickness of the cut is and

plate that these tongues are going through

on the acrylic glass plate, the cubic mag-

how much has to be added to the plans, is

has a thickness of 2mm which makes the

nets can be put into the holes beforehand.

to make test cuts and iterate until a suffi-

tongues jut 1mm out of the surface. When

When pushing the MDF plate onto the

cient result is accomplished.

two connector-sides are pushed together,

acrylic glass, the salient magnets will guide

Since cables and electronics will be sto-

these 1mm on each side help connecting

it into the right position. The glue I used to

red inside the cube, the acrylic glass was

the two tongues with enough contact area.

glue the MDF to the acrylic glass and also

sandblasted to increase its opacity. This

[Fig 3.59]

way light can still exit the acrylic glass, but

To attach the tongues to the acrylic glass,

the user will not be able to identify single

they are loosely pushed onto it. After being

parts inside the cube. Due to the small size

brought into the right position and angle

of the sandblasting container available, the

by aligning them to the edges of the middle

sandblasting was done with the already

hole, they are joined with the acrylic glass

Figure 3.59

cut parts. However it would have been less

with a soldering iron. Since the backside

Two sides being pushed together with the

work, if the plate of acrylic glass would

of the tongue is also used to connect the

tongues increasing the area of contact

have been sandblasted in one piece.

tongue to a cable, this working-steps are

«77»

Introduction

fasten the magnets in their holes is two component epoxy resin. However most multipurpose glues will do the job.

important, that the sides have the right rotation when snapped together. Hence there

Figure 3.60

Figure 3.61

is only one correct rotation for two sides to

Radial contacts without the problem of

Polarity of the corner-magnets allowing for

fit together. Also the two sides have to be

limited connectivity.

only one rotation.

bling cuboro networks a lot harder.

To ensure that only two compatible sides

On some sides there is a diamond, while

A better way of doing this would be using

are connected in the right rotation, the

on others there is a diamond in negative

radial contact areas or duplicating the con-

magnets in the corners have a certain pola-

space. Only when a diamond is put onto

tacts for every individual angle [Fig 3.60].

rity [Fig 3.61]. This way when two sides are

a „negative diamond“, the two sides snap

Since I did not find any radial contacts

pushed together wrongly, they repel each

together.

that were available for prototyping and

other perceivable. Only two compatible

duplicating contacts would have been too

sides in the right rotation snap together.

After gluing all six sides of the cube, the

expensive, I went with this version and the

To hint the right side and rotation visual-

cube can be assembled. For this purpose

connected usability problem.

ly, there are symbols cut into every cube.

they have to be glued together and more

Material

Using all 4 contacts differently makes it

Result

Method

compatible, which overall makes assem-

Building cuboino

importantly the connectors have to be

importantly it is impossible to create most

this application the precision is sufficient. A

connected. I found the best way to do this,

3D-Models seamlessly. For most cuboi-

look at the individual cube pages will give

is by connecting the connectors of one side

no cube bodies this was not of concern,

more insight.

to those on another side until only one

however there are three cubes that made

group of cables is spared. This way not too

a different production approach necessary.

Due to problems with the Makerbot, I was

many cables have to be soldered together

The shunting cube, the marble-sensor cube

forced to produce the release-cube diffe-

and the cube is easy to connect to the elec-

and the marble-release cube all have three

rently. Since I still had spare parts of MDF I

tronics inside. Gluing the sides together to

dimensional shapes that can only hardly be

decided to stack up many cut MDF sheets

form a cube is the last step. I left one side

produced with a laser-cutter.

to build the 3D-Model â&#x20AC;&#x17E;slice by sliceâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. Since I

unglued, which makes the cube re-open-

only wanted to produce one cube with this

able, which is great for prototyping. Ideally

technique, I made the cut-plans by hand in

the side can be pushed into the cube and

After building 3D-Models of these cubes, I

Illustrator. When producing more cubes,

holds just because of the friction of the

was able to print two shunting cubes and

I would use tools that convert 3D-Models

other sides.

two marble sensors using a Makerbot. I

into those slices.

did not print the complete cubes in order 3D Printing

to be able to attach the already produced

Electronics

connector-faces. When looking at the cubes Using Laser-Cutting as primary production

closely, one can see the lack of precision

The individual functionalities of the cubes

tools obviously has some drawbacks. Most

that comes with the Makerbot, however for

are usually simple, which makes explaining

ware in the way that they offer functions

circuits can be found on the cube pages.

compatible with the Arduino programming

that the processor can execute. The High-

In every cuboino cube, except the supply

environment. Following the tutorial of the

Low Tech Group offers a core file, however

cubes, there is a ATtiny85 microcontroller.

High-Low Tech Research Group of the MIT

there is no tone-function included in this

This very small, eight-legged pin has only

Media Lab [HLT, 2012], running Arduino

package. Fortunately there is another

five I/O pins [Fig 3.62], which makes it very

code on those chips is very easy.

open-source core-file project arduino-tiny

cheap. Due to the low complexity of the

Most important part of this process are the

[Arduino-Tiny] that offers more functions

individual cubes, this chip is sufficient for all

so called „core files“. These files have to be

including tone(). I ended up using this co-

cuboino cubes built.

burned onto the chip and act like a firm-

re-version for all cubes.

There are two ways to program a microchip. The usual way is to include pinouts for

Material

The ATtiny85 is not only cheap but also

Method

them pointless. Specifics about individual

Introduction

«79»

an ICSP-Device (In-circuit serial programmove the chip every time and put it into a circuit that is created for programming the Figure 3.62 - ATtiny 45/85 pinmapping to Arduino pins.

chip. Even though ICSP is the common way

Source: http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=1695 (09.10.2012)

to deal with this problem, I decided to go

Result

ming), the other way is to physically re-

Building cuboino

with the second method because the ICSP

Friedrich of the HfK created and that was of

When cuboino cubes are connected physi-

pinout would have taken valuable space

great help for me. *1

cally, they have to communicate digitally

on every circuit board and the pins would

There are also other ways to produce

in order to work together. For a long time

also have costed quite some money. Also

printed circuit boards like surface milling or

I tried to implement this functionality by

I did not need to buy an ICSP programmer

toner transfer and a lot of tutorials online.

facilitating the I²C Protocol (Inter-Integra-

but was able to use an Arduino Uno with a self-made shield instead.

ted Circuit), often called Two Wire Interface Software

(TWI). I²C uses two bidirectional lines, Serial Data Line (SDA) and Serial Clock (SCL), to

For every microcontroller, a custom circuit

As indicated before, I am using the Arduino

connect possibly 256 slave-devices to one

board has to be produced. Since I had to

environment to program the ATtiny micro-

master-device (when acting in a 8-bit ad-

produce 17 cubes including circuit boards, it

controllers. Despite the Communication

dress-space).

made sense to produce them utilizing the

every cube has a rather simple functionality

The big advantage of I²C is its versatility.

etching method.

with an easy implementation. To see how

Information can be addressed at individu-

I designed the circuits, layouts and some

individual problems were solved, look at

al cubes or all of them while they are all

parts that were not available using the

the individual cube pages and/or download

connected to the same two lines. Every

Eagle-Software. After designing the layout,

the code from the website.

cube would have an identity that the mas-

I went on to photo etch the circuit. Since

ter cube would be aware of.

this process would take some time to exp-

*1: http://f3-h.de/cuboino/material/Plati-

Unfortunately working with the proto-

lain, I just give a link to a tutorial that David

nenherstellung.pdf

types showed various problems with the

I²C-Protocol. As the name suggests Inter-In-

down the actor line to notify the sensors.

tergrated Circuit Protocol is for in-circuit

This more robust system does not allow for

communication. In contrast to the contacts

real informations to travel, however it is

and wire-length the signals had to travel

sufficient for this prototype.

Introduction

«81»

communication usually has only short ways to go. Even though I²C has a documented using range of one meter, the capacitance

Material

through in the cuboino system, in-circuit

of the many wires makes high speed I²C mentation was rather slow, so the signal takes a perceivable time to reach the actor.

Method

frequencies impossible. Hence my imple-

I then decided to develop my own protocol and the other as actor-notifier. Whenever a sensor-cube is triggered, the sensor-line is pulled down, which the actor senses. When the actor is done with its job, it shortly pulls

Result

in which one line acts as sensor-notifier

User Evaluation Evaluating a developed product is crucial

search shows that cuboro is not only played

that could not be handled by 5-7 year olds.

to show whether the application of the

by children but also by adults.

10 year old children are supposed to have

developed theories is successful. To ensure

Recently cuboro released a so-called „mys-

the cognitive ability to use the new func-

that the results of the evaluation are mea-

terycube“ that acts as a marble elevator.

tions of the game. Also Hanna et al. [Hanna

ningful, the methodology and participants

Cuboro recommends a playing age of at

et al., 1997] pointed out that children in

of the tests have to be thoughtfully chosen.

least twelve years to play with this cube.

elementary school age range (ages 6 to 10

Especially when designing for children as

However this recommendation is due to

years) are relatively easy to work with in

users it is important to involve them in the

security guidelines concerning unattended

software usability testing.

evaluation, as they „have their own culture,

children playing with electronic toys with

skills and complexities“ [Brouwers-Janse et

small parts. Since the evaluation will be

The gaming experience of adults playing

al., 1997].

attended, this is not of concern. It is more

cuboro does not seem to be highly impac-

interesting to see if the children can cope

ted by the complexity of the game but

User group

with the increased degree of complexity of

more of its open world character. Since

In the case of cuboino the user group is

cuboino.

Cuboino does actually extend this game-

broad. Cuboro usually labels its games with

play by adding more components and thus

a playing age of minimal 5-7 years. The age

For the evaluation, I decided to test cuboi-

extends possibilities, continued likeability

is adjusted to the complexity of the cubes

no with children around the age of 10. The

for adults is assumed. Also early user tests

of the specific package. However online re-

game aims for an increased complexity

with adults were conducted to evaluate not

or even preventing the users experience of

usually focussed on the measurement of

but also getting a first impression on the

fun.

performance and efficiency. The ISO de-

likeability for adults.

fines usability as „the extent to which a In the chapter „Contemplating Game Theo-

product can be used by specific users to

ry“ I elaborated on the six dimensions of in-

achieve specified goals with effectiveness,

volvement that are described in the Player

efficiency and satisfaction in a specified

Evaluating games is different from evalua-

Involvement Model [Calleja, 2011] and how

context of use“ [ISO 9241–11].

ting applications aimed for productivity.

they lead to a fun experience.

For the evaluation of games, Pagulayan et al. pointed out, „the goal of iterative usabi-

pointed out, „the goal of iterative usability

However in this thesis an extensive test of

lity testing on games is to reduce the obst-

testing on games is to reduce the obstacles

those dimensions would exceed the frame

acles to fun, rather than the obstacles to

to fun, rather than the obstacles to accom-

of this thesis. In my evaluation I thus follow

accomplishment“ [Pagulayan et al., 2003].

plishment“ .

Zaman [Zaman, 2008] in reducing the

The general purpose of evaluating a game

evaluation of the aspects of a fun experien-

Next to effectiveness and efficiency, which

ce in play to likeability and usability.

are purely performance oriented attributes,

usually is to find out if the basic game

the ISO definition of usability also men-

concept can lead to a fun experience and

Testing the usability of an application or

tions satisfaction, an aspect that could be

if there are usability problems decreasing

system has been done extensively and is

interpreted as a synonym for likeability. But

Method

As Pagulayan et al. [Pagulayan et al., 2003]

Result

Evaluating Games

Material

only the general usability and functionality,

Introduction

«83»

User Evaluation

likeability is more than just an aspect of

other. Hence „the likeability of a product

extensions of analog games, the experien-

usability.

can influence the perceived usability and

ces gained with the finished prototype are

It can be regarded as the side that Don Nor-

vice versa“ [Zaman, 2008].

sufficient.

Test Method

After designing and building the proto-

man called „emotional design“, which „may be more critical to a product’s success than its practical elements“ [11]. In his popular

type of cuboino, an informal expert test

prologue „Three Teapots“, Norman elabo-

I originally planned an iterative design pro-

with adults who were not involved in the

rates about the three aspects of emotional

cess with children testing a playable proto-

development was held to ensure the basic

design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective.

type. The gained insights would have been

functionality of the game and find crucial

While visceral design „concerns itself with

used to refine the prototype of cuboino and

usability problems. Next to some usability

appearances“ and reflective design „consi-

create a better gaming experience. Howe-

problems that were caused by technical

ders the rationalization and intellectualiz-

ver the complexity of the hardware design

errors, this test showed that cuboino gene-

ation of a product“, behavioral design „has

and unavailability of children as test-users

rally appeals to adult players.

to do with the pleasure and effectiveness

lead to a different approach. Even though

of use“ [Norman, 2005].

an earlier evaluation would have been

More extensive tests were held with the

The fact that Norman uses the attribute

desirable, it is not a major mistake since ite-

more relevant user group of children at the

effectiveness to describe an aspect of his

rative, user-centric design processes usually

age of 11. The user tests were held in groups

emotional design theory shows, that likea-

follow the first prototype. Since the goal of

of three. Company makes the children more

bility and usability are dependent on each

this thesis is to show the potential of digital

comfortable in an unnatural setting of a

the system a constant flow of conversation

the ease of collaboration. While playing

Every session was recorded with a steady

is more likely to be established. However if

in groups of three, the children can share

camera. Experience shows, that children

the children feel very uncomfortable, they

their findings and ideas and test them with

usually forget the presence of a recording

should not be forced to speak aloud, as this

cuboino.

camera pretty fast and thus will not be

would affect the whole experience negati-

The test was held in the school of the

distracted. The collected material helps to

vely.

children. This gave the the children concei-

evaluate the tests, as many of the child-

vable comfort, as they were used to their

ren‘s reaction is non-verbal and thus can be

Additionally to the thinking aloud method,

environment.

missed easily.

the users were asked questions when the tester feels it is appropriate. This method is

Overall 2 sessions with 3 children were

During the test, the users were asked to

called active intervention and is suggested

held to collect enough data. As Nielsen‘s

think aloud. Thinking aloud often reveals

to be the most effective usability evalua-

graph suggests [Nielsen et al., 1993], five

interesting impressions about the usability

tion method by Van Kesteren et al. [Van

users would be enough to find most of

and implications of the system.

Kesteren et al., 2003]. This evaluation is fol-

the usability and fun problems. With two

One problem often occurring with the thin-

lowing Zaman [Zaman, 2010] by combining

groups [or 6 test-users] many findings will

king aloud method is the participants be-

these two approaches. Especially when

be observed repeatedly, but about 85% of

coming silent over time or don‘t even start

thinking aloud feels uncomfortable to the

the usability problems will be found. This is

thinking aloud due to the level of uncom-

children, being asked questions makes it

Material

ges of interaction with tangible media is

fort. By having two users interacting with

Method

a sufficient accuracy for this thesis.

Result

user tests. Also one of the main advanta-

Introduction

«85»

User Evaluation

easier for them to give some insight in their

Zaman introduced the laddering method to

to build two groups of three, which resul-

thoughts.

evaluate the likeability of games with chil-

ted in a group of three boys and a group of

dren [Zaman, 2008]. The method is based

three girls. The test took place in the famili-

The insights gained by the test-users

on the means-end theory [Gutman, 1982]

ar environment of their own school.

playing with cuboino are mainly valuable

and is mainly used with adults in marke-

for evaluating usability. Those findings are

ting and consumer research. According to

Before the test, the test-users were gi-

recorded and categorized. Since likeability

this theory, people categorize stimuli into

ven a short overview of how the test was

is more important for this thesis, usability

a hierarchical chain of beliefs, consisting of

planned. In this way interruptions during

evaluation is not very extensive.

attributes, consequences and values [Berry,

the test were avoided by explaining many

2002]. The method starts with a question,

things before the actual test. Answering

During the test, there were implications to

followed by why questions. This leads to

questions and making the children famili-

the likeability of cuboino. However since

explanations regarding the users under-

ar with the test methods also eases them

likeability is caused by underlying values

lying core beliefs towards specific attribu-

which leads to more reliable test results.

of the test-users, it is unlikely that they

tes of the product or system.

verbalize those values during the test. Consequently the test-users were questioned

Ideally the children that were participating Execution

using the laddering method.

in the user test were already familiar with the game of cuboro. Since this is a user

The test was held with parts of a 6th class

group that was very hard to find, most of

at a middle school. The children were asked

the children had to be given time to explore

this phase, they were asked to think aloud,

Since the test-users were significantly older

in the game. I decided to introduce them

which, in both groups, lead to conceivable

than the minimal playing age, this basic

separately to make the evaluation more

discomfort on their side. I then began to

exploration phase was very short. However

specific for the cuboino extension. If intro-

ask questions whenever fitting.

it is important as the children were also

duced together many confusions caused

asked to play together instead of building

by the exploration by cuboro could have

When evaluating productivity tools, the

individual tracks. If collaboration between

hidden usability problems of cuboino. Ad-

user usually gets a task with a goal that

the children didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t work, the test would

ditionally introducing cuboino after cuboro

he has to accomplish. In games this is not

have been not very valuable as collaborati-

gave me the possibility to ask the test users

always the case since there is not always a

on is one of the major aspects of tangible

about the cuboro and cuboino separately.

task to work on. Cuboino is an exploration

games. Cuboino was introduced to the set-

This gave me the possibility to compare the

game and thus the point of the game is to

ting when the children collaboratively had

experience of playing cuboro to the experi-

explore the possibilities given to the player.

built a working marble track and the tester

ence of playing cuboro and cuboino.

This makes giving a task obsolete.

As said before, I applied a mixture of the

The actual testing of the game did not

thinking aloud and active intervention. Fol-

exceed 40 minutes, as the children tend

It would also have been possible to intro-

lowing Zaman [Zaman, 2010], the test-users

to become tired very fast. Also during

duce cuboro and cuboino together to the

were given an acclimation phase to get

the time the test-users were playing with

test-users. This way one could have obser-

used to the new game and setting. After

cuboino, it was only possible to observe

Material

ved how early cuboino cubes were used

Method

the basic game separately from cuboino.

Introduction

ÂŤ87Âť

the game of cuboro.

Result

had the feeling that the users understood

User Evaluation

usability problems and thus they had to be

questions using situational examples are

questioned afterwards.

more concrete and thus help the children to give insights into their thoughts.

Using the laddering method, the test-users were asked two questions. One positive and one negative laddering question, namely „What did you like / What didn‘t you like about the game?“ will be the starting point.

Instead of the typical why-questions, Zaman found out that asking what-questions leads to better answers, since they are „more specific and concrete, which makes them easier to be answered „ [Berry, 2002].

Zaman also shows, that the contextual clues that the observers get by observing the test-users become very important when questioning them. Children often have problems with abstracting their thoughts and

whether those resentments would resolve

for their age. However despite their first

when adding cuboino to the first impressi-

resentments, after playing with the blocks

on of the game.

for a short amount of time they were completely immersed into the game.

test-users started to collaboratively build

One boy even compared the game to the

a cuboro track. After a few minutes and

open world game „Minecraft“ after under-

When cuboino was introduced to the test-

some group-intern troubleshooting a large

standing the block based dynamics of the

users, the first impression was positive. The

track was built in both cases. The children

cuboro game. This lead to an immediate

technical appearance and magnetic snap-

only had minor problems with the mecha-

increase of interest of the whole group.

ping were the first details drawing atten-

nics of the game. Sometimes they were not

tion. Especially figuring out the right way

able to build a track that accelerated the

In the course of this evaluation it is difficult

to connect the cubes did take quite some

marble enough to reach the finish, in other

to reason why nearly all of the test-users

time and caused some confusion. The signs

cases they were mainly struggling with cu-

had resentments to cuboro. An hypothesis

indicating how the cubes can be connected

bes not being aligned perfectly and decele-

that seems reasonable for me is, that the

were not noticed at the beginning. Once

rating the marble with the resulting gaps.

seemingly low complexity of the game

perceived and understood, they were very

When confronted first with the cuboro

combined with a low-tech look imposed

helpful for the test-users.

game, they did not seem to like it. Their

the impression of cuboro being a kids

After overcoming the initial problem of

reactions indicated that they thought of

game. I think it would be interesting to see,

connecting the cubes physically, both

Material

cuboino Introduction

When introduced to the cuboro blocks, the

Method

cuboro Exploration

it as a kids game that was inappropriate

Result

Results

Introduction

«89»

User Evaluation

groups went on to explore the individual

out by their reactions to human input in

a very impressive approach, this is not the

and connected functionalities of the cu-

combination with symbols. For example

usual way cuboino is being explored.

boino cubes. Following a simple cause-re-

the photocell symbol on the light-sensor

action thinking, the test-users connected a

cube reminded one of the boys of the light

push-button sensor to an actor and expec-

actor cube symbol. Hence he connected an

ted it to work. They soon figured out that

energy cube and watched what happened,

After the groups found out about the indi-

the system needed energy and connected

when he put a finger onto the sensor and

vidual functionalities, they were asked to

an energy-cube.

removed it afterwards. When the cube

incorporate some new cubes into the exis-

lighted up, he knew that the cube reac-

ting cuboro game. It is important to point

Following this system, the boys group

ted to light. This example also shows the

out, that the test-users themselves decided

explored the individual functionalities of

importance of the visual feedback that the

to figure the functionalities out instead of

the cuboino cubes. When the functionality

light inside the cube gave.

immediately starting the building process.

seemed to be obvious, as for most actors,

The girls group made it a game finding out

Since the process gave interesting insights

the test-users showed content in figuring

about the individual cubes by guessing

into the thinking process of the test-users

out the functionality without proving it

from its appearance and then testing it

and they had fun with it, I went along with

with an exemplary cuboino system.

with a simple network. Actor cubes were

them doing so.

The sensor cubes had to be explored more

tested with a push-button sensor cube and

thoroughly to figure out their functionality.

an energy-cube, while sensor cubes were

Both groups decided to start with building

Most of the functionalities were figured

tested with the sound-actor. While this was

a system around the marble-release actor,

cuboino Embedding

so instead of dropping a marble onto the

ted previously in this chapter in „Designing

the stones available. While cuboino was

track manually, they were able to push a

cuboino“ obvious.

meant to be a game to explore logic creati-

button and release a marble onto the track.

Usability

this system and enjoyed the outcome very The limitations that this connection para-

for children.

digm brings to the game cause a higher The boys group then started to build a

complexity especially when building bigger

Another usability problem occurred when

system around the shunting-switch ac-

structures. The player not only has to be

the girls group tried to build two networks

tor and the marble sensor. Listening to

able to create the architecture that he

that communicated with the help of the

their conversations as they were building

imagined and comply with the basic rules

light actor-sensor pair. Since the light is

I learned that they basically wanted to

of spatial arrangements like gravity and

shed straight from the light-actor cube, the

build a marble distributor [seen on page

friction. He also has to find an arrangement

sensor has to be on the same height as the

31]. However they were not able to do so,

that is possible with the cubes available

actor to sense the light perfectly. This is

because they were not able to figure out a

and their polarities. Especially when testing

very hard to achieve in this system because

way to connect them because the polarity

this informally with older users, this beca-

the cubes only have very limited possibili-

of the cubes never fitted as they wanted it

me apparent as a problem that limited the

ties of connecting to each other. Also the

to. This made the usability problem caused

creative flow. Players were not lead by their

whole cuboro/cuboino architecture usually

by the connection paradigm that I predic-

imagination, but by what was possible with

has to be rearranged for this purpose.

Material

this, the challenge was too big, especially

Method

much.

a puzzle. While some older players liked

Result

Both groups had no problems assembling

vity, the connection paradigm turned it into

Introduction

«91»

User Evaluation

A possible solution for this problem, next to

bility problems and successes, aspects of

As elaborated before, the interviews were

the previously discussed change of connec-

likeability were only indicated vaguely.

conducted utilizing the laddering method.

tion paradigm would be adding the possibility to direct the light with a for example

To be able to compare the game experienLikeability

a mirror.

ce with and without cuboino, the players were asked negative and positive ladde-

To see how the likeability of the game

ring-questions about cuboro and cuboino.

Both groups moved on to build something

changed by introducing the cuboino ele-

The results were translated to English and

less complex. While the boys built a mar-

ments, the test-users were asked which

processed to infographics [Figures 63-66]

ble-detector activating a light-actor and

game they liked better. All of the test-users

that help understanding the results.

a sound-actor at the end of the track to

said that they liked the game including

notify a marble passing the finish-line, the

the cuboino cubes better. This indicates

Looking at the results overall, one notices

girls built a shunting-switch system that

that the design and implementation was a

that less diverse negative points were

was activated by a light-sensor.

success for children around the age of 10.

raised than positive ones. This could be

Similar feedback from older players indica-

due to the small sample of test-users that

During the last 10-15 minutes, I separated

tes that the general likeability of the game

were consulted or possibly because the

one test-user after the other to interview

is being raised by cuboino cubes.

test-users were lead by the expectations of

him, while the others continued playing.

the conductor. However I think it is caused

While observing the test-users playing

To examine the reasons for this raised

individually by cuboro and cuboino.

cuboino gave some great insights into usa-

likeability, the test-users were interviewed.

Cuboro was very easy to play for the test-

things. When asked about cuboino, test-

and at the same time was never boring for

be found.

users responded that they had even more

them. This combination results in a high

One thing that attracts attention is the

possibilities, comparing it to the experi-

likeability that made pointing out dislikes

added category „Challenge“. As elaborated

ence without cuboino. Also new aspects

about the game very hard. This is reflected

before, minimal playing age for cuboro is

of creativity were sparked by the new

in the test-users testifying no dislikes about

six years and thus the games complexity

game mechanics of cuboino, like building a

the game.

did not challenge the eleven year old test-

sensor-actor pair and thus not needing to

Cuboino on the other hand has a major

users. Even though cuboro was not boring

physically connect them anymore.

usability problem with its connection para-

them, they were mostly appreciative of a

digm. This obvious and strong problem also

higher complexity level. The main negative

Most importantly one has to understand

causing a higher complexity of the game is

point that fell into the challenge category

that cuboino is not taking anything away

root to almost all dislikes recorded. It is so

was again related to the complex connecti-

from cuboro. Even though the categories

dominant, that all other possible problems

on paradigm.

of desire that were approached changed

nating this problem.

through cuboino, the game can still be The category of creativity showcases a

played without the cubes and the qualities

change and enhancement of aspects that

that players like about cuboro still exist.

As said before, the general likeability of

were appreciated. The creativity aspects

All these aspects lead to a raised general

cuboro rose with the introduction of cuboi-

raised for cuboro were mainly related to

likeability of the game.

no. When looking at the positive laddering

building imagined architectures trying new

Result

and dislikes can only be found after elimi-

Material

results, some reasons for this raise should

Method

users, posed no usability problems on them

Introduction

«93»

User Evaluation Fig. 3.63 - 3.64

many construction possibilities

Each graphic contains all initial and follow-up answers to one start-question that is indicated in the center. For example the with

great gaming experience

Observing one can anticipate the track the marble takes by observing

in order to follow the marble one has to listen

„+“-Cuboro shows the answers to „What did you like about cuboro?“. The concentric

Creativity

divisions symbolize the follow-up questions and answers starting from the center.

cuboro

marble is able to run in hidden tracks

always able to build something new try new things

nothing bad (2/6)

Observing

cuboro

Usability

sometimes the cubes did not match cubes had to be marble stopped rearranged had to push the marble

ÂŤ95Âť Fig. 3.65 - 3.66

answers that lead to this category. When answers did not add new insights into this category they may not be shown in the

Challenge

not everything works immediately

one can try more things

category but are still counted.

cuboino

cubes have to be rearranged to be connected

one was not able to build what one wanted cubes did not connect as expected

Usability

using the release cube

more interesting

Challenge cuboino

no need to manually drop the marble

new electric elements sometimes one wants to interact, sometimes not

they do things on their own

Observing

extends time to build the rest of the track

one can try new things

Creativity

not always the same

new combinations possible

one can activate lights

sensors can react to that

one can build this and then watch how it works

Material

radial divisions visualize the percentage of

Method

gorized and quantified. The circles and their

no need for physical connections less cubes are needed

Result

Next to those ladders the answers are cate-

Introduction

no movement but thoughts

Result Method

Material

Introduction

Discussion

Looking at the results and approach of this

a strong negative point. As elaborated

Users [Nielsen et al., 1993], by conducting

thesis, one sees that extending traditional

before, this major usability problem may

the experiment in groups of three, the

analog games by using digital technology

have covered up other problems or dislikes.

test-users may have influenced each other

creatively can benefit the experienced fun

Those aspects can only be found after re-

resulting in similar answers. More diverse

of players.

solving this dominant problem by creating

and extensive testing may be needed to

The significant differences, such as the

a new prototype.

get more reliable results.

lenge, can be interpreted as a validation of

Furthermore in future research evaluations

In general I think that the idea of starting

the improvements and extensions made

of the game experience of cuboro should

from traditional analog games to create

with cuboino.

be in context of the aspects of the player

new gaming experiences with tangible

involvement model. This means not only

interfaces is promising.

Although my approach takes a step in the

examining the dynamic engagements in

When starting from scratch in a user-cen-

right direction and the results indicate the

the six dimensions of involvement during

tered design process, it is often create a

potential and opportunities for extending

the game but also analyzing the macro-in-

fun game with an intuitive user interface,

other physical games, several limitations

volvement. Especially when combined with

especially TUI. Laying base on a working

during the execution of this thesis have to

the contextual laddering method, this mo-

game can make this process easier through

be considered in future research.

del can provide interesting and analytically

relying on an already working gaming ex-

productive data.

perience while offering inspirations for new

While the evaluation results were positive,

Even though Nielsen explains that 85% of

game digitally enhanced mechanics.

the complex connection paradigm was

all usability problems can be found with 6

experienced fun and the amount of chal-

Resume

increased likeability along with added

to apply to classic analog games. Digital

traditions of analog games.

challenge to the otherwise easy game of

Games mostly happen on a screen while

To exemplify the potentials that digital

cuboro.

games in the physical world rarely take

technology has in enhancing and extending

advantage of digital technology.

analog games, I designed and built cuboi-

This research implies that by envisioning

Providing a seamless interface between

no, a modular extension for the marble-ga-

digital extensions for existing analog/phy-

digital information, people, and the physi-

me cuboro.

sical games, interesting and new gaming

cal environment Tangible User Interfaces

Cuboino works as a modular distributed

experiences can be created.

(TUIs) combine digital information systems

sensor-actor network consisting of cubes

with the qualities of physical objects.

embedded with computational capabilities

Recent research projects like marbowl and

and either sensorial or actor-functionalities.

topobo as well as new products like sifteo

Playing with cuboino and cuboro a user

showcase the richness and immersive fun

assembles not only a marble track but also

of tangible interaction combined with digi-

a multimedia signal-path that dynamically

tal technology in different ways.

changes the track and offers interaction possibilities to the user.

In this thesis I proposed the idea to extend analog games using TUI concepts to create

Evaluating cuboino by utilizing the cont-

games that utilize the advantages of digital

extual laddering method showed a clearly

Material

technology while building on qualities and

Method

Digitalization does not typically seem

Introduction

ÂŤ99Âť

Table of Figures

2.1

sifteo cubes. Source: https://www.sifteo (11.10.2012)

2.2

topobo animan. Source: http://www.topobo.com (10.10.2012)

2.3

Siftables word-game. Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_ merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks. html (10.10.2012)

2.4

An example of a topobo animal built from active and passive topobo blocks. Source: http://www.topobo.com/ (10.10.2012)

2.5

The Marbowl prototype. Source: [Faber, 2012]

3.1

A marble track built with cuboro. Source: http://cuboro.ch/de/Info/Produkte/cuboro_Kugelbahn (08.10.2012)

3.2

Three cuboino cubes of the first prototype.

3.3

Cuboino network „Marble Distributor“.

3.4

Cuboino network „Remote Marble Distributor“.

3.5

Sensor Cube Overview

3.6

Button-Sensor Cube Illustrator files.

3.7

Button-Sensor Cube Schematics.

3.8-3.10

Button-Sensor Cube Pictures.

3.11

Light-Sensor Cube Illustrator files.

3.12

Light-Sensor Cube Schematics.

3.34-3.36

Sound-Actor Cube Pictures.

3.16

Audio-Sensor Cube Illustrator files.

3.37

Shunting Switch Cube Illustrator files.

3.17

Audio-Sensor Cube Schematics.

3.38

Shunting Switch Cube Schematics.

3.18-3.20

Audio-Sensor Cube Pictures.

3.39-3.40

Shunting Switch Cube Pictures.

3.21

Marble-Sensor Cube Illustrator files.

3.41

Marble Release Cube Illustrator files.

3.22

Marble-Sensor Cube Schematics.

3.42

Marble Release Cube Schematics.

3.23-3.25

Marble-Sensor Cube Pictures.

3.43-3.44

Marble Release Cube Pictures.

3.26

Actor Cube Overview

3.45

Supply Cube Overview

3.27

Light-Actor Cube Illustrator files.

3.46

Energy Cube Illustrator files.

3.28

Light-Actor Cube Schematics.

3.47

Energy Cube Schematics.

3.29-3.31

Light-Actor Cube Pictures.

3.48-3.49

Energy Cube Pictures.

3.32

Sound-Actor Cube Illustrator files.

3.50

Conductive Cube Illustrator files.

3.33

Sound-Actor Cube Schematics.

3.51

Conductive Cube Schematics.

Material

Light-Sensor Cube Pictures.

Method

3.13-3.15

Introduction

«101»

Table of Figures

3.52-3.54

Conductive Cube Pictures.

3.55

Delay Cube

3.56

Cuboino Network „Multiplexing“

3.57

Cuboino Network „Infinity Loop“

3.58

Cuboino Cube Exploded View

3.59

Two sides being pushed together with the tongues increasing the area of contact

3.60

Radial contacts without the problem of limited connectivity.

3.61

Polarity of the corner-magnets allowing for only one rotation.

3.62

ATtiny 45/85 pinmapping to Arduino pins. Source: http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=1695 (09.10.2012)

3.63-3.64

Results of the Laddering Questions about Cuboro

3.65-3.66

Results of the Laddering Questions about Cuboino

Method

Material

Introduction

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«107»