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
ÂŤ103Âť
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Introduction
«107»