interactive space(s) -- the CTSG: bridging the real and virtual

Anton Eliens

Creative Technology / University Twente
multimedia @ VU / Amsterdam

smartxp.ewi.utwente.nl


Research in ubiquitous computing is inherently a multi-disciplinary activity. Creative application and development of technology is one essential ingredient of ubiquitous computing which however requires in-depth access to the relevant technologies that goes beyond a mere literature study or an occasional cooperation.

(...) We are establishing a living environment as an open resource and show-case facility for ubiquitous technology in realistic settings: the Smart eXperience lab (SmartXP).

multi-disciplinary research


The SmartXP is an important tool for prioritising the research agenda, both in the technical and social sciences. The SmartXP provides essential facilities for small and medium scale projects with flexible experimentation grounds in a realistic setting, with knowledgeable users and competing technology.

creativity = connecting dots one would not look at, normally ...

Alain Kay


values (1)


When we play games, we experience relaxation, concentration, cohesion, elation, adventurous thinking, constant challenge, and relief. We want more of these things in everyday life.

values (2)


When we play games, we feel awed, sneaky and backwards. We should feel like this in real life, too.

beliefs (1)


A well-designed game can make someone more responsive to clues in the environment. It can help someone recognize opportunitIes.

...
Fig 1. colored story markers

positional marker(s)


positional color(s)



  R = (255 * ((height-y)/height)) % 255)
  G = ((255-abs(R-B)) * (R/255) * (B/255)) % 255
  B = ((255 * (x/width)) % 255)

assignment(s)


  1. avatar -- for (self) representation
  2. playground -- relating real & virtual space(s)
  3. scenario(s) -- narrative(s) & game mechanics

...
Fig 2. (a) physics & stuff (b) (rfid) identity

sample 1



physics & stuff -- SmartXP interest avatar physics miauw

sample 2



(rfid) identity -- when user signs in user's avatar is added to main screen, avatar reacts to user's sensors, avatars have some A.I., when users have a conversation avatars will react also.

...
Fig 3. (a) personal avatar(s)(b) dynamic city

sample 3



personal avatar(s) -- e.g. with skills (video editing); concept: sport game with all avatars; space where avatars can be dragged to, resulting in a mind map of that avatar, e.g. with a website, portfolio, blog, hobbies, etc.

sample 4



dynamic city -- where everybody has a house and an avatar: People's houses get integrated into the city. Everybody can update his position in the city according to his position in real-life. (possibly with RFID scanners instead)

...
Fig 4. (a) pacman labyrinth(b) catch the image

sample 5



pacman labyrinth -- multiplayer pacman / haunted labyrinth / cross-over game; no fairytales! labyrinth is dynamic. It changes continuously, so that players get stuck and have to wait until they are released. Apart from eating cookies, players also eat eachother

sample 6



catch the image -- one picture "flies" over the screen, you have to "catch it" with your mouse (click on it). Then you get a question about me (e.g. what is my name?). When you're wrong, you get the right answer and have to catch it again. When you're right, the picture explodes and two new pictures appear. Target or goal is to catch as many pictures as possible, e.g. in a determined time. At the end, you get a big picture assembled by the smaller ones, and you have me!

...
Fig 5. (a) orbital hyves(b) road to technology

sample 7



orbital hyves -- friends / family / love; a person can make his own planetary system, where his hyves contacts are categorized, other systems can be visited. You can view someone's house by clicking a planet.

sample 8



road to technology -- the idea is quite simple: a sketch of my interpretation of getting towards the required knowledge to be a great creative technologist. It turned into some sort of a "classic" Mario-ish game in which I am facing different obstacles.
It would be nice to have our entire class to enter this game, some floating quicker than others and people perhaps bumping into eachother, creating more speed.

story of SmartXP


SmartXP -- 2 planes [ creativity / technology ]

SmartXP is divided in two planes, full with a variety of objects. Objects in the Creative part look at first sight creative, but are deep inside still Technologic. For objects in the Techology part, it is the other way around.

A person walks around, observes, and uses. After that s/he goes to the CreaTester, which tests the person on what s/he observed in the objects, what choices s/he made, etcetera. -->

The system computes the location of the person, and beams it on the screen.

In Expressive Processing, Noah Wardrip-Fruin provides a thorough analysis of the computational processes underlying games and interactive storytelling. He observes that most classic games, including Pong as well as adventure games, are based on spatial logics, that is governed by the dynamics of navigation, motion and collision detection,  [Expressive]. He introduces the notion of textual machines to counter-act the dominance of spatial logics and to advocate what he calls lyric engagement, that is more closely related to the experience of music, as opposed to physical manipulation and visual experience in for example action games.

As indicated in the introduction and the section(s) delineating the design space of our interactive playground(s), our challenge in realizing interactive space(s) is to find suitable mappings between the symbolic space of for example learning trajectories and spatial representations, where we may freely use basic game play mechanics such as motion and collisions, to represent challenges such as mathematical puzzles, language games or role changes in strategy games. In the realization of the game(s), the player must be able to understand such referential jumps, without being interrupted in game play. Cf.  [Remediation].

metaphor(s)


I am a pencil, and I walk the earth ...

direction(s)


  1. replicate environment --  [VULife],  [SecondLife]
  2. blue print of region --  [Climate],  [XIMPEL]
  3. trajectory of challenges --  [Replay],  [Math]

technology exploration(s)


In this paper, we have sketched our ideas and sample scenarios for games in interactive space(s), within the ongoing theme of game development in the Creative Technology curriculum. Although a significant part of the development effort remains unexplored, the material presented here should clarify issues involving mappings between real and virtual spaces, as well as metaphors and logics suitable for dealing with the technological innovations leading to interactive space(s) in the private and public domain.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT(S)

 Again, thanks to the students Creative Technology, for (continually) providing the inspiration and motivation, and ultimately the workforce, for the CTSG.

[Remediation] Bolter J.D and Grusin R. (2000),
Remediation -- Understanding New Media, MIT Press
[VULife] Eliens A. and S.V. Bhikharie (2006),
Game @ VU -- developing a masterclass for high-school students using the Half-life 2 SDK, In: Proc. GAME'ON-NA'2006, Monterey, USA
[SecondLife] Eliens A. Feldberg F., Konijn E., Compter E. (2007a) ,
VU @ Second Life -- creating a (virtual) community of learners, In Proc. EUROMEDIA 2007, Delft, Netherlands
[Climate] Eliens A., van de Watering M., Huurdeman H.,
Bhikharie S.V., Lemmers H., Vellinga P. (2007b), Clima Futura @ VU -- communicating (unconvenient) science, In Proc. GAME-ON 07, Bologna, Italy
[XIMPEL] Eliens A., Huurdeman H., van de Watering M.,
Bhikharie S.V. (2008), XIMPEL Interactive Video -- between narrative(s) and game play, In Proc. GAME-ON 2008, Valencia, Spain
[Replay] Eliens A. and Ruttkay Z. (2008),
Record, Replay & Reflect -- a framework for understanding (serious) game play, In Proc. Euromedia 09, Brugge, Belgium
[Math] Eliens A. and Ruttkay Z. (2009),
Math game(s) -- an alternative (approach) to teaching math?, In Proc. GAME-ON 2009, Dusseldorf, Germany
[Design] Eliens A. (2010),
Creative Technology -- the CTSG: game design in 7 steps, submitted to GAME-ON Asia 2010, Shanghai, China
[Critical] Flanagan M. (2009),
Critical Play -- Radical Game Design, MIT Press
[Expressive] Wardrip-Fruin N. (2009),
Expressive Processing -- Digital Fictions, Computer Games, and Software Studies, MIT Press