Tangible Widgets for a Multiplayer Tablet Game in Comparison to Finger Touch

Tangible Widgets til et Fler-Spillers Tablet Spil sammenlignet med Finger Touch

Christensen, Mads Bock ; Fisker, Martin ; Topp, Kasper Steen Fischer

4. term

Medialogy, Master

2015

2015-05-26

61

Specialet undersøger brugen af tangible widgets (små fysiske objekter, som en berøringsskærm kan genkende) i tabletspil. Det antages, at sådanne widgets gør det mere intuitivt at dreje objekter på skærmen og hjælper systemet med bedre at skelne mellem brugere end almindelig fingerberøring. For at undersøge dette beskriver specialet design og implementering af tabletspillet Hover Wars, som anvender tangible widgets. Vi gennemførte derefter en brugertest for at forstå, hvordan spillere oplevede denne nye interaktionsform. De fleste deltagere fandt, at widgets var lettere og mere intuitive at bruge end fingerberøring. Undersøgelsen peger dog også på to praktiske udfordringer: widgetternes størrelse og at de kan dække for dele af skærmen (tildækning). Disse forhold bør indgå i designovervejelser, når man udvikler tangible widgets til spil.

This thesis explores using tangible widgets (small physical objects that a touchscreen can recognize) in tablet games. Such widgets are expected to make rotating on-screen objects feel more intuitive and to help the system distinguish between users better than simple finger touches. To investigate this, the thesis documents the design and implementation of a tablet game, Hover Wars, that uses tangible widgets. We then ran a user test to understand how players experienced this new form of interaction. Most participants reported that the widgets were easier and more intuitive to use than finger touch. However, the study also highlights two practical issues: widget size and the way widgets can block parts of the screen (occlusion). These factors should be considered carefully when designing tangible widgets for games.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

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