Playful public participation in urban planning: A case study for online serious games

The aim of this paper is to study the implementation of online games to encourage public participation in urban planning. Its theoretical foundations are based on previous work in public participatory geographical information systems (PP GISs), play and games, with a special focus on serious games. Serious games aim to support learning processes in a new, more playful way. We developed the concept of playful public participation in urban planning, including playful elements such as storytelling, walking and moving, sketching, drawing, and games. A group of students designed an online serious public participatory game entitled NextCampus. The case study used in NextCampus was taken from the real-world question of a possible move of a university campus to a new location in the city of Hamburg, Germany. The development of the serious public participatory game NextCampus resulted in a physical prototype, user interface design, and a computational model of the game. The NextCampus game was tested with the help of two groups of urban planning students and presented to three external experts who provided valuable recommendations for further development. The critical comments questioned the level of complexity involved in such games. The positive comments included recognition of the potential for joy and the playfulness a game like NextCampus could evoke.     

The Importance of Context in Information System Design: An Assessment of Participatory Design

This paper is predicated on requirements analysis as the Achilles heel of information systems development, and accepts that information systems often disappoint. Most design paradigms can be located within a rationalistic framework polarised by requirements analysis and system delivery. Such traditional design paradigms are seen as palliatives that prevent us moving toward more satisfying information systems. It is argued that this rationalistic framework forces us to identify, and attempt to solve, problems that are symptomatic of the approach adopted. A pluralistic framework for information system development is presented which rejects the notions of requirements analysis and system optimality. Participatory design, derived from the field of human computer interaction, is located within this framework and identified as a possible paradigm for information system development. A case study is conducted to assess the benefits of participatory design techniques and to evaluate the extent to which participatory design can overcome the failings of traditional methodologies.     

Participatory evaluation of an educational game for social skills acquisition

This paper reports a study conducted to formally evaluate a social problem-solving skills game during the start of the development to ensure that the desired game attributes were successfully embodied in the final game. Two methods, heuristic evaluation and participatory design, were adopted to assess whether the features of the game pose playability issues to the prospective young users and to translate the participants' contributions into game design directions. The participants playtested and evaluated the game based on the Pedagogical Playability Heuristics, which are different from existing heuristics developed for commercial games, as priority was placed on instructional design principles and the concept of playability. Using storyboarding, they built low-fidelity prototypes of the game. Suitable children's design and feedback on the games attributes that would bring about stimulation, connecting instructions to goals, appropriate challenge and influencing goal achievement were integrated into the game design. As a consequence of the study, steps were taken to improve the game as an interactive system to achieve the instructional goals and at the same time foster enjoyment among the users.     

Function allocation in complex systems: reframing an old problem

In this article, we offer a new, macroergonomics perspective on the long-debated issue of function allocation. We believe thinking in this domain needs to be realigned, moving away from the traditional microergonomics conceptualisation, concerned predominantly with task-based decisions, and towards a macroergonomics approach, viewing function allocation choices as central to effective systems design. We frame our arguments within a systems perspective, advocating that function allocation issues need to be on the agenda of all individuals with a wider interest in the human and organisational aspects of complex work systems, including people who commission, sponsor, design, implement and use such systems. We also argue that allocation decisions should form a transparent, explicit stage early in the systems design and development process, involve multiple stakeholders (including end-users), be evidence-based, framed within the language of risk and utilise iterative methods (e.g. scenarios planning techniques).

Practitioner Summary: This article presents a macroergonomics approach to function allocation, advocating its importance in effective systems design. Adopting a systems mindset, we argue function allocation should form an explicit stage early in the design process, involve multiple stakeholders, be evidence-based, framed within the language of risk and utilise iterative methods.     

Adapting Virtual Reality for the Participatory Design of Work Environments

This paper describes the evolution of a standard PC-based virtual reality tool which has been adapted for the participatory design of work environments. Tool features, method of control and combination with other participatory design tools are investigated in the context of a particular design situation. This research is aimed at participatory design facilitators to aid in the adaptation of similar virtual reality systems for a similar purpose. The context of this work is the Envisionment Workshop, in which a group of workers participate with design experts in using full-scale modelling, pedagogical drama, and democratic meetings to (re)design their workplace. A series of prototypes have been developed and tested during the design of a new university in the region using a case study methodology to provide high ecological validity. These were preceded by a task analysis, brainstorming and pilot study. The results suggest that such a tool can be constructed and used successfully by a small group of people using projected virtual reality. However larger groups suffer from a bottleneck at the input devices such that a virtual reality expert must take control and build what the participants wish. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Using massMobile,a flexible,scalable, rapid prototyping audience participation framework,in large-scale live musical performances

Abstract

massMobile is a client–server system for mass audience participation in live musical performances using existing wireless network infrastructure, audience members' own mobile computing devices (such as smartphones) and a cloud-based server to enable rapid prototyping, iterative design, and plug and play deployment of participatory systems under constraints common to live events and venues. In this paper, we specifically focus on technical and design issues related to large-scale participatory performances, exploring (a) what technical designs provide robust support; (b) what interfaces and mappings can be effective and (c) what strategies can effectively focus and guide participation. We first briefly address previous work in audience participation in live performance, then describe massMobile's system design and implementation with a focus on new functionality to support robust use at scale. Finally, we discuss two sets of events using massMobile in large-scale performance contexts: with an athletic band at sporting events and with a jazz combo in traditional concert venues.     

Flash游戏开发研究

随着Flash动画设计技术的发展,越来越强大的F1ash功能使得提高制作互动游戏的复杂性成为可能。Flash的出现将设计、美术、动画、程序有机的组合在了一起,任何掌握F1ash使用技巧和方法的游戏设计开发人员,制作一款游戏将非常容易。由于F1ash在互动游戏中的媒体传输优势,传统游戏开发人员越来越多的转到F1ash开发方面,Flash游戏给广大闪客带来了游戏娱乐的同时,也被商家应用于产品推广和销售：     

Engineering information integration using object‐oriented mediator technology

The mechanical product development process uses many different software systems to virtually simulate the behaviour of a design. The present work deals with flexible and efficient integration using object‐oriented mediator technology that provides transparent access to distributed engineering systems. The use of mediator technology is investigated for semi‐automatically integrating engineering information resident in computer aided design systems with a Common Object Request Broker Architecture based application programming interface. The purpose is to provide engineering analysis applications access to computer aided design system information and computational methods through a declarative query language. We conclude that the use of a declarative query language for developing engineering applications shows great potential in terms of flexibility, development productivity, performance, and ease of use, compared with using a procedural programming language. The work also shows new use of mediator technology, declarative queries, and active rules within engineering information integration that traditionally is accomplished using procedural programming. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of a game to teach requirements collection and analysis in software engineering at tertiary education level

A highly important part of software engineering education is requirements collection and analysis which is one of the initial stages of the Database Application Lifecycle and arguably the most important stage of the Software Development Lifecycle. No other conceptual work is as difficult to rectify at a later stage or as damaging to the overall system if performed incorrectly. As software engineering is a field with a reputation for producing graduates who are inappropriately prepared for applying their skills in real life software engineering scenarios, it suggests that traditional educational techniques such as role-play, live-through case studies and paper-based case studies are insufficient preparation and that other approaches are required. To attempt to combat this problem we have developed a games-based learning application to teach requirements collection and analysis at tertiary education level as games-based learning is seen as a highly motivating, engaging form of media and is a rapidly expanding field. This paper will describe the evaluation of the requirements collection and analysis game particularly from a pedagogical perspective. The game will be compared to traditional methods of software engineering education using a pre-test/post-test, control group/experimental group design to assess if the game can act as a suitable supplement to traditional techniques and assess if it can potentially overcome shortcomings. The game will be evaluated in five separate experiments at tertiary education level.     

The future of interactive systems and the emergence of direct manipulation

This paper suggests three motivations for the strong interest in human factors' aspects of user interfaces and reviews five design issues: command language versus menu selection, response time and display rates, wording of system messages, on-line tutorials, explanations and help messages and hardware devices. Five methods and tools for system development are considered: participatory design, specification methods, software implementation tools, pilot studies and acceptance tests and evolutionary refinement based on user feedback.

The final portion of the paper presents direct manipulation, an approach which promises to become widely used in interactive systems. Direct manipulation involves representation of the object of interest, rapid incremental reversible actions and physical action instead of complex syntax.     

Child-centered game development (CCGD): developing games with children at school

Children represent an increasingly relevant target group of the game industry. Nevertheless, they are rarely involved in development processes. This article introduces child-centered game development (CCGD) approaches for the game design within the context of the school. Therefore, suitable HCI approaches from user-centered and participatory design as well as educational principles and approaches were used as a foundation. The CCGD approaches illustrate how to guide the involvement and participation of children aged 10–14 years in school classes within the development process of games. Approaches for the analysis, conceptualization, and design phases were developed and applied.     

Participatory Design of a Hybrid Kinect Game to Promote Collaboration between Autistic Players and Their Peers

ABSTRACT

We report on the participatory design of a hybrid two-player Kinect game to encourage complex emotion recognition and collaboration between autistic people and their peers. From its inception, autistic college students have been involved in an iterative process to design, evaluate, and redesign the game. The emotion recognition game has two playing phases. In the first phase, the players independently assemble pieces in a digital puzzle. In the second phase, players communicate in-person to agree on the appropriate emotion for the context and construct the emotional face for the body they have assembled together. We also designed collaborative reward games that require the two players to cooperate and one that encourages players to look at each other. In order to assess the level of in-game cooperation, we added a face tracking component that automatically quantifies collaboration and can replace time-consuming hand-coded evaluations. We report on how this game was designed and built by a team of autistic students, their peer mentors, a psychologist, computer scientists, and a graphic artist. Preliminary observations show that modeling of emotion recognition and collaboration by peers with stronger social skills is emerging as a central aspect of the effectiveness of our game. The participatory process has led to several design changes including one that dramatically increased player collaboration. We share insights and lessons learned that can guide others working in participatory design.     

A theory of personalisation of appearance: quantitative evaluation of qualitatively derived data

Abstract

This paper suggests three motivations for the strong interest in human factors' aspects of user interfaces and reviews five design issues: command language versus menu selection, response time and display rates, wording of system messages, on-line tutorials, explanations and help messages and hardware devices. Five methods and tools for system development are considered: participatory design, specification methods, software implementation tools, pilot studies and acceptance tests and evolutionary refinement based on user feedback.

The final portion of the paper presents direct manipulation, an approach which promises to become widely used in interactive systems. Direct manipulation involves representation of the object of interest, rapid incremental reversible actions and physical action instead of complex syntax.     

Applying game theory mechanisms in open agent systems with complete information

Game theory is a popular tool for designing interaction protocols for agent systems. It is currently not clear how to extend this to open agent systems. By “open” we mean that foreign agents will be free to enter and leave different systems at will. This means that agents will need to be able to work with previously unseen protocols. There does not yet exist any agreement on a standard way in which such protocols can be specified and published. Furthermore, it is not clear how an agent could be given the ability to use an arbitrary published protocol; the agent would need to be able to work out a strategy for participation. To address this we propose a machine readable language in which a game theory mechanism can be written in the form of an agent interaction protocol. This language allows the workings of the protocol to be made public so that agents can inspect it to determine its properties and hence their best strategy. Enabling agents to automatically determine the game theoretic properties of an arbitrary interaction protocol is difficult. Rather than requiring agents to find the equilibrium of a game, we propose that a recommended equilibrium will be published along with the protocol; agents can then check the recommendation to decide if it is indeed an equilibrium. We present an algorithm for this decision problem. We also develop an equilibrium which simplifies the complexity of the checking problem, while still being robust to unilateral deviations.     

Human computer interaction methods for electronic flight bag envisionment and design

This paper reports on the application of a range of human computer interaction (HCI) methods to the re-design of an electronic flight bag (EFB), as part of a commercial software development project. Specifically, it focusses on the use of participatory design methods, for resolving EFB usability problems. The purpose of this case study is to: (a) Show how participatory design methods can be effectively combined with ethnographic techniques and more formal methods in HCI, for the development of human-friendly EFB systems, (b) Illuminate the specific EFB usability issues encountered in this research and related HCI solutions, (c) Generate an awareness of the challenges faced by HCI practitioners adapting HCI methods to meet commercial project constraints. The HCI methodology outlined in this case study may be of interest to practitioners tasked with process and technology envisionment and/or working with limited resources.Joan Cahill has worked as an (HCI) consultant to Aircraft Management Technologies     

Participatory design with train drivers — a process analysis

A participatory design process involving train drivers is analyzed and described in this paper. A group of six drivers were involved in the design process, and within a short period, four design iterations were completed. The present case study was the final part of a larger research project (TRAIN) investigating the train driving task including the drivers' information environment, number and nature of hours worked, work situation and work environment, and their effect on the drivers' behaviour and the train driver system safety.Although usability activities are widely used in IT development today, the users are not involved to the desired extent. This paper argues that to produce usable systems, quality time has to be spent initially to acquire knowledge of a work domain and establishing a common ground in terms of shared knowledge and a better understanding of the work context between the parties involved in system development. Our suggestions on participatory analysis and design that conclude the paper are based on the present case study including train drivers, as well as our experiences from previous case studies.     

Socio-technical systems: From design methods to systems engineering

It is widely acknowledged that adopting a socio-technical approach to system development leads to systems that are more acceptable to end users and deliver better value to stakeholders. Despite this, such approaches are not widely practised. We analyse the reasons for this, highlighting some of the problems with the better known socio-technical design methods. Based on this analysis we propose a new pragmatic framework for socio-technical systems engineering (STSE) which builds on the (largely independent) research of groups investigating work design, information systems, computer-supported cooperative work, and cognitive systems engineering. STSE bridges the traditional gap between organisational change and system development using two main types of activity: sensitisation and awareness; and constructive engagement. From the framework, we identify an initial set of interdisciplinary research problems that address how to apply socio-technical approaches in a cost-effective way, and how to facilitate the integration of STSE with existing systems and software engineering approaches.     

飞行棋的设计与实现

飞行棋是典型的战旗类游戏(SLG),其开发主要包括游戏界面的设计、游戏规则的设计;经过分析,笔者使用SUN公司的JAVA语言,利用JAVA语言提供的各种面向对象的开发工具,在短时间内建立游戏原型,然后,对初始原型进行需求迭代,不断修正和改进,直到形成用户满意的可行系统。     

Reflections on participatory design

The human-centred debate in Britain focuses on the idea of human-machine symbiosis, and the Dialogue debate in Scandinavia focuses on the deep understanding of human communication, through a process of inner reflection. Both of these debates provide a framework for the participatory design of AI systems.The emergence of social Europe creates the desirability for a sharing of social and cultural knowledge and resources among the citizens of Europe. This raises the possibility of exploiting the potential of new technology for the distribution and transfer of knowledge and skill among the citizens of Europe whilst retaining the diversity of their cultures and languages. These issues of transfer have been the focus of many AI researchers who have been concerned with the design of AI systems for the education, training and welfare of disadvantaged citizens. It is suggested that central to such a transfer is the design of participatory learning systems which focus on the mediation and distribution of knowledge in diverse socio-cultural contexts.In this paper, the SEAKE Centre's projects, especially Brighton Parosi, and Adult Literacy are discussed to provide an insight into the concepts and practice of designing such participatory systems. The philosophy of these projects was rooted in the sharing of social and cultural experiences, through participatory learning. The development of the projects involved a process of exchange of language and culture in both formal and informal learning environments. For the Parosi Project social interaction was the central core for the exchange of cultural experiences and the language acquisition process. The Adult Literacy project built on the exchange process, and used the idea of the mediation of knowledge for the design of a knowledge based system. The design process developed by the above two projects could be described as a participatory design approach which builds upon and extends the human-machine symbiosis and dialogue approaches.