Category: Interactive Experience Portfolio

 

Some aspects of my overall theme for my interactive experience would include Sci-Fi, Aliens, and Fiction. This is an explanation as to why a lot of my assets and materials were out of the ordinary to match this theme and matching the overall branding of the entire experience. The background and inspiration behind the idea was actually from Doctor Who(2019) because in the program the main character steals an Alien Spacecraft and has to escape with it. Although that was the inspiration behind the storyline the inspiration for the game style is completely different. I chose a well known game and game style to get ideas from as this would help the users experience of the game because there would be little to no learning curve. The game style I based this on was Temple Run(2019). Fabrik(2018) “the more your identity changes, the more confused your customers will become.” this statement is not only true for brands but also for my experience because if i changed the style and theme halfway through then users would become confused and most likely end up quitting the experience all together. Which is why consistency was very important in this project.

References

Doctor Who, 2019, Doctor Who steals the Tardis. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1y_ahlsug

 

Temple Run(2019). Available online: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/temple-run-classic/id420009108?mt=8

 

Fabrik(2018), Why brands lose their way [part 1]: The dangers of inconsistent branding. Available online: http://fabrikbrands.com/the-dangers-of-inconsistent-branding/

Duration and any kind of digital experience is often presumed to be a bad thing however in my experience the duration is one of the key factors. That is because my experience forces the user to practice it in order to get good at it. This is largely due to the main fact that the first time that they experience the game they are never going to pick it up straight away and this is a good thing. This is classed as a good thing because the player has to practice which is time consuming and keeps the player in the experience for so long that they eventually without realising it become immersed in the game. Prensky(2007) “ People don’t like to practice. Games capture their attention and make it happen.” I have used duration in my experience effectively because it is around 3:30 minutes however there are obstacles that they must face even at around 15 seconds in that will most likely result in them restarting because they are not expecting the object to be there. The blueprints below show the blueprints for spikes to lift through the floor without the player realising straight away resulting in a restart.

References

Prenksy, 2007, Computer Games and Learning: Digital-Based Learning, Available online: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/6851163/computer_games_and_learning_2006.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1547773252&Signature=G6cub2dtsZ%2F6vMOQfiWCb7ROv8Y%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DComputer_games_and_learning_Digital_game.pdf

The value and significance of my interactive experience is the achievement that the user gains from playing. It is significant because it drives and motivates the user to get to the end of the experience because they will base the value and significance of their personal experience on whether or not they were able to play the game successfully. Weiner (1985) “a theory of motivation and emotion in which causal ascriptions play a key role.” In this quote Weiner suggests that motivation influences emotions and achievements affect motivation. So in terms of Weiner’s suggestions motivation, emotion and achievement is all linked in one continuous circle. This can be best described as a emotional domino effect because achievement encourages motivation which in turn activates certain emotions related to progress and positivity. Muller and Fritz(2015) “developers experience a broad range of positive and negative emotions during change tasks that are similar to the ones experienced in other situations and that these emotions are highly correlated with progress”. This is another example of emotions linking to progress and achievement. One example of negative emotions with progress is in my experience when the player dies they get a message on screen that says “RESPAWNING”.

 

References

Muller and Fritz, 2015, Stuck and Frustrated or in Flow and Happy: Sensing Developers’ Emotions and Progress. Available online: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7194617

Weiner, 1985, An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Available online: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-14532-001

 

This post will evaluate the effect on intensity on people and how it is combined with my interactive experience. Boone (2001), “Changing intensity of competition changes the identity of the innovator and consequently the way the innovation is valued.” In this particular extract Boone implies that adding the factor of intensity to any situation will encourage the person in question to perform slightly better than if there was no intensity at all. Bullinger D, Biggerstaff K, Rogers R, Nichols D, And Ben-ezra V (2014) “Competition can increase an athlete’s performance. The competitive drive frequently displayed by athletes may not exist if athletes are unaware of the competition.” This explains intensity is also a large motivation for professional athletes to push harder and perform better as they want to beat the competition. This enforces the reasons behind me implementing intensity into my experience. Intensity was placed through the use of flashing lights and sirens manipulating a police car. Therefore you could argue that the intensity in my experience was that of fear and not competition whilst on the other hand some may say that there is a competition between the police car and the average person inside of the experience.

References

J Boone 2001, Intensity of competition and the incentive to innovate, Science Direct. Available online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718700000904

 

Bullinger D, Biggerstaff K, Rogers R, Nichols D, And Ben-ezra V, 2014, Effects of Competition on Performance and Physiological Responses in Female Athletes. Available online: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss6/50/

According to Nathan Shedroff (2010) “every sensorial decision is a trigger”. Therefore every decision or emotion connected to the senses is a trigger according to Shedroff. Furthermore this links to the senses that are triggered in my experience which would consist mainly of sight and sound. This brief blog post will cover the triggers explored in my experience. Ekan (2008), “The importance of sound for establishing mood in audiovisual media is well recognised.” This suggests that triggers, which are according to Shedroff related to senses, are also neurologically linked to moods and emotions. This suggests that the sound imported into my experience not only can be described by Shedroff as a trigger but also an emotional trigger not only affecting the player’s decision making in the game but also affecting the emotional state of that player. Another sensorial trigger trigger included in my game is sight and I have manipulated this through the use of lighting. V Laganier (2012) “Light triggers ambiances in different ways and has a profound impact on the way people perceive and experience their environment.” This is the explanation behind the dark ambient lighting I have included in my game to create a suspenseful environment and atmosphere.

 

References

Shedroff 2010, Meaning is the most important thing that you can focus on, Big D Design Conference, Dallas. Available online: https://www.slideshare.net/NathanShedroff/meaningful-experiences

 

Ekman, I 2008, 3rd Conference on Interaction with Sound, Psychologically Motivated Techniques for Emotional Sound in Computer Games, Helsinki. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inger_Ekman/publication/233406205_Psychologically_motivated_techniques_for_emotional_sound_in_computer_games/links/09e415139aeb592a18000000/Psychologically-motivated-techniques-for-emotional-sound-in-computer-games.pdf

 

Laganier V 2012, Exploring lighting cultures – Beyond light and emotions. Available online:

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00745524/document