Cool blog to add on my list: indexed

A new blog that I discovered this morning and that will go straight in my top list (along with text on things): indexed. It's basically drawings such as:

Social software and MMORPG

Rupture is a social software devoted to MMORPG communities (a bit different from the warcraftsocial). It will soon be launched by Shawn Fanning (the guy who was behind Napster). As described by Heather Green:

Using an add on or a software download, Rupture taps into the game to automatically pull together character names, profiles, and resources, and publish them on a personalized site. Rupture will also pull together stats to create individual and guild rankings and provide a place for guilds to organize their playing. As Rupture tracks each member's playing over time, these personalized profiles evolve. And players will be able to chat in groups or with other individuals and download other addons and game demos.

Rupture is starting with World of Warcraft, which is played by 7.5 million gamers. But it also plans to pull together information from and offer services for other games.

Why do I blog this? because it's interesting to see the advent of this sort of tools that allows to add a social layer on top what is already available through the MMORPG platform. What is also pertinent is the automatic capture of information. It would be great if such system could provide compiled, synthetic and valuable statistics about individuals or guilds (might be valuable for guild management) with privacy protections.

Indie MMORPG

Following the trend launched by phpmmorpg, there seems to be a related called MMORPG maker. It is not really the same idea because it's rather an initiative than a complete toolkit. The point here is more to have a place to discuss indie MMORPG development...

MMORPG Maker is a site devoted to supporting people that want to make their own MMORPG, including info on model making, engines, networking, etc.

Now you can use software engines, like Realm Crafter or the Torque MMOKit, to develop your own MMORPG, even if you aren’t a C++ guru. If you want to find out more, just jump into the forums. We’ve also got information on making 3D models, discussion on general MMORPG design, and a lot more to get you started!

Social network analysis of soccer map on the game field

Working on visualization of small groups coordination (playing a pervasive game), I ran across this network analysis and soccer webpage. I already blogged about it, but there seems to be new developement such as the mapping of the social network on the game field:

Why do I blog this? I am heading in another direction since my visualizations are less related to social network, and I removed the game field, I only kept the distance between players as an indicator. Anyway, what is interesting in this sort of soccer viz is the kind of question it allows to answer. In this case, it is mostly about Who was on the receiving end of the most passes? Who controlled Rapid’s play? Which players were involved in the most combination pass plays? Who played together with whom and who didn’t? and so on.

Ryota Kuwakubo's talk at LDM, EPFL

This afternoon, Ryota Kuwakubo gave a talk at the Laboratory of Design and Media (EPFL).

		He presented his now classical pieces such as Bitman, Bithike, the video bulb. These projects are based on 8x8 animations that Ryota used to show how simplicity can make complex things (the reconfiguration of the bitman on the portable device or on the TV screen on which the videobubl is plugged).

Then he showed the PLX game: a two player game in which users are separated by a display that show the same moving icons but they both play a different game. To him it's a way to depict simple model of misunderstanding in communication. As he told us, it looks at gaming from "conflicted perspective": it looks at how miscommunication and immerse users in an intriguing simulation of such situation. This is very intriguing from my CSCW perspective and clearly resonates with some experiments in social psychology (cognitive conflicts). Using this idea for a game is very neat and it'd be curious to see the range of players' reactions.

My favorite was certainly the loopScape: a 2-players device that engage uses in a shooting game on a cylindrical LED screen. The rotating screen made people wandering around it. Judging from the video, the immersion is quite interesting. He presented lots of his projects and I won't enter into much details.

Then he switched to the Perfektron's projects, for instance the "one-button game" (which actually reminded me of this Gamasutra article), a very simple installation that you can play by pressing only one button. It is described here in japanese. The button controls a trampoline game.

What was interesting in this talk were, more than the projects presentation (that I knew already) the ideas that Ryota had behind them. For instance, he explains that he was interested by how systems like the one he designs (or others) are apprehended by people ("I don't like to make some machine very purpose-oriented", "I want to let people see it for a long time, but I noticed that people don't stay for a long time at exhibition... it's the same as watching picture"). From that standpoint, the fact that the videobulb is a sold device is interesting and I am wondering about how people use it: is it something like you leave on your tv all day long or that you only show to friends when they visit you (I am sure shops would like to display it in the facilities).

Also, one of the attendant here remarked that these projects are about "taking control or loosing control through interactivity", a curious topic that such interactive media addresses, which led to some discussion during the coffee break.

The Economist on the future of phone

The last issue of The Economist has a good article about the phone of the future. Some quotes of this compelling overview:

The chances are that phones will not only look very different—they may not even be seen.(...) And even if they are still called “phones”—a word derived from the Greek word for voice—making voice calls may no longer be their primary function. (...) “The cellphone is not a telephone. It is a—I don't know what it is. A communications device? A tool I carry in my pocket?” says Don Norman (...) One thing that is clear is that phones will pack a lot more computing power in future, and will be able to do more and more of the things that PCs are used for today—and more besides. (...) In a decade's time a typical phone will have enough storage capacity to be able to video its user's entire life, says Mr Lindoff. Tom MacTavish, a researcher at Motorola Labs, predicts that such “life recorders” will be used for everything from security to settling accident claims with insurance firms. (...) Researchers at Nokia, meanwhile, speculate that within a decade, the cost of storage will have fallen so far that it might be possible to store every piece of music ever recorded in a single chip that could be included in each phone. (...) No doubt other new functions will be incorporated into phones. But which ones? (...) they might subsume the other two items that are generally carried everywhere, namely wallets and keys. (...) handset-makers now make different devices optimised for particular tasks such as music, photography or e-mail, and combinations thereof. The next step, suggests Stephen Randall of LocaModa, a wireless-services firm, will be a great decoupling, as the screen, keypad and earpiece start to become separate components, or are replaced by other completely new technologies. (...) Some users might choose to hook up separate screens and keyboards when needed, such as when answering e-mail or browsing the web. Already, early examples of such technologies exist. And there are even more elaborate alternatives. Tiny projectors inside handsets could allow walls, tabletops or screens made of flexible materials to be used as displays while on the move (...) This approach also makes it possible to overlay information on the real world, which could be useful when giving directions. Your phone might even label people at a party or conference to remind you of their names. (...) “virtual keyboard” onto a flat surface....Voice-recognition systems ....use of brainwaves to interface

The part about the social impact is interesting too:

The ability to superimpose images and sound upon reality means that future phones will “create layers on our world”, says Pierre de Vries of the Annenberg Centre for Communication at the University of Southern California. Users will always be connected, he says, but in concentric circles of conversations and interactions that range from people right next to them to those far away.

“When I try to make predictions, I don't look at what I see in the technical realm, I look at what I see in the social realm,” says Mr Norman. He has recently been investigating how children interact with each other and with technology. “They are never alone with their own thoughts,” he says. Instead, they listen to music while texting and talking with friends next to them. “We are learning that we never have to be away from people,” says Mr Norman.

Why do I blog this? even though it does not describe brand new idea, it's an interesting summary of the phone as an object , its usage and its potential future. On a related note, check this Nokia video on the same topic.

ITU report about digital life

The ITU will issue its new 2006 report of the "ITU Internet Reports" serie:

Prepared especially for ITU TELECOM World (December 4-8 2006 in Hong Kong), the report begins by examining the underlying technological enablers of new digital lifestyles, from upgrading network infrastructure to value creation at its edges. In studying how businesses are adapting to fast-paced digital innovation, the report looks at how they can derive value in an environment driven by convergence at multiple levels. The question of extending access to underserved areas of the world is considered as an important priority. In light of media convergence, a fresh approach to policy-making may be required, notably in areas such as content, competition policy, and spectrum management. Moreover, as our lives become increasingly mediated by digital technologies, the role of digital identities (both abstract and practical) presents a new challenge. Concerns over privacy and data protection are not being sufficiently addressed by current methods for managing identities online. As such, the report examines the changing digital individual, and outlines the need for improving the design of identity management mechanisms for a healthy and secure digital world.

Update the report is available here.

Representing alternative paths on a timeline

Thanks J*B for pointing me on this awesome timeline of timelines. One of the timelines that struck me was the chart by Charles Renouvier's that depicts "the theoretical relationship between the actual course of history and possible alternative paths":

Why do I blog this? I am working on a chapter of my dissertation about visualizing coordination over time. This is an interesting example of how to express divergence in timelines.

“Moving with a magic thing”

Finding Uses for New Technology: Moving with a Magic Thing by Anu Kankainen. The paper describes a user research method called “moving with a magic thing” proposed by Giulio Jaucci for "discovering appropriate markets for technology-pushed mobile products" as it says.

“Moving with a magic thing” is a field method. Users are met in their environment and given a “dummy” mock-up of a mobile device. They are told what functionality the device has and are asked to show what they would like the magic device to do for them as part of their daily activities. To collect more scenarios, users can be asked to also create a “moving with a magic thing” photo diary. After the initial observation day, they are given a digital camera for a week and asked to take pictures of the situations where they would use “the magic thing”. At the end of the week, users are interviewed based on the photos they have taken.

This method results in high-level use scenarios which do not come from brainstorming activities conducted in a meeting room but are based on the observation of users in real contexts.

Why do I blog this? it seems that this notion of magic is so omnipresent lately in human-computer interaction that it even pervades methodologies.

Pervasive gaming challenges

The iperg newsletter features a good overview of the field of pervasive gaming called "Highlight: Challenges of Pervasive Game Studies" by Markus Montola. It basically describes the challenges encountered why working on this multidisciplinary project. For those who are not aware of it iPerg is an EU-funded research consortium, which investigated pervasive gaming from diverse perspectives. The article is a condense overview of what they done, the problems they faced and the issue that emerged. Some relevant parts (to me):

When you look at how people are speaking, this field really is a tangled mess. (...) SOLUTION: We have chosen a fairly broad framework for discussing pervasive games. The claim is that they differ from regular games in that they are not fixed in predefined space, time or participation.

Where does the pervasive game end and where does it start again? (...) SOLUTION: In the first Prosopopeia we encouraged seamless merging, and in the second prototype we go for even more emergence and even further seamlessness (...) When it comes to studying the games, it's far more difficult: Acquiring the consent for recording outsider activities is impossible, so you have to rely on the player accounts.

It's hard and costly to try these games out in real situations. But paper prototyping often fails to grasp the essential phenomena such as the aesthetics of urban space, feeling of time when traveling around or the influence of interference from outsiders during the game. (...) SOLUTION: We prototype with paper mockups, prototype again with paper mockups, and when we believe that it might theoretically fly; we do a big technical prototype. Evaluation methodology changes from game to game

More importantly and more related to my concerns:

The few trailblazers of the genre were single shot games that ended years ago, or at least you have to travel somewhere to hook up at the location-based game. You can't try them out for real, and when writing comparative analyses, you can't really expect your readers to be acquaintanced with your portfolio of examples. (...) SOLUTION: Expert interviews, witness reports, game documents and the like should be our daily loaf. An hour of chat with Tom Söderlund on Botfighters gets you deeper into mobile gaming than any book I've seen so far, but unfortunately the availability of both specialists and documents is an issue. Pervasive gaming community also needs to document much more than it has done in order to learn from it's ups and downs. Unfortunately the conference paper format is far too brief for the larger games, and thus a better standard is needed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping that the book on the IPerG planning table might solve this for the people tracking our trails.

Why do I blog this? these challenges are important and still problematic. It also shows how the pervasive gaming initiatives are very different from the "classic" video game industry. However, the work they done is very pertinent (I am referring to the whole project and the various deliverables can attest it). I hope this documents could serve as seminal pieces for the development of the field, and I am very curious to see emerging more pervasive game projects here and there (and then a structured industry? or should it stay out of the industry).

I know mobile gaming is a slightly different concept but when I read this sort of trend report, I really have the impression that there is more to offer than "Consumers are demanding great graphics, great content and great game play" as the nokia game explains it (to their credit nokia is at least taking care of the social gaming side).

About video game space and architecture

In a very old issue of icon, there is an article about the rules of architectures and gamespace by Alex Wiltshire. Some excerpts I found relevant:

Designers consider where the start point, or tee, in a level is. They must think about all the things that the player can see from that point, decide on the view distance and which hazards to show and which to hide. The goal of the level should either be shown or hinted at (...) A basic way of creating a sense of movement is with types of walls: long, linear walls encourage movement along them; tall, thin walls suggest movement up them; concave structures invite players inside; and convex structures encourage them to move around the building. Rhythm can be achieved with the repetition of certain structures, such as bulkheads along the length of a corridor on a space ship, which move or nudge the player forward with confidence and security. Tension can then be introduced with a sudden break in the pattern, like a collapsed strut in the corridor, that makes the pattern unpredictable. The designer can thus direct the player's mood and movement.

A problem with creating richly detailed environments in games is a resulting loss of legibility, which leads to players not noticing elements that are meant to prompt specific behaviour, such as a certain action that must be performed or the direction for progression. (...) Once planned, gamespaces must be given meaning and significance for the player - a sense of place and atmosphere - with a set of aesthetic choices. (...) So in real terms what has the development of more complex and rich game environments done for videogames? Making them less abstract and more intuitively understood and believable, videogames are becoming more and more legible - and attractive - to people who aren't versed in videogame conventions.

I was also interested in this idea of foreshadowing and how it can improve player's self-awareness in space and how it can affect the decision making process:

Philip Campbell feels that foreshadowing, or previewing events in a level, is an important strategy to directing gameplay. (...) He made what lay ahead highly visible and made the upcoming sequence of architecture logical - players can see the exact structure through many levels of the building, allowing them to "feel clever" by being able to make intelligent decisions about the direction they take. He also placed a large window right at the start that semi-reveals the very end of the level and the last enemy

Why do I blog this? in most of the paper about game space, the discussion always stay at the blablabla level (game space is a way to think architecture as a playground and blablabla). In this short article, there are some more interesting content, with more precise description and I am pretty sure lots of game/level designers will disregard it because they have different ideas about it.

Webkinz: real and virtual dog

Judging from the press release, Webkinz is a curious game that connect first life and second life environment (take 2nd life as a general world referring to a virtual world):

Webkinz are a line of stuffed animals that come with a secret code allowing the purchaser to enter into an online fantasy world for a one-year period starring that pet. (...) Once registered, this cuddly interactive pet becomes a tangible companion for playtime, but on the computer screen a virtual image of that exact Webkinz pet appears in a room, along with a health/happiness/hunger meter. An initial $2,000 in Kinzcash (Webkinz imaginary cash) is provided to purchase furnishings for the pet´s room, buy clothes for the pet, provide the pet with toys, and to select from a variety of foods for the pet. In order to earn more Kinzcash, the owner can go to "Quizzy´s Question Corner" to earn more Kinzcash by answering age-appropriate educational quizzes. Also featured is a tournament arena of computer games and weekly contests. "Adopting" more pets equates to more playmates both on-line and off-line. The animals can even talk to each other, or the owner´s pet can speak with a friend´s pet.

Why do I blog this? this is another occurrence of a device that let people have an object with a virtual counterpart. The difference with other projects such as the v-migo is that the tangible interaction with the artifacts are not detected or used. It's interesting anyway because it's based on a toy ID that connects the object to a virtual world. So what about a DIY version? like crafting your own stuffed pets, using Thinglink as an alternative to the webkinz #### and... mmmh this needs to be hooked to any virtual world that would let people do so.

A visual code for Google Earth

Hello, world! is an installation for the virtual globe of the software Google Earth (carried out by students from the Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany):

A Semacode measuring 160 x 160 meters was mown into a wheat field near the town of Ilmenau in the Land Thuringia. The code consists of 18 x 18 bright and dark squares producing decoded the phrase “Hello, world!”. The project was realized in May 2006 and photographs were taken of it during a picture flight in the following month.

See the weblog of the project here. Why do I blog this? I may be an old fart about this project but I found interesting to have a visual code (i.e. a connector between the first world and the second "virtual" world) of such dimensions.

Street computing

On of those thing I spot on a regular basis in occidental cities (I took that one in Geneva last week):

Why do I blog this? this is IMHO, one of the most advanced incarnation of what happen when you have "street computing" so far. As a matter of fact, it's neither the intelligent sidewalk nor the über cool ambient displays. Once again, it's the dark side of computing. And for those who're wondering why I keep posting about this sort of things once in a while, I simply think it's good to ponder what I post here with the other "facets".

Mobile LBS failures to meet expectations

Via Fabien: Mobile LBS Market by C. Desiniotis, J. G. Markoulidakis from Vodafone, and J-Fr Gaillet from NAVTEQ. The paper describes the mobile market of location-based applications (as opposed to web-based LBS for instance). Overall, it interestingly describes a more down-to-earth vision of the present situation:

mobile LBS were widely predicted to be the most promising “killer applications” in wireless communications. Today, most of these expectations are still not met and a significant delay in the market forecast has incurred. (...) Some of the most important reasons responsible for this turn are summarized as follows: Poor tracking performance. Current deployed techniques only allow a few hundred meters to a few kilometers accuracy. For the time of writing, very few handsets with advanced location capabilities (e.g. A-GPS) are available in the market while they are offered at high prices. Inherent customer perception issues. Privacy concerns arise as users are uncomfortable of feeling being watched. Security and location-aware phobia (both consumer and operator) prevent the users from adopting LBS as their usual habits. Low throughput mobile networks. The unavailability of high capacity networks (that would enable the transfer of multimedia content) is also considered a preventive factor for the wide adoption of LBS. The 3G networks launch and commercial availability was delayed. Further to this, only recently WLAN have started to take up and provide Internet services to crowded hot spots. Significant investment required. The initial investment and the high deployment costs (in terms of network equipment and marketing campaigns) imposed to MNOs and service providers did not justify the LBS development and market launch (at most markets). User adoption requires time. Taking as example other successful services, the market should be well educated in order to adopt a new service concept. Therefore, the initial low take-up phase of LBS was unavoidable. Not well defined business models. Taking into account that the emerging LBS introduced new service concepts, the business rules that would govern the value chain were not clearly defined among the business entities. This caused confusion in the involved players discouraging thus new initiatives. Unfriendly User Interfaces. Inherent difficulties of mobile devices e.g. for entering queries and displaying results (images, 3D maps, etc.).

Why do I blog this? because it lists very pertinent factors regarding problems about the mobile LBS adoption. I am mostly interested in the "Unfriendly User Interfaces" and I think the authors are maybe a bit too usability-centered and forget that LBS suffer from more holistic "user experience" problems: the failure to be deployed in correspondence with people's context and practices. And I surely believe that 3D maps won't help in the short run.

The forecast described are also intriguing expectations (based on a survey: “LBS 2006 Temperature Meter”, LBS Insight Industry Survey, Berg Insight, April 2006): I am not a fan at all of survey (especially in this case: we don't have any ideas about how it has been conducted) but it's like a barometer that gives the zeitgeist of the industry. Even though I find it pretty okay for the navigation and fleet tracking, I am curious about what is behind the figures for the location-based entertainment/games or information services. So far it was mostly prototypes with a low user adoption.

Game Boy Terminal Server

Game Boy Terminal Server by Pascal Felber, Reiner Ziegler and Michael Hope:

gbts was designed under contract to Invention City as a way of using a Nintendo Gameboy as a cheap intelligent display for some other system, for example a PC or an intelligent cartridge.

gbts provides on the Gameboy side a way of running primitives like 'Draw image', 'Draw line', 'Set Font', 'Draw proportional text', a way of caching frequently use commands for speed, and an event system that hands up events like 'User pressed button A while at (x,y)', 'Timer expired'. Events can be attached to cached primitives, so for example a timer expiring could draw an image causing animation, or a click in a given box could XOR the area, giving the user immediate feedback while the client decides what to do next.

Why do I blog this? an old and curious gamebody hack

Designing a pervasive game controller

In a course module called DESIGNING A PERVASIVE GAME CONTROLLER", Steffen P. Walz and Philipp Schaerer engaged attendants to plan, design, and prototype the game controller for their game REXplorer.

In the game, the target group - teenage and student tourists - roleplays scientific assistants who investigate odd phenomena occuring across the city core. The players are equipped with a geo-positioning, intelligent measuring apparatus, allowing them to interact with historical and mythical Regensburg characters residing inside landmark buildings with the proper apparatus gesture. Thus, the apparatus serves as the game's controller. It is made out of a hard shell encasing a Nokia N70 smartphone and a GPS bluetooth device.

Why do I blog this? because the design brief is interesting and reflect preoccupations that are of interest with regards to pervasive environment controller, such as magic wands. I'd be curious to see the results.

On a different note (similar though), check the wiimote prototypes here. (this is reminder for me to dig this at some point)

Canary in coal mine

Digging some stuff out of the web about how the role of animals in some specific situations, I came across this interesting "usage" as described on the BBC website:

(Picture from the BBC website)

The canary is particularly sensitive to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide which is colourless, odourless and tasteless. This gas could easily form underground during a mine fire or after an explosion. Following a mine fire or explosion, mine rescuers would descend into the mine, carrying a canary in a small wooden or metal cage. Any sign of distress from the canary was a clear signal the conditions underground were unsafe and miners should be evacuated from the pit and the mineshafts made safer. (...) Coal miners now rely on carbon monoxide detectors and monitors.

Why do I blog this? this is an example of how miners found a trick for "measuring" some level of gases that might be dangerous. This concept is not so different from Beatriz Da Costa's blogging pigeons, which measure urban pollution.

A bunch of clickers

Some material for a project about remote control (TV and DVD) and how they are used: ">

Why do I blog this? one of the worst device, the common remote control exists in plenty of forms, I took this picture during the afternoon at the flea market in Geneva, thought it might be a nice pic to use in presentations ;)

Swede house on the moon

See on BBC News:

A Swedish artist has asked experts to help design one of Sweden's iconic little red cottages - but this one will stand on the Moon. Mikael Genberg has recruited the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) to help plan the operation. The little red houses are found across the Swedish countryside, but Mr Genberg says he wants this one to become "an international symbol". He says if everything goes to plan, the house may appear on the Moon in 2011.

Mr Genberg has arranged a competition for students and companies to design a house that could be contained in a small, light package, that would open up once landed on the Moon's surface. The state-owned SSC has been happy to get involved in the project, which could cost 500m kroner (£36m).