Computing and Information Systems - Research Publications

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    Frame analysis of voice interaction gameplay
    Allison, F ; Newn, J ; Smith, W ; Carter, M ; Gibbs, M (ACM, 2019-05-02)
    Voice control is an increasingly common feature of digital games, but the experience of playing with voice control is often hampered by feelings of embarrassment and dissonance. Past research has recognised these tensions, but has not offered a general model of how they arise and how players respond to them. In this study, we use Erving Goffman’s frame analysis [16], as adapted to the study of games by Conway and Trevillian [9], to understand the social experience of playing games by voice. Based on 24 interviews with participants who played voice-controlled games in a social setting, we put forward a frame analytic model of gameplay as a social event, along with seven themes that describe how voice interaction enhances or disrupts the player experience. Our results demonstrate the utility of frame analysis for understanding social dissonance in voice interaction gameplay, and point to practical considerations for designers to improve engagement with voice-controlled games.
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    Design Patterns for Voice Interaction in Games
    Allison, F ; Carter, M ; Gibbs, M ; Smith, W (ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY, 2018)
    Voice interaction is increasingly common in digital games, but it remains a notoriously difficult modality to design a satisfying experience for. This is partly due to limitations of speech recognition technology, and partly due to the inherent awkwardness we feel when performing some voice actions. We present a pattern language for voice interaction elements in games, to help game makers explore and describe common approaches to this design challenge. We define 25 design patterns, based on a survey of 449 videogames and 22 audiogames that use the player’s voice as an input to affect the game state. The patterns express how games frame and structure voice input, and how voice input is used for selection, navigation, control and performance actions. Finally, we argue that academic research has been overly concentrated on a single one of these design patterns, due to an instrumental research focus and a lack of interest in the fictive dimension of videogames.
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    A History of Voice Interaction in Games
    Allison, F ; Carter, M ; GIBBS, M (Digital Games Research Association, 2016)
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    Player Identity Dissonance and Voice Interaction in Games
    Carter, M ; Allison, F ; Downs, J ; Gibbs, M (Association for Computing Machinery, 2015)
    In the past half-decade, advances in voice recognition technology and the proliferation of consumer devices like the Microsoft Kinect have seen a significant rise in the use of voice interaction in games. While the use of player-to-player voice is widespread and well-researched, the use of voice as an input is relatively unexplored. In this paper we make the argument that notions of player and avatar identity are inextricable from the successful implementation of voice interaction in games, and consequently identify opportunities for future research and design.
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    Good Frustrations: The Paradoxical Pleasure of Fearing Death in DayZ
    Allison, F ; Carter, M ; Gibbs, M ; Ploderer, B ; Carter, M ; Gibbs, M ; Smith, W ; Vetere, F (ACM, 2015)
    The design of modern digital games has become increasingly oriented towards providing players with positive experiences such as fun and flow, and reducing negative experiences such as frustration and anger. DayZ is one notable exception, where negative experiences are central to its design. When a player is killed in DayZ, they lose their character with all its advancement, often equivalent to weeks of play, which can be an enormously frustrating and demoralising experience. However, the majority of its players view this as a positive and attractive feature, and one of the keys to the game's appeal. In this paper, we draw on 1,704 responses to a player motivations survey to unpack the complex player experience of permanent character death and demonstrate how this moment of negative affect contributes to the positive experience of DayZ more broadly.