Spatial Human Behaviour and Computer Games Design

Speaker: Manuela Jungmann

Affiliation: University of Luxembourg

Time: Monday 07/12/2015 from 14:00 to 15:00

Venue: Access Grid UWS. Presented from Campbelltown (26.1.50), accessible from Parramatta (EB.1.32) and Penrith (Y239).

Abstract: When designing for embodied interactions, the convergence of spatial human behaviour with physical space is often not sufficiently considered. This can cause unintended consequences in the user experience, whereby the user may or may not be aware of the effects. In this talk I will discuss a study that was conducted into the spatial player behaviour of a multiplayer game installation. The installation’s interface was designed for embodied interaction and required whole body movements to play the game. The spatial analysis investigated a range of players’ activities in the game-space which revealed synergistic effects combining perceptual-motor factors with game-strategy behaviour. As games are becoming increasingly embodied and social the study’s findings illustrate that the role of space should receive more attention which may also require for designers to incorporate new methodologies into the design process.

Biography: Manuela Jungmann is a postdoctoral researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Luxembourg. She was awarded her PhD from the University of Sussex, UK and taught HCI at the University of Brighton, UK. Her research interests are centered on the design and development of applications for collaborative human-computer interaction. Her path to HCI began in San Francisco around the time when multimedia was the captivating newcomer. This made her privy to many interesting developments and left her with a repertoire of work that ranges from i-TV, to interactive kiosks, to Sony Playstation titles.