Create an experience that uses a digital layer to invite, enhance, or augment play into a physical activity while sitting at a table.

This project will use small, affordable, pico-projectors mounted above tables and pointed down. They can use optionally use any variety of input sensors, like arduinos, cameras, hand-trackers, 3D scanners, and so on.

Process

1. Decide on a tabletop activity: Drawing, cooking, note-taking, board games, TTRPG, drinking coffee, making tea, typing, reading, etc. Good activities are active, have room for expression and direction, and single-user. The spirit of the assignment is that this activity does not neccesitate a digital augmentation. We need to answer the question of why add one at all! Deeply interrogating this question is a core part of this assignment.

2. Decide how you would like to intervene: Instruct, enhance, engage, disengage, disrupt, obsfucate, enjoy, juxtapose, joyful, etc.

3. Elaborate on the relationships between the User, The Activity, and the Augmentation (see Triangle exercise below).

4. Decide on the technology stack. This can be as simple as a video that plays down at the table, with no systematic interactivity required.

5. Create a proof-of-concept prototype(s) that demonstrate: 1. Working technology stack and 2. Establishing and communicating the relationships.

6. Playtest, Refine, and Repeat.

Assignment Part 1: Relationship Elaborations - Triangle Exercise

Draw a triangle with the three points labeled “User”, “Activity”, and “Augmentation”. Each line of this triangle needs 2 relationships (minimum), one in each direction.

Consider User and Origami: A user -> Origami is following instructions, folding paper, comparing paper to diagram. Origami -> User is demonstrating processes throug diagrams, informing of future, indicating progress, validating correctness, providing confidence. What can the digital augmentation layer provide?

• Can it affect relationships from the user to the activity? - at-size instructions that can hold the paper up to?
• Can it affect relationships from the activity to the user? - Video snippets they can reference for each step?
• What new relationships with the activity are formed?
• What new relationships with the user are formed?

This triangle is to get us to interrogate augmented reality development in a way that makes it less about “adding digital things on top of users”, and more about altering the underlying experience the user has for the better.

Remember, as with game design: It’s about the user experience.

Create a two page document. On the first page, a rough sketch of your idea, and description of your concept. A pitch/design document. The second page is the relationship exercisew, a literal diagram with labels. Below that, about 2 sentences elaborating on each relationship (6 relationships).

Upload a pdf file that includes your name, the class, etc.

Assignment Part 2: Prototype

After receiving feedback and notes from your document, create a prototype of our experience. It should be standalone, and require minimal explanation.

In addition to the assignment fulfilling the objectives: executing on the described goals, working, creating the user experiences and relationships, there are further design constraints.

Design Constraints

• Guests will be invited to your space with no presentation or spoken explanation. Other than being aware they are arriving to playtest Immersive Media class projects, they will not be told what the projects are about or about the assignment.
• You are not allowed to explain your project to the guest. They must discover it.
• Optionally, in addition to the appropriate materials of the assignment, you are allowed a single placard with no more than 45 words on it. The placard must fit on an 5"x8" area. Designs will be printed, cut, and glued to cards of this size.
• You must include a title and your name(s) in the projects’ presentations.
• A playtime outside of a 45-second, and less than 3 minutes.

The goal of these constrants is to force your user to discover how the system works through play, curiosity, and interaction. You will be evaluated on your ability to achieve this.

Rubric

Unlike most Immersive Media experiences, where the graded evaluation is largely independent of project showcase, this project will be tested against project-naieve guests or experienced Immersive Media playtesters whose understanding and ability to use the experience will directly correlate to a grade. Because of this, any attempts to influence or interfere with the guests can affect your grade. The project is getting “installed” in the studio, pencils are down. You can only watch.

Missing class or being unprepared on this projects’ showcase day will have a significant grade impact.

Primary Objectives

1. Designing and implementing effective user experiences. (With special attention paid to the relationships users have between the activity and the augmentation).
2. Designing a system that is discoverable through play.
3. Execution, otherwise - Technical and conceptual, does it ‘get out of the way’.

Evaluative Metrics

• Feedback incorporated
• Hit playtime objective
• How confused were the users?
• How engaged were the users?
• Did they “get it”? Was there any prompting neccesary?
• Did it work? Any bugs, quirks, or interuptions?

Other Considerations for Evaluation

• Polish, Aesthetic
• Consistency
• Accessibility