Collective creation of games using free play technologies

Abstract

From the age of six children are developing important social skills, often through play. However, many children now spend most of their leisure time interacting through screens, rather than developing face-to-face social skills, which are also important for adult hood.Using augmented technologies to stimulate children in the collective creation of games could contribute to developing these social skills. Related work with augmented technologies for play does not take into consideration the evocative power of the objects to be augmented. We aim to identify objects, which are particularly evocative, and make them interactive through augmented technology. We will also draw on the basic rules of traditional folk games to create toys, which genuinely stimulate social skills.We present two early prototypes designed to investigate both the way in which children perceive feedback from different sensors and actuators and also their ability to construct their own games with those objects.

Co-located augmented play-spaces: past, present, and perspectives

“…Interactive wearables can also be used as playground props. For example, Bekker and Eggen, as well as Rosales, proposed an idea for an interactive glove [30,94]. The glove sends and receives an infrared signal as if passing a ball around between players, allowing other players to block or intercept it, a similar glove or wearable display could also be used to play new forms of the game of tag [95,96].…”

“…The glove sends and receives an infrared signal as if passing a ball around between players, allowing other players to block or intercept it, a similar glove or wearable display could also be used to play new forms of the game of tag [95,96]. Rosales et al created several technologically enhanced wearable systems with which children could play by jumping, freezing and dancing, using shoes, fanny packs, and wearable sound kits [94,97,98],…”

(Steering) Interactive Play Behavior

“…For example, Bekker and Eggen, as well as Rosales, proposed an idea for an interactive glove [24,216]. The glove sends and receives an infrared signal as if passing a ball around between players, allowing other players to block or intercept it, a similar glove or wearable display could also be used to play new forms of the game of tag [55,119].…”

“…The glove sends and receives an infrared signal as if passing a ball around between players, allowing other players to block or intercept it, a similar glove or wearable display could also be used to play new forms of the game of tag [55,119]. Rosales et al created several technologically enhanced wearable systems with which children could play by jumping, 'freezing', and dancing, using shoes, fanny packs, and wearable sound kits [216,217,219],…”

“…Konkel et al had built on the games memory, tag, and hide-and-seek for their Tagaboo system [119]. Similarly, Moreno et al as well as Rosales explained how they designed their interactive systems based on observations of traditional play sessions and games [156,216]. We have seen that commercial systems also build on the power of 'traditional' games such as memory, tag, and freeze dance (stopping when music ends), making music, or playing sports such as soccer.…”