SCOM 5056 Design Theory in Science Communication week 5: user experience (part 2) Dave Goforth FA377 (Fraser) ext 2316 laurentian.ca laurentian.ca

User control Kinds of user actions –Experience Management Turn page, insert DVD, load software –Content Interaction Scan diagram, reread sentence, select song, choose answer,

The mutable/immutable boundary Artefacts that are immutable but allow different users to have different ‘linear’ experiences –Dictionaries –Tutortext –Hypertext documents –“Over the Top”

Immutable artefacts with user control of one variable Video clip Exploratorium edu/hockey/shooting1. html Boston Museum of Science

Immutable artefacts with user control of one (continuous) variable Boston Museum of Science

Immutable artefacts with user control of multiple variables Science World Vancouver

Mutable artefact with user control of one variable Science North grip strength Science North Sudbury

Mutable artefacts with user control of multiple variables Pendulum simulation gingSpring/doublependulum.html gingSpring/doublependulum.html Boston Museum of Science

A design example Leverage concept – relates 4 variables m 2.d 2 = m 1.d 1 (equilibrium) How to present: Epitome? What is basic concept? m1m1 m2m2 d2d2 d1d1

A design example How to present: Epitome? What is basic concept? m1m1 m2m2 d2d2 d1d1 m 1 and d 1 fixed, m 2 and d 2 are controlled m2m2 m1m1 d2d2 d1d1

Lever to lift m 1 : m 2.d 2 ≥ m 1.d 1 m1m1 m2m2 d2d2 d1d1 d2d2 m2m2 m 2 d 2 = m 1 d 1 lift can’t lift Mutable artefacts with user control of multiple variables

Science World Vancouver m2m2 m1m1 d2d2 d1d1

Lever to lift m 1 : m 2.d 2 ≥ m 1.d 1 m1m1 d2d2 d1d1 d2d2 m2m2 m 2 d 2 = m 1 d 1

Mutable artefacts with user control of multiple variables Set lighting -Position -Intensity -Tone position tone intensity Boston Museum of Science

Mutable artefacts with user control of multiple variables Erosion table Armadillo Run Science North Sudbury

Narrative in mutable artefacts? NarrativeImmutableMutable Event-tokens  ? Narrator  ? Narrative appetite  ? Past time  ? Structure  ? Agency  ? Purpose  ? Reader  ?

Jenkins Game space –Like quests, travel literature, sci-fi Enacted narrative –Like spectacle-centred genres, plot less important –“accordion-like structure” plot points / cut pieces Embedded narrative –detective story –Explicit scenes, implied history Emergent narrative –Sims

Game space Physical or conceptual space to play through Creator defines space with start and end User determines path through space Different from exploration space: goal-orientation d2d2 m2m2 m 2 d 2 = m 1 d 1 lift can’t lift

Recall – simple murder mystery Murder story Detective story

Recall – simple murder mystery Murder story Player detective

Typical game with levels Embedded narrative Enacted narrative “Accordion-like structure” comedia dell’arte Jenkins

Pinball construction set 1.play sample pinball games learn actions and outcomes learn core mechanic 2.design and play pinball games drag and drop 3.change game physics, design and play parameter sliders gravity, viscosity, elasticity, density

Player role Participant –Enacted narrative Observer –Emergent narrative

Science communication applications of game-like narrative EmergentEnacted -ant colony-mineral identification -Sim-type simulations-body costume -erosion table-microbial battery (Sam) -racing car construction (both) -pinball construction set (both)

Sim Earth, 1990 “the player can vary a planet's atmosphere, temperature, landmasses, etc, then place various forms of life on the planet and watch them evolve. Since it is a software toy, the game does not have any required goals. The big (and difficult) challenge is to evolve sentient life and an advanced civilization. …The game models the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock (who assisted with the design and wrote an introduction to the manual),...”

Sim Earth, 1990

“Educational/academic” simulations –Windows-based examples: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\sciencesimulations –how to revise for free-choice artefacts?

Hypertext narrative artefacts immutables* with decision points Story line segments For a four segment story with three decision points and three choices, the creator needs to prepare forty segments *some segments may be mutable internally

Reducing the segment count – reusing segments Independent choices (constrains design) Shared consequences

Reducing the segment count – reusing segments Unordered sequences

Tutortext example chapter Crowder, N.A The Arithmetic of Computers, an introduction to binary and octal mathematics. Garden City NY: Doubleday remedial lesson review test

Some sample science games Musée Armand-Frappier – The Grid – forest fire simulationhttp://