skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 10:00 PM ET on Friday, February 6 until 10:00 AM ET on Saturday, February 7 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Title: This Game SUX: Why & How to Design Sh@*!y User Experiences
While normative – “good” – game design and user experiences have been established, we look to games that challenge those notions. Intentional frustration and failure can be worthwhile. Through a reflexive thematic analysis of 31 games we identify how intentionally non-normative design choices lead to meaningful experiences. Working within the established Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics (MDA) Game Design Framework, we lay out themes to design Shitty User Experiences (SUX). We contribute SUX MDA themes for designers and researchers to counter the status quo and identify new forms of play and interaction.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2105069 2433527 2106380
PAR ID:
10596507
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
ACM
Date Published:
ISBN:
9798400713941
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1 to 15
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
Shitty User Experience SUX jank abusive game design fumblecore
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
Yokohama Japan
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Integrating fabrication activities into existing video games provides opportunities for players to construct objects from their gameplay and bring the digital content into the physical world. In our prior work, we outlined a framework and developed a toolkit for integrating fabrication activities within existing digital games. Insights from our prior study highlighted the challenge of aligning fabrication mechanics with the existing game mechanics in order to strengthen the player aesthetics. In this paper, we address this challenge and build on our prior work by adding fabrication components to the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework. We use this f-MDA framework to analyze the 47 fabrication events from the prior study. We list the new player-object aesthetics that emerge from integrating the existing game mechanics with fabrication mechanics. We identify connections between these emergent player-object aesthetics and the existing game mechanics. We discuss how designers can use this mapping to identify potential game mechanics for integrating with fabrication activities. 
    more » « less
  2. null (Ed.)
    Children’s early numerical knowledge establishes a foundation for later development of mathematics achievement and playing linear number board games is effective in improving basic numeri- cal abilities. Besides the visuo-spatial cues provided by traditional number board games, learning companion robots can integrate multi-sensory information and offer social cues that can support children’s learning experiences. We explored how young children experience sensory feedback (audio and visual) and social expressions from a robot when playing a linear number board game, “RoboMath.” We present the interaction design of the game and our investigation of children’s (n = 19, aged 4) and parents’ experiences under three conditions: (1) visual-only, (2) audio-visual, and (3) audio- visual-social robot interaction. We report our qualitative analysis, including the themes observed from interviews with families on their perceptions of the game and the interaction with the robot, their child’s experiences, and their design recommendations. 
    more » « less
  3. Immersive virtual reality presents a rich opportunity for learning signed languages, given the immersive environment’s ability to represent three-dimensional information. We developed a proof- of-concept American Sign Language (ASL) learning in immersive virtual reality (VR), named ASL Champ! Twelve hearing non- or novice signers played one full level of the game, during which they were asked to provide concurrent think-aloud (CTA) commentary, narrating their experience as they played in real time. We conducted a sentiment analysis from recordings of the CTA and subsequent open-ended questions and qualitatively assessed the narrations for salient themes. The analysis revealed speci!c aspects of the users’ experiences that were most likely to lead to positive or negative expressions during the CTA and the question session. The factors that had the most impact on user sentiment were the success of the sign recognition in the game and the extent to which users found the game intuitive or self-explanatory. We also found that users with more technology anxiety were more positive about the game. We also qualitatively examined user comments, revealing their real-time game experiences. This work provides insights into which aspects of an ASL learning VR game are most important for user experiences. We conclude with takeaway recommendations for future virtual or augmented reality sign language learning games. 
    more » « less
  4. Maps in video games have grown into complex interactive systems alongside video games themselves. What map systems have done and currently do have not been cataloged or evaluated. We trace the history of game map interfaces from their paper-based inspiration to their current smart phone-like appearance. Read-only map interfaces enable players to consume maps, which is sufficient for wayfinding. Game cartography interfaces enable players to persistently modify maps, expanding the range of activity to support planning and coordination. We employ thematic analysis on game cartography interfaces, contributing a near-exhaustive catalog of games featuring such interfaces, a set of properties to describe and design such interfaces, a collection of play activities that relate to cartography, and a framework to identify what properties promote the activities. We expect that designers will find the contributions enable them to promote desired play experiences through game map interface design. 
    more » « less
  5. This Work-In-Progress falls within the research category of study and, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of first- and second year engineering students when using an online engineering game that was designed to enhance understanding of statics concepts. Technology and online games are increasingly being used in engineering education to help students gain competencies in technical domains in the engineering field. Less is known about the way that these online games are designed and incorporated into the classroom environment and how these factors can ignite inequitable perspectives and experiences among engineering students. Also, little if any work that combines the TAM model and intersectionality of race and gender in engineering education has been done, though several studies have been modified to account for gender or race. This study expands upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by exploring perspectives of intersectional groups (defined as women of color who are engineering students). A Mixed Method Sequential Exploratory Research Design approach was used that extends the TAM model. Students were asked to play the engineering educational game, complete an open-ended questionnaire and then to participate in a focus group. Early findings suggest that while many students were open to learning to use the game and recommended inclusion of online engineering educational games as learning tools in classrooms, only a few indicated that they would use this tool to prepare for exams or technical job interviews. Some of the main themes identified in this study included unintended perpetuation of inequality through bias in favor of students who enjoyed competition-based learning and assessment of knowledge, and bias for students having prior experience in playing online games. Competition-based assessment related to presumed learning of course content enhanced student anxiety and feelings of intimidation and led to some students seeking to “game the game” versus learning the material, in efforts to achieve grade goals. Other students associated use of the game and the classroom weighted grading with intense stress that led them to prematurely stop the use of the engineering tool. Initial findings indicate that both game design and how technology is incorporated into the grading and testing of learning outcomes, influence student perceptions of the technology’s usefulness and ultimately the acceptance of the online game as a "learning tool." Results also point to the need to explore how the crediting and assessment of students’ performance and learning gains in these types of games could yield inequitable experiences in these types of courses. 
    more » « less