P L A C E S T O R M I N G

A Mighty (CE) Storm Is Coming!

ken anderson Jane McGonigal 04.03.02

p l a c e s t o r m e r s

Goal – Brainstorm New CE DevicesMake the familiar strangeSample ContextsEngage people in the experience

perform and informPervert fun and games for the evil

purposes of the corporationWin and have fun

BackgroundHome: anywhere but the home

public, community, transitional and in-between spaces as extensions of the digital home

Scouted SitesWrote script (manifesto)Developed activities (mission)Developed “Tools”

Everyday objects, not “toys” or “created objects”

s c r i p t/p r i n i c i p l e s

• Create contexts and act

• Construct platforms and play on them

• Build bridges and invite others to cross

• Define opportunities and seize them

More Play More Expression More Space Everyday Superpowers

l o c a t i o n s / s c e n e s

• parking garage elevator• coffee shop• phone booth• public square• portland muni building• court house• mall• river front• light rail train• street & sidewalk• movie theater• hotel lobby• skywalk• car• elevator

t o o l s

• The Exquisitly Tool• The Refusing Tool• The Silently Tool• The Performance

Tool• The Surgery Tool

• The Happiness Tool• The “IS” Tool• The One-Time Tool• The Contemporary

Tool• The Vacuum Tool

Tool names derived from “secret” words sent in by participants

a c t i n g a c t o r s a c t i o n s a c t i v i t i e s a r t i f a c t s

a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s

the “doing” of brain storming

r e f u s i n g t o o l• importance of personalization

• ecologically sound technology – fits environment

• danger of environment acting upon you/ importance of user control

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• refuse to let you go the wrong way in a parking lot, – knows the difference between husband, wife, kid, etc. usual habits– lets you eat the refuser ticket as a mint strip

• refuses to let you walk by the Discovery store when you have a coupon about to expire

• refuses to let you go into the Marriott hotel because it is not your kind of hotel

• refuses to let you buy the pink frosted cookie because it isn’t on your diet/ refuse to let you have cigarettes when stop smoking

• refuses to let Discovery store or other place you are passing by to bother you

e x q u i s i t l yt o o l

• value of ‘nob’ control: “broad” <-> “fine”/ large-small/general-particular, public-

private etc• importance of user control• cross and combo media

technologies • importance of super powers

in technologies - x-ray vision

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• people circle movie bill boards to see “general ratings” and “particular people/ buddy” list ratings

• tell about a building (history), what is inside a building (movie on 5th floor), art work on the outside building – tell more about things without knowing exactly the level of detail you want

• directions from/to places by highlighting location on side walk or pointing at signs

• collect parts of your day (text, smells, sights, people) to form an “exquisite corps” of your day to share with others via a broadcast medium like a blog or just for yourself

• track purchases for purposes of expense reports etc by merely “marking” them.

• guarantees you exquisite service – gets you exactly what you want when you get there. guarantees personalized service when you arrive

• broadcasts info you want to either everyone or buddies from anywhere (coffee shops, restaurants, phone booths)

• sends post card from anywhere, any surface, any time and anyone

• capture chess games, music, bus schedules, and provide relevant information

• public virtual bulletin board to write your own message or have a message appear for you when you come by

p e r f o r m a n c et o o l

• easy input

• tactile ness of things

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• swiping movie signs to collect trailers for viewing at home

• swipe gap window to take shopping home

• mini-sized performance phone to talk to collect items in window to continue window shopping to anyone anywhere – no dialing, no interface just voice interaction

• instant DJ tool used in combo with phone booth

• test for healthiness (or matching advertised performance, ie “organic”) of water, air, food whatever by touching it

s i l e n t l y t o o l

• the trouble of wear-ables• interaction of more than

voice/fingers• gendered objects/places• the importance of secrecy/

privacy/ security

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• ward off attackers• enable you to act

silently while engaged in another activity (buying flowers on a date

• allow a person to go “silently” through the courthouse or any building/part of the city without leaving a digital trail

• allow you to “silently” carry info with you – bring encrypted materials into city or county buildings, banks, law offices, medical offices, etc – private info in public spaces

s u r g e r y t o o l

– capturing more than images – enabling being alone– enabling being out of the

environment

– having physical things happen

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• cut one out of the car commute environment by bio sensing your needs to provide proper temperature environment, massage, “soothing” images on windshield

• cut into the infrastructure to learn about trains, shopping, banks, restaurants, buses all your public commuter needs

• cut yourself out of a conference, turn invisible, get a massage, have images of your family (or other pleasant things) surround you.

• cuts out a “calgon” moment in life. a moment when you control everything not everything controls you.

• invisibility cloak• cut through bureaucracy at courts, utility centers, banks – simplify life –

make it fun• cut out stress• road surgery – dissecting best routes• parking surgery – has sensing that helps find spot/ monitors for vacancy,

auto pays as you leave• carry in your coat to “open doors” like your car• data collected at car crash time to notify hospital of location, severity of

injuries, etc – bringing the right surgical team to you• cuts into past as you walk/drive by it. educational about lewis and clarke or

son’s birth place etc• dashboard surgery on your mental state – driving person’s martini

h a p p i n e s s t o o l

- technologies with affective impact

- awareness of emotional atmosphere of particular locations and effecting them

-technology for connecting

-technology that enhances life

-technology that is public, not private/individual

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• An unknown (scary) location is made more familiar (comforting)• A tense atmosphere is diffused• a subtle, non-invasive outreach is made to a troubled-looking stranger• make unhappy kids, happy• a shared location with publicly known “bad history” is reclaimed for a

more positive future• brings a little light and whimzy to workers having a bad day

• something to help homeless on the street• help work through tough situations like bankruptcy• offers a bright moment of sharing at a bus stop• able to pass it onto others – not just for self• a public good, like the water fountains

notice the happy faces!

c o n t e m p o r a r y t o o l

- physical object input

- technology that engages all senses: touch, sight, sound, smell and taste

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• a digital safebox for souvenirs of visited locations, not just photos

• makes past experiences “contemporary” whenever accessed

• samples are collected from familiar “home” sites and taken on the road to cope with homesickness in a multi-sensory way

• samples are collected from visited sites and taken home to keep them “alive” to the senses

“ i s ” t o o l (image squeegee)

• technology that allows for expressivity

• technologies that are easily sharable with friends

• CE that interact with the environment, not just exist in them

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• leaves temporary digital artwork on certain prepared surfaces

• allows visual tagging and creative expression by people without permanently altering or damaging the environment

• a playful way of attracting the attention of others sharing the same space

• having an “impact” on your world

• sharing your technologies with friends

v a c u u m t o o l

s

• being “tuned out” is as important as being “tuned in”

• quiet technologies

s a m p l e s c e n a r i o s

• wearable device that creates a temporary “vacuum”

• offers “peace and quiet” by blocking both physical and digital chaos

• lets others know you wish to be left alone

o n e – t i m e t o o l

- disposable digital devices

- don’t want to carry it around all the time – easy to find and use

- designed for travel (similar to disposable cameras)

- escape a key use for technologies

META-THEMES• Efficiency isn’t THE ONLY driver for device use• A key usage model is “reduce “noise” - simplify

– Real noise, visual noise, social noise, spiritual noise etc

• Escape remains a key usage model• Naturalness of use and ease of input are key to usages

– direct manipulation a desirable aspect of UI– keep it physical– multi-sensory

• Sharing with others/ connecting an important part of most uses, either the device, the experience or the output of the device

• Not one size fits all– Minimally gendered and generational objects, places and usage models

• “roles” too – hotel conference guest, couple guests, desk clerk, maid, concierge

– Smaller/easy to carry objects were preferred– “broad” – “fine” usages

• Everyone assumed an infrastructurally rich environment but this could be a dangerous assumption in designing for CE

• Many uses and scenarios involved seamless cross media/ not single app/cross device use in order to work

• People want control over their lives and their environment – technologies that enable• Designing for super powers ( x-ray vision – see through buildings, invisibility – nothing

bothers you as you move through space, strength – repelling attackers, time travel etc) is an effective way to think about innovative technologies in specific contexts