Providing users with a sense of place – related to a specific geographic location in which one is situated, or linked to a faraway place, or even giving place-like qualities to virtual spaces such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games – has been deemed central for several forms of digital interactions. In the past decade, studies from human-computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work have specifically addressed this theme, but the scarcity of works of place specificity focusing expressly on interactive TV suggests a gap in the current research, whereas the latest developments in mobile TV would seem highly coherent with such topic. To contribute to closing this gap, some initial directions are suggested here by pointing at compatible treatments of the notion of place in related fields, for example, the design of pervasive urban games. Game designers and game scholars might provide operational concepts that help understanding the role and the potentialities of places for interactive TV. Two general types of artifacts are selected here: works that are anchored to the experience of faraway places and works that leverage the physical location in which the user is. Their analysis yields three design strategies (experience anchoring, place permeability, and distributed storytelling), offered here as “objects to think with” and to spur further research and design. By pointing at them and at other similar strategies, similarities between digital games, ITV products, and other similar artifacts emerge and allow us to speculatively trace possible future convergences.
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Measuring and designing user experience in retail and gaming virtual reality using a CAVE set-up In this project we designed and measured user experiences in a CAVE virtual reality set-up. Virtually all studies have taken the form of experiment studies and have been conducted among consumers (in total more than 1500 consumers) who had to visit the virtual world with assignments based on which behaviour has been observed and after which a survey was conducted afterwards. The studies were carried out within the three lines of inquiry: a. Branded games / in-game advertising, revealing (positive) effects of in-game advertising on attention and attitude based on logos and faces incorporated into the games. Various applications (prototypes) have been developed that stimulate the shopping experience and the interaction between shop and consumer. (b) FMCG: studies answered the question which factors influence search and choice behaviour in the supermarket. On the basis of the studies, the clients have designed new packaging and adapted existing designs, deployed new shelf layouts, developed and implemented new Retail strategies, optimized instore communication and (e) the knowledge about consumer behaviour in the supermarket within the organization has been increased. (c) Location Based Advertising: recommendations have been made for the partners concerned and the field of work on (a) development of non-intrusive pervasive/ubiquitous advertising concepts (2nd screen, LBA, gaze-based advertising etc.), (b) development of virtual test environments and associated interaction methods and (c) exploration and review of theoretical models for persuasive communication and behavioural influence. Partners: Heinz, Nokia, DVJ-Insights, Radboud University, Brand Loyalty, IRI, Talpa, TU/e, Philips
