New online stores and digital distribution methods have led to the development of alternative monetization models for video-games, such as free-to-play games with advertisements. Although there are many games using such models, until now the effect on the player experience from such interruptions has not been studied. In this controlled experiment, we requested that participants (N=236) play one of three different versions of a platformer game with: 1) no interruptions, 2) 30-second video advertisements, and 3) a multiple-choice questionnaire. We then evaluated the effects on the player experience. The study shows differences in their experiences, namely in: competence, immersion, annoyance, affects, and the reliability of the questionnaire answers. The contribution of this work is to identify which player experience variables are affected by interruptions, which can be valuable for selecting the business model and guiding the game design process.
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The concept of immersion has been widely used for the design and evaluation of user experiences. Augmented, virtual and mixed-reality environments have further sparked the discussion of immersive user experiences and underlying requirements. However, a clear definition and agreement on design criteria of immersive experiences remains debated, creating challenges to advancing our understanding of immersive experiences and how these can be designed. Based on a multidisciplinary Delphi approach, this study provides a uniform definition of immersive experiences and identifies key criteria for the design and staging thereof. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes – transition into/out of the environment, in-experience user control, environment design, user context relatedness, and user openness and motivation, that emphasise the coherency in the user-environment interaction in the immersive experience. The study proposes an immersive experience framework as a guideline for industry practitioners, outlining key design criteria for four distinct facilitators of immersive experiences–systems, spatial, empathic/social, and narrative/sequential immersion. Further research is proposed using the immersive experience framework to investigate the hierarchy of user senses to optimise experiences that blend physical and digital environments and to study triggered, desired and undesired effects on user attitude and behaviour.
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A long time ago, well before the COVID-19 pandemic, a sad, dark thing clawed its way into our social media feeds: depression memes. These memes, shared on social platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, 4chan, and TikTok, date back to as early as 2016, although it’s hard to tell precisely. What we do know is that people (meme makers) have been saying to their audience (users with or without clinical depression and/or anxiety symptoms) that it’s okay to feel horrible and that if our therapist asks ‘What do we do when we feel this way?’ we do not reply ‘Add to cart’. The online world has given us clearance to lift the taboo (slightly) on mental health issues while simultaneously educating some boomers along the way, resulting in many users using memes ever since as the life raft they can be.
Last year, in the aftermath of the pandemic, Effenaar invited sixteen musicians to explore the hybrid world during the first edition of Hybrid Music Vibes - made possible by Innovation Lab (an arrangement of Creative Industries Fund NL and ClickNL) and Stichting Cultuur Eindhoven. In this first edition, talent from the region could learn about the use of new technologies, experiment with various techniques, and the artists were also given the opportunity to realize their own concept. With the aim of providing the artist with new possibilities for expression, and thus the creation of a new relationship with the public, and thus possible revenue models. The program consists of four meetings, each of which starts with a knowledge session followed by a workshop. In the knowledge session, leading speakers (including Raynor de Groot and Tim van der Zalm) will inform the participating artists about the opportunities offered by the use of new technologies, for example in relation to 'fan engagement'. In the workshop, the artists are then challenged to apply this in their own work, working towards a concept. After the program has ended, the artists will pitch this concept and a number of artists will be selected together with the program partners and the public to realize their concept.Societal issueMusic inclusion. Help the music industry and beginning artists to make use of new immersive media technologies to create new music experiences and reach new audiences. To not be left out and only the big companies have the knowledge and means to use it.Benifit to societyNew insights how immersive technologies can create new audience connections and means for artisits to express themselves and be included in society.
There are many digital tools and online agendas that try to help people in getting a clear overview of the cultural events and venues available in their city. They generate an overview which is quite suitable for finding commercial, mainstream entertainment events but most of the time they lack the ‘in depth’ content. As such, they are quite ‘generic’ and overlook the niches and specific sub-genres that define the heart of the cultural sector of a city (and match the individual preferences of the consumer). On the other hand, larger cities, with more than 100.000 inhabitants, may have websites or apps that counter this mainstream approach but tend to be too ‘cultural’, in the sense that they focus on artistic niche cultures or on specific events for very small target audiences. Both approaches make it challenging for (starting) artists to reach their potential audiences in a structural way and in that sense ‘valorise’ their content. A combination of those approaches could work, but that leads to the problem of overchoice, and requires a better filtering system. The “Just What I Want project” aims to bridge this gap in approach and uses the knowledge of experienced parties like the Groningen Night Mayor and the conclusions that were drawn after 3 years of the existence of the Here & Now in Groningen platform to generate a new form of cultural participation. This participation is intended to suit a wide variety of audiences and their potential events as well as venues and the audience that they search for.
Media ENriched Sport ExperienceS (MENSES) creates media enriched sport experiences by introducing innovative digital concepts that combine media entertainment and live sport content What would you do to increase the experience of a live sport event? Do you think it is needed? Would you start with the visitors of the live event or the people that attend the live event through media? Why not connect the live audience with the people watching it through a medium to create a better overall experience? Media ENriched Sport ExperienceS aims to help organisations to answer the question of how live and broadcasted sport experiences can be enriched by means of new digital strategies. By combining interaction, transformation and data enrichment, the mediated and live sport events could be turned into memorable sport experiences. With a multidisciplinary team of professionals and (over 300) students, which reflects on the media knowledge on the one hand and on the leisure and live events knowledge on the other hand, as well as the skills to measure experiences, 50 concepts will be created and tested.Partners: VodafoneZIGGOCity of HilversumMediaPerspectivesUnitedBeeld & GeluidSailing Innovation CenterHuddersfield Town
