Juicy Haptic Design: Vibrotactile Embellishments Can Improve Player Experience in Games

Game designers and researchers employ a sophisticated language for producing great player experiences with concepts such as juiciness, which refers to excessive positive feedback. However, much of their discourse excludes the role and value of haptic feedback. In this paper, we adapt terminology from game design to study haptic feedback. Specifically, we define haptic embellishments (HEs) as haptic feedback that reinforce information already provided through other means (e.g., via visual feedback) and juicy haptics as excessive positive haptic feedback with the intention of improving user experience in games and other interactive media. We report two empirical studies of users’ experiences interacting with visuo-haptic content on their phones to 1) study participants’ preferences for ten design principles for HEs and 2) measure the added value of juicy haptics, implemented as HEs, on player experience in a game. Results indicate that juicy haptics can enhance enjoyability, aesthetic appeal, immersion, and meaning.