Working around a table with others provides people cues that can be used to maintain awareness of collaborators and the progress of joint work. This collaboration can be enhanced via a digital tabletop display system—a large, horizontal display that enables input directly on its surface. These devices combine the respective advantages of traditional tables and of digital media, and provide the opportunity to automate some of the complex tasks during face-to-face collaborative activities, such as automatic update of dynamic content in a map-based simulation. In my research, I will investigate the use of automation on digital tables in complex collocated collaboration by examining a specific application scenario: collaborative board games.
To support collaboration in digital tabletop games, features such as keeping track of scores or adding, moving, and removing game pieces can be automated. This functionality allows players to focus more on collaborative tactics during game play rather than the game mechanics. Preliminary work has revealed that automation reduces workload; however, it also increases the potential for confusion, restricts flexibility, and may negatively impact the gaming experience. In collaboration with Queen’s University, this project investigates ways to improve awareness of automated actions through information visualization techniques in the context of collaborative digital tabletop board games.
People
- Betty Chang
- James R. Wallace
- Joseph Pape - Queen's University
- Phillip J. McClelland
- T.C. Nicholas Graham - Queen's University
- Stacey D. Scott
- Mark Hancock
Publications
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Chang, Y.-L. B., Scott, S. D., & Hancock, M. . (2016). Usage of Interactive Event Timelines in Collaborative Digital Tabletops Involving Automation (C. . Anslow, P. . Campos, & J. . Jorge, Eds.). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45853-3_10
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Chang, Y.-L. B., Scott, S. D., & Hancock, M. . (2014). Supporting situation awareness in collaborative tabletop systems with automation. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Interactive Tabletops & Surfaces, 185-194. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2669485.2669496
- B. Y. -L. Chang, S. D. Scott, and M. Hancock, Improving Awareness of Automated Actions using an Interactive Event Timeline, in Proc. ITS, 2013, pp. 353-356.
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Chang, Y.-L. B., Hancock, M. ., & Scott, S. D. (2012). Improving the social gaming experience by comparing physical and digital tabletop board games. Player Experience in Videogames–-Workshop in Conjunction With Fun and Games. Presented at the.
- Wallace, J. R., Pape, J. ., Chang, Y.-L. B., McClelland, P. J., Graham, T. N., Scott, S. D., & Hancock, M. . (2012). Exploring automation in digital tabletop board game. Proc. CSCW 2012 Work Companion (Poster), 231-234. New York, NY, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2141512.2141585