Concept

I conceptualized a haptic gaming interface- Joypult.

Joypult is a slightly futuristic approach to gaming in a ubiquitous, pervasive computing gaming world, where the gaming environment can be anywhere and anything, including the window of your room, the console of your monitor, car wind shield, or your Television screen.

Joypult is an analog stress relieving (both mental and physical stress ) gaming interface for short breaks can be utilized for playing quick access, quick start up and short term, non-strategic games, direction and pressure based games.Can be easily used to play bowling,bow and arrow and clickomania.

It has got a self attaching wireless connectivity to any gaming console around (pairs automatically), and gives the user the freedom to play whenever he is free.

Unlike other gaming consoles and devices, it has got zero start up time and is very easy to operate.

Its Intuitive and fun.

 

Research

To know the possibilities and existence of such a device where the analogue user inputs can be used to send signals to the output devices.I also wanted to know which technology to be used for wireless connectivity, Wifi, Bluetooth or Ultra Wide Band, etc.

I also checked on how other inputs are being given, because I wanted to give input to the gaming console through something which was not a software game interface but a hardware game interface for a software based cosole.

I wanted to understand how do I measure pressure and direction through input devices, and what all technologies were incorporated.



GAME CONTROLLERS

Game controllers consist of game pads, joysticks, gloves, steering wheels, trackballs, etc. I have grouped them together mainly because they are a distinct segment of the controller market, and most manufacturers make a range of different technologies. Some of the devices are cross-listed in other categories, but most are not. However, if this area interests you, you should at least look under the Foot Controllers, Gloves, Joysticks, Miscellaneousand Trackballs headings.



http://www.billbuxton.com/InputSources.html

 

Some Ideas

•  A simple touch me not plant on the doctors table. You touch it once and it closes it leaves, it’s a simple gaming feel.
  
  
  
• Hammering and breaking something, but that would be for extremely stressed conditions :D
• 
  
• Their habit of fiddling with something, clicking pens and tapping on the desk, gave me the idea of having a rubber-band interface for them to fiddle with.
  
• I wanted the gaming device to get attached to the gaming screen all on its own, wirelessly, so that there are no hassles on the part of connectivity.

Ideation

Now the challenge was to bring together the different parts of the process to come up with a design idea which could fulfill all of the following:

Initial Brief, Group One-Liner, and user requirements and constraints

The final idea should encompass doctors and hospital staff, but should also be able to find its application elsewhere too.



Requirements:

The following Requirements emerged for the game:

• 
  
• Single Click Gaming Interface
  
• to build a simple short term stress busting game/gaming interface
  
• Short Term
  
• Non-Strategy based
  
• Quickly accessible
  
• Quick Start,
  
• No starting or end point
  
• Not Timed
  
• Not scoring
  
• Should Give Instant Gratification. Hit me-Break me Kind of a game.
  
• No Start up time.
  
• ‘Smart’ Gaming background architecture which takes care of user priorities.
  
• Switching between the game and the normal mode should be swift.
  
• The motto is to give the user a totally free mind to have fun, and leave the rest to the game, such that it takes care of the user priorities and switches him back to normal, as and when required. 
• The typical Gaming slots for anyone in such an environment can be
  

1. Short breaks while on work, stretching etc.
   
2. Waiting for the lift
   
3. Waiting in the car for the traffic lights for some minutes, when you do nothing at all.
   
4. standing in the queue for billing at the super market while returning home.
   
5. Advertisements on the television while watching a TV show.
   

Persona Development

Name:Mr. Praveen Shetty

Profession:Doctor

Age : 30 Years

Family : Parents, Wife and small child

Loves: Cricket, Bowling

Gets no dedicated leisure time

Would love to play games but has no time

 

User Requirements

• If there has to be a game to be played by this user group it has to be played in the short time intervals which the doctor gets in between his work.
  
• The game should be non-strategy based, because strategies would increase the stress levels.
  
• The game should be quickly accessible, quick start, with no starting or end point, not timed, not scoring, but still should give instant gratification.
  
• The typical waiting slots for anyone in such an environment can be
  

1. Short breaks while on work, stretching etc.
   
2. Waiting for the lift
   
3. Waiting in the car for the traffic lights for some minutes, when you do nothing at all.
   
4. Standing in the queue for billing at the super market while returning home.
   
5. Advertisements on the television while watching a TV show.
   

• 
  
• Desktop stress busting applications are almost all the “destructive ones”. Break the things around, kill the boss, hit me.
  
• The game should be such that it requires almost no start up time, because we already have very less time to have a break.
  
• There is also a constraint that such breaks have abrupt endings, it cannot be defined by a static function at what point of time, the doctor would get an emergency call, or after how many advertisements the TV show would resume, etc.
  
• The game should be such that it takes care of the various channels and gives them way according to priority order being set by the user.
  
• The typical user group is high class, or upper middle class of the society and hence cost of the product is not a big factor to get rid of stress.
  
• Switching between the game and the normal mode should be swift.
  
• The motto is to give the user a totally free mind to have fun, and leave the rest to the game, such that it takes care of the user priorities and switches him back to normal, as and when required.
  
• Can be 4000Rs+ in its cost.
  
• The stress levels in considered cases are not too high that they cause any physical damage to objects around or cause changes in the person’s behavior.In most of the cases, the person himself/herself does not know that he/she is stressed and doesn’t even think that is suffering from a problem. But is actually suffering from balding and other side effects of stress.
  
• Users have a general habit of playing and fiddling with things like clicking their pen continuously, shaking their legs for no reason, tapping on the desk and so on.

• 
  

Analysis: Contextual Inquiry

They were stressed, which showed in their behavior and certain traits..
The users were in their work environment from morning 9 till at least 7 in the evening with no breaks for refreshing themselves from the continuous stress
The various channels which were building high stress levels were of work, patients, phone calls ( landline, intercom and personal cell phones ), attendees, nurses, emergency cases ,un-called for night shifts etc. and life does not end here, it starts again when they go home.
Most of the doctors, and hospital people were suffering from balding and severe hair loss.
Especially doctors have the stress related problems since their 10th standard, when every mark they gain is important for them to score high and maintain their position.
They do meditation to do away with stress at some points of time.