From Bin to Playin’: Give Vintage Objects a New Purpose as Game Controllers

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Authors

POKORNÝ Jan KEJSTOVÁ Magdaléna RUSŇÁK Vít KRIGLSTEIN Simone

Year of publication 2023
Type Article in Proceedings
Conference Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '23)
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Informatics

Citation
Web https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544549.3585665
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3585665
Keywords Playful interaction; upcycling; Arduino; playful game controllers
Attached files
Description Alternative game controllers offer opportunities to explore player interactions and enhance game enjoyment. This paper presents an approach to creating playful game controllers using everyday objects that have outlived their usefulness. By incorporating an Arduino microcontroller, we aimed to upcycle them and create unique controllers that can enhance the gaming experience while reducing waste and promoting sustainability. To demonstrate our approach, we created three alternative game controllers from an alarm clock, a transistor radio, and a rotary phone. We also conducted an initial user study to get feedback on the gameplay compared to traditional controllers (keyboards or mice). The results showed that our custom controllers were more enjoyable, even when participants scored lower, and that the utility, usability, and user experience were comparable to standard controllers. Further user studies are needed to ensure that the controllers are as intuitive and comfortable as possible.
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