2. Table of Contents
O About Riot!
O Core Research Ideas
O Research Questions
O Key Theories of Experience
O Method
O Results and Findings
O Critical Analysis
O Conclusion
O Critique
3. About Riot!
O “Interactive play for voices” based on
location-sensitive technology
O Users receive PDA, GPS receiver &
headphones
O Explore Queen‟s Square and hear certain
sound files based on location
O Content based on historical background of
Bristol riots in 1831 England
5. Core Research Ideas
O HCI and user experience
O Usability important but so is user enjoyment and
engagement
O Analyze sensations and emotions in addition to
behavior and perception
O Value of interdisciplinary approach to exploring user
experience
O Literature, performance, education, etc.
O Relationship of content, technology, place & user
background
O Commonality (group) vs. particularity (individual)
O Experience can be designed but not standardized
O Artistic pole (controlled by designer) vs. Aesthetic pole
(user reaction, uncontrollable)
6. Research Purpose
O To investigate value of interdisciplinary
approach for exploring the commonality
and particularity of interactive user
experience with location-sensitive digital
narrative.
O Reach beyond usability to evaluate user
enjoyment and engagement (experience-
centered approach)
7. Theories of Experience
O Performance theory
O Burke: Dramatism (act, agent, scene,
agency, purpose)
O Turner: Categories of social drama (Breech,
crisis, redressive action, reintegration)
O Elements of drama help understand social
conflict and performance in daily life
8. Theories of Experience
O Museum studies
O Trend of location-sensitive media tour &
sharing experience (Tate Modern & iView)
O Theories of education
O Piaget‟s active learning
O Bruner‟s discovery learning
O Theories of play (ibid)
O Csikszentmihalyi‟s study of „flow‟
O Falk and Dierking, Interactive Experience
Model (personal/social/physical context)
9. Theories of Experience
O Literary and critical theory
O Close reading
O Theoretical accounts of narrative (more
later)
10. Method
O Questionnaire Survey
O 563 people, ages 18-55
O Broad impression, quantitative data
O Semi-structured interviews
O 30 people (individuals and groups)
O Ask how in control they felt, how being in place affected
experience and social interaction
O Ethnographic case studies
O Before: interviewed about city, art, technology
O During: „think aloud‟ during experience
O After: 1) critical reflection immediately after, 2) write email
account of experience 5 months later
O Critical Analysis
O Apply literature theories (characterization, authority and
resolution, narrative expectation)
11. Results and Findings
O From survey
O Enjoyed by most people (avg 74.5/100)
O More by younger and older rather than
middle group (20‟s and 30‟s)
O Those who found out from word of mouth &
TV enjoyed most
O Importance of expectation and anticipation
13. Results and Findings
O Understanding of system and narrative
O Not aware of multiple clips (3) per area
O Didn‟t notice logic of ordering files
O No temporal sequence, confusing
O Loose relation of scene with location
O Users made up own challenges for
experience (understanding history,
completing course, listening to all the files,
etc.)
14. Results and Findings
O Place and Content
O Location important, adds authenticity
O Content matching place important
O GPS errors -> use this ambiguity instead?
O 3 random clips per region -> not all related
to specific location -> inconsistency
15. Results and Findings
O From ethnographic studies
O Habitus: set of acquired dispositions
(social, occupational, educational
backgrounds)
O Sally (50‟s, middle class, married with
children, social service worker )
O Eva (27, environmentalist, activist, recent
graduate)
O Joe (35, working-class background)
O Tony (35, teacher, „artsy‟)
16. Results and Findings
O Sally
O Likes classical novel adaptations, high
theater (Macbeth), classical music concerts
O Enjoyed narration which sound like BBC
radio dramas (appeal to educated middle
classes)
O Rated experience as highly enjoyable like
most in her age group
17. Results and Findings
O Eva
O Thought theatrics of content sounded too
rehearsed and characters too stereotypical
O Resistance to technology (environmentalist)
O Content too mainstream for her
O But subject matter appealed to her (has
been in riots as an activist)
18. Results and Findings
O Joe
O Working-class origin, does not like high-
class culture and „artsiness‟
O Negative experience with education
O Did not like Riot! experience
O Did not like randomness, lack of structure
19. Results and Findings
O Tony
O Likes „artsiness‟, likes being challenged
O Likes „risky‟ and „radical‟ things
O Experience too mainstream for him, not
thought-provoking enough
20. Critical Analysis
O Characterization
O Clips short, characters 2D and
stereotypical
O No main character to grab interest
O Authority and Resolution
O No historical context/political analysis
O Resolution (summary of rioter deaths) in
21st century form
21. Critical Analysis
O Narrative expectation
O Linear narrative
O Most people expect beginning, middle, and end
O Not necessarily chronological
O Problems
O Stages not recognized (intro, explanation of state, initiating acts,
emotional reaction, complicating action, etc.)
O Important scenes conveyed immediately instead of towards end
where climax usually is, fly over users‟ heads
O Though linear structure is there, medium is non-linear
O Can select which scenes they want to hear next but have no
information on them
O Some successes (overlapping of meaningful related scenes,
background noise of crowd, etc.)
O Maybe non-linear content was needed instead (users move in
and out of scenes freely)
22. Conclusion
O Analysis of Riot! needed interdisciplinary approach
rather than just one theory -> more enriching UX
O Experience = technology + content + place + users‟
characteristics as group/individuals (demographic
& personal background)
O Location important (especially to Bristol natives)
O Different impression of Queen‟s Square after
experience (“psychogeography of public space as
medium for art”)
O Trend: professionals in social sciences (art, theater,
music, literature, etc.) increasingly getting involved
in designing technology
23. Critique
O Interesting to read about applying literary
theories to understanding user experience
and identifying related problems (Ex: usability)
O Feel like they are being used to prove things
that are already known
O Purpose of Riot! not really that clear
O Some theories mentioned briefly, not really
applied to case study
O Drawbacks of location-sensitive technology
(faulty GPS signal, etc.)
