Calibration games: making calibration tasks enjoyable by adding motivating game elements

David R. Flatla, Carl Gutwin, Lennart E. Nacke, Scott Bateman, Regan L. Mandryk

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

    196 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Interactive systems often require calibration to ensure that input and output are optimally configured. Without calibration, user performance can degrade (e.g., if an input device is not adjusted for the user's abilities), errors can increase (e.g., if color spaces are not matched), and some interactions may not be possible (e.g., use of an eye tracker). The value of calibration is often lost, however, because many calibration processes are tedious and unenjoyable, and many users avoid them altogether. To address this problem, we propose calibration games that gather calibration data in an engaging and entertaining manner. To facilitate the creation of calibration games, we present design guidelines that map common types of calibration to core tasks, and then to well-known game mechanics. To evaluate the approach, we developed three calibration games and compared them to standard procedures. Users found the game versions significantly more enjoyable than regular calibration procedures, without compromising the quality of the data. Calibration games are a novel way to motivate users to carry out calibrations, thereby improving the performance and accuracy of many human-computer systems.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationUIST'11 - Proceedings of the 24th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
    Place of PublicationNew York, USA
    PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
    Pages403-412
    Number of pages10
    ISBN (Print)9781450307161
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 14 Nov 2011
    Event24th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology - Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort , Santa Barbara, CA, United States
    Duration: 16 Oct 201119 Oct 2011
    http://uist.acm.org/uist2011/

    Conference

    Conference24th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
    Abbreviated titleUIST 2011
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CitySanta Barbara, CA
    Period16/10/1119/10/11
    Internet address

    Keywords

    • Design
    • Human factors

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Human-Computer Interaction
    • Software

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