Æliens

evolution of digital entertainment

• 1953: Winky Dink (CBS) -- interactive television, drawing exercise
• 1972: Pong (Atari) -- ping-pong on computer screen
• 1977: Adventure -- text-based interactive fiction
• 1983: Dragon's Liar -- laser-disc technology 3D game
• 1989: SimCity -- interactive simulation game
• 1989: Back to the Future -- the Ride
• 1993: Doom -- 3D action game
• 1995: The Spot -- interactive web-based soap opera (Webisodic)
• 1999: IMAX3D -- back to Atlantis (Las Vegas)
• 2000: Big Brother -- TV + around the clock Web watch + voting
• 2001: FE Sites -- fun enhanced web sites

experience is fundamental to human life

communication technology

• oral -- communicate symbolic experiences
• writing -- record symbolic experiences
• paper -- portability
• print -- mass distribution
• telegraph -- remote narrow communication
• telephone -- remote analog communication
• radio -- analog broadcasting of sound
• television -- analog A/V broadcasting
• recording media -- analog recording
• digital processing -- machine enhancement
• internet -- multimedia communication

the medium was the message when only one medium could be used to communicate messages.

...

...

cyberspace

history

digital convergence

subsidiary convergences

• content -- audio, video, data
• platform -- PC, TV, internet, game machine
• distribution -- how it gets to your platform

...

convergence

• content -- 2D/3D graphics, data, video, audio
• distribution -- broadcast, wireless, DVD, internet, satelite, cable
• platform -- PC, television, game machine, wireless data pad, mobile phone

...

acronyms

• HDTV -- high definition television
• SDTV -- standard definition television
• ITV -- interactive television

a killer d-TV appliance ...

• personal television -- TiVo, Replay-TV (MPEG-2 cache)
• game machine -- Sony PS 2/3, X-Box

TV or PC

distribution

• telephone network -- from 0.5 - 2 Mbps to 60 Mpbs (2.5km)
• broadcast TV -- 6 MHz / 19 Mbps (4 channels MPEG HDTV)
• cable TV -- hybrid fiber-optic coaxial cable 6 Mbps
• fixed wireless -- 2 Mbps (radiotowers + rooftop antenna), phones/handhelds
• satellite -- downloads to 100kbps, modem for uploads ...

digital convergence

emergence

...

Google Earth

• Earth -- earth.google.com
• SketchUp -- sketchup.google.com/download.html

media as materials

technological determinism

information

(phone: 56 Kb/s, ISDN: 64-128 Kb/s, cable: 0.5-1 Mb/s, DSL: 0.5-2 Mb/s)

statistical redundancy in signal

• spatial correlation -- neighbour samples in single frame
• temporal correlation -- between segments (frames)

irrelevant information

• from perceptual point of view

B. Vasudev & W. Li, Memory management: Codecs

codec = (en)coder + decoder

  signal  -> source coder   ->  channel coder    (encoding)
  
  signal  <- source decoder <-  channel decoder  (decoding)
  

codec design problem

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tradeoffs

• pixel-based -- MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H3.20, H3.24
• object-based -- MPEG-4

MPEG-1 video compression uses both intra-frame analysis, for the compression of individual frames (which are like images), as well as. inter-frame analysis, to detect redundant blocks or invariants between frames.

frames

• I: intra-frames -- independent images
• P: computed from closest frame using DCT (or from P frame)
• B: computed from two closest P or I frames

GigaPort

• optical network technologies - models for network architecture, optical network components and light path provisioning.
• high performance routing and switching - new routing technologies and transport protocols, with a focus on scalability and stability robustness when using data-intensive applications with a high bandwidth demand.
• management and monitoring - incident response in hybrid networks (IP and optical combined) and technologies for network performance monitoring, measuring and reporting.
• grids and access - models, interfaces and protocols for user access to network and grid facilities.
• test methodology - effective testing methods and designing tests for new technologies and network components.

formats

Quicktime, introduced by Apple, early 1990s, for local viewing; RealVideo, streaming video from RealNetworks; and Windows Media, a proprietary encoding scheme fromMicrosoft.

Examples of these formats, encoded for various bitrates are available at Video at VU.

...

standards

• XML -- eXtensible Markup Language (SGML)
• MPEG-4 -- coding audio-visual information
• SMIL -- Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
• RM3D -- (Web3D) Rich Media 3D (extensions of X3D/VRML)

...

"Perhaps the most immediate need for MPEG-4 is defensive. It supplies tools with which to create uniform (and top-quality) audio and video encoders on the Internet, preempting what may become an unmanageable tangle of proprietary formats."

MPEG-4

scalability

• bitrate -- switching to lower bitrates
• bandwidth -- dynamically discard data
• encoder and decoder complexity -- signal quality

...

audiovisual information

• still images, video, audio, text
• (synthetic) talking heads and synthesized speech
• synthetic graphics and 3D scenes
• streamed data applied to media objects
• user interaction -- e.g. changes of viewpoint

example

media objects

• media objects -- units of aural, visual or audiovisual content
• composition -- to create compound media objects (audiovisual scene)
• transport -- multiplex and synchronize data associated with media objects
• interaction -- feedback from users' interaction with audiovisual scene

composition

• placing media objects anywhere in a given coordinate system
• applying transforms to change the appearance of a media object
• applying streamed data to media objects
• modifying the users viewpoint

transport

scenegraph

• BIFS (Binary Format for Scenes) -- describes spatio-temporal arrangements of (media) objects in the scene
• OD (Object Descriptor) -- defines the relationship between the elementary streams associated with an object
• event routing -- to handle user interaction

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DMIF

...

benefits

• end-users -- interactive media accross all platforms and networks
• providers -- transparent information for transport optimization
• authors -- reusable content, protection and flexibility

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XMT

• XMT contains a subset of X3D
• SMIL is mapped (incompletely) to XMT

...

SMIL

parallel and sequential

presentation characteristics

• The presentation is composed from several components that are accessible via URL's, e.g. files stored on a Web server.
• The components have different media types, such as audio, video, image or text. The begin and end times of different components are specified relative to events in other media components. For example, in a slide show, a particular slide is displayed when the narrator in the audio starts talking about it.
• Familiar looking control buttons such as stop, fast-forward and rewind allow the user to interrupt the presentation and to move forwards or backwards to another point in the presentation.
• Additional functions are "random access", i.e. the presentation can be started anywhere, and "slow motion", i.e. the presentation is played slower than at its original speed.
• The user can follow hyperlinks embedded in the presentation.

applications

• Photos taken with a digital camera can be coordinated with a commentary
• Training courses can be devised integrating voice and images.
• A Web site showing the items for sale, might show photos of the product range in turn on the screen, coupled with a voice talking about each as it appears.
• Slide presentations on the Web written in HTML might be timed so that bullet points come up in sequence at specified time intervals, changing color as they become the focus of attention.
• On-screen controls might be used to stop and start music.

example

   <par>
      <a href="#Story"> <img src="button1.jpg"/> </a>
      <a href="#Weather"> <img src="button2.jpg"/></a>
       <excl>
           <par id="Story" begin="0s">
             <video src="video1.mpg"/>
             <text src="captions.html"/>
           </par>
  
           <par id="Weather">
             <img src="weather.jpg"/>
             <audio src="weather-rpt.mp3"/>
           </par>
       </excl>
   </par>
  

history

SMIL 2.0 Modules

• The Animation Modules
• The Content Control Modules
• The Layout Modules
• The Linking Modules
• The Media Object Modules
• The Metainformation Module
• The Structure Module
• The Timing and Synchronization Module
• The Time Manipulations Module
• The Transition Effects Module

module-based reuse

• SMIL modules could be used to provide lightweight multimedia functionality on mobile phones, and to integrate timing into profiles such as the WAP forum's WML language, or XHTML Basic.
• SMIL timing, content control, and media objects could be used to coordinate broadcast and Web content in an enhanced-TV application.
• SMIL Animation is being used to integrate animation into W3C's Scalable Vector Graphics language (SVG).
• Several SMIL modules are being considered as part of a textual representation for MPEG4.

...

www.web3d.org

• VRML 1.0 -- static 3D worlds
• VRML 2.0 or VRML97 -- dynamic behaviors
• VRML200x -- extensions
• X3D -- XML syntax
• RM3D -- Rich Media in 3D

groups.yahoo.com/group/rm3d/

RM3D

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requirements

• rich media -- audio, video, images, 2D & 3D graphics (with support for temporal behavior, streaming and synchronisation)
• applicability -- specific application areas, as determined by commercial needs and experience of working group members

• interoperability -- VRML97, X3D, MPEG-4, XML (DOM access)

• object model -- common model for representation of objects and capabilities
• extensibility -- integration of new objects (defined in Java or C++), scripting capabilities and declarative content

• high-quality realtime rendering -- realtime interactive media experiences
• platform adaptability -- query function for programmatic behavior selection
• predictable behavior -- well-defined order of execution
• high precision number systems -- greater than single-precision IEEE floating point numbers
• minimal size -- download and memory footprint

SMIL is closer to the author and RM3D is closer to the implementer.

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working draft

time model

• MPEG-4 -- spring metaphor
• SMIL -- cascading time
• RM3D/VRML -- event routing

MPEG-4 -- spring metaphor

• duration -- minimal, maximal, optimal

SMIL -- cascading time

• time container -- speed, accelerate, decelerate, reverse, synchronize

  <seq speed="2.0">
     <video src="movie1.mpg" dur="10s"/>
     <video src="movie2.mpg" dur="10s"/>
     <img src="img1.jpg" begin="2s" dur="10s">
                 <animateMotion from="-100,0" to="0,0" dur="10s"/>
     </img>
     <video src="movie4.mpg" dur="10s"/>
  </seq>
  

RM3D/VRML -- event routing

• TimeSensor -- isActive, start, end, cycleTime, fraction, loop

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4 generations of GPU

• Before the introduction of the GPU, there only existed very expensive specialized hardware such as the machines from SGI.
• The first generation of GPU, including NVIDIA TNT2, ATI Rage and 3dfx Voodoo3, only supported rasterizing pre-transformed triangles and some limited texture operations.
• The second generation of GPUs, which were introduced around 1999, included the NVIDIA GeForce 2 and ATI Radeon 7500. They allowed for both 3D vertex transformations and some lighting, conformant with OpenGL and DirectX 7.
• The tird generation GPUs, including NVIDIA GeForce 3, Microsoft Xbox and ATI Radeon 8500, included both powerful vertex processing capabilities and some pixel-based configuration operations, exceeding those of OpenGL and DirectX 7.
• Finally, the fourth generation of GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GeForce FX and ATI Radeon 9700, allow for both complex vertex and pixel operations.

graphics pipeline

1. vertex transformation -- apply world, view, projection transforms
2. assembly and rasterization -- combine, clip and determine pixel locations
3. fragment texturing and coloring -- determine pixel colors
4. raster operations -- update pixel values

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HLSL declarations

  texture tex;
  float4x4 wvp;	// World * View * Projection matrix
  
  sampler tex_sampler = sampler_state
  {
      texture = /;    
  };
  

vertex shader data flow

  struct vsinput {
      float4 position : POSITION; 
      float3 normal : NORMAL; 
      float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
  };
  struct vsoutput {
      float4 position   : POSITION;   // vertex position 
      float4 color    : COLOR0;     // vertex diffuse color
      float2 uv  : TEXCOORD0;  // vertex texture coords 
  };
  

vertex shader

  vsoutput vs_id( vsinput vx ) {
      vsoutput vs;
    
      vs.position = mul(vx.position, wvp);
      vs.color = color;
      vs.uv = vx.uv; 
      
      return vs;    
  }
  

pixel shader

  struct psoutput
  {
      float4 color : COLOR0;  
  };
  
  
  psoutput ps_id( vsoutput vs ) 
  { 
      psoutput ps;
  
      ps.color = tex2D(tex_sampler, vs.uv) * vs.color;
  
      return ps;
  }
  

technique selection

  technique render_id
  {
      pass P0
      {          
          VertexShader = compile vs_1_1 vs_id();
          PixelShader  = compile ps_2_0 ps_id(); 
      }
  }
  

...

morphing (vertex) shader

     float3 spherePos = normalize(vx.position.xyz);
     float3 cubePos = 0.9 * vx.position.xyz;
  
     float t = frac(speed * time);
     t = smoothstep(0, 0.5, t) - smoothstep(0.5, 1, t);
  
     // find the interpolation factor
     float lrp = lerpMin + (lerpMax - lerpMin) * t;
  
     // linearly interpolate the position and normal
     vx.position.xyz = lerp(spherePos, cubePos, lrp);
     vx.normal = lerp(sphereNormal, cubeNormal, lrp);
  
     // apply the transformations
     vs.position = mul(wvp, vx.position);
  

coloring (pixel) shader

      float4 x = tex2D(tex_sampler, vs.uv);
      if (x.r > x.g && x.r > x.b) { x.r *= xi; x.g *= xd; x.b *= xd; }
      else  if (x.g > x.r && x.g > x.b) { x.g *= xi; x.r *= xd; x.b *= xd; }
      else  if (x.b > x.r && x.b > x.g) { x.b *= xi; x.r *= xd; x.g *= xd; }
      ps.color = x;
  

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comparative overview

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module(s)

1. climate model(s) - action script module(s)
2. game play interaction - event-handler per game event
3. video content module - video fragment(s) and interaction overlays
4. minigame(s) - flash module(s) with actionscript interface
5. Clima Futura - integration of modules 1-4, plus server-side ranking
6. adapted versions -- educational, commercial
7. multi-user version --with server-side support

interactive application(s)

• realtime interaction -- providing information
• content navigation -- providing view(s)

collada

• document(s) -- schema, asset, library, technique, ...
• geometry -- array, accessor, meshes, vertices, polygons, ...
• scene(s) -- material, light, optics, camera, imager, ...
• effect(s) -- shader, profiles, techniques, pass, ...
• animation(s) -- sampler, channel, controller, skin, morphing, ...
• physics -- collision, equation, rigid body, constraints, force, ...

Amsterdam Drugport

information

• video surveillance -- monitoring
• telephone wiretaps -- audio recording
• photography -- archive
• documents -- investigations
• transactions -- structured data
• geographic information -- locations, routes

media types

• images -- photos
• video -- surveillance
• audio -- interviews, phone tracks
• documents -- forensic, reports
• handwriting -- notes
• structured data -- transactions

retrieval

• image query -- all images with this person
• audio query -- identity of speaker
• text query -- all transactions with BANK Inc.
• video query -- all segments with victim
• complex queries -- convicted murderers with BANK transactions
• heterogeneous queries -- photograph + murderer + transaction
• complex heterogeneous queries -- in contact with + murderer + transaction

...

information retrieval

Information retrieval, according to  [IR], deals with the representation, storage, organisation of, and access to information items.

To see what is involved, imagine that we have a (user) query like:

find me the pages containg information on ...

information retrieval models

• boolean or set-theoretic models
• vector or algebraic models
• probabilistic models

vector models

• attribute term weighting scheme improves performance
• partial matching strategy allows retrieval of approximate material
• metric distance allows for sorting according to degree of similarity

image query

• obtaining descriptive information
• establishing similarity

content-based description

• objects in image
• shape descriptor -- shape/region of object
• property description -- cells in image

shape

• bounding box -- (XLB,XUB,YLB,YUB)

property

• property -- name=value

example

  shape descriptor: XLB=10; XUB=60; YLB=3; YUB=50   (rectangle)  
  property descriptor: pixel(14,7): R=5; G=1; B=3 
  

definitions

• image grid: $$ (m * n) cells of equal size
• cell property: (Name, Value, Method)

example

  property: (bwcolor,{b,w},bwalgo) 
  

...

similarity-based retrieval

solutions

• metric approach -- distance between two image objects
• transformation approach -- relative to specification

metric approach

           d(x,y) = d(y,x)
  	 d(x,y) $$<= d(x,z) + d(z,y)
  	 d(x,x) = 0
  

pixel properties

• objects with pixel properties $$ p_1,...,p_n
• pixels: $$ (x,y,v1,...,v_n)
• object contains w x h (n+2)-tuples

complexity

a set of points in k-dimensional space for k = n + 2

feature extraction

• maps object into s-dimensional space

...

transformation approach

transformation operators

   $$ to_1,...,to_r  -- translation, rotation, scaling
  

cost

• $$ cost(TS) = %S_{i=1}^{r} cost(to_{i})

distance

• $$ d(o,o') = min { cost(TS) | TS in TSeq(o,o') }

advantages

• user-defined similarity -- choice of transformation operators
• user-defined cost-function

operations

   rotate(image-id,dir,angle)
   segment(image-id, predicate)
   edit(image-id, edit-op)
  

...

image repository

• storage -- unsegmented images
• description -- limited set of features
• index -- feature-based index
• retrieval -- distance between feature vectors

mission

Our goal is to study aspects of the deployment and architecture of virtual environments as an interface to (intelligent) multimedia information systems ...

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query

• document database + string matching

problems

• synonymy -- topic T does not occur literally in document D
• polysemy -- some words may have many meanings

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effective search

• precision -- how many answers are correct
• recall -- how many of the right documents are returned

precision and recall

  precision = ( returned and relevant ) / returned  
  recall = ( returned and relevant ) / relevant 
  

anomalies

• return all documents: perfect recall, low precision
• return 'nothing': 'perfect' precision, low recall

example

complextity

reduction

• stop list -- irrelevant words
• word stems -- reduce different words to relevant part

...

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user-oriented measures

• coverage ratio -- fraction of known documents
• novelty ratio -- fraction of new (relevant) documents
• relative recall -- fraction of expected documents
• recall effort -- fraction of examined documents

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video annotation

• what are the interesting aspects?
• how do we represent this information?

video content

  video v, frame f 
  f has associated objects and activities 
  objects and activities have properties
  

property

  property: name = value 
  

object schema

   (fd,fi) -- frame-dependent and frame-independent properties 
  

object instance: (oid,os,ip)

• object-id -- oid
• object-schema -- os = (fd,fi)
• set of statements -- ip: name = v and name = v IN f

example

frame-independent properties

activity

• activity name -- id
• statements -- role = v

example

   { giver : Person, receiver : Person, item : Object } 
   giver = Jane, receiver = Dennis, object = briefcase 
  

...

video libraries

  which videos are in the library 
  what constitutes the content of each video
  what is the location of a particular video
  

query language for video libraries

• segment retrievals -- exchange of briefcase
• object retrievals -- all people in v:[s,e]
• activity retrieval -- all activities in v:[s,e]
• property-based -- find all videos with object oid

VideoSQL

  SELECT -- v:[s,e] 
  FROM -- video:<source><V> 
  WHERE -- term IN funcall 
  

example

  SELECT  vid:[s,e]
  FROM video:VidLib
  WHERE (vid,s,e) IN VideoWithObject(Dennis) AND
  	object IN ObjectsInVideo(vid,s,e) AND
  	object != Dennis AND
  	typeof(object) = Person
  

...

...

questions

• what -- content-related
• when -- position on time-continuum
• where -- geographic location

atlas of cyberspace

Dam Square, Amsterdam

• it is a 'real world' environment
• it has 700 years of (recorded) history
• it has a fair amount of historical buildings
• buildings and street life change over time

how can we give access to the 'Dam square' information space

...

virtual context

• VR model of Dam square
• selection of related paintings fromRoyalMuseum
• viewpoint adjustment, to match painting
• (transparent) overlay of paintings over buildings

augmented virtual reality

• give user sense of geographic placement of buildings
• show how multiple objects in a museum relate to eachother
• show what paintings convey about their subject, and how

problems

• organised guided tours
• account for buildings that no longer exist
• change temporal context
• allow user queries as input

VRML

• declarative means for defining geometry and appearance
• prototype abstraction mechanism
• powerful event model
• relatively strong programmatic capabilities

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virtual archeology

• variety of archeological sites
• various paths through individual site
• reconstruction of 'lost' elements
• 'discovery' of new material
• glossary -- general background knowledge

...

postmodern design

game design

• style -- develop concept, plot and visual assets for a game of choice
• content -- develop environments, models and animations for a game of choice
• effects -- develop models, textures and special effects (shaders) for a game of choice

seduction

• physio-pleasure -- of the body
• socio-pleasure -- by interaction with others
• psycho-pleasure -- due to use of the product
• ideo-pleasure -- reflecting on the experience

genre(s)

levels of design

• visceral -- what appeals to our intuition (affordance)
• behavioral -- is all about use (performance)
• reflective -- its all about message, culture and meaning

...

ICT Games Project

• Mission Rehearsal Exercise -- to solve a potential conflict after a car accident
• Language Training Simulation -- to learn how to contact local leaders in arabic

Virtual Humans Workshop

• Is it more appropriate to construct a frame of analysis that encompasses both user and ECA in a single interaction graph?
• Is it fitting to think in terms of a fixed graph that the user comes to recognize, or is the graph itself a dynamic structure?
• Is it even appropriate to focus on "affordances to act," or is it more fitting to consider cues that influence the mental interpretations that lead to action (e.g., affordances of control, affordances of valence of potential outcomes, etc.)? How does this relate to intrinsic motivation?

...

usability (ISO DIS 9241-11)

emotional involvement

• entices by diverting attention -- unlike the common
• delivers surprising novelty -- not identifiable to its function
• goes beyond obvious needs and expectations -- it becomes something else
• creates an instinctive response -- curiosity and confusion

...

...

form and content

experimental validation

• a theory -- in our case: PEFiC
• a test scenario -- for example, memory tasks in a digital dossier
• the technology -- to realize applications

validation scenario(s)

• navigation -- pure interactivity
• guided tours -- using some narrative structure
• agent-mediated -- navigation and guided tours

...

Stone and Feather

• feather: 70 cm, from ostrich, curved
• stone: 13.5 cm, white marble
• position: alignment with pedestal, no glue
• environment: 50 lux of light max.

digital dossier

Webster New World Dictionary

• dossier (dos-si-er) [ Fr < dos (back); so named because labeled on the back ] a collection of documents concerning a particular person or matter
• archive -- 1) a place where public records are kept ... 2) the records, material itself ...

...

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style issues

• what icons should be used to identify the elements of the concept graph?
• what categories and relationships are most appropriate?
• how should the information be displayed, simultaneously or more focussed?
• how do we allow the user to choose between multiple information items?
• how do we avoid visually disturbing elements?

...

user-centered design methods

usability evaluation

• learnability -- time and effort to reach level of performance
• throughput -- the amount of work done
• flexibility -- accomodating changes in the task
• attitude -- of users to the system

task world ontology

• task -- activity performed by an agent to reach a certain goal
• goal -- a desired state in the task world or system
• role -- a meaningful collection of tasks
• object -- refers to a physical or non-physical entity
• agent -- an entity that is considered active
• event -- a change in the state of the task world

...

game playing

visual culture

game programming

• game play programming
• game engine programming

game engine component(s)

• rendering system -- 2D/3D graphics
• input system -- user interaction
• sound system -- ambient and re-active
• physics system -- for the blockbusters
• animation system -- motion of objects and characters
• artificial intelligence system -- for real challenge(s)

...

fun

• in the general flow of the game experience and
• in the individual moments during a playing session.

what is a game?

interactive electronic game

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battle condition(s)

• confrontation on well-established area
• delimited in space/time
• audience/participants who judge victory/loss

design team role(s)

• manager(s) -- keep everything together
• producer(s) -- maintaining focus
• programmer(s) -- solve problem(s)
• tester(s) -- control quality
• designer(s) -- elaborate idea(s)

history

1. phase i: before space war -- hardwired
2. phase ii: spacewar on atari -- console with game
3. phase iii: game console and PC -- separate game development
4. phase iv: shakedown and consolidation -- player code in data files
5. phase v: advent of the game engine -- user level design
6. phase vi: the handheld revolution -- the GameBoy
7. phase vii: the cellular phenomenon -- larger installed user base
8. phase viii: multiplayer games -- from MUD to Everquest

...

...

virtual heroes

With regard to the use of 3D we may remark that since ancient times a walk in space has served as a mnemonic device, and as such spatial memory may aid in retention and understanding, which might also provide a decisive argument for the use of 3D in aa serious game, such as a service management game!

peace maker(s)

...

game theory

• system -- (formal) set of rules
• relation -- between player and game (affectionate)
• context -- negotiable relation with 'real world'

...

classic game (reference) model

• rules -- formal system
• outcome -- variable and quantifiable
• value -- different valorisation assignments
• effort -- in order to influence the outcome
• attachment -- emotionally attached to outcome (hooked)
• consequences -- optional and negotiable (profit?)

rules vs fiction

...

theory of interaction

effective service management game(s)

• rules -- service management protocols
• outcome -- learning process
• value -- intellectual satisfaction
• effort -- study procedures
• attachment -- corporate identity
• consequences -- job qualification

additional criteria

• scenario(s) - problem solving in service management
• reward(s) - service level agreements

game play

component framework

• holistic -- playing games as an undividable activity
• boundary -- limit the activities of people playing games
• temporal -- describe the flow of the game (interaction)
• structural -- physical and logical elements of the game system

...

pattern(s)

• resource management -- resource types, control, progress
• communication and presentation -- information, indicators
• actions and events -- control, rewards and penalties
• narrative structures and immersion -- evaluation, control, characters
• social interaction -- competition, collaboration, activities
• mastery and balancing -- planning, tradeoffs
• meta games and learning -- replayability, learning curve(s)

...

intimate media object(s)

1. glow tags -- a subtle way to trigger the person who has placed it or who sees it
2. living scrap book -- to capture and collect information and media digitally
3. picture ball -- as an object of decoration and a focus for storytelling
4. lonely planet listener -- enabling people to listen to a real time connection to another place

intimate media experience(s)

• sensorial -- experience is visual, audible, tactile, olfaric
• personalized -- objects embody meaning and memories
• analogue -- people relate to physical objects
• enhancement -- people already have extensive intimate media collections
• serendipity -- it supports unstructured and flexible usage
• longevity -- objects may exist over generations

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experience as meaning

• experience occurs during the interaction between the user(s) and the interactive system(s) in the lived environment
• designers convey meaning (consciously or unconsciously) through the appearance, interaction and function of the system
• user(s) construct a coherent whole that is a combination of sensual, cognitive, emotional and practical forms of experience