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An Interactive Sandbox Game about Digital Human Rights
Digital Pollution
Type
Interaction Design
Group Project
Physical Computing
Overview
This project was done in the course of Interactive Technology Design, working for Inholland in Den Haag. It aims to engage students into reflection and discussion about digital human rights in an interactive and playful way, which focuses the topic of misinformation.
Time
06/2023
Location
Delft, Nederland
Tools
ItsyBitsy
Video of the Concept
Final Prototype & Exhibition
Concept
Why "Digital Pollution"?
In the ever-expanding digital world, a dark cloud looms ominously over the virtual landscape. This nefarious force, known as misinformation, akin to toxic pollution seeping into every corner it touches, leaving chaos, confusion, and division in its wake.
Medical misinformation misleads people into making harmful decisions that can jeopardize their health and safety; Some misinformation fuels hate speech, contributing to the incitement of violence against specific communities or individuals; It might also contribute to scams, pyramid schemes, and false investment opportunities, causing financial harm to people.
Concept Description
The installation is made for students of InHolland Den Haag. Multiple elements of the game are designed to interest and engage the students. The students are now referred to as the players of the game.
The concept is based on a sandbox game. Players can interact with physical elements on a round table and see how the projection of the digital world is affected. The projection is a metaphor of a digital world which reflects the complexity of misinformation spread and the unpredictability of internet user behavior.
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At one end of the field, a shooter is placed, from which misinformation is fired and freely moves around in the world. These bullets affect internet users running across the field. Once hit by misinformation, they will be partially polluted.
Players could feel free to change their perspectives, playing either the role of misinformation or internet users during the interaction. They can change the shooter's angle to manipulate the trajectory of misinformation bullets or move magic walls to protect humans from misinformation attacks. They can also choose to be an observer, observing how different actions by people will impact the projection of the digital world.
Multiple item cards are provided, which grant superpowers to both perspectives.
Players are able to change how the shooter works through the application of different Magic Fuel Cards. Those cards represent what promotes the spread of misinformation in the digital world, which increase players’ vigilance against misinformation.
They can also modify the functionality of the magic walls by using various Magic Material Cards. Those cards each represent a method to defend against misinformation in the digital world. Therefore players will learn about different ways to protect themselves from misinformation.
Design Details
The Misinformation Perspective
Misinformation Bullets
The bullets fired by the shooter consist of individual pieces of misinformation, creating a more immersive experience for users to feel the digital world's context and the misinformation theme. The content of the misinformation may change depending on the use of different Magic Fuel Cards.
For example, when a player uses the "Gossip Bomb" card, the misinformation launched will be more focused on emotionally charged content, allowing players to obtain knowledge from the card collection in a comprehensive manner.
Misinformation Cards
Magic Fuel Cards function to refuel the shooter, so that it will work in different ways. Here are the card collection along with the effects:
When the "Bias Boomerang" card is used, the shooter fires highly biased misinformation that aligns with the confirmation biases of the masses. This misinformation exhibits a strong inclination and takes the form of a boomerang, moving back and forth in the field.
When the "Mask of Anonymity" card is used, the misinformation fired by the shooter becomes incredibly transparent, making it difficult for players to perceive and capture.
When the "Gossip Bomb" card is used, the shooter switches to throwing bombs and explosively releases emotionally charged content misinformation bullets in all directions.
When the "Speed Arrow" card is used, the speed at which the bullets are fired significantly increases, showcasing the exponential growth rate of misinformation spread on the internet.
When the "Influencer Spreader" card is used, the shooter fires multiple times the number of bullets, portraying a scenario where misinformation proliferates extensively under the manipulation of behind-the-scenes stakeholders.
When the "Chaos Catalyst" card is used, the bullets are composed of conflicting misinformation and are fired in strange directions, causing players to feel confused.
The Digital Users Perspective
The Digital Users
Groups of humans float in the digital world. Every time a group is hit by a misinformation sentence, one of the persons will become visually polluted. As they are continuously hit by misinformation bullets, their level of contamination deepens gradually. We use this visual transformation to depict the collective harm of misinformation on humans.
The Magic Material Cards
Magic Material Cards function to rebuild the walls, so that they will work in different ways. Here are the card collection along with the effects:
When the "Verification Compass" card is used, the misinformation bullets, upon hitting a wall, undergo multiple channels of detection within the wall and ultimately get debunked and destroyed. Additionally, various suggestions from reputable sources appear on the wall, providing a range of credible avenues for information.
When the "Anonymous Remover" card is used, the shooter that was modified by the "Mask of Anonymity" will have its invisible bullets restored.
When the "Emotion Earmuffs" card is used, the walls will bounce back and eliminate misinformation, while also providing a little tip on how to resist emotionally charged misinformation.
When the "Critical Thinking Mushroom" card is used, the walls will expand to increase their defensive range and enhance the critical thinking abilities of digital users, purifying a portion of their pollution.
When the "Fact-Checking Flashlight" card is used, the walls will utilize beams of light to destroy nearby misinformation and highlight the lies within them.
When the "Transparency Fire Hydrant" card is used, the walls will transform into fire hydrants and cleanse the nearby misinformation by spraying water, effectively purifying a portion of the pollution affecting digital users.
Technology
Prototype technology
The prototype technology consists of ItsyBitsy and P5.js code. The movement of the physical objects on the table are translated from gears to rotatory angle sensors, which are connected to the ItsyBitsy. Besides, two buttons are connected to activate two specific magic cards. The incoming data of the ItsyBitsy is then sent to P5.js to connect this to the visual objects in the sketch. With a beamer next to the round table and a mirror above it, the sketch is projected on the table.
Prototype p5.js code
The projection part of the prototype can be found here, click once on the screen to activate the misinformation shooter:
Recommendations
Additionally, we came up with some extra ideas that could be incorporated in the design to enhance the interactive experience even more. Before connecting it to the design, these ideas would need to be tested in iterative prototyping test sessions.
- We find it important that there is enough interactions going on on the table. Therefore, it could be nice to add more physical elements.
- It could be nice the incorporate that the whole table can be slightly lifted as well from any standpoint and having the projected objects react to it. E.g. by falling off the created slope. (something people mentioned during the exhibition)
- Adding audio to the table to enhance the feeling of engagement and understanding.
- The table should be self-explanatory. It should be tested what the users (students at Inholland) need to understand the concept. For example, we want see if putting a clear title on the edge of the table to quickly explain the core message is already enough.
- Also, the amount of misinformation and the amount of groups of humans could be iterated on to aid for the best game experience with varying players around the table
- An interactive mat or object detection could also be an option for this concept. We think it is a way to give the interaction more freedom if e.g. the walls can be placed anywhere on the table. Does it enhance the experience? Will it be accurate enough? Is it affordable? Due to time limitations, there is not enough knowledge about this to actually compare.
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