Memories through Touch – project update 3

Welcome back to the third in a series of ‘Memories’, blogs documenting my journey throughout my research and developments on ‘Memory through Touch’ for the SDRC.

Last time, I discussed a pivot in development and the introduction of the RFID Platform. I thoroughly recommend going back to read the previous blog first if you haven’t already!
For a quick refresher, I discussed my process of pivoting and prototyping a few projects, going into detail on the RFID Platform. This forms the scaffolding to help the computer understand which objects you have interacted with.
Let’s pick up where we left off!

Garden TV

Of the two experiences prototyped, this prototype focuses on a breadth of reminiscence.

I performed a brief player experience exploration. This is a method of game design where you begin by researching an experience goal. This goal should tell you want the players of your game to feel, or be motivated by, during the game. Development is driven within the parameters of that goal.

Here, I started with an intended experience goal of “Connection to in-game characters, value built on memories” and expanded this out into a few pillars.

My methodology here is based on Player Experience Design, a module I have taught on at Abertay University with the lead Fraser Simpson

My breakdown of the PX goal, expanded into themes (pillars).

Through this exploration, I observed that the Skylanders games rewarded the player for purchasing rare figurines as noted in this article.

What if reminiscence objects in the experience became more valuable, not for their rarity or cost, but more as a measure for the amount that you have reminisced into them?

From informal discussions with people with dementia, gardening appears to be a common, enjoyable, and shared activity.

The concept that evolved from this was a garden built on memories. Observing games like Animal Crossing, I became fascinated on passive game mechanics and idle play.

How it works

Garden TV is intended to be left running on a television set, serving as a digital window frame instead of a traditional video game that you need to be sat with at all times while it’s on to operate.

Screenshot of Garden TV

The current direction for this ‘game’ is for players to pick a reminiscence object, place it on the reader, and repeatedly push a button to use it in the garden in some way, pleasing the wildlife and offering in-game reward which can then be spent on upgrading the garden.

The wildlife may then call for the player to pick an object to reminisce on, which they must find and place on the reader. This provides an opportunity for players to respond to reminiscence questions on the object’s history or tactile feel. Upon reminiscing, the object becomes more powerful within the system, offering a larger reward.

The game can then recite these responses over time. There’s no need for the game to ‘understand’ the responses. The mere act of journaling and recall could be enough here.

A diagram highlighting the role of the RFID Platform in relation to co-designed experiences.

Currently, the only functional demonstration of this prototype is a ladybug that walks around the garden. This is where you can help! By joining the study as a participant, you can help me design this. This project means nothing on its own. I can sit and come up with ideas all day. It’s important for me that this something you want to see. If you’re interested in joining, details are available at the end of this blog.
Once Upon a Time
While Garden TV is broad, only providing a means of associating meaning of physical objects to their digital counterparts, Once Upon a Time focuses on a less accessible but deeper approach to reminiscence.
I was walking through Flying Tiger and saw a set of Storytelling Dice and figured they might have some function in prototyping for this research project, so I purchased a set.

They’re work like a pack of playing cards in that they’re quite open-ended. One common method of using them I found searching online was as an improv game often.
Here is a video example I found on YouTube that best demonstrates Once Upon A Time.
The idea is simple. You roll the six dice and look at the pictograms facing up. From those pictograms, you tell a story starting with “Once upon a time…”, using the dice to tell different parts of the story.
Using this game as a base, I built out a physical prototype demonstrating the concept, keeping the technical limitations and affordances of the RFID Platform in mind.
My methodology for constructing this prototype was quite different to Garden TV.
I took an approach of adaptation, modifying (or modding) the original game rules. As inspired by Eric Zimmerman in The Rules We Break’s approach to altering the rules of tic-tac-toe (pages 81 to 83), I noted down all of the ‘rules’ and components of the original Once Upon a Time game.

• The game has six dice.
• Each die has six different pictograms.
• All dice rolled at the beginning.
• Player picks a die to tell a portion of a story.
• Story starts with “Once upon a time there was a [pictogram]…”
• Player must use all dice.
• Player must end story on selection of the final die.

From this, I added two new requirements to fit within the scope of this research:
• Reminiscence objects must be used.
• The experience should be tactile. The objects must be real!

I had an ‘aha!’ moment. What if the aim of the dice was still being creative and making up a story, but each die face had to correspond to a reminiscence object? This could encourage players to build small fictional stories constructed from fragments of real memories with connections to real objects affording a deeply personal and highly sharable means of reminiscing.

How it works

This modified version currently only exists as a physical prototype.
The game starts the same with all six dice rolled. A card is then drawn depicting that image.

Cards are then flipped over. Each card presents a couple different questions, with most having a direct question (e.g. “Can you find an object you would associate with a bag?”) and a broader question that tackles an associated subject. (e.g. “What about an object you would associate with work or school?”) Some other questions are more generic or ask you to think of different scenarios.

This is where the reminiscence part comes in.

As instructed by the questions, players must find an artefact they would associate with each card. I played this with my supervisors and found it was helpful to ask ‘why?’ or ‘what made you pick this?’ I believe it would be helpful to note answers down so they can be revisited when building the story. If you decide to become a participant, I may ask you how the objects feel to hold and what your thoughts are on this.

To demonstrate the above photograph, some examples could be:

• Knife (in response to the “What about something that reminds you of a boat or ferry trip?”)
  It reminds me of the chopping of ocean waves.

• Burger (in response to “Can you think of something that you worked hard or had to ‘climb the ladder’ to get?”)
  To eat fast food I feel like I need to work hard – or climb the ladder – before I feel I’ve earned it.

• Top Hat (in response to “What about something you use to keep warm?”)
  I wear a hat in the winter to keep warm, so I’ll pick that. Well, a top hat isn’t the warmest thing, I always wear beanies.

…and so on.

By this point, dice can be removed. An object can be selected as the ‘starting’ point and the game proceeds as normal, with the objects instead of the dice.

“Once upon a time there was a choppy night on a ferry. A man with a top hat sat in the dining hall, waiting on his food which he felt he so desperately earned. In despair, he watched the kitchen erupt. Burgers, chips, and beans scattered across the air with plates clanging on the ground like a tambourine crashing. The trip was a gift, but he never expected it to get this exciting. The man stirred, but the ocean calmed. Removing his hat, he brushed his hair back into place. Maybe next time he’ll just wear a beanie.”

With this being a physical prototype, there are some limitations.

We found it felt clunky as it took me time to search for cards. This prototype is just a physical version of the concept for use digitally; while this game might not feel laborious once produced as software, it’s clear that there are a lot of unknowns.

I am also unsure how stories could be presented, or if there should be an option to export the finished experience as a video or a written story for print.

I believe there is something here, but it needs refined. If you want to help work on this with me, let me know! Once again, details are available at the bottom of this blog.

What’s Next

In going from an unstable ‘object tracking’ prototype, I have found myself in an exciting position with lots of avenues to explore. I would like to produce a digital version of ‘Once Upon a Time’ integrated with the RFID Platform, time permitting. Further, it could be interesting to observe potential ways for the RFID Platform to share data between experiences.

For example, if you reminisce about an artefact in Once Upon a Time as part of the story creation process, there might be value in having those thoughts appear in Garden TV in context.

With lots of options comes the risk of biting off more than I can chew or veering away from initial aims. Prototyping is important but will remain as conjecture without further development. Testing and co-designing with participants will be essential.

Next, I plan on taking these developments, conducting user research, completing my literature review, and further refining the prototypes in preparation for co-design sessions.

If you, a friend, or members of a group you are a part of live with dementia and are interested in contributing to this project, please get in touch at l.oussaiden1900@abertay.ac.uk. You don’t need to know anything about design or technology, just a willingness to share your thoughts and experiences!

Thank you very much for reading. Make sure to check back next month for another update. Watch this space!

All the best,
-Lyes Oussaiden.