Contextual Inquiry-Group:一三三七
From CS 160 Fall 2008
Team
- Buda Chiou - Analysis of Tasks, Analysis of Approach
- Alan Mcreary - Interview Descriptions (First Subject), Target Users
- Jeffrey Rosen - Interview Descriptions (Second Subject), Target Users
- Mei Than - Interview Descriptions (Third Subject), Target Users
- Billy Grissom - Target Users, Problem and Solution Overview, Task Analysis Questions, Interface Design
Target Users
The target user group of this game consists of young adults who enjoy playing games. They wish to maintain their fitness, grow their fitness, or just be fit. They enjoy video games, and are willing to exercise, but have a hard time finding the motivation to do cardiovascular exercise consistently. For them, exercise and becoming fit is hard work, and is rarely fun. Games and exercise can each be very time consuming so for our target user group, it's usually one choice or the other. Often the choice is to have fun in the most direct and quickest way possible - game play.
With this in mind, we chose three users:
Alex, a 22 year old recent college graduate who loves video games and working out. While he has a strong gym routine, he can't get motivated to do cardiovascular exercise.
Eric, a 20 year old undergraduate who enjoys playing video games but has a busy schedule and has a hard time finding motivation to exercise during the little free time he has.
John, a 22 year old also a recent graduate loves games in general and already works out and is familiar with the iPhone interface.
Problem and Solution Overview
A growing number of people in the United States are either overweight or obese. Contributing to this trend is the constant arrival of new video games, which makes the idea of going outside to exercise less appealing. Our solution to this problem involves directly rewarding people for doing real cardiovascular exercise in the form of a game.
The user simply runs with an iPhone application that records their progress and rewards them with points. During the run, the player can either engage in a fighting game against the computer or against another player. The user can manage his or her points online through a website. Inside of games which support a public API, provided by the website, a user can trade in points for in-game incentives.
Contextual Inquiry - Interview Descriptions
Describe the process you followed when conducting the interviews, and environment where you observed their work. Identify tasks and themes that the customers shared in common in their work practices. Then, note anything unique about each interview and comment on the rationale behind these events.
First Subject
Eric is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. Because of an increased school workload, he has less extra time for exercise each day. He used to ride his bicycle occasionally, but his aerobic exercise now only consists of a fifteen minute walk to and from class, and short walks between classes. He is concerned about his physical shape, since he used to be very slender but has recently gained some weight as a result of his inactivity.
He enjoys playing video games, particularly multiplayer turn-based strategy games like Risk and Civilization. Eric recently purchased an iPod Touch; and for the purpose of this interview, he went through his typical use of the iPod. He commented, while using its web browser, on the inconvenience of the iPod's small keyboard and on the small inconvenience of constant scrolling - he tended to look through web pages quickly. He liked the suggestion of a game played on the iPhone (which is very similar to the iPod Touch) during exercise, offering the idea of some sort of multiplayer game.
Eric's concerns during his use of the iPod suggest that an interface with large buttons, minimal typing, and minimal scrolling may be optimal - during exercise, in particular, the ability to use an application quickly is important.
Second Subject
Alex enjoy working out; and while he has gained some muscle, he would like to increase his cardiovascular fitness. He said he has trouble biking to the hardware store without struggling, and he wants to impress a girl who works there; so panting into the store is embarrassing for him.
Asked what his history of cardiovascular exercise is, he stated that he began jumproping for about twenty minutes a day a couple months ago, but quit soon after. Now his only such exercise includes biking or walking to the RSF, which is four blocks away.
Asked why has such trouble with cardio exercise, he explained that it is hard to get motivated to do it; instead, he said, he prefers weightlifting.
Alex enjoys video games, and his favorites include Super Smash Bros., Soul Calibur IV, Metal Gear Solid IV, and GTA IV.
He made an interesting comment regarding video games - he explained that when playing GTA IV, he would often work out his virtual character; working out in real life, then, seemed redundant. Fixing that redundancy, he said, would be convenient.
Asked about whether he brings his phone to work out, he stated that he brings his iPhone to exercise already. He liked the idea of a game played concurrently with exercise.
Third Subject
John is a recent graduate of computer science and a successful software developer and partner at a Seattle based company. John doesn't have an iPhone, nor does he have a smart phone. His brother does have an iPod Touch which he is very comfortable with. He exercises by running and sometimes playing Wii Fit for which he has a female trainer. Other sports he does on occasion include football, baseball, skiing and basketball. When he runs, he runs 3 to 4 times a week or about 10 miles. One of the tools that he uses to run is Nike+ in combination with his iPod nano, which he says has been one of his biggest motivators. He had a goal to run 200 miles this year but is already well over 400 miles and is considering whether to run a half marathon. In his spare time, he watches football and basketball games, and sometimes plays football with his friends during the weekends.
John plays both board games and video games. He spends about an hour and a half on Wii fit. He also plays Rockband 2, Scrabble, Cranium and with his friends. He doesn't have an exercising plan or go to the gym. He uses his cell mostly for making and receiving text and calls, and for checking sports scores. MSNBC and ESPN are the two websites that he frequents.
His schedule seems to be pretty structured. He works late, runs home and plays Wii fit if he has time. Asked if he would run during lunch hours, he noted that he doesn't have time. He spends a lot of time with his friends, and occasionally strikes up conversations with strangers when in the mood. He enjoys competing and notes that he is especially competitive when bowling. He is not interested in changing his diet and he mostly does solo exercises. Sometimes he can get a friend to run with him, but it is a rare occasion.
Based on this initial interview, we decided that John would be the perfect candidate for a user of this sort of game, despite not actually owning an iPhone. From him we learn that he mostly prefers feedback in the form of sounds and that competing with friends in games was a thing that he desired.
Task Analysis Questions
Who is going to use the system?
People in their late teens or twenties who enjoy playing video games and have some familiarity using cell phones. They want to be able to have fun while exercising.
What tasks do they now perform?
They now either exercise sporadically or do not exercise, from a lack of motivation.
What tasks are desired?
Exercising while participating in some entertaining game for motivation.
How are the tasks learned?
The interface will be designed so that the game will be relatively straightforward to the user. For those having trouble learning the game, a help screen will provide instructions.
Where are the tasks performed?
The user first registers for an account. He then can log into the game, and either start a run or check his account status and statistics. At any time, the user can message other users or transfer accumulated points to other video games.
What’s the relationship between user & data?
Each user creates and owns a unique account, which can be checked from the game's website as well as from the iPhone. Only one person can play for a certain account at a time.
What other tools does the user have?
This application is specifically created for the iPhone, which has integrated motion-sensing technology, so there are no other devices that can be used to play this game.
How do users communicate with each other?
Users can communicate through a messaging system implemented in the game interface, for either casual chat or to organize a multiplayer game.
How often are the tasks performed?
The tasks can be performed whenever the user wants to run or check his account.
What are the time constraints on the tasks?
Time constraints depend on the user - different users will have different amounts of free time for exercise. This game can be played for either short or long running sessions.
What happens when things go wrong?
The game will display a sufficiently detailed error screen; the website will explain common problems and their solutions.
Analysis of Tasks
Easy Task:
1. Start Game(in-game):
The way to start the game is find the game application icon in iphone, which should be pretty easy for iphone's users.
2. Register an Account(out-game):
Users need to register an account before playing this game. The data generated through users’ running will be stored on the web through this account so that they can see their achievement so far and play the games on website. The register screen should appear right after user start the game, and the register process should be easy for people have any register experience.
Moderate Task:
3. Check your state(out-game):
Users can see their states via the iphone game interface in their running process, which could be used to check the distance they have run and the calories they have consumed. User also can check their states in game including their level, games points so far, and attributes. Since there are different stats for the user, it may be a little hard to find what they want to see.
4. Start your run / running process(in-game):
After loggin into the game (or for the first time, registering the game), users can see the main menu, and they can start running after pressing the "start game" button in the main menu. The buttons should not be very hard to find since they will have different color once users point to them.
Advance Task:
5.Messaging a Friend(out-game):
Users can see who are currently playing this game and send messages to them. Users can see whether they have unread messages on main menu. This task would be somewhat harder because there might be a lot of users on user list, which means it will be hard for users to find the person they want to send message to.
6. Integrating into the game(in-game):
Our game is really unique, so it would be hard for user to totally understand how to play the game or how to use the game points.
Interface Design
Our UI relies a lot on the user running. Our system will detect use the iPhone's built in hardware to treat the iPhone like a pedometer. From there, we'll be able to determine how many steps the user is taking and at what pace they're moving. We'll use this data to determine how the player's character is manipulated on he screen and how the user interacts with the game world.
In addition to this, our interface will rely a lot on the iPhones built in features. Although the tilt feature won't necessarily be used, the touch screen, and pop-up keyboard are a key addition to our interface.
Finally, because our app requires users to be active, we don't necessarily want them always looking at the screen. Although they're more than welcome to gander at the screen while they exercise we're making sure that our program provides various audio cues and sound effects to help users know what they're doing in the game while they run. There will be various sound effects for "chance" events, each one indicating a different kind of event. finally, music will play in the background that'll either speed up or slow down depending on the situation in the game.
Illustration 1: User starts the program
Scene 1: Startup Screen
This is what the user is presented with after opening the application. The user inputs their account data if they already have an account and log in. If they don't have an account then the user can register one.
Scene 2: Loading Screen
After clicking log in, the user will be presented with a loading screen. This will show a game tip as well as the game's loading progress. The bar helps user know that the program is running and hasn't hung up.
Scene 3: Main Menu
If the user's account info is valid, then the user is taken to the heart of the application; the main menu. At the top, the user's avatar as well as stats are displayed. If the user clicks on his avatar then he will be brought to a detailed stats page. The user can see their username, their level, and the amount of points they have. The bar below this is the user's progress bar. This shows their progress towards advancing to the next level. If the user would like more information, then they can click on this as well and see more information on how much farther they have to go.
The level system works a lot like how it does in other MMOs. The only difference here is that you're level system is a reflection to how far you've ran as well as how far you've progressed in the game.
Beneath this, there is a yellow box that may or may not be displayed. This yellow box shows whether or not the user has any new notifications. Notifications can range from new messages from another user, messages from the game's administrators, or notifications of a player attacking this player.
Finally, beneath this there is a list of links to the various other parts of the application. They are explained below:
- Fight CPU: This begins the running game where the user can run and generate points. This is explained in more detail in step 2.
- Fight Player: This also begins the running game, only rather than "battling" a computer, the player battles another player.
- Point Managment: Clicking this takes the user to a sub menu where they can do the following:
- Buy Weapons: The user can buy weapons. these effectively make their character's "course" harder for other players to finish.
- Buy Armor: The user can spend their points on armor. Here they can purchase items that boost their stats and help them generate more points. In addition to this, players can also purchase various pieces of "equipment" that will help their character generate points faster.
- Transfer Points: The user can send their points to their account so that their points can be used in other games such as WoW.
- Check Stats: The user can check their stats. Here they can see their ranking as well as more detailed information about how they exercise and how far they've gone and such.
- Messages: This takes the player to a sub menu where they can read their messages and send messages to other users.
Illustration 2: User starts the running game
Scene 1: Select Screen
The user selects either FIGHT CPU or FIGHT PLAYER from the main menu. After this, the user is presented with the loading screen while they wait for the game to quickly load.
Scene 2: Fight Screen
Fighting is directly related to the user's running abilities. Graphically the fight looks like a fight. The screen shows the user's character fighting against enemies on the screen as the character runs across a virtual landscape. The user controls all of this simply by walking or running. the more movement the user does, the quicker they move a long the course and slaughter more enemies (aka get more points). the slower the user goes, the slower they move across the bar and less points are gained.
In the upper right, the user is able to see how many points they've accumulated as well as how many steps they've taken. In addition to this, the user can also see how far they're traveled in the upper left. The bar in the upper left represents the user's progress towards the next level. Getting to the next level unlocks more equipment, more courses, and more opponents to battle online.
The bar at the bottom represents the length of the course. When the bar is full, the user finishes the given course (ie killed all badies) and is able to mark it as accomplished. The vertical lines on the bar represent chance sections. This is explained in detail in the next section.
Scene 3: Chance Screen
The vertical lines on the bar at the bottom are called chance sections. When the user hits these they will have the chance to score a massive number of points and jump a long the bar a bit farther. If the user misses these, however, they'll miss the opportunity, and loose some points. these chance sections require the user to do something a little more intense. This can include anything ranging from having to jump while running, spin, speed up, make a quick turn, do jumping jacks, or anything else. We understand that not everyone will be looking at the screen while running, so often a sound will alert users when a chance is about to happen. However, that being said, as courses get more difficult, the warnings can be given in shorter time and sometimes you may not even be able to see the chances on the bar at all.
In addition to this, you can fail a course if you fail too many chances. How many this is though varies.
The point of these is to keep the game fresh and new and encourage the user to mix up their run a bit.
Courses are generated depending on the enemy you fight. The game comes pre-built with various courses and will be able to random generate them. The length and intensity of these courses vary depending on the player's level. As the player progresses in level, the courses will get longer and there will be more intense challenges.
In addition to this, players will be able to challenge other player's courses. These courses are auto-generated by the program and refelect a player's stats and current equipment. That being said, players can gear their courses to be harder for others by equipping various types of equipment. This provides a sense of "never-ending gameplay" as well as a sense of challenge and competition. An elite player's course can have a lot of chance moments and require lots of active movement and reaction time.
Illustration 3: Transfer Points
Scene 1: Select Screen
The user selects POINTS MANAGEMENT from the main menu. This will enter a new sub-menu and bring up the Points Management screen.
Scene 2: Points Menu Screen
The user is brought to the points menu. Here they can purchase items and can get to the transfer point screen. They can also go back to the previous menu if they decide they do not want to manage points. In addition to this, all of the stats/avatar buttons will bring you to the appropriate places (just like how they function on the home screen). Since our user just wants to transfer points, they simply click the Transfer Points button. this will begin to take them to the Transfer Points Screen.
Scene 3: Warning Screen
The user is reminded that the points they transfer cannot be recovered. They have the option to either go back or continue on. Points they don't transfer can still be used in the game. Only points that are transfered can never be used in our game again.
Scene 4: Transfer Screen
The user enters in the number of points they want to transfer. They then select the supported game that they want to send points to. This is a set list of games that is tailored specifically to the user. When the user registers their account they have the option to link their in game accounts to their profile. This allows them to send points to their characters in these games. Thus the user can only send points to accounts that it's successfully linked. This list of games will probably be implemented with iPhone's "scrolly" list. The game names will be read form some database and then displayed in a list the user can scroll and select from. Upon completion of all of this, the user should receive a confirmation email and have access to the points in their desired game.
Analysis of Approach
Compared to most fitness games, our game can more efficiently encourage people to exercise because most fitness game need some special device like wii or other game machines, but ours game was played via iphone, which is commonly owned in America, without any other device. Moreover, although these fitness games kind of force user to exercise during the games, usually the users only have to take a few moves, and that's actually not effective for an exercise at all. Our game can encourage users (not force) to keep running for a long distance by allowing users gain some game points during the exercise to play some truely funny games, which can genuinely make users achieve their goal of exercise. Besisdes, we have a website which exclusively designed for users that can allow users to look at their achievement so far and also use the game points they got through the running to play some existing games, which means users can get fun not only during the running but also after running, and that double encourages user to do the exercise.
Although some people may think this game looks like Nike+, but it’s actually way better than that. First, instead of just showing how far the users have run, our game transfer the running distance into some game point, which can help a virtual character in the game beat the virtual monsters or other players during the running. Besides, user can play the existing games on our website by using these points, which makes running more fun and more motivated. Second, the tracker we use for this game is GPS instead of the sensor used by Nike+. The advantage of that is we can now detect if the user is actually moving, which can solve the cheating problem that may be caused by Nike+. Although users may cheat by starting the game while driving a car or riding a bike, this can be solved by restricting the speed, which means if the runner’s has exceed human’s running ability, the game system will know the user is cheater and reduce all his/her game point to 0. Besides, GPS can track if the runner is on a slope or flat, which means our game can compute the consumption of calories more accurately than the sensors, which can only detect the motion.
The disadvantage of this game is that the battle game during the running may disturb the users a little, and the although it's a kind hard and boring, users may still cheat by driving a car very slowly. Moreover, people who don't have iphone can not play this game, which may be the biggest disadventage.
