Abstract
Physical gaming is a genre of computer games that has recently been made available for the home. But what does it mean to bring games home that were originally designed for play in the arcade? This paper describes an empirical study that looks at physical gaming and how it finds its place in the home. We discuss the findings from this study by organizing them around four topics: the adoption of the game, its unique spatial needs, the tension between visibility and availability of the game, and what it means to play among what we describe as the gaming circle, or players and non-players alike. Finally, we discuss how physical gaming in the home surfaces questions and issues for householders and researchers around adoption, gender and both space and place.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams P. (1992) Television as Gathering Place. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 82(1):117–135
Bell G., M. Blythe, P. Sengers (2005) Making by Making Strange: Defamiliarization and the Design of Domestic Technologies. Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 12(2):149–173
Benford S., C. Greenhalgh, M. Craven, G. Walker, T. Regan, J. Morphett, J. Wyver (2000) Inhabited Television: Broadcasting Interaction from Within Collaborative Virtual Environments. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 7(4):510–547
Bogost, I. (2005): The Rhetoric of Exergames. In Proceedings of the Digital Arts and Cultures, IT University Copenhagen, Denmark
Bowers, J., J. O’Brien and J. Pycock (1996): Practically Accomplishing Immersion: Cooperation in and for Virtual Environment. In M.S. Ackerman (ed.): Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work CSCW ‘96, Cambridge, MA, November 16–20, 1996, New York, NY: ACM Press, pp. 380–389
Cherny L. (1999) Conversation and Community: Chat in a Virtual World. Palo Alto, CA: CSLI Publications
Crabtree, A., T. Hemmings and T. Rodden (2003): Informing the Development of Calendar Systems for Domestic Use. In K. Kutti, E.H. Karsten, G. Fitzpatrick, P. Dourish and K. Schmidt (eds): Proceedings of the the Eighth European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2003), Helsinki, Finland, 14–18 September, 2003. Kluwer Academic Publisher, pp. 119–138
Crabtree A., T. Rodden (2004) Domestic Routines and Design for the Home, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): An International Journal 13:191–200
Crabtree, A., T. Rodden and J. Mariani (2004): Collaborating around Collections: Informing the Continued Development of Photoware. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW ‘04), Chicago, Illinois, November 6–10, 2004. ACM Press, pp. 396–405
Cummings J.N., R. Kraut (2002) Domesticating Computers and the Internet. The Information Society 18(3):221–232
Curtis, P. (1992): Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-based Virtual Realities. In Proceedings of the Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing Symposium (DIAC 92). Berkeley, CA: ACM Press
Ducheneaut, N. and R.J. Moore (2004): The Social Side of Gaming: A Study of Interaction Patterns in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 04), Chicago, Illinois, November 6–10, 2004. ACM Press, pp. 360–369
Edwards, K. and R. Grinter (2001): At Home with Ubiquitous Computing: Seven Challenges. In Proceedings of the UbiComp ‘01: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, 2001. Springer-Verlag, pp. 256–272
Flintham, M., S. Benford, R. Anastasi, T. Hemmings, A. Crabtree, C. Greenhalgh, N. Tandavanitj, M. Adams and J. Row-Farr (2003): Where on-line Meets on the Streets: Experiences with Mobile Mixed Reality Games. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI ‘03), Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 5–10, 2003. ACM Press, pp. 569–576
Flynn B. (2003) Geography of the Digital Hearth. Information, Communication and Society 6(4):551–576
Forty A. (1999): Objects of Desire: Design and Society Since 1750. Thames & Hudson
Frohlich D.M., S. Dray, A. Silverman (2001) Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Family Perspectives on the Future of the Home PC. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 54(5):701–724
Frohlich, D.M., A. Kuchinsky, C. Pering, A. Don and S. Ariss (2002): Requirements for Photoware. In M. Twidale (ed.): Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2002), New Orleans, LA, November 16–20, 2002. New York, NY: ACM Press, pp. 166–175
Grinter, R. and L. Palen (2002): Instant messaging in teen life. In Proceedings of the CSCW ‘02: Proceedings of the 2002 ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2002. ACM, pp. 21–30
Grinter R.E. (2005) Words About Images: Coordinating Community in Amateur Photography, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): Journal of Collaborative Computing, 14:161–188
Grinter, R.E., P.M. Aoki, A. Hurst, M.H. Szymanski, J.D. Thornton and A. Woodruff (2002): Revisiting the Visit: Understanding How Technology Can Shape the Museum Visit. In M. Twidale (ed.) Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2002), New Orleans, LA, November 16–20, 2002. New York, NY: ACM Press, pp. 146–155
Grinter, R.E., W.K. Edwards, M. Newman and N. Ducheneaut (2005): The Work to Make the Home Network Work. In K. Schmidt (ed.) Proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, Paris, France, 18–22 September, 2005. Kluwer Academic Press, pp. 469–488
Harper R. (ed.) (2003) Inside the Smart Home. Springer, London, UK
Harrison, S. and P. Dourish (1996): Re-place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems. In Proceedings of the CSCW ‘96: Proceedings of the 1996 ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 1996. ACM, pp. 67–76
Hindus, D. (1999): The Importance of Homes in Technology Research. In N.A. Streitz, J. Siegel, V. Hartkopf and S. Konomi (eds): Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Cooperative Buildings (CoBuild’99), Pittsburgh, PA, October 1–2, 1999. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag, pp. 199–207
Jones, S. (2003): Let the Games Begin: Gaming Technology and Entertainment among College Students, Pew Internet and American Life Project, vol. http://www.perinternet.org/, Sunday July 6, 2003
Kim, R. (2006): Video Dance Game to be Used in Schools: West Virginia taps Konami’s System to Help Fight Obesity. San Francisco Chronicle, January 25
Muramatsu J., M.S. Ackerman (1998) Computing, Social Activity, and Entertainment: A Field Study of a Game MUD. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing 7(1):87–122
Nippert-Eng C.E. (1995) Home and Work. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
O’Brien J., T. Rodden, M. Rouncefield, J. Hughes (1999) At Home with the Technology: An Ethnographic Study of a Set-top-box Trial, ACM Transactions on the Computer-Human Interaction 6(3):282–308
Palen, L., M. Salzman and E. Youngs (2000): Going Wireless: Behavior and Practice of New Mobile Phone Users. In D.G. Durand (ed.) Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2000), Philadelphia, PA, December 2–6, 2000. New York, NY: ACM Press, pp. 201–210
Reeves, S., S. Benford, C. O’Malley and M. Fraser (2005): Designing the Spectator Experience. In Proceedings of the CHI ‘05: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2005. ACM, pp. 741–750
Reid, E. (1991): Electropolis: Communication and Community on the Internet Relay Chat (Honours Thesis). University of Melbourne
Rybczynski, W. (1986): Home: A Short History of the Idea. Viking Penguin Inc
Schwartz Cowan R. (1983): More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc
Spigel, L. (1992): Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America. University of Chicago Press
Strasser, S. (2000): Never Done: A History of American Housework. Owl Books
Taylor T.D. (2001) Strange Sounds: Music, Technology and Culture. London: Routledge
Tolmie, P., J. Pycock, T. Diggins, A. Maclean and A. Karsenty (2002): Unremarkable Computing. In Proceedings of the CHI ‘02: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2002. ACM, pp. 399–406
US Census. (2000): http://www.census.gov/
Venkatesh A. (1996) Computers and other Interactive Technologies for the Home. Communications of the ACM 39(12):47–54
Venkatesh A., E. Kruse, E.C.-F. Shih (2003) The Networked Home: An Analysis of Current Developments and Future Trends. Cognition, Technology and Work 5(1):23–32
Vitalari N.P., A. Venkatesh, K. Gronhaug (1985) Computing in the Home: Shifts in the Time Allocation Patterns of Households. Communications of the ACM 28(5):512–522
Wikipedia. (2006): Dance Dance Revolution, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dance_Revolution
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all of the participants for inviting us into their homes and sharing their gaming practices with us. Additionally, we would like to thank Ginny and Thomas for patiently listening to the many versions of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sall, A., Grinter, R.E. Let’s Get Physical! In, Out and Around the Gaming Circle of Physical Gaming at Home. Comput Supported Coop Work 16, 199–229 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-007-9047-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-007-9047-2