Rhythm, Play and Interaction Design pp 79-93 | Cite as
Being Swept in
Abstract
When users first encounter an interactive application, their personal rhythms need to synchronise with and become attuned to its rhythms. Any breakdown of rhythmic synchrony at this stage can leave users confused, distracted, frustrated or bored. Often, users can’t explain this breakdown, apart from having a sense that the application “just didn’t grab” them, and it can occur no matter how interesting the work’s content may be. At the other end of the scale, the rhythms of a work can grab users so fast that they feel as if they have been taken over and possessed. An experience they might then describe as addictive. The rhythms of a beginning lead users into the patterns within a work, guiding attention and developing expectations about how these patterns might then progress. Their flow has an energy that, when combined with a user’s rhythms, pulls the interactive experience ever onwards towards whatever it is to become. Beginnings sow the seeds not just for rhythmic progression but also for its potential resolution or ending. The rhythmic flow of the beginning of a work is also a key focus in the theatre and performance practice of Clare Grant, a director, dramaturg and performer. Grant is internationally recognised as a leader in the field of experimental theatre and has worked with companies across Europe and Australasia. Her performances experiment with the boundaries between audience and performer, and often involve audience interaction. Like this chapter, Clare Grant’s interview focuses on the rhythmic processes of captivation. As she emphasises, this process is not just about grabbing attention but also about the quality of the way that you might hold that attention and then let it go. It’s about being swept in and out. Thus, it’s about rhythmically shaping both entrances and exits.
References
- Alter A (2017) Irresistible: the rise of addictive technology and the business of keeping us hooked. Penguin Press, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- Burrows J (2010) A choreographer’s handbook. Routledge, London, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- Costello B, Edmonds E (2009) A tool for characterizing the experience of play. Paper presented at the proceedings of the sixth Australasian conference on interactive entertainment, Sydney, Australia, Article 2, 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/1746050.1746052
- De Koven B (2013) The well-played game. MIT Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
- Edge Magazine (2012) The Making of limbo. http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-making-of-limbo/. Accessed 9 July 2013
- Emmerson S (2008) Pulse, meter, rhythm in electro-acoustic music. Paper presented at the electronic music studies conference 2008, Paris, FranceGoogle Scholar
- Fitch WT (2013) Rhythmic cognition in humans and animals: distinguishing meter and pulse perception. Front Syst Neurosci 7(68). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2013.00068
- Hall ET (1983) The dance of life: the other dimension of time. Anchor Books, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- Hasty CF (1997) Meter as rhythm. Oxford University Press, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- Hunicke R, LeBlanc M, Zubek R (2004) MDA: a formal approach to game design and game research. In: Fu D, Henke S, Orkin J (eds) AAAI’04: challenges in game artificial intelligence workshop, The AAAI Press, San Jose, 25–26 July 2004 pp 1–5Google Scholar
- Iyer V (2002) Embodied mind, situated cognition, and expressive microtiming in African-American music. Music Percept 19(3):387–414CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Jourdain R (1997) Music, the brain, and ecstasy: how music captures our imagination. Harper Collins, USAGoogle Scholar
- Juul J (2005) Half real. MIT Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
- Kanaga D (2012) Played meaning (concerning the spiritual in games) [blog post] 16 June 2012. http://wombflashforest.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/played-meaning-concerning-spiritual-in.html. Accessed 30 Sept 2017
- Kaschak E (2011) The mattering map: multiplicity metaphor and morphing in contextual theory and practice. Women Ther 34(1–2):6–18Google Scholar
- Konvalinka I, Vuust P, Roepstorff A, Frith CD (2010) Follow you, follow me: continuous mutual prediction and adaptation in joint tapping. Q J Exp Psychol 63(11):2220–2230. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2010.497843CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Levitin DJ (2006) This is your brain on music: the science of a human obsession. Dutton, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- London J (2004) Hearing in time: psychological aspects of musical meter. Oxford University Press, New YorkCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- McGonigal J (2007) The puppet master problem: design for real-world, mission-based gaming. In: Wardrip-Fruin N, Harrigan P (eds) Second person: role-playing and story in games and playable media. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 253–263Google Scholar
- McNeill E (2013) Exploitative game design: beyond the F2P debate. https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EMcNeill/20130809/197958/Exploitative_Game_Design_Beyond_the_F2P_Debate.php. Accessed 26 Nov 2017
- Nintendo (2007) Super Mario Galaxy. Video game. Wii. Nintendo, JapanGoogle Scholar
- Playdead (2010) Limbo. Video game. PC, PlayStation, Xbox, IOS, Android. Playdead, Denmark; Microsoft Game Studios, USAGoogle Scholar
- Ryan M, Costello B (2012) My friend scarlet. Game Cult 7(2):111–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412012440314CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Salen K, Zimmerman E (2004) Rules of play: game design fundamentals. MIT Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
- Schüll ND (2012) Addiction by design: machine gambling in Las Vegas. Princeton University Press, PrincetonGoogle Scholar
- SMG Studio (2017) Death Squared. Video game. Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch. SMG Studio, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
- Tale of Tales (2009) The Path. Video game. PC. Tale of Tales, BelgiumGoogle Scholar
- Team Meat (2010) Super Meat Boy. Video game. PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii U, Nintendo Switch. Team Meat, USAGoogle Scholar