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The SMeFT Decks: A Card-Based Ideation Tool for Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced Play

Published: 06 April 2023 Publication History

Abstract

Increasing numbers of people have turned to playing boardgames with physically distant friends and family via technological tools, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, commercial hybrid digital boardgames (HDBs) are designed for co-located, rather than distanced, play and there is a need for more specific tools to support hybrid game design. This paper introduces the SMeFT Decks, a set of card decks to aid in the design of HDBs for distanced play, which support Story, Mechanism, Function and Technology. We describe the use of these cards for design ideation and demonstrate four game concepts for distanced play stemming from the use of these decks in participatory workshops. We report evaluative feedback from a pilot study and from 46 participants who used these cards across nine design workshops and reflect on what we learned from observing this process. Results suggest that the SMeFT Decks are a productive ideation tool for aiding in the design of HDBs for distanced play in collaborative workshop settings.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary materials: SMeFT Decks and printing instructions, and evaluation survey template (ozchi22-12 Supp Mat.zip)

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  • (2024)Evaluating the Impact of Usability Components on User Satisfaction in Educational Board Games using the MEEGA+ FrameworkInformation Management and Business Review10.22610/imbr.v16i2(I).382116:2(I)(195-206)Online publication date: 26-Jul-2024
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    OzCHI '22: Proceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
    November 2022
    373 pages
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    Published: 06 April 2023

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    OzCHI '22: 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
    November 29 - December 2, 2022
    ACT, Canberra, Australia

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    View all
    • (2024)Evaluating the Impact of Usability Components on User Satisfaction in Educational Board Games using the MEEGA+ FrameworkInformation Management and Business Review10.22610/imbr.v16i2(I).382116:2(I)(195-206)Online publication date: 26-Jul-2024
    • (2024)How Boardgame Players Imagine Interacting With TechnologyProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770788:CHI PLAY(1-24)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
    • (2024)CARDinality: Interactive Card-shaped Robots with Locomotion and Haptics using VibrationProceedings of the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3654777.3676421(1-14)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
    • (2023)Lessons from Homebrewed Hybridity: Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110227:CHI PLAY(45-72)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023

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