Introduction
The Wii remote, the game controller for the Nintendo Wii gaming console, is a popular device in human-computer interaction (HCI) research because of its 3-axis accelerometer, Bluetooth compatibility, motion sensing with infrared camera, and gesture-based interaction. These features make the Wiimote an intuitive, easily accessible device that can facilitate research in other fields of research, such as artificial intelligence, medicine, and art. For more information about the Wiimote, please visit the Wiimote Features section of the Wiimote Integration project.
Most current video games are competitive in nature. Gamers strive for being the best, the fastest, the most powerful, and so on, against other players, the computer, or a time limit. There are few games that are collaborative and non-task based, where instead of a goal there is a constant creative process.
The Wiimote already provides a different experience from traditional game controller interaction, but users still hold the mental model of the Wiimote as a game controller, which in turn encourages a competitive, game-oriented mindset. The main reason for this mindset, aside from the fact that the Wii is a game system, is the array of buttons on the Wiimote. For someone who has never seen a Wiimote before, these buttons suggest a function, and function suggests task. Coupled with the common association that games are competitive, it is hard to think of the Wiimote as an HCI device rather than a game controller.
I am interested in building interfaces that use the Wiimote to encourage a collaborative and creative mindset. By creating an art application, I hope to discover new ways of using and thinking about the Wiimote as a tangible user interface.
Previous Research
WiiArts is a collaborative artistic project that uses Wii remotes in a series of creative applications. XY axes movements with the Wiimote create expressive experiences involving a collaborative game, sounds, and videos. This project recognizes the impact and usefulness of Wiimotes outside of the competitve gaming domain and strives to encourage creative and artistic experiences using Wiimotes as a tangible user interface. It also explores the question of how to integrate the human body and computational media.
Wiimote Integration in Multimedia Applications is the predecessor to this project exploring Wiimote functions in Director and Flash. By creating demos ranging from simple games to gesture recognition, I was able to familiarize myself with programming Wiimote-PC applications and explore some of the Wiimote's limitations.
Project Overview
WiiPaint is a collaborative art application created in Flash that uses two to four Wiimotes to create sketches and shapes. It features simple features such as undo, color change, shape recognition, and scaling and rotating. In the most recent version, one Wiimote controls the brush size and changes the color based on the pitch, yaw, and roll. The other Wiimote allows the user to draw with the A button and erase with the B button. When the A button is pressed on both Wiimotes on top of a shape, that shape is locked and can be scaled or rotated by moving the Wiimotes vertically and horizontally away from each other, iPhone pinch style.
In order to encourage collaboration, the application is best projected onto a screen or a wall placed in a large room for space to move around. The ideal location for WiiPaint is in a museum or gallery setting where users can walk by the display, see the interaction, and join in or offer suggestions to users for things to try.
The vision for WiiPaint is to bring people together in the creation of digital art. The broader vision for the thesis project is to better understand and envision Wiimote capabilities in applications outside of competitive games. This can include using Wiimotes in educational software, interface navigation, or creative applications such as WiiPaint.
In order to evaluate and improve usability, different WiiPaint versions were tested with 17 users. More details can be found in the Study Results section.
Project Timeline
This timeline includes meetings with my advisors every week to two weeks for the 12 weeks of the semester to evaluate my progress and brainstorm for ideas. Most of the work involved fixing WiiPaint and conducting and evaluating the user studies.
September
Solidifying WiiPaint up to version 1.0.4 (all current features) in preparation for user studies
Research on mouse-to-Wiimote gesture recognition (I decided not to include alphabet recognition)
October
Created WiiPaint 1.1.4 to support 4 users.
Prepared and submitted IRB proposal for WiiPaint study (including consent forms, surveys, and questionnaires)
IRB approved in late October
Start first round of study sign-ups
November
More sign-ups
Testing begins, lasts for 2 weeks
Evaluate results from survey and observations
Thinking about next steps
December
WiiPaint website