Assessing the emotional experience of soap bubbles as input material for interactive games

Abstract

In this paper, we assess users' emotional experiences of real soap bubbles as input material in an interactive game. We designed a game that can be controlled via soap bubbles. In a user study we compared playing the game with bubbles versus with transparent plastic spheres as handles for input. We collected data on users' emotions and user experience by using the PANAS-X and the User Experience Questionnaire as well as by observing the participants during the interaction sessions. The study shows that the interaction with real bubbles is more playful and causes more surprise when used for the first time in a digital game.