The drift table: designing for ludic engagement

Tools

Gaver, William; Bowers, John; Boucher, Andy; Gellerson, Hans; Pennington, Sarah; Schmidt, Albrecht; Steed, Anthony; Villar, Nicholas and Walker, Brendan. 2004. 'The drift table: designing for ludic engagement'. In: CHI 2004: Connect. Vienna, Austria. [Conference or Workshop Item]

Text
p885-gaver.pdf
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Official URL: http://www.chi2004.org/

Abstract or Description

The Drift Table is an electronic coffee table that displays slowly moving aerial photography controlled by the distribution of weight on its surface. It was designed to investigate our ideas about how technologies for the home could support ludic activities-that is, activities motivated by curiosity, exploration, and reflection rather than externally-defined tasks. The many design choices we made, for example to block or disguise utilitarian functionality, helped to articulate our emerging understanding of ludic design. Observations of the Drift Table being used in volunteers' homes over several weeks gave greater insight into how playful exploration is practically achieved and the issues involved in designing for ludic engagement.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1145/985921.985947