FeelTact: Rich tactile feedback for mobile gaming
Résumé
During the design phase of a mobile game, the separation between our environment (e.g. a town) and the small screen display can be a strong constraint. For example, the player must stop to look at the screen to get information, which then can alter the dynamics of the gameplay. Typically, the solution is to incorporate this constraint into the design of the gameplay, but there are also other options to solve this disconnect issue. The FeelTact project proposes an innovative approach that does not use the screen as the primary output device. Instead, it concentrates on maximizing rich tactile feedback, as opposed to the more common vibrations already seen in other gaming devices. The FeelTact device is a new type of tactile bracelet that will drive the information a player receives. The first FeelTact game is an audiotactile mobile game based on an urban navigation system. The results are quite promising (higher scores and pleasure) and show that it is possible to access a new tactile dimension that has been underused in the past. Copyright 2011 ACM.