WEARPG: game design implications for movement-based play in table-top role-playing games with arm-worn devices

Abstract

Combining the physical and the digital is one of the most trending topics in game research in HCI. Augmenting the table-top role-playing games (TTRPG) by adding electronic devices is a growing research area, yet the introduction of new play styles is still open for exploration. We believe that integration of wearable devices and movement-based play, which are also prominent research areas for gaming, hold potential for increasing the TTRPG experience since these are observed to increase the connectedness of players to imaginary world of games by previous studies. However, such augmentation will also bring changes in game design and these changes were not investigated thorougly in previous studies. To understand how game design of such games may change due to the usage of wearables and movement-based play, we conducted a participatory design workshop with (1) 25 participants, (2) designed a new game system according to our findings and (3) evaluated it with iterative tests with 15 participants in TTRPG sessions. Our study resulted in 8 player-centered game design implications for the use of arm-worn devices and movment-based play in narrative based long-term games like TTRPG. The implications present clues about forming the narrative, regulating the rules and the functional use of the device in game mechanics.