Interactivity

Presentation formats

There are many ways in which an interactive experience can be shared between presenter and audience during a virtual conference. Here we provide a few example formats. We encourage authors to explore these and other options. 

Upon submission, authors indicate their preferred format. Upon acceptance, the track chairs will engage with the authors to find the best possible, yet feasible options to deliver a virtual interactivity experience.

The basic format of the interactivity session is one in which the presenter shares a teleconferencing room with a medium sized audience. They showcase their work in as interactive a manner as possible, while interacting with the audience. A typical presentation is expected to take ~10 minutes, but this may also depend on the particular system and experience (to be discussed with the Interactivity chairs upon acceptance).

Remote controlled confederate: physical setups that cannot be screen-shared. Systems that require a physical setup (tangible interfaces; room sized playgrounds; wearable systems, etc.) cannot be played by anyone but the authors and their local confederates. Such systems can be showcased by having a confederate play with the setup; show a live video stream of their play from a fixed camera view point or by having a camera person follow the confederate while they interact with the system. While this video stream is shown in the interactivity presentation session, the author can explain and comment upon what we see and answer questions from the rest of the audience. Audience members can also request the confederate to take certain actions or try out certain things in order to get a little bit closer to some kind of a vicarious interactive experience.

Vicarious first time play experience: browser based or easy download. During the interactivity session, audience members are invited to play with the interactive system in alternation, sharing their screen while doing so, while the presenter explains what we see, answers questions from the rest of the audience, and comments on the player’s possible thinking-out-loud responses. 

Vicarious first time play experience: complex, heavy or hard to set up systems. In preparation for the interactivity session, (self-)selected conference attendants are invited to prepare for showcasing one of the interactivity submissions by downloading and installing the setup (provided their system meets the minimal requirements). During the session, these volunteers will play with the interactive system, sharing their screen while doing so, while the presenter explains what we see, answers questions from the audience, and comments on the player’s possible thinking-out-loud responses. 

Multiplayer experiences in 3rd party view. Some interactivity submissions might be a multiplayer experience. Confederates, or possibly (self) selected conference participants, can prepare by installing the system on their own machines; during the interactivity session; the presenter could then screen-share a 3rd party or birds eye view of the multiplayer game space. This allows the audience to see the actions of various players in context, or, alternately, the author could share the 1st person perspective of one player only in a screen share. In either case, the presenter can explain what we see, answer questions from the audience, and comment on the players’ possible thinking-out-loud responses.

Fallback: playthrough video with live comments by presenter. If the live experience breaks down, fails to install for the audience, or does not work for other reasons, the playthrough video will be shown (possibly looped) in the meeting room and the presenter can provide live comments and/or engage with audience questions while the video runs.