Paul Coulton

Bio: Paul Coulton is an academic researcher from Lancaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mobile computing & Mobile phone. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 274 publications receiving 3266 citations.

Extending cyberspace: location based games using cellular phones

Abstract: In the current market many game developers and publishers treat the cellular phone as just another platform to which they can port a console game; they ignore the exciting new possibilities cellular phones provide via their inherent ability to maintain connectivity while on the move. One possibility is to extend the virtual world of traditional video games through location-based information, which allows users to play games that incorporate knowledge of their physical location and landscape, and then provides them with the ability to interact with both real and virtual objects within that space. However, if such games are to become pervasive and if developers want their efforts to escape the bounds of the research laboratory, they must address the nature of the cellular environment, the precision of the location-based technologies in their region, and the present and likely future capabilities of cellular handsets. To aid innovative game development we draw together many fragmented sources of information for an assessment of technologies, and implementations of cellular location-based games. Further, we discuss practical mechanisms for producing a finer degree of location granularity, both through future technology and our novel implementations of systems that augment location-sensing. The first mechanism uses Bluetooth, which is already a pervasive component of mobile phones feature sets, and can be implemented without the need for client side software. The second implements the use of a future pervasive technology, RFID tags, now that commercial cellular handsets that incorporate RFID readers have emerged.

Back to the future: 10 years of design fiction

Abstract: The term design fiction was originally coined in 2005 by the Science Fiction author Bruce Sterling. In the 10 years since, design fiction has received considerable interest from a range disciplines most notably HCI which increasingly draws upon generative methods and creative practices. In this paper we consider examples of recent HCI research that refers to design fiction in order to highlight commonalities and ambiguities in how the term is interpreted and used. We argue that design fiction is a compelling and powerful concept but is inherently ambiguous. We therefore suggest strategies to disambiguate communications 'about design fiction' in order to strengthen applications 'of design fiction'.

Using a Mobile Phone as a “Wii-like” Controller for Playing Games on a Large Public Display

Abstract: Undoubtedly the biggest success amongst the recent games console releases has been the launch of the Nintendo Wii. This is arguably due to its most innovative attribute—the wireless controller or “Wiimote.” The Wiimote can be used as a versatile game controller, able to detect motion and rotation in three dimensions which allows for very innovative game play. Prior to the Wii, and with much less furor, Nokia launched its 5500 model phone which contains 3D motion sensors. Using the Sensor API library available for the Symbian OS, this sensor data can be used by developers to create interesting new control schemes for mobile games. Whilst 3D motion can be utilized for ondevice games, in this paper we present a novel system that connects these phones to large public game screens via Bluetooth where it becomes a game controller for a multiplayer game. We illustrate the potential of this system through a multiplayer driving game using the Microsoft XNA framework and present preliminary feedback on the user experience from a public trial which highlights that these controls can be both intuitive and fun.

Design fiction as world building

Abstract: Design Fiction has garnered considerable attention during recent years yet still remains pre-paradigmatic. Put differently there are concurrent,but incongruent, perspectives on what Design Fiction is and how to use it. Acknowledging this immaturity, we assert that the best way to contribute to the establishment of an evidence-based first paradigm, is by adopting a research through design approach. Thus, in this paper we describe ‘research into design fiction, done through design fiction’. This paper describes the creation of two Design Fictions through which we consider the relationship between narrative and Design Fiction and argue that links between the two are often drawn erroneously. We posit that Design Fiction is in fact a ‘world building’ activity, with no inherent link to ‘narrative’ or ‘storytelling’. The first Design Fiction explores a near future world containing a system for gamified drone-based civic enforcement and the second is based on a distant future in which hardware and algorithms capable of detecting empathy are used as part of everyday communications. By arguing it is world building, we aim to contribute towards the disambiguation of current Design Fiction discourse and the promotion of genre conventions, and, in doing so to reinforce the foundations upon which a first stable paradigm can be constructed.

PAC-LAN: mixed-reality gaming with RFID-enabled mobile phones

Abstract: RFID (Radio frequency identification) is often seen as an enabling technology for mixed-reality experiences where all kinds of objects, even the most mundane and inanimate, can be equipped to provide interaction between the real and virtual worlds. These mixed-reality experiences could occur in all aspects of our lives, but one of the most easily envisaged is that of computer games. As the mobile phone has become the computer carried in the pockets of a third of the population of the planet, it would seem a natural platform for these mixed-reality games. Further, the emergence of mobile phones that incorporate RFID readers gives the opportunity for creating games in which players interact with real physical objects, in real locations, and provides enhanced gameplay and experience. In this article we present details of a novel location- and object-enhanced mixed-reality version of the Namco arcade classic, Pacman. In particular, the article presents a comparison of the game to other mixed-reality versions of Pacman; the rationale behind specific design choices made during game design and its subsequent implementation; and an analysis of the experiences of people who have played the game. Our system highlights the possibilities via use of physical objects and the combination of mobile phones and RFID of yielding new mixed-reality entertainment experiences.

The Production of Space

Abstract: ‘The Production of Space’, in: Frans Jacobi, Imagine, Space Poetry, Copenhagen, 1996, unpaginated.

Cognition In The Wild

Abstract: Thank you very much for reading cognition in the wild. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their favorite books like this cognition in the wild, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they cope with some harmful virus inside their laptop. cognition in the wild is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers spans in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the cognition in the wild is universally compatible with any devices to read.