I have done some reading about interaction and made some interactive project so far. However, do I really understand what is the interaction? There is a necessity for me to rethink what interaction really is so as to have a better understanding and guidance for my final project. In my early group project this semester, my initial definition of interaction is that interaction should be a dynamic process which involves two parts of input and output. It is really simple: interaction, by this definition, is more like a conversation. I reached to this definition because I drew some inspiration from the first week’s reading. According to Crawford, interactivity is “a cyclic process in which two actors alternately listen, think, and speak. The quality of the interaction depends on the quality of each of the subtasks (listening, thinking, and speaking) (1)”. I designed my midterm project based on this initial definition. First, for my midterm project, we both have input side and output side. The process that users throw a ball is the input. The led lighting up and buzzer working is the output. The whole gaming process is dynamic for sure. So I think my project explains this definition pretty well.
To explore more about interaction, I research two interactive projects on YouTube. The first one is to Click Canvas overall project interaction, which is a project allowing many users to click many LED rectangle together to draw or just simple interaction. I think this project is very good as an interactive project. Because firstly it is aligned with my initial definition. What is more, is that this project enlightens me to evolve my definition of interaction. My initial definition of interaction just simple mentions “input” and “output”. But how many “input”? Or in other words, how many users can make input at the same time? Besides, can the output not be just simple, fixed feedback to input side? Can we design and create artificial output? These are all the aspects that I ignore to think about when I give a definition to interaction. This project that I research first makes me change my definition a little: Interaction is a dynamic process including a number of inputs and outputs which in a different pattern of manifestation.
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j5Cqc82Gag
My second research project is Projective Game Surface, which is a projection game. It shows the characteristic that I have already realized: interaction is a dynamic process. In this project, two players need to keep moving to win the game. The interactive progress is constant, not only constant in the interaction between users and machines, but also in the one between user and user. This perfectly explains my initial definition and the definition given by Crawford—interaction is a continuing process which requires the users to keep making input and receiving output.
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27d-k1h5oug
In conclusion, what is an interaction? My newest definition of interaction is: interaction is a constant, dynamic process including one or many inputs and outputs which is a different pattern of manifestation; this process can happen between people and machine, people and people.
Sources:
1. Click Canvas overall project interaction
2. Projective Game Surface – Human Technology Interaction Project Work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27d-k1h5oug
3. The Art of Interactive Design, Crawford (pages 1-5)
http://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/ima-wp/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/05164121/The-Art-of-Interactive-Design-brief.pdf