ICY interfaces: An exploration of ice’s unique ephemeral features for digital game user experience

Abstract

As we still our minds to watch, the fleeting interactions of elements around us unfold in fascinating ways, as water evaporation makes rainbows, flowers emit fragrance upon blooming, and the rustling of leaves in the wind forms a symphony of nature’s music. In the field of interaction design, these ephemerality wonders inspire. Researchers have focused on implementing ephemeral features to user interfaces to enhance user experience and create new user behavior. These interfaces generally foster natural, ambient, and attentive interactions, yet the playful and joyous aspect of these ephemeral features in digital games has been relatively underexplored until now. This gap is addressed by ICY Interfaces, a set of three ice-made game controllers: Melting Press, Morphing Ice Pad, and Visual Melt Squish. These controllers use the transient, ever-changing nature of ice to add fun and engagement to the digital game experience. Building upon previous research and our own design findings, we delve deeper into the merits and possibilities of using ephemeral materials, particularly ice, in the design of game controllers for digital gaming. By integrating ice into the controller design, we aim to offer a novel and tactile dimension to the player-game interaction, showcasing how the ephemerality of ice enriches digital gaming with enhanced experience, playfulness, and unique interactions. We highlight ice’s playful ephemeral qualities, develop three innovative ICY Interfaces that exemplify these characteristics in gaming, and provide insights into ice’s dynamic role in enhancing gaming experiences. This work paves the way for further exploration of ephemeral materials in digital gaming environments.