Information Technology Reference
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Spheres and Lenses: Activity-Based Scenario /
Narrative Approach for Design and Evaluation
of Entertainment through Engagement
Tim Marsh
1
and Bonnie Nardi
2
1
Griffith Film School, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
t.marsh@griffith.edu.au
2
Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences, University of California,
Irvine, US
nardi@ics.uci.edu
Abstract.
Building on A.N. Leontiev's original activity theory, we propose
extensions to bridge conceptual gaps to operationalize an activity-based
scenario / narrative approach leading to a universal framework to inform design
and reason about the user experience of entertainment through engagement in
task-based, as well as improvised, extemporaneous and serendipitous
interaction and gameplay.
Keywords:
activity theory, design, analysis, engagement, user experience,
interaction, gameplay, improvisation, interactive storytelling, scenario, narrative.
1
Introduction
Engagement infers positive characteristics, synonymous with quality of user
experience in interaction and gameplay [1, 18, 19]. In this paper we focus on
engagement as a means to reason about and assess quality of the user experience of
entertainment, whether positive, fun and exciting, through stimulating and thought
provoking, to difficult, scary, or darker experiences that are either pleasurable or a
necessary part of a wider whole cultural experience [15]. While engagement typically
implies flow-like interaction and gameplay with one application or game on a single
platform, observation of real-world technology use also reveals additional and
alternate patterns of engagement in interaction and play (figure 1). In the real-world
people typically engage with a range of digital platforms appropriate to the situation,
process or task at hand, shifting between applications on one or more platforms, and
even pausing momentarily to reflect, while still appearing to remain engaged. This is
especially so with the younger digital native generation who appear to seamlessly
navigate and interweave between a variety of platforms, applications and services.
While multi-platform/application use has not gone unnoticed, it is invariably
described under the broad label of multitasking, for example engagement in browsing
and online multitasking [10], and/or typically reflecting concurrent
application/platform use and with other tasks (e.g. driving). In addition, observation in
