For many trans and non-binary (NB) people video games present an important space for gender expression and exploration. Character creator interfaces (CCIs) promise one such outlet, but current theoretical vocabulary is insufficient at capturing the particular features and conditions which make NB gender expression plausible or difficult. We leverage Davis’ mechanisms and conditions framework (MCF) — an extension of affordance theory attentive to socio-technical assemblages — to analyze the ways CCIs accommodate and stymie NB gender expression. Analyzing 19 games, we find that CCIs with gender-neutral options often discourage NB gender expression, as well as reproducing cisnormative and essentialist views on gender. Yet it is also possible to find gender euphoric experiences in games with no explicit gender allowances. Based on our findings, we highlight opportunities for leveraging MCF for game design and analysis. We also outline design implications for encouraging gender play for all.
Augmented reality (AR) games hold promise for rehabilitation, yet most remain confined to laboratory studies with limited clinical uptake. Recent advances in spatial computing, especially lightweight, glasses-form-factor AR, create a timely opportunity to embed rehabilitative play into clinical practice and daily contexts. To investigate this potential, we systematically reviewed 132 applications and conducted playtesting with 14 licensed physical therapists. Our analysis revealed three ways therapists re-authored AR games: co-authored play (reshaping movements, progressions, and difficulty), situated play (adapting across specialties, conditions, and contexts), and dual play (mediating both physical recovery and psychological support). We reframe therapists’ frequent phrase—“It depends”—as a generative design principle. This study contributes a clinical reasoning–based framework and design principles and guidelines for creating personalized, situated forms of play that align with therapists’ everyday workflows and inform future lab-to-clinic translation.
Role-playing games allow players to explore a digital world through a character's eyes. For minority groups, such as queer players, representation is not a given when playing popular role-playing games. We surveyed a diverse sample of 464 queer and non-queer players and followed up with 31 in-depth interviews. We asked players about their perspectives on their characters' gender and sexual orientation. The quantitative results showed that cisgender men were the least likely group to find gender representation important and heterosexual players were least likely to consider the representation of sexual orientation as important. However, following up with a thematic analysis, we note many nuances and within-group differences. We identify four themes of how players of all identities view character creation—the character as a shield, a guide, a portrayal, and a creation—and discuss how digital games can improve character design and character creation options.
Dialect bias is pervasive yet often unconscious, normalized, or obscured by masking. Existing HCI interventions primarily audit disparities and propose reactive fixes. We present CompassioMate, a dialect-aware serious game that nurtures perspective-taking through AI-mediated play. Players listen to audio samples to identify regional dialects, engage in simulated social interactions involving dialect discrimination, and explore branching narratives that reveal how changes in wording or stance can influence the outcomes. In a three-week field study with 20 university students, participants reported feeling comfortable when observing region-tailored dialogues; several described experiencing perspective change. We contribute: 1) a formative study identifying goals for safe action consequence modelling, 2) the design and evaluation of a serious game integrating dialect audio, region-mapping play, bias; and 3) design implications highlighting listener-side training, transparent evaluation, and narratives maintaining psychological well-being.
The call for novel approaches in participatory design (PD) and co-design (CD) as well as in educational settings has become louder in recent years, especially when it comes to considerations of empowerment and inclusion of marginalized perspectives. Co-designing edularps (educational live-action roleplaying games) is an innovative approach that could be used in both settings. This paper reports on the combination of three studies carried out in an educational context focusing on design thinking. Findings include indications that through co-designing edularps cooperation and creativity can be practiced, and empowerment and intrinsic motivation can be experienced. Cooperation, creativity, and empowerment are essential aspects in PD and CD as well as in education for future skills and design thinking. Intrinsic motivation is relevant in educational settings since it correlates with successful learning. This paper focuses on an evaluative examination of how co-design of edularps influences the practice and fostering of creativity, collaboration, empowerment, and intrinsic motivation. Based on the findings, incorporating edularp co-design into the repertoire of tools used in PD, CD, and educational settings is recommended.
Video game archaeology is a relatively new field. This can involve studying players through the traces they leave in digital game worlds, though only limited work of this kind exists. Furthermore, the potential of these methods to record ephemeral play experiences for preservation purposes has not been widely explored. We conducted an archaeological survey of five sites in Elden Ring, taking place directly before, during and after the release of a major expansion. We present what is, to our knowledge, the first collaborative autoethnography of an archaeological survey in a video game, reflecting on our recorded footage, notes and data. Through a diffractive analysis, we demonstrate the value of video game archaeology as a form of hauntological practice that allows for a deeper reflection on the knowledge production process, and in doing so contribute to the development of new interdisciplinary methodologies in HCI, archaeology and games research.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children often experience substantial difficulty adapting to unfamiliar environments and complex sensory input. To support skill execution and transfer across varying contexts, we developed PanoVR, a panoramic virtual reality (VR) system that gradually modulates multi-sensory stimulation. In a four-week longitudinal study, 11 children with ASD completed training sessions progressing from familiar to semi-familiar and unfamiliar scenes. Behavioral results showed continuous improvement in task performance, while behavioral patterns remain stable, indicating that increased environmental complexity did not introduce additional variability. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) analyses revealed significant reductions in global effective connectivity (EC) and decreased between-participant variability, suggesting a shift toward more efficient, lower-load coordination across brain regions. These findings indicate that gradual multi-sensory modulation can enhance behavioral performance and neural efficiency, enabling strategies learned in familiar settings to transfer to more challenging contexts. The results provide practical implications for designing adaptive VR-based interventions for ASD.