UCLIC Seminar: User Experiences of Voice Interaction in Games: Identity, Power and Control

Speaker: Fraser Allison, University of Melbourne
UCL Contact: Ana Tajadura Jimenez (Visitors from outside UCL please email in advance).
Date/Time: 14 Oct 15, 15:00 - 16:00
Venue: Room 405, 66-72 Gower Street

Abstract

In the past half-decade, advances in voice recognition technology and the proliferation of consumer devices such as the Microsoft Kinect have seen a significant rise in the use of voice interaction in games. While the use of player-to-player voice is widespread and well-researched, the use of voice as an input is relatively unexplored. In this research we looked at video and textual recordings of players interacting with virtual characters using their voice. From a grounded theory analysis, we observed that user acceptance of and performance with voice interaction is bound up in subjective notions of identity, embodiment, authority and control between the user and their avatar.

Fraser Allison

Fraser Allison is a PhD student at the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces at the University of Melbourne. His research focus is the relationship between users and virtual characters, and his PhD thesis explores how this relationship affects experiences of voice interaction. Fraser completed an Honours thesis at RMIT University in 2010, on how a videogame design supports immersion and conveys a subjective experience. He has also worked for several years as a consultant and technology manager at an Australian market research consultancy.