Effects of Bend Gesture Training on Learnability and Memorability in a Mobile Game

Abstract

Flexible displays are making their way into handheld devices. Users can benefit from ways of interacting with these devices using bend gestures to activate a command.However, these devices may have a higher learning curve due to their complex degree of interaction. We developed a new deformable device that detects bend gestures, and created Paper Ninja, a mobile game that is played using bends. We compared the effect of training on learnability and memorability through three conditions and attempted to validate the Guidance Hypothesis. Participants played the mobile game in two sessions and received one of the following: 1) training on how to perform bend gestures, 2) bend gesture training as well as what action mapped to the gesture, 3) no training. Our study revealed that mapping training produced a similar outcome as no training, while gesture training led to a negative outcome. Our findings suggest training is not essential for users to learn bend gesture interactions and learning by discovery is feasible.iii

HyperBrush: Exploring the Influence of Flexural Stiffness on the Performance and Preference for Bendable Stylus Interfaces

“…Utilizing objects that have the ability to twist, squeeze, rotate, or bend, introduces novel interactions that rigid interfaces cannot accomplish [7,45]. DUIs have made its statements in gaming [14,37,39], accessibility [8,13], electronic reading [46], music [17,44], drawing [37], and mobile handheld devices [14,16,29,31,37,41,45] that aspire to enhance intuitiveness, expressiveness, and either augment or replace rigid interfaces.…”