pOwerball

TLDR

pOwerball exemplifies an emerging class of computer games that use interaction style and mechanics to support social interactions among players. The study presents the design of pOwerball, an augmented reality game for children 8‑14, aimed at uniting children with and without disabilities to foster social interaction. The authors involved children in the design process, documenting their participation, challenges, and successes within the context of relevant research literature. The design case offers twofold contributions.

Abstract

This paper presents the design of pOwerball, a novel augmented reality computer game for children aged 8-14. The pOwerball was designed to bring together children with and without a physical or learning disability and to encourage social interactions surrounding the play. The contribution of this design case is two fold. From a design perspective, pOwerball exemplifies an emerging class of computer games where the interaction style and game mechanics support social interactions amongst the players. From a methodological perspective, we describe the various ways children became involved in our design process; we highlight the related difficulties and successes in the context of relevant research literature.