ICY Interfaces: Exploration of Ice’s Ephemeral Features for Digital Game User Experience

As we observe, fleeting interactions unfold fascinatingly as the ice melts into transparency, scattering light into beautiful patterns. In interaction design, such ephemeral phenomena inspire the integration of transient features into interfaces to create unique user experiences. These interfaces generally foster ambient interactions, yet their potential in digital games remains relatively underexplored. We introduce ICY Interfaces—MeltPress, FrostPad, and IceSquish—gaming interfaces that utilize ice's playful ephemeral qualities to explore new dimensions in the digital game experience. Building on previous research, we conducted material exploration and a workshop with ice to investigate how its ephemerality benefits digital game interface design. Our findings from the playtest reveal how ice's physical disappearance influences gameplay interactions, its melting process enhances sensory experiences, and its unpredictability introduces engaging challenges. These results highlight the playful potential of ice in a digital game environment and underscore its role within the context of ephemeral materials and interfaces.