Are We in This Together? Investigating the Relationship of Avatar Customisation, Social Presence, and Communication Outcomes in Collaborative Embodied Virtual RealitySocial virtual reality (VR) enables embodied interactions with others within 3D environments. There has been a growing amount of research on avatar appearance and its influence on social presence and user behaviour, including communicative outcomes. As the focus has often been on the effects of avatar-related intrapersonal processes, it would be necessary to shed more light on the influence of interpersonal processes behind dynamic avatar-mediated interaction. This research aimed to investigate the effects of avatar customisation on social presence and perceived relational messages during a collaborative puzzle task in immersive social VR. The strictly controlled between-subject laboratory experiment (N = 50) with two body-tracked avatar conditions (Custom vs. Assigned) was conducted. Results do not indicate that avatar customisation has a significant effect on social presence or relational communication in the collaborative task-related context. However, it is worth noting that participants in both conditions presented markedly high social presence scores and rated partners’ relational messages positively, which might have introduced a ceiling effect diminishing any potential difference in social presence between the conditions.2025AMAnna-Leena Macey et al.Collaborating in Virtual EnvironmentsCSCW
How Can Interactive Technology Help Us to Experience Joy With(in) the Forest? Towards a Taxonomy of Tech for Joyful Human-Forest InteractionsThis paper presents intermediate-level knowledge in the form of a taxonomy that highlights 12 different ways in which interactive tech might support forest-related experiences that are joyful for humans. It can inspire and provide direction for designs that aim to enrich the experiential texture of forests. The taxonomy stemmed from a reflexive analysis of 104 speculative ideas produced during a year-long co-design process, where we co-experienced and creatively engaged a diverse range forests and forest-related activities with 250+ forest-goers with varied backgrounds and sensitivities. Given that breadth of forests and populations involved, our work foregrounds a rich set of design directions that set an actionable early frame for creating tech that supports joyful human-forest interplays – one that we hope will be extended and consolidated in future research, ours and others'.2025FBFerran Altarriba Bertran et al.Tampere University, Gamification Group; Universitat de Girona, Escola Universitària ERAMHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Human-Nature Relationships through Video Games: An Exploration of Players’ Sense-MakingTechnology profoundly mediates how people feel, think and engage with nature. Here, video games are projected to become one of the most important mediums to facilitate digital human-nature interaction. In this paper, we explore how 16 players make sense of nature-in-games. Drawing from their own lived experiences, we 1) interviewed them, and 2) invited them to show us games that exemplify their conceptualisation of nature-in-games. We thematically analyse these "show-and-tell" conversations to construct three inductive themes: We arrive at an understanding that nature-in-games experiences are pluralistic, contested happenings. Participants positioned digital nature 1) as a relational other to respect, 2) as a space to reflect on humankind's current practices towards nature and 3) as a tool to escape from the lack of nature in their everyday lives. Based on our insights, we sketch out design inspirations for people wishing to augment, challenge and expand nature-in-games.2025VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere University, Gamification GroupGame UX & Player BehaviorRole-Playing & Narrative GamesHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
User Motivations to Participate in Crowdsourcing and Contribute User-generated Content on Location-based Media: A Literature ReviewLocation-based media applications such as Google Maps, Strava and Pokémon GO together have more than a billion monthly active users, and popular social media such as Snapchat and Instagram now also feature map-based content. All these media products rely on user-generated content as a core element of their service, but there is a lack of synthesis on the users' motivations to contribute this data to the platform providers. In this study, we performed a literature review to uncover users' motivations to participate in location-based crowdsourcing and contribute shared content on these platforms. Among our findings, we show that spatial and temporal aspects, social effects, technical elements, motivational mechanisms, practical value offered to the contributors and individual differences need to be considered in motivating users to contribute shared content. We present recommendations for designers, suggest which terminology to use around this topic and propose an agenda for future research.2025SLSamuli Laato et al.University of Turku, Turku School of Economics; Tampere University , Gamification GroupCrowdsourcing Task Design & Quality ControlCitizen Science & Crowdsourced DataCommunity Engagement & Civic TechnologyCHI
Traumatizing or Just Annoying? Unveiling the Spectrum of Gamer Toxicity in the StarCraft II CommunityThe aim of this work is to explore the forms of toxic behaviour that players encounter in competitive multiplayer real-time strategy (RTS) games. To this end, we carried out ethnographic observations and player interviews within the popular RTS game StarCraft II, and approached the data inductively, leading us to discover ten categories of toxic behaviour. While the harmfulness of toxic actions can be obtained as a product of severity and frequency, players' assessment of the severity of toxic behaviors was contextualized by, (1) directly observed; (2) background; and (3) extraneous factors. Following our empirical findings, we derive a conceptual model for differentiating toxicity from mildly annoying and more severe behaviors. The discovered view of toxicity challenges the prevailing paradigm of treating players' toxic behavior as a monolithic construct with a linear intensity spectrum. Instead, we advocate for a granular approach that acknowledges the underlying dynamics behind negative online behaviors.2024SLSamuli Laato et al.Tampere UniversitySocial Platform Design & User BehaviorCyberbullying & Online HarassmentCHI
Ecological In/Congruence: Becoming Sensitised to Nature in Video Games through Humanistic First-Person ResearchThe ongoing ecological crisis is the current biggest threat for our species. As we attempt to address the situation through policy, interventions, and education, we urgently need to understand how people encounter and relate to nature: As it is, in the world, and portrayed through different media. As an exemplary medium facilitating digital nature, this paper focuses on video games. Using first-person research methods, we report on the first author sensitising themselves to nature as a ubiquitous feature, theme, and actor in video games. They played eight nature-focused games for three months. Through auto-ethnography, close reading and "noticing'' (after Tsing), we make sense of their experiences using the humanistic concept of ecological (in)congruence: We draw out the relational gap and potential meanings between real nature and its virtual equivalent. Based on these insights, we outline two design impulses for how the HCI community might approach nature—within games and beyond.2024VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere UniversityGame UX & Player BehaviorSustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Exploring the association between engagement with location-based game features and getting inspired about environmental issues and natureToday, millions worldwide play popular location-based games (LBGs) such as Pokémon GO. LBGs are designed to be played outdoors, and past research has shown that they can incentivize players to travel to nature. To further explore this nature-connection, we investigated via a mixed-methods approach the connections between engagement with LBGs, inspiration and environmental awareness as follows. First, we identified relevant gamification features in Study 1. Based on the insights, we built a survey that we sent to Pokémon GO players (N=311) in Study 2. The results showed that (a) social networking features, reminders, and virtual objects were the most relevant gamification features to explain inspired by playing Pokémon GO and that (b) inspired to outdoor engagement partially mediated the relationship between inspired by playing Pokémon GO and environmental awareness. These results warrant further investigations into whether LBGs could motivate pro-environment attitudes and inspire people to care for nature.2024BKBastian Kordyaka et al.University of BremenSerious & Functional GamesSustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Playful Inspiration for a New Wave of Joyful Forest TechnologyHere we present an exploration into the playful potential of forests and how interactive tech might respond to it. Through first-person, speculative, and situated generative design methods, we engaged with a range of forestry activities to explore their capacity to afford experiences based on joy and care. An analysis of our 16 trips to the forest (and the reflections they motivated) revealed 13 play potentials [6] of human-forest interactions: 13 aspects of forestry experiences that can be intrinsically joyful. We present them clustered as 5 overarching directions that can guide the design of technology that pays more attention to nature’s inherent playful character. Our work can inspire a new wave of forest technology that transcends techno-solutionism and privileges alternative values of joy and care.2023FBFerran Altarriba Bertran et al.Technology Ethics & Critical HCISustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Designing and Using the Wild Probes Toolkit (v1) to Co-Design From-the-WildRecent research calls for new design methods and tools that respond to the idiosyncrasies of emergent design spaces. Here we address one of them: the design of nature-related technology. To facilitate increasingly situated practices in this space, we created the Wild Probes: a set of probing tools for displacing co-design into the wilderness. Our toolkit enables forestry future-making by helping forest goers to pay attention to, reflect on, ideate around, and document their forestry experiences. Here we present the design and early use of the toolkit. We hope other designers will find it useful and extend it with new Wild Probes of their own.2023FBFerran Altarriba Bertran et al.Participatory DesignHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Virtual and Augmented Reality for Environmental Sustainability: A Systematic ReviewIn recent years, extended reality (XR) technology has seen a rise in use in environmental subjects, i.e., climate change or biodiversity loss, as a potential tool to inform and engage the public with current and future environmental issues. However, research on the potential of XR technology for environmental sustainability is still in the early stages, and there is no clear synthesis of the methods studied in this field. To provide a clearer view of existing approaches and research objectives, we systematically reviewed current literature dealing with XR use in environmental topics. Although the results indicate that the volume of literature exploring XR in environmental applications is increasing, empirical evidence of its impact is limited, hindering the possibility of presently drawing significant conclusions on its potential benefits. Based on our analyses, we identified thematic, theoretical, and methodological knowledge gaps and provide a guideline to aid future research in the field.2023LCLaura D Cosio et al.Tampere UniversitySustainable HCIClimate Change Communication ToolsCHI
Longing to be the Mountain: A Scoping Review about Human-Nature Interaction for Health PurposesEngaging with nature enriches people’s life greatly, and it is a particularly powerful wellbeing activity. Unsurprisingly, researchers in HCI and beyond seek to augment and extend the relationship people have with nature through technology, to positively enhance their health as a result. In this paper, we report on a scoping review that examines research exploring health, nature, and technology research. By charting 29 papers from the last five years, we produce a situated snapshot of the current research landscape and identify three trends within the paper pool: Despite the potential for rich, experiential engagements, human-nature interaction is often understood as an endeavour that is 1) universal, 2) flattened and 3) disconnected from everyday life. We reflect on our findings to outline design opportunities for human-nature interaction that extend and re-orientate it; to design for multi-dimensional caring experiences that allow for a more-than-just-human understanding of nature.2023VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere UniversitySustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Resemblance of religion and pervasive games: A study among church employees and gamersPrevious research suggests that the experience and practices related to gaming and extended realities, and religion and spiritualism, share similarities. In this study, we explore how both the employees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (n=156) and pervasive game players (n=98) perceive and make sense of these connections. We approach the qualitative data from the perspective of Durkheim, who, similarly to how game theorists view games, views religion as a multi-faceted system that incorporates the rules, practices and communities that comprise the religion. From the data emerges the following prominent connection as perceived by both groups of informants: systems of (1) shared premise, (2) resilience and restoration, (3) symbolism, (4) extended reality and (5) day-to-day structuring. A numerical view of the data shows that 42,5% of the participants did not perceive similarities, and examination of these responses suggested that while religion and pervasive games share functional similarities, they are further apart from a substantive perspective.2023SLSamuli Laato et al.Tampere University , University of TurkuRole-Playing & Narrative GamesTechnology Ethics & Critical HCICHI
Avatar Identities and Climate Change Action in Video Games: Analysis of Mitigation and Adaptation PracticesGames are considered promising for engaging people with climate change. In virtual worlds, players can adopt empowering roles to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapt to climate impacts. However, the lack of a comprehensive exploration of existing climate-related identities and actions prevents understanding their potential. Here, we analyze 80 video games and classify avatar identities, or expected player roles, into six types. Climate selves encourage direct life changes; climate citizens are easy to identify with and imitate; climate heroes are inspirational figures upholding environmental values; empowered individuals deliberate to avoid a tragedy of the commons; authorities should consider stakeholders and the environment; and faction leaders engage in bi- or multilateral relations. Adaptation is often for decision-making profiles, while empowered individuals, authorities, and faction leaders usually face conflicting objectives. We discuss our results in relation to avatar research and provide suggestions for researchers, designers, and educators.2022DGDaniel Fernández Galeote et al.Tampere UniversityGame UX & Player BehaviorClimate Change Communication ToolsCHI
Towards the Next Generation of Gaming WearablesRecent studies on gaming wearables show that wearables can contribute to the gaming experience by bolstering performativity , facilitating social interaction, and accommodating distinct interaction modalities. Still, these studies focused on contexts such as role-playing, casual, or festival games. Stakeholder-oriented research that explores the integration of wearables for mainstream gaming platforms such as game consoles is scarce. To fill this gap, we have conducted an exploratory study through 6 participatory design workshops focusing on different aspects of wearables with 33 participants from different stakeholders. As a result, we have created fifteen design themes and three gaming wearable concepts that led to seven actionable design implications which can be adopted by designers and researchers for designing gaming wearables.2021OBOğuz 'Oz' Buruk et al.Tampere UniversityHaptic WearablesGame UX & Player BehaviorCHI
Transurbanism: Smart Cities for TranshumansThe current trends related to ‘smart cities’ are bringing the cityscapes of movies such as Blade Runner and Cyberpunk 2077 closer to our immediate reality. The question of what will the cities of the future look like is at the heart of urban studies. In parallel, a similar question is posed by (trans)humanists about the future of humanity and its possible technological enhancements. However, (trans)humanity and future cities are defined in a bi-directional dependency. Therefore, we have to answer the questions of future humans and cities simultaneously. This paper maps several ways of interacting between transhuman communities and smart cities to understand their possible effects on governing, design and society at large resulting in a framework that will work as a cautionary tale and an inspirational blueprint for imagining future urbanity.2020MTMattia Thibault et al.Smart Cities & Urban SensingTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIDIS