Games Institute at the University of Waterloo hosts uxWaterloo

On January 24, the Games Institute hosted uxWaterloo: Designing Interfaces that Compel and Motivate.

In the absence of performance or usability benefits, what compels people to interact with technology such as the red dot on our smartphone email app, the number of likes on our latest post, or the “just one more turn” button in our favourite video game? There are many lessons from psychology that we can learn about basic human needs, and what ultimately motivates interaction.

SWaGUR co-Investigator Mark Hancock  gave the keynote talk with an overview of the basic human needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. He discussed the idea that the success of novel technology is due largely to its ability to satisfy these basic human needs, and he related this concept to the lab’s research on virtual and augmented reality, 3D interaction on multi-touch tables, and applications in therapy, education, and gaming. There were also opportunities to try out some of the novel technology he talked about, including a way of enhancing virtual reality experiences with the haptic experience of physical objects.