What we Learned?

Suggestions:
- Wanted to be in space (with UFOs, aliens, etc.)
- Wanted to catch the fish.
- Wanted to catch butterflies.
- Wanted to be in the jungle.
- Wanted sharks! (five minutes later, we had sharks)
- Wanted more control over bubbles (eating, popping, etc.).

How engaging was the experience?
- We expected the experience to be compelling for around 1-2 minutes.
- Some just didn’t get it, weren’t interested (VERY young children the ones who didn’t recognize themselves on screen).
- Others remained engaged for between five minutes (mostly 13-year-olds) and 10 minutes (6-year-olds).
- Some 6- to 7-year-olds were REALLY excited about it the same scene kept them engaged for half an hour at a time. They’d come back later with friends and parents, talk to us when they got tired, and teach us how to tummersault.

New questions/concerns:
- Children wanted to keep the lights we gave them.
- For that matter, there’s the choking hazard for really young kids.
- Unless encouraged, people didn’t seem to move around as much as we expected. They’d see themselves on screen, and then just sit and watch what was happening. Since most of our effects are based on motion, we wonder how to encourage people to move around more.

What worked:
- Ripples in wire frame mode.
- Background music
- Green screen (despite imperfect technology)
- Dancing with strobe effect.
- Seeing yourself on-screen.

What didn’t work:
- Image feedback (children preferred to see themselves in focus).
- It wasn’t clear to the audience where they had to stand in order to be interacting with the system.
- Lighting balance was difficult to control.

Titles:
- Green Stuff Kills
- Freakazoids
- Sweat Fight
- Hot Fight
- Bubble Fight
- From The Undead To Beyond