The Hunting of the Snark (2001)

The Hunting of the Snark is an adventure game, designed to promote novel forms of playing and learning, using a diversity of ambient and pervasive technologies. Working as a large multi-disciplinary group of researchers and designers, we developed a range of imaginative experiences for children, using a suite of tangibles and other technological devices.

The Hunting of the Snark game involved groups of children working in pairs to hunt an elusive, virtual creature called the Snark, in a large interactive environment. The Snark never appears in its entirety but sometimes as an emotion and other times as a personality.

It also only appears for short periods of time in a variety of magical places, including water, a cave and in the air. The Snark appears depending on what actions the children perform using certain physical objects. The Snark responds to the children’s actions in a variety of tantalizing forms. Searing animations and moving sounds appear and disappear. While interacting with the Snark the children have to capture as much of the Snark's behaviour and personality as possible using the Snarkcam.

The Snarkcam

First children used a ‘Snooper’ tool to find hidden virtual tokens that would allow them into the other activity spaces where they could interact with the ‘Snark’. When they have discovered all the virtual objects, they are then transformed into physical objects. These were food, music stones and a key.

Collecting virtual clues to find the Snark

Children then used food tokens tagged with wireless technology to ‘feed’ the Snark in a virtual pond. Animations and sound were used to depict whether the Snark liked or disliked the food it had been given.

The Snark in the water

Children also used music tokens to activate a ‘cave’, where we used pressure sensitive pad technology was placed underneath a floormat. On moving around inside the cave, various noises were created. Children had to discover which kinds of sounds the Snark liked. Again animations and sound were used to convey the emotions of
the Snark.

Finally the children wore ‘flying’ jackets embedded with multiple context sensors (accelerometers) that gather data on where the wearer is and what they are doing and to monitor their arm movements. The children could see their arm movements on a large display. Together their actions affected whether the Snark was happy, sad or bored. Again animations and sound were used to depict the feelings of the Snark.

Flying with the Snark

A number of studies with children ranging from 7-10 years, demonstrated ways in which these technologies can promote playful learning, particularly engagement, imagination, collaboration, and reflection. Analysis of the children's experiences with the Snark game also suggest that they are able to articulate 'causality' concepts of 'making the invisible visible', 'bringing the far to the near' and 'moving through traversals of physical/virtual spaces' in a variety of ways.

Devices

- Snooper
- The Well
- Cyberjacket

Publications

Rogers, Y., Scaife, M., Harris, E., Phelps, T., Price, S., Smith, H., Muller, H., Randell, C., Moss, A., Taylor, I., Stanton, D., O'Malley, C., Corke, G. & Gabrielli, S. (2002) 'Things aren't what they seem to be: innovation through technology inspiration'. Proceedings of Dis2002, London, 25-28 June, 373-377

Luckin, R., Connolly, D., Price, S., Rogers, Y., Tolmie, A., and Yuill, N., (2002) What happened when the Snark and the Aardvark stepped on the Pelican. Extending learning beyond the classroom PC. In Proceedings of the British Psychological Society Developmental Section Conference, Brighton 2002, Symposium 3, 21-23.

Price, S., Rogers, Y., Scaife, M., Stanton, D. & Neale, H. (2003) 'Using ‘tangibles’ to promote novel forms of playful learning'. Interacting with Computers, Special Issue: on Interaction design and children Vol. 15/2, May 2003, pp 169-185.

Partners involved:

Sussex University
Yvonne Rogers, Mike Scaife, Eric Harris, Ted Phelps, Sara Price, Hilary Smith

Bristol University
Henk Muller, Cliff Randell, Andrew Moss

Nottingham University
Ian Taylor, Danae Stanton, Claire O'Malley

Royal College of Art
Greta Corke

Interaction Design Institute Ivrea
Silvia Gabrielli

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