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Envisioning the Future of Wearable Play: Conceptual Models for Props and Costumes as Game Controllers

In this paper we discuss the difficulties faced by designers attempting to create new engaging embodied interactions in games. We argue that the inability of embodied game interfaces to move past the “novelty hardware” stage and into the mainstream of gaming lies not with a failure of technology, but with a need to develop more mature design frameworks. In this paper we propose a series of conceptual models intended to help fill this void in the design space. We locate this work under the broad banner of wearable game controllers, an area of inquiry that is just starting to take shape. Drawing on theories of wearable computing, tangible interaction, embodied cognition, and the performing arts, we propose three new approaches to the design of wearable interfaces that incorporate costumes and props as mediating artifacts for embodied game play.