Natural User Interface (NUI): A Case Study of a Video Based Interaction Technique for a Computer Game

To compare the advantages and disadvantages of a Natural User Interface [1] a field study was carried out. During five days of the largest computer fair in Switzerland four different computer stations with (1) a command language, (2) a mouse, (3) a touch screen, and (4) a Digital Playing Desk (DPD) interface was presented for public use. In this version of the DPD the user has to play a board game by moving a real chip on a virtual playing field against a virtual player. The task was to win the computer game "Go-bang". The reactions of the virtual player were simulated by "emoticons" as colored comic strip pictures with a corresponding sound pattern. We investigated the effects of these four different interaction techniques with an inquiry with a questionnaire. Results of the inquiry: 304 visitors rated the usability of all four stations on a bipolar scale. The touch screen station was rated as the easiest to use interaction technique, followed by the mouse and DPD interface; the "tail-light" was the command language interface. One very important result was a significant correlation between "age" and "DPD usability". This correlation means that older people prefer significantly more a graspable user interface in form of the DPD than younger people.