Badis as Theatre

In this paper, an application designed for use as a pedagogical resource in a distance education course is evaluated following the framework of dramatic theory for design of human-computer experiences, which is developed by Brenda Laurel based on Aristotelian aesthetics and includes concepts such as direct engagement, first-personness, mimesis and catharsis. This framework is then critically studied regarding, among other things, the choice between linearity and interaction, and problem connected to free interaction. Finally a proposal for a reformulation of Laurel’s model is presented that tries to paint a richer picture, based partly on styles of interaction found in three different computer game archetypes, and connect them to different criteria for design. The paper emphasises that we should design for experience and that the human-computer interaction community would benefit from taking influences from other areas, such as theatre, film and computer games, where there exists advanced knowledge in this area. 1 Applying dramatic theory to software design This paper discusses the use of a framework of dramatic theory in the design and evaluation of an educational software application. The discussion does not concern the pedagogical aspects of the program. Instead, it centres on the experience of using the program which makes this study of interest for design and evaluation of non educational software as well. The program is a simulation, but the framework presented is wider and also applicable to other types of software. To begin with, I will discuss the decision to use and evaluate the framework of dramatic theory for the design of human-computer experiences developed by Brenda Laurel (see Laurel, 1986; Laurel, 1993). Then I will describe and evaluate a software application that I have been involved in the design of, and finally, in part two, I will take a critical look at the dramatic theory framework itself and make a reformulation of it. 1.1 Computers as theatre. What makes the metaphor fruitful? To design is to be creative, to make something from nothing. It is a cumbersome but rewarding task. There are many theories to choose from to assist the designer in trying to understand what to reach for. This is my attempt to make a case for choosing a framework of dramatic theory for the design of a computer simulated case study. This framework is based on Aristotelian dramatic theory which contrasts to other schools like e.g. Brecht (Willett, The argumentation is derived from Laurel (1993). Historically, it is possible to draw parallels between the evolution of computers viewed as media and other media, e.g. film, where it can be noted that it was not before the control of the medium moved from the engineers to people who mastered the art of communicating, that the true potential of the new medium was revealed. This evolution can be seen in the development of human-computer interaction in the work of Norman (1988), where his analysis, according to Laurel, supports the view that the interface should represent whole actions with multiple agents, which also is a possible definition of theatre. And in Schneiderman’s (1987) concept of direct manipulation that according to him can “...generate a glowing enthusiasm among the users”, compared to the term catharsis in Aristotle (1987) which is a pleasurable sensation which arises from representation and is the function of tragedy, epic and comedy. Laurel (1986) explains how direct engagement, which is the feeling of direct interaction with objects, is created by the use of techniques well known and used within the theatre. The focus should always be on the action. Objects, environments and characters are used to enable the action to take place. The action should be structured with a beginning, middle and end. There should be a build-up of suspense with peaks and valleys, a release in a climax and an ending in the form of a graceful conclusion. The action must be possible to be viewed as a whole. All events should be understandable with respect to some underlying theme or motif and the beginning must still be remembered when the end is reached. In reference to this last criterion Laurel makes the following remark (Laurel, 1993, p. 64): This criterion is most immediately observable in computer games, which may require you to be hunched over a keyboard for days on end if you are to perceive the whole at one sitting, a feat of which only teenagers are capable. There is, however, no total consensus that direct engagement always is appropriate. Andersen (1990) discusses the need to sometimes step outside the interaction to see its technical and organisational preconditions. Thus the application should not only support direct engagement but also supply possibilities for detached reflection, so the user can think about using the program as well as actually using it. Otherwise there is a risk that the user is hindered from evoking changes in the usage situation and possibly in the application. This second mode is not supported by Laurel’s model. Andersen suggests that the dramaturgy of Brecht could be an appropriate base for this. Laurel’s (1986) claim is, however, that the switch from being in direct engagement is in itself distracting and should be avoided. There is also a link between the pedagogic method used in the application that will be studied here and theatre. Problem based learning strategies stress the need for a purpose for learning. If a student feel the need for acquiring information from a book, it is more likely that the information will be successfully obtained. One way to accomplish this is to present a problem that feels real to the student, and provide the information needed to solve the problem on demand. Realistic presentation of a problem can, however, lead to undesired effects if you educate e.g. bomb disarming experts and do not want them to jeopardise their health in their training. One possible solution to this problem is to simulate the training on a computer, and in order to do that successfully we must remember the initial imperative, not to spell out the solution to the students but to let them find the answers by themselves through solving an actual, although virtual, problem. Just as theatre, as an unwritten rule with very few exceptions, never spells out its message to the audience explicitly, but tries to show or demonstrate something that gives the audience the possibility to gain new insights (Andersen, 1990). Computer mediated simulations can be seen as a way to extend our ability to perform formal operations, i.e. formulating chains of events in the mind instead of acting them out in the real world (cf. Kaptelinin, 1996). The design of simulations has a strong resemblance to the way theatre represents something that might go on in the real world. Both are mimetic, which Laurel (1986, p 45f) describes as follows: A mimesis is a made thing, not an accidental or arbitrary one: using a pebble to represent a man is not mimetic; making a doll to represent him is. Finally Laurel (1993) makes a redefinition of the purpose of computer applications from being solely to perform what it is intended to do to also include the experience it gives the user, thus stating that the experience has a value of its own. 1.2 Description of Badis Badis is a Swedish slang expression for a public bath, but it is also the name of a computer based educational simulation application. It is meant to be used as a support for studies in an undergraduate distance education course in organisational change. The program simulates a case study where the student acts as a consultant appointed the task of trying to find out what has made the working climate in the town’s public bath organisation deteriorate. To accomplish this, the student must conduct interviews, distribute questionnaires and collect other kinds of data from the personnel at the public bath, the union officials and the administration at the city hall. The time for collecting data is restricted. To avoid getting meaningless or redundant information the methods for gathering data presented in the course literature should be applied. When the information collection phase is concluded the students write a paper describing their results and proposals for changes in the organisation to solve the conflict. The learning theory applied in the program is presented in Söderström et al. (unpublished). It emphasises in-depth and problem based learning by creating a virtual space1, referred to as a practicum (see Schön, 1987), where real world practices can be simulated. I took over the development of Badis, which at the time was nameless, in the middle of June -95. At that time there only existed a short description of the different functions that the program should have. The idea was to have a menu structure where the student on the first screen could choose what to do and then new menus to specify the actions more closely. For instance, if the student wanted to conduct an interview, he would begin by choosing the interview option, then decide what group of people to interview, then exactly which person to interview and finally what questions to ask. It would have been fairly similar to conducting an information search in a hierarchical database system. 1This term is used in its most unpretentious sense, and does not imply that the application is some kind of virtual reality extravaganza. Because it really is not! Since the students should be able to run the program on their own personal computer or by some other similar alternative, the constraints on the hardware requirements were tight. It should not require more than 4 MB RAM or take up more than 10 MB of disk space, and it should be distributable on a few floppy disks. These restrictions severely limited the possibilities to use graphics, sounds and animations. Another restriction was that the programming had to be done in approximately 300 hours due to the financial conditions. It should also run on both Macintosh and IBM compatible computers. The development was done with Authorware from Macromedia. Influenced by Laurel (1993) and by a general interest in the area of drama and games I introduced the idea that the application should be designed from a dramatic theory perspective. As a consequence the simulation should be oriented both in space and time rather than just time, so that the student would be able to move around in the practicum, thus enabling for what Laurel (1986) calls first-personness which is important for the direct engagement. It can be described as the feeling of being a direct participant of what takes place on the screen rather than having things happening in the computer mediated through the interface and being outside the action. In Badis different places offers different actions, so if you are at the city hall you can make interviews with the people that work there, and if you want to send out a questionnaire you can do that from your hotel room, but you cannot talk to someone that resides on a location different from your own current position.2 In an early stage of the development there was a place called home, but we3 realised that it would seem strange to the students to have a home in a town that was not their home town, so we substituted it with a hotel room. This is where the consultant, played by a student, ends up after an introduction sequence. We thought that the actual arrival to the city would be a good starting point, so the first thing that happens is that the consultant gets off a bus and tears a map out of a phone book. The consultant then takes a stroll around town and checks out the places which he later will encounter on his assignment. There is an option that takes the student directly from the title screen to the hotel room so that the introduction can be bypassed when the program is run repeatedly. The purpose of the introduction is to acquaint the student, as a computer user, to how the program behaves and, in the role of the consultant, to the different settings that can be visited later. The first purpose is important in order to make the operation of the computer as transparent as possible so that it does not become a source of frustration later on. The second purpose is to plant the different visual structures of the different settings in the mind of the student so that they later on can work as visual cues to where the student is. Both purposes ultimately aims at creating direct engagement. When the consultant arrives at the hotel he receives a visit by a person who gives him the actual assignment together with some background information. Then the interactive part of the simulation begins. The student performs actions by clicking 2I have included four screen shots from the application in appendix II. 3Although I alone am responsible for the programming and all, thereby included, technical flaws in the program, we were a group of four people, Tor Söderström and Mats Klingvall from the Department of Education, and Mikael Söderström and me at Informatics who regularly exchanged ideas and made design decisions. When I use the term ‘we’ I refer to this group. buttons located in the control panel at the top of the screen for actions that always are available e.g. quit, or clicking buttons somewhere else on the screen for actions that are situation specific. Interviews and questionnaires are assembled by clicking at the appropriate questions. The control panel also displays information on where the consultant is and how many days he4 has left for information retrieval. Every time an interview is conducted or a questionnaire is sent out, the consultant spends a part of his available time. If he wants to save a result for future reference additional time is deducted. To move between the different locations the consultant has a map where he can click on e.g. the hotel to go there. In order to be able to look at different documents that are gathered, as the events progress, at any time during the simulation without destroying the space/time continuity we gave the consultant a briefcase. The briefcase can be opened by pushing a button in the control panel. The briefcase is an attempt to follow Laurel’s (1993) advise to merge functions of the system into the drama. The student can quit the application at any time. The next time the interaction is resumed all the documents that have been saved are available in the briefcase and there are as many days left as when the student left the application the last time. Documents that have been put in the briefcase are saved as ordinary text files and can be accessed by any word processor or text editor.