Memorix: A tangible memory game using iSIG-Blocks

摘要

This paper presents a tangible, computerized memory game, called Memorix. Memorix aims to measure the player's spatial and working memory span by displaying geometric patterns on the tabletop platform and requiring the player to memorize and rebuild the patterns. The tangible game technology used for Memorix consists of a set of iSIG-Blocks with an interactive tabletop platform and TAPware. iSIG-Blocks are sensor-embedded creation blocks with motion sensing and wireless communication capabilities. The interactive tabletop platform serves as a game display while interfacing with the blocks. TAPware is a tangible programming tool for designing game items incorporating a computational measure of geometric complexity (C) that takes into account the pattern length, the number of distinctive colors, and the number of distinctive shapes used in the item. This computational measure can potentially serve as a guideline for generating game items with a fine-tuned difficulty level for each individual or group. Memorix and its associated technology have been evaluated via a small-scale human subject study (N = 12). Accuracy in correctness and manipulation speed measurements were over 98%. A high correlation between the game performance and C was also found (r = 0.84, p <; 0.01). Parameter sensitivity analysis revealed that the participants' failure rate was more sensitive to colors than length or geometric shape used in the game item.