Social Play Spaces for Active Community Engagement

TL;DR

This paper explores how social play spaces using technology and physical interaction can enhance community engagement and culture, exemplified by the Rabble Room Arcade event with custom interfaces and multiplayer games.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of social play spaces that combine tangible interfaces and multiplayer gaming to foster community participation and cultural development.

Findings

Social play spaces increase community engagement.

Physical interfaces enhance participant interaction.

Event like Rabble Room Arcade demonstrates successful implementation.

Abstract

This paper puts forward the perspective that social play spaces are opportunities to utilise both technology and body for the benefit of community culture and engagement. Co-located social gaming coupled with tangible interfaces offer active participant engagement and the development of the local video game scene. This paper includes a descriptive account of Rabble Room Arcade, an experimental social event combining custom-built physical interface devices and multiplayer video games.