Dimensions of Hybrid in Playful Products Heikki Tyni
Annakaisa Kultima
Frans Mäyrä
Game Research Lab, TRIM SIS, University of Tampere FI-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
Game Research Lab, TRIM SIS, University of Tampere FI-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
Game Research Lab, TRIM SIS, University of Tampere FI-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
[email protected]
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ABSTRACT In this article we examine playful hybrid products located in the intersection of toys and games. By hybrid, we mean games and toys that utilize digital environments to provide added value to tactile, physical or material experiences. The paper aims to create a preliminary model for mapping hybrid dimensions. Our initial analysis paints a picture of a design space with varied degrees of hybridity. Comparing seven example cases lets us see how in some products the digital part of the experience is independent of the material side, while sometimes these sides are co-dependent. Further, in some cases the digital and material halves are intertwined to a synchronous experience, whereas in others they take turns. Our analysis is preliminary at this point and we conclude that there is much room for future research in the field of hybrid play products.
Categories and Subject Descriptors K.8.0 [Personal Computing]: Games
General Terms Design, Human Factors, Theory.
Keywords Games, toys, hybrid games, toys 3.0, hybrid toys, Skylanders, Invizimals, material play, digital play.
1. INTRODUCTION For the past couple of years a rise of a new wave of hybrid playful products has become a reality. Products like Skylanders (2011), Invizimals (2009) and Mechatars (2011) expand digital experiences into material realm. Material toys carry information and link to digital games and services. Physical game pawns are used to augment digital board games available for smart phones and tablets. A big part of the Angry Birds (2009) phenomenon is created by the material onslaught of Angry Birds plush toys and the various physical versions of the game. It has also become apparent that global toy companies like Mattel, Hasbro and Lego appear to regard hybrid products as a trending sub-sector worth keeping an eye on, each having moved to the territory with various products. This transitional development can be linked to multiple surrounding phenomena. The popularity of digital entertainment,
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especially digital distribution and download-only products, has posed a serious threat to the traditional value chains as retail stores are in danger of becoming redundant [3]. Digital entertainment for children poses an equally serious threat to traditional toy industry. On the other hand, the surplus of digital experiences and the decrease of the game product prices have pushed the digital game industry into new territories of innovation. The DIY culture and “maker generation” combined with the possibilities of 3D printing and the ease of ordering small batches of custom products from China have lowered the barriers of material production and opened up new business models to increasingly small entrepreneurs. Equally important factor is the cultural change linked to the “app-revolution” and the overwhelming popularity of touch screen smart devices. Even toddlers are now using these devices, and companies have started to introduce products incorporating smart device motion sensors and touch controls to plush toys and educational children’s software. Recent studies have highlighted that players still value physical products for various reasons, such as the feeling of ownership they provide [10]. For children, being able to point at a toy and say “this is mine” is very important [4]. While digital game players still value the possibility to collect and own their precious game products, the soaring popularity of the hit franchise Angry Birds coupled with the huge popularity of Angry Birds plush toys is symptomatic of a larger trend where digital phenomena transfer over into the material domain. In this light, it should not come as a surprise that Skylanders with its collectable toy line has been the biggest children’s hit in years [13]. Surrounded by a society saturated by technology, many have seen physical toys and products representing traditional values and standing in opposition to overt techno-enthusiasm. According to Lauwaert [7] “toys bring the changing society to home” and consequently often reflect the anxieties and fears associated with larger societal shifts. Consequently, the emergence of hybrid products could be seen as a cultural mediator, a sort of a middle-way in this battle of values. On one hand digital experiences have become part of everyday life, on the other hand the enjoyment of tactile experiences that material products provide are still relevant. It seems like some of the most interesting product innovations of the near future will be made at the borderline of physical and immaterial realities. New technologies such as 3D printing allow immaterial products to become materialized while still maintaining the connection to their digital origin, whereas material environment and products are enhanced with digital services like NFC and object recognition. In this evolution the immaterial, digital services and material products will form multifaceted value networks. The creative and playful design solutions and user cultures will form
the basis for the utilization of these novel potentials in design of innovative and engaging experiences. Hybrid play, however, is not a new phenomenon. Augmented reality (AR) games that tie the physical world into a digital one have existed for some time now. Equally important are the mimetic user interfaces of the 2000s, such as Wii, Kinect and Guitar Hero (2005-2010). These, in turn, are predated by the NES Zapper and Power Glove among others. Such hybrid products as Barbie Fashion Designer (1996) and R.O.B. (Robot Operating Buddy) (1985) date back to 1990s and 1980s, while cleverly used scent cards and a 3D comic turned Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986) into hybrid play. Moreover, through the actual physical hardware – controller, monitor, etc. – one can consider any digital game experience somewhat material. Game consoles and especially mimetic interface games themselves have a long trail in the history of digital play [6]. In this paper we are talking about playful hybrid products and hybrid play, pointing to the intersection of material and digital – traditional toys and digital games. By analysing products and product lines such as Skylanders, Mechatars, YetYet, HappiTaps, Makies, Apptivity, Appmates, EyePet, Furby, Invizimals, iPieces, Littlest Pet Shop, LEGO Life of George, Mega Bloks World of Warcraft, Moshi Monsters, Parrot AR Drone, Sifteo Playcubes and Sphero, to name only few of them, we are examining the role of material and immaterial in the varying playful experiences. In total, we have identified and listed over 130 hybrid products, services and product lines during the period of fall 2012 – fall 2013. As expected, there are notable differences in hybrid products. In some cases the material and digital experiences are intertwined and interdependent, in some they are more or less temporally separated. For instance HappiTaps, a plush toy utilizing smartphone as a face of an animal, encompasses a simultaneous experience of material and digital: you hold the plush toy while you interact with the app. Some might consider Skylanders a fullfledged hybrid product, but on the micro level the material and digital experiences are asynchronous: you activate your game character by placing a figurine on the “portal” and then continue traditional platform game experience using your game controller. Interestingly, in Skylanders the digital product is dependent on the material figurines in a way familiar to free-to-play models: you have to buy new figurines in order to cover all the areas in the game. HappiTaps, in turn, offers the program for free and provides additional content via Appstore (you still need to buy the plushie), and as such it could be considered as a service.
2. TOWARDS THE MODEL OF HYBRID DIMENSIONS Our first version of the model for the dimensions of hybrid playful products consists of two different conceptual pairs: synchronousasynchronous and dependent-independent. These two axes are the ones that divide the products in what we consider to be the most obvious and fundamental ways. We are also interested in other similar modalities, such as how open or rigid the plaything is from the perspective of hybrid play. Here, Caillois’s [2] paidia – ludus continuum could be useful in mapping the ways digital enhancements are open towards, or unnecessarily structure and/or restrict the open play of traditional toys. The model for hybrid experiences lets us examine the value of hybridity in the intersection of material and digital experiences. By examining
hybrid dimensions as different intersecting modalities, one can see that hybridity is not a value per se, but a multifaceted phenomenon that can bring about varying experiences.
2.1 Synchronicity In this paper, ‘hybrid’ refers to the combination of digital and material. We are looking at playful experiences, mainly within toys and games. This emerging sector is bringing together products which, historically, have belonged to their separate areas of expertise, toy industry and game industry. Put in a simplistic manner, within the core of the physical toy are the affordances for material play – the tactile, spatial and physical experiences it can provide. Even when playing digital games, these aspects do not cease to exist; in the core of the digital game experiences are visual and auditive stimuli and cognitive challenges and enjoyment that they might provide. Where digital products can provide more flexibility in interactivity, material products have more to offer in tactile experiences. The line between these experiences is hard to draw and their separation could be considered more or less a historical construct. In this context, a true hybrid could be considered to be something where these two realms are experienced simultaneously. However, the products that we have examined so far are not always designed to work in that way. In several products, the digital experience and the material experience are sequenced: they take turns. First you might hold the physical toy, and then you might be concentrating the digital environment where this toy is featured, like in Skylanders. This could be also other way round: you start by creating your plaything in digital environment and then bring it to life in material domain, as with the 3D printed Makie dolls. Thus, in this paper we talk about the synchronicity of play in hybrid products. The act of using a hybrid product can be either synchronously or asynchronously hybrid.
2.2 Dependency Another interesting difference between the products we have examined is that in some products the material experience is emphasized, while in some it is more about digital. Here, the historical background of the product or the historical background of its makers become sometimes visible. Skylanders is based on an earlier videogame IP (intellectual property), a series of Spyro the Dragon platform games. We could discuss the original design intention, but instead here we want to focus on how the product is constructed: whether these two sides are dependent of each other or not, disregarding the intended use of the product. This is not necessarily an easy thing to analyse simply by testing the product; however it could create a base for hypothesis of more empirical analysis of the actual use of the product. Some products tend to enable separate digital and material play, while some have been purposefully created so that these dimensions of play are codependent of each other. We also realize that dependency is not always symmetrical: sometimes the material product can be conceived as a standalone product, and the digital part only as its enhancement – and other way around. Both of these modalities are here operationalized as sliders (see Figure 1). We believe that both dimensions act as continuums, so that the placement on the slider can be used to mark how intensely material and digital take turns and how dependent these elements are from each other.
Figure 1. The two modalities of hybrid as sliders.
3. CASES For a casual observer hybrid products might appear to be a mere niche or perhaps an anomaly in the categories of games and toys. Looking closer at the new releases from past two years, the numbers are telling a different story. In our survey we have identified 53 hybrid titles released only in 2012. The interest seems to be at its highest on the side of the toy industry: for example, the international Nürnberg Toy Fair 2013 showcased numerous new hybrid products all over the world at the entrance of the fair, whereas in the game industry events like the Game Developers Conference there seems to be awareness and interest in only limited cases of hybrid products (mainly Skylanders and Disney Infinity). Even though our interest has been on a wide variety of hybrid products, in this working paper we are focusing on some selected cases – Skylanders, YetYet, Invizimals, LEGO Life of George, Disney Appmates, EyePet and Angry Birds – where each case presents a different type of hybrid play.
Skylanders Skylanders (2011) is a fusion of a digital game and a toy line. The toys, equipped with RFID chips, are placed on a “Portal of Power” peripheral which instantly activates a matching virtual character in the game. A starter pack for Skylanders includes the game (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii or 3DS), three toys (out of 32), and a USB portal. Ignoring specific platforms, players can continue their game campaign on any of the supported consoles. To conquer all the game locations, player needs at least one character from each of the eight different elements. New characters can be bought separately and in three- packs. Since 2011, Skylanders and its sequel Skylanders Giants (2012) have sold over 8 million game copies[12], while the series has generated over $1,5 billion in revenue from games and toys combined [8].
over 70 figures already. While used separately, these toys are quite detailed, depicting colourful characters from various different elements and well suited for children’s play. The game is also clearly designed to encourage the player to keep on collecting all the characters, and having them in physical form naturally allows putting them on display – the figurines can also be used for decoration. There are also rarely distributed special edition characters to keep an eye on during trade fairs and game conventions. The digital game is played by placing a physical toy figurine on the accompanied portal, shaped like a small arena. The character then instantly appears as a playable, virtual version in the game. The game itself is a typical action-platformer; however, the player can switch characters any time by replacing the figurine with another one. Usually, this is to get to a zone that requires a character of a specific element. Another player can join in by placing another figure on the portal. In order to proceed with play, the figurine must be kept on the portal. Although the figure is visible in front of the player and is physically changed from time to time, the toy still needs to be static during play, thus rendering the play experience clearly asynchronous. The figurines are present while one plays, but one does not actually hold on to them while playing the digital game – players hands are occupied with the game controller. Also, while the digital game is wholly dependent on the physical tokens, the physical figurines could easily be played with independently, as in pretend play. When analysed in more detail, it thus appears that Skylanders is a special case of hybrid play.
Figure 3. In Skylanders the figurines are needed to play the digital game, whereas the figurines themselves do not necessarily need the digital game. The game is also relatively asynchronous: one changes the figurine on the platform and then continues with the rather traditional platform game using a game controller.
YetYet Combining a child-friendly iPad case with an interactive toy, YetYet (2012) is an “app toy”. Placed inside the doll, the iPad displays YetYet’s “eyes” and “heart”, visible through openings in the doll. To get started, users download the free app from the App Store. Once the app is launched, the user can interact with YetYet in a number of ways. Along with helping YetYet to speak its “native” language, users can customize the creature’s colours, manipulate the number of its eyes and make it repeat voices back with effects. Due to tablet accelerometer, YetYet will also react to being turned on its side or upside down.
Figure 2. Skylanders portal with figurines. Skylanders clearly seems to be a true hybrid product. It consists of a toy line and a digital platformer game. The toy line includes
Invizimals and its two sequels have sold over one million copies in Europe alone [11].
Figure 4. YetYet plush toy with iPad and iPhone versions. Figure 6. Gameplay view from Invizimals. There are two openings at the front of YetYet, one on its face and one on its heart. A fabric face and heart can be seen through these, making the plush toy “complete” even without the tablet. When the tablet with the YetYet app is placed inside the plush, however, the fabric face and heart are replaced by digital ones. These can now be touched, poked, manipulated and played with. Users can for example give YetYet more eyes, stroke its hair and try to talk with it. In this “use mode” the two halves of the product form a complete whole, a synchronous hybrid experience. You are playing with the hybrid toy by holding the plushie. The tactile and digital experiences are more or less simultaneous. Even though the plush toy is not as interesting without the smart device inside, it can be used as a traditional plush toy. The app, however, largely does not make any sense without the physical toy.
In a sense, there is no physical half to Invizimals as a hybrid product. The characters of the game are digital, while their environment is physical. Thus the game is entirely synchronous and fully hybrid. Environment is both nothing without the game (just a regular environment), but also everything as the game could not be fully played without physical surroundings. Through layering AR on top of the real world, the game appropriates the physical surroundings as play arena. If we exclude the physical movement and the environment, however, the only physical element of Invizimals is the AR marker.
Figure 7. In Invizimals, the hybrid gameplay is synchronous and the material and digital are co-dependent. Figure 5. In YetYet the digital experience of the product is dependent on the physical; but the physical product can be played independently. When the product is played as a hybrid, the play is synchronous.
Invizimals Invizimals (2009) is a collectible-creature-game for PSP. Similar to Pokémon (1996-2013), Invizimals involves players capturing and raising different species of creatures (100+) and battling other users or an AI opponent with them. Unlike Pokémon, Invizimals requires the player to hunt and capture these creatures within the real world, using augmented reality (a camera attachment for the PSP) and a physical “trap”, i.e. an AR marker. Monsters are spawned at different environments determined by the colour of the surface and the time of day. These monsters are then trained and pitted against opponents in the physical environment, as they can be seen through the camera lens of the PSP around the AR marker. Besides the marker, the game also detects colours and brightness values of physical surfaces. The AR marker can be used to view the monster collection and take pictures of it.
EyePet EyePet (2009) is a virtual pet game that allows players to interact with a gremlin-like virtual pet creature in physical space. The game uses the PS3 camera peripheral to allow the virtual pet to interact with people and objects in the real world. Through the application of augmented reality, the creature appears to be aware of its environment and surroundings and reacts to them accordingly. The player can place objects in front of the animal and the game will interpret what the object is and respond to it. For example, if the player rolls a ball towards the virtual pet, it will jump out of the way to avoid being hit. It will also react to the player actions and sounds allowing the user, for example, to tickle the animal or clap their hands to startle it. The pet can also be fed and customized. EyePet has sold over one million copies.
Figure 8. Gameplay view from EyePet. Just like in Invizimals, the physical and the digital in EyePet are dependent of each other. The hybrid play is also synchronous. One could argue that there is virtually no material play in either EyePet or Invizimals, since the game does not come with specific physical objects. However, EyePet does incorporate this kind of play into its design, for instance the player can draw to an actual paper and show it to the game.
Figure 9. EyePet is dependent from physical elements and synchronous hybrid.
Figure 10. Disney Appmates and Cars appcessories for the game.
The cars are typical small toy cars with rolling tires, designed with attention to details and are suited also for playing without the app. The game app is controlled by placing the toy car on the tablet surface and turning it to steer the in-game car. The technology in Appmates is based on capacitive pads in a set order at the bottom of the cars. The app recognizes these pads and becomes active as soon as the toy is placed on it. The iDevice app can be, however, be played by placing two fingers on the appropriate spots on the tablet, as this kind of stripped down functionality is required by Apple - although the design intention clearly is to play the game with the toy. In any case, the app can be considered somewhat independent from the toys. When played as intended, the product is an entirely synchronous hybrid experience.
Disney Appmates An “appcessory” game from Disney, Appmates consists of toy cars themed around Pixar’s Cars 2 (2011) and a free game app downloadable for iPad. The toy cars are “driven” across the top of an iPad: the user holds the car in the centre of the screen while the scenery races by. Headlights and different optional accessories appear on screen around the toy as if they were attached to it. The game is based around different locations from the Cars movies and lets players drive around courses, complete missions and collect hubcaps which can be used as currency to buy virtual items in the game.
Figure 11. In Appmates both sides can be played with fairly independently, but when the product is used in the “proper”, intended way, it is fully synchronous.
Life of George An “app toy”, LEGO’s Life of George (2011) combines physical LEGO bricks with a smartphone app. Players first purchase the Life of George LEGO set which includes an array of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 long LEGO bricks and a special “green screen” play mat. Available free for iOS and Android, the Life of George app provides the associated assembling game and capturing software. Play consists of players trying to build displayed models, one at a time, as fast as possible. After finishing a model, the smartphone camera is used to capture the model to “verify” it. A score is then awarded for time and accuracy. The app includes also a creation mode where you design and capture your own models and use them to challenge your friends. There are various difficulty levels determined by the models and the time setting you choose.
Figure 12. The smartphone app, the grid where you place the pixel character and one finished task of Life of George.
Figure 14. Angry Birds soft drinks, toy and card game.
As it stands, the digital half of Life of George is entirely dependent on the physical pieces, whereas the LEGO bricks can naturally be used for other purposes on their own. While the two halves integrate very tightly into each other, they are mostly not used at the same time when the game is played in the proper way.
As a phenomenon, Angry Birds is not a hybrid playful product itself. The material expansions of the product line create a whole that can be considered to be more than just digital game experience. Though there are Angry Birds themed toys that are used with tablet computers, this paper concentrates on the AB merchandise, as it creates an interesting comparison case for the hybrid products. It could be argued that the success of the plushies is more dependent on the digital game than the digital game is on the Angry Birds merchandise. Naturally both are still quite independent.
Figure 13. The bricks that come with Life of George can be used for regular LEGO building, whereas the app cannot be used individually without the bricks. The gameplay is asynchronous: you use the app for instructions and as a stopwatch. After finishing the model, the app acts as a judge.
Angry Birds With over 1.7 billion downloads Angry Birds is the biggest, most visible digital game of recent years. A big part of the phenomenon has got to do with the physical extensions of the game, however. There are countless licensed product lines now on the market, and Rovio itself refuses to be acknowledged as ‘game company’, insisting on the term ‘entertainment company’. In fact, if examined from the perspective of business model, almost half of Rovio’s revenue stream comes from merchandise sales outside the digital game, leading the former game developer into a situation where it rests its good fortunes on physical products and retail. Via the popular bird and pig plushies, Angry Birds have epitomized the “collectible toy acting as a totem for the digital game” model, not to mention how conveniently the physical Angry Birds products have allowed the video game culture to breach into everyday life, from Angry Birds birthday cakes to Conan O’Brien playing with a giant sling.
Figure 15. Angry Birds is not a hybrid product, making the material and digital experiences relatively independent of each other and play asynchronous.
Based on the products we have examined there seems to be at least a couple of distinct categories of hybrid products, something that the popular jargon of the toy industry has internalized already well. “Appcessory” games like Disney Appmates more or less augment or enhance the digital game experience with physical game pawns. “App toys” such as YetYet and Life of George are based strictly on the interplay of the two halves - both are needed equally as much. While not an “app”, Skylanders belongs to this group too - though the halves are more independent as the toys can be used for pretend playing without the game. Of the two AR games, EyePet resembles more a toy, something that is played with no specific goals. Here the digital strives to enter the physical world, thus allowing physical movement and interactions with real world objects. Adding to this, Invizimals is mobile and location based. The direction here, too, is from digital to physical. This is also the case with the last example, Angry Birds. While Angry Birds is not a hybrid product per se, it is a hybrid phenomenon, characterized by the franchises effortless movement between the two halves of material and digital. And similar to Skylanders, Angry Birds plushies act as “totems” for the
game/franchise, lying around in the material space of the household, serving as reminders and as advertisement for the game. On closer inspection “appcessories”, too, could have two directions. On one hand, appcessories can be seen as physical accessories for apps, rendering them as an additive material object on digital. On the other hand, the word “appcessory” is often used also to describe digital applications that are extraneous accessories for physical products. YetYet, for example, can be considered to be a perfectly “complete” toy even without the smartphone in it, and while the app brings an entirely new experience to the toy it is still only an added bonus to the standalone physical toy. When compared to each other, our cases are different. Skylanders and Life of George are similar to each other just like Invizimals and EyePet and again YetYet and Disney Appmates. Angry Birds is similar to YetYet and Disney Appmates on the dependency level, but then similar to Skylanders and Life of George on their asynchronicity.
Figure 16. All the hybrid sliders .
4. DISCUSSION For the past five years, the rise of digital distribution in games has made us believe that the material side of playful experiences is in the past. This seems to be not the truth, as it now has become clear that the material culture, including play products, is simply redefining and relocating itself. We believe that the interesting new innovations will happen in the cross-section of digital and material. Though it seems to be not as common, the direction of transition within hybrid products can also be from physical to digital. One of the more prominent companies moving on both material and digital side is LEGO. Having few of its own IPs, LEGO has made a mark by creating digital versions of its toys in the various LEGO video games. Most of these games are based on properties LEGO has licensed for its physical toys, such as Batman, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. LEGO video games depict faithful 3D models of the familiar LEGO toys and minifigures, and, in the case of licensed properties, 3D LEGO versions of familiar characters such as Batman. Thus for example Batman who originates from comic books has been turned into movie characters that have been turned – among other merchandise – into digital games but also into caricaturized LEGO toys, which then are turned into digital game versions of themselves; not the game versions familiar from movies or the comic book, but into digital toy versions. For LEGO, retaining the toy form of these characters also in the digital games is probably the only way to make these games distinctly “LEGO games” (in a sense, LEGO’s design language is its IP); still, there is an important observation to make here: the distance between physical toys and digital games has been reduced here to a degree that makes also the transition between toy and game audiences easier. Similar to what takes place with Angry Birds, the games and toys in this case start to blend and mix into each other, beginning to form a hybrid whole. In the case of Angry Birds, it could be that the bite-sized gaming experience, combined with the almost non-existent backstory,
allows more room for the development of the surrounding merchandise. Sidestepping the enormous proportions of AngryBirds-the-cultural-phenomenon, the game itself is “smaller” in stature and thus does not overshadow the plushies and sneakers, but instead relies on them much more than a “console-sized” game would. In Angry Birds the digital game, the physical merchandise and the marketing are woven into a hybrid phenomenon. As there have been similar blending of the digital and material in the past, a relevant question to present here seems to be why are many of these hybrid products gaining traction now? There are probably many reasons, or rather enablers, to consider: new technologies (such as NFC and capacitive ink) have started crossing paths birthing new kinds of playful results; due to China the production costs have been pushed low enough for smaller, more experimental entrepreneurs to enter the sector; smart devices and especially the tablet computer have provided a platform versatile and open enough for many kinds of experimentation; and the remarkable saturation of smart devices. Further, the changing attitudes and values in relation to the increasing amount of technology all around us seem important enough to consider. Many studies go into great lengths to describe the immensely significant role our material environment has for us and how our material belongings are in key position shaping us as human beings [i.e. 1, 9]. Thus, the emergence of material components in digital products and vice versa seems to indicate that this hybridity is actually a very important meeting point of two worlds and possibly a future battlefield of values.
5. CONCLUSION In this paper, we have introduced the first version of the model for hybrid playful products. The main axes are dependency and synchronicity. We have also featured several examples drawn from our survey of hybrid, playful products and presented a preliminary analysis of them, applying dependency and synchronicity as the main analytical tools. The results indicate that there are many types of hybridity present in the current play products, something that the marketing of these toys has acknowledged. It is also apparent that it is sometimes hard to draw the line on what constitutes hybridity. This blurring of the historical phenomena such as motion based and AR games with the newly emerging hybrid products serves to showcase the crossing trajectories of several different product categories and turn the question to a different, perhaps more cultural direction: why is this hybrid products phenomenon happening now – something which is beyond the scope of this paper, however.
6. FUTURE RESEARCH This paper has provided the first steps into the analysis of the emerging field of hybrid playful products. In the future, it could provide a basis for empirical user studies, addressing in more detail how the experiences of the products are connected with their affordances. We would welcome more studies concentrating on the ways hybridity offers added play value – if any – for children and adults alike. As mentioned at the start of the paper, Caillois’s [2] ludus – paidia continuum might prove useful for evaluating in what ways electronic toys should be open to free
play and on the other hand in what ways toy play benefits from more “gamified” play structure [5]. Besides this and the sliders we have presented, there might of course be other axes useful for the analysis of hybrid play products. Other areas of interest include at least the effects of particular type of design to the commercial success of a hybrid product and in what ways hybrid toys differ from traditional toys in their effects on children. We invite discussion on this paper, as we will continue developing the model. We are actively thinking about other dimensions relevant to the hybrid products and hybrid play.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study has been funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation as part of the Hybridex research project.
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