Interactive Aquatic Experience- User Scenario

Synopsis: A large class of design students are to create a group interaction which involves each student to be involved. The aquatic interaction is a human sized underwater game stimulated by each pupil. There will be three live fish managed by three people and one minnow managed by one person. The fish will have their own interactions with a collapsible mouth, moving fins and eyes. Through the help of the other students the fish will be able to move underwater chasing the minnow until defeat. This will take place while the other students stimulate live moving corral and waves.

Joe was awoken as his eyes peeled open to the screeching of the subway car coming to a halt. The twenty-two year old arises from his seat as St. Patrick station was his stop. “Urgh!” he utters to himself, “this is too early for me.” It was a dull morning of March 26th. Joe was his way to the Ontario College of Art and Design to visit his long time friend Jen who was a student there.

Upon arriving at OCAD Joe receives a text from Jen telling him to meet her in the Auditorium. With his Starbucks in hand Joe travels to meet her. He was surprised to find that Jen along with other students were taking charge of producing a group interactive project. As he stands off to the side he can see a number of students participating in this unusual event. While scanning the crowed he notes specific students waving a blanket on either end of streamers that took on the characteristics of water. Beneath the sea of streamers there where small clusters of other students, they were holding what seemed to be bright green underwater plants. They moved the plants as if they where dancing on the sea floor. At this moment Joe understood, this was a model of an underwater experience. No sooner had he understood the concept, he saw an individual wearing a cardboard minnow around their waist. Following the minnow there where a number of other fish, each fish was brilliantly decorated and painted. They were fundamentally manipulated by three people, one person was operating the mouth and eyes while the person behind them was the fins and the end person was manipulating the tail. Right then they all began erratically swimming around. Joe did not understand

Jen finally made an appearance. She asked Joe if he would like to be a part of the interaction. She continued to explain what was happening. “You see, it’s a game where the minnow has to swim around from plant to plant while the other fish collectively try to catch it. Each plant offers 5 seconds of refuge before the other fish can penetrate the boundaries around the plant. The game ends when the minnow is touched by the one of the four fish and in essence, dies. The game restarts when another person enters the tank to become the minnow.” Joe loved the idea of the game and lined up to be the next minnow in the interactive game.