Combining the physical and the digital is one of the most trending topics in game research in HCI. Augmenting the table-top role-playing games (TTRPG) by adding electronic devices is a growing research area, yet the introduction of new play styles is still open for exploration. We believe that integration of wearable devices and movement-based play, which are also prominent research areas for gaming, hold potential for increasing the TTRPG experience since these are observed to increase the connectedness of players to imaginary world of games by previous studies. Therefore, this project aims at designing a wearable device which facilitates embodied gameplay for TTRPG. This project is in the summative user test phase with a working wearable device prototype.

Prototype of the project consists of two parts: (1) Arm-Worn Device and (2) interactive dice. These parts are named as Elemental Gauntlet and Luck Stone respectively. These pieces are designed to be played in a specially designed game system called WEARPG. In WEARPG, players use their bodies and perform power, precision, reflex or concentration moves in order to manipulate their chances in the Luck Stone. If they can perform fair enough, their chances of getting a better score from the Luck Stone increase.

1. Oğuz Turan Buruk and Oğuzhan Özcan. 2017. User Oriented Design Speculation and Implications for an Arm-Worn Wearable Device for Table-Top Role-Playing Games. HCI International. (Forthcoming)

2. Buruk, Oğuz Turan, and Oğuzhan Özcan. “WEARPG: game design implications for movement-based play in table-top role-playing games with arm-worn devices.” Proceedings of the 20th International Academic Mindtrek Conference. ACM, 2016. 
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2994315&CFID=753520060&CFTOKEN=65411889