=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3669/paper10
|storemode=property
|title=Designing locative human-forest interactions through playful design workshops
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3669/paper10.pdf
|volume=Vol-3669
|authors=Timo Nummenmaa,Philip Chambers,Mattia Thibault,Samuli Laato,Ferran Altarriba Bertran,Daniel Fernández Galeote,Oğuz Buruk
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/gamifin/NummenmaaCTLBGB24
}}
==Designing locative human-forest interactions through playful design workshops==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3669/paper10.pdf
Designing locative human-forest interactions through
playful design workshops
Timo Nummenmaa1, Philip Chambers2,1, Mattia Thibault1, Samuli Laato1, Ferran
Altarriba Bertran1,3, Daniel Fernández Galeote1, Oğuz ‘Oz’ Buruk1
1 Gamification Group, Tampere University, Kalevantie 4, 33100, Tampere, Finland
2 University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistokatu 2, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
3 EU ERAM, Universitat de Girona, Carrer de Sant Antoni 1, 17190, Salt, Spain
Abstract
Technological advances offer opportunities to motivate and support meaningful interactions with
forests and nature. This paper outlines the findings of three distinct design days, all centred on human-
forest interaction. The objective is to explore the gameful potential of the intersection between humans,
forests, and technology. The design approach in all scenarios involved an outdoor activity, such as
geocaching, and a design workshop where card-based ideation methods were used to develop initial
ideas. These concepts were further refined and captured as toy-play and play-acting videos. The design
days resulted in twelve ideas from twelve groups, each drawing inspiration from the outdoor activity
portion of each day which was conducted in a forest or forest-like location. This paper presents the final
ideas and analyses them based on their story, characters, setting, values, and goals. The final video
outcomes generated by the groups highlight the scope of the design space in human-forest interplay,
revealing numerous new avenues for utilising technology in enhancing our connection with forests and
nature.
Keywords
Forest, nature, gamification, playful workshop, play, location-based design
1
1. Introduction their conservation and sustainable use, and
simultaneously providing health benefits for forest
Forests are among the most valuable and complex visitors [6, 7]. While previous research has utilised
ecosystems on Earth. They provide numerous workshops to explore nature-inspired design (NID)
beneficial services to humanity such as clean air and and biological-inspired design (BID), [8, 9], as well as
water, carbon sequestration, and habitat for the use of biomimicry, natural capitalism and cradle-
biodiversity conservation [1]. However, the to-cradle strategies in the development of products
relationship between humans and forests is often and services [10, 11], there is a notable gap in the
characterized by conflicts relating to unsustainable investigation methods and tools that facilitate bio-
practices that can lead to deforestation, degradation, inspiration for positive human-forest interactions, like
and loss of ecosystem services [2]. Furthermore, games and nature-based experiences, within in these
coupled with trends such as urbanization, the average contexts. Designing human-forest interactions may be
person in contemporary society is becoming crucial for achieving environmental and social goals,
increasingly disconnected from nature and forests [3]. and design innovation that uses play and gamification
Thus, conservationists [4] as well as health should play a key role in motivating and enhancing
professionals [5] among others have been interested these interactions.
in creating solutions and approaches to revitalize For these reasons, in this study, three design
people’s relationships with forests and nature. workshops were conducted with researchers from the
In recent years, there has been a growing interest fields of gamification and forestry to produce novel
in designing technologies that facilitate positive ideas for the future of human-forest interplay. The
interactions between humans and forests, promoting
8th International GamiFIN Conference 2024 (GamiFIN 2024), April 2-
5, 2024, Ruka, Finland
timo.nummenmaa@tuni.fi (T. Nummenmaa);
philip.chambers@uef.fi (P. Chambers); mattia.thibault@tuni.fi (M.
Thibault); samuli.laato@tuni.fi (S. Laato);
ferran.altarribabertran@tuni.fi (F. Altarriba Bertran);
daniel.fernandezgaleote@tuni.fi (D. Fernández Galeote);
oguz.buruk@tuni.fi (O. Buruk)
0000-0002-9896-0338 (T. Nummenmaa); 0000-0002-0586-3142
(P. Chambers); 0000-0002-3593-0350 (M. Thibault); 0000-0003-
4285-0073 (S. Laato); 0000-0002-3692-3777 (F. Altarriba Bertran);
0000-0002-5197-146X (D. Fernández Galeote); 0000-0002-8655-
5327 (O. Buruk)
© 2024 Copyright for this paper by its authors. The use permitted under
Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR
ceur-ws.org
Workshop ISSN 1613-0073
Proceedings
110
research approach has similarities to how jam events methods provided a game-like structure to the
(e.g., game jams) are discussed and reported [6, 12] ideation process, while the planned outdoor activities
and includes aspects of ideation technique comparison also included gameplay. While geocaching provided a
and evaluation [13, 14]. The capturing of ideas as toy- playful context for human-forest design ideation,
play videos was Incorporated, in the spirit of [15], both rather than constituting a strictly gamified approach in
for encapsulating the ideas in an easily viewable itself, the use of structured, card-based ideation
format and as a tool for analysis. Locative applications methods aligns more closely with gamification, as it
and games were focussed on specifically. since these incorporates game design elements into the ideation
hold the potential to both: (1) motivate people to go to process [25].
forests; and (2) direct how they spend their time there
[16, 17]. This results in an innovative research setup in
terms of theme and structure, where the ideas are 2.1. Outdoor exploration events
distilled into videos that can be analysed.
The rest of this paper is structured as follows: first, Three outdoor exploration events were organised as
the workshop method is presented, which was a part of the three workshops. The first involved a visit
combination of an idea-generation outdoor activity to a publicly owned outdoor recreation forest in
followed by a hands-on indoors design workshop. Tampere, south-central Finland. There, the
Second, the design ideas from the three workshops are participants (a mix of gamification and forestry
showcased (12 groups altogether). Third, the videos researchers, N=11) were able to meet, network, and
that were created to encapsulate the ideas are share knowledge and experiences about forests and
analysed based on their story, characters, settings, nature. Participants had the opportunity to freely ask
values, and goals. Lastly, the next steps in designing questions about Finnish forestry from the experts in
and implementing forest-human technologies and the group. They were also introduced to Geocaching.
thoughts for future research are discussed. During the field trip, participants created their own
geocaching accounts and collaboratively located
several caches hidden in the forest. This playful
2. Methods activity was instrumental in familiarising them with
the game, experiencing the game flow in the forest, and
For exploration, building on previous experience [18], starting discussions about forest-based game design.
three design events were organised where activities The second event included a field trip (see Figure
were structured in two parts: 1) that involved a visit to a recreation forest of mixed
1. An outdoor exploration event in a Finnish ownership outside Joensuu in eastern Finland. In this
forest, involving nature exploration and field trip, the participants were forestry researchers
exercise through geocaching, discussions on (N=20) who were taking part in a networking day that
design ideas, learning about nature, and involved following a geocaching trail laid out as part of
networking. the UNITE flagship2. The geocaches along this trail
2. A playful design workshop that presented incorporated surveys with questions relating to
various design approaches for generating human-forest relationships and landscape
novel, technology-mediated interaction preferences. Consequently, these topics were
design ideas within the forest context. prevalent in participants’ discussions during the day.
The first two workshops concentrated on two distinct
card-based methods, while the third adopted a more
free-form approach that involved the addition of a
third set of cards.
The first two outdoor exploration events involved
engaging with the location-based game known as
geocaching. Geocaching1 is a location-based treasure-
hunt game where players look for hidden containers
(caches) with the help of GPS. Launched in 2000, it has
more than 3 million active caches hidden all over the
world. Geocaching has been utilised in previous
studies exploring cultural ecosystem services [19],
recreational ecosystem services [20] and, as it is a Figure 1: Second field trip.
community-generated game, it has been seen as a
useful tool for the generation of new game ideas [21]. The third event involved exploring the
The ideation methods used are aligned with playful surroundings of a hut in Finnish Lapland. The
design [22] and influenced by the design methods participants were attendees at a gamification-focused
described in the “Universal methods of design” [23]. The conference (N=16). At the beginning of the workshop,
process of reporting is inspired by the best practices of they were invited to venture into the snow-covered
how game jam research presents the events organised forests surrounding the hut and engage with the
and the resulting games (e.g. [24] and [12]). environment for an hour in any way they found
Both activities include playful and gamified interesting. They were asked to reflexively focus on
elements. Specifically, the card-based ideation their lived experiences during this time and consider if
1 https://www.geocaching.com/play (Retrieved 2 https://uniteflagship.fi (Retrieved 11.1.2024)
11.1.2024)
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and how these experiences brought them joy. After co-
experiencing this forest immersion, participants The Hybridex Deck allows for the creation of new
returned to the hut and received a set of small cards to ideas or the improvement of an existing one. The users
document the things they had just experienced. These draw a CASE, CATALYST and PATTERN card (and an
cards facilitated the documenting of four types of data: additional IDEA card if they want to create a new one).
1. Anecdotes of their experiences. CASE cards represent existing examples of hybrid
2. Reflections they had during those events. products or services (e.g. Romo the Robot), CATALYST
3. Design ideas for technologies that could cards present specific phenomena in the area of
enhance those kinds of experiences. physical digital hybrids (e.g. quantified self), PATTERN
4. Memories of past forest-related experiences cards highlight patterns of existing cases (e.g. photo
evoked during the exercise. play), and, finally, IDEA cards are intended to offer
These cards later served as inspirational material inspiration [27].
for generating the design ideas elaborated upon during The VNA deck is a set of VERB, NOUN, and
the workshop. ADJECTIVE cards, each with just a single word printed
on one side. The words, which are related to playful
hybrid products and services that combine physical
2.2. Workshops and digital properties, are used to build the idea
sequentially, e.g. by taking turns. The VNA method has
The second part of each design event centred around a been used in the past at game jam events [29].
design workshop inspired by game jams [26], a In the third and final workshop, two additional
framework in which several organisers and design materials were employed: First, as noted above,
participants had extensive expertise, both practical participants built on the cards they produced as a
and academic. The participants were instructed to result of their 1-hour engagement with the nearby
build on the experiences and recollections of the field forest. Second, they were given decks of the ”human-
trip and use card-based methods to ideate forest interaction play potentials cards”: a collection of
technologically mediated playful interactions with cards developed that featured a range of playful
forests. In all workshops, but especially the first two, experiences identified in recent research into the
the Hybridex Deck [27] and the VNA cards [28] were playful potential of forest-related activities [30].
utilised (see Figure 2). Both methods required Taking these two resources as inspirational material,
participants to draw a sequence of cards from a participants were invited to ideate on how technology
specific deck, whose combination would offer might support joyful forms of human-nature
instructions and inspiration on how to develop a interaction.
design idea. Finally, to concretise and visualise the ideas, toys
such as LEGO bricks and other props were used in an
activity of low-fi prototyping and pretend playtesting.
Participants used play representations of the
technologically mediated interaction they ideated and
used the props such as LEGO figures to illustrate how
users might interact with them. The resulting ideas
were finalised and recorded as a video of toy-play or
play-acting [15] to display the possible interaction
patterns with the games and maintain a record of the
experience.
2.3. Reporting and analysis
As the workshops conclude in the creation of videos
where the ideas are acted out, data is created for use in
analysis as a part of the workshop design. In addition
to the videos, the differing workshop activities and
how different design tools are made available are
stored. The use of tools and the activities participants
took part in provides insight into how the ideas were
created and is presented in section 3 together with the
resulting ideas. A narrative analysis of the generated
videos themselves is presented in section 4. This style
of analysis, grounded in generative semiotics [31], is
chosen as it allows a systematic and in-depth
engagement with the videos, despite their short length.
The research approach used in this paper can be
distilled into the following steps:
1. Workshops are organised that include
Figure 2: Card-based ideation methods VNA (top), outdoor exploration and the use of ideation
Hybridex Deck (middle) and Play potential cards methods.
(bottom).
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2. The workshops are concluded in such a way 3.2. Session 2
that resulting ideas are acted out and
captured as videos. For session two, 17 participants attended the
3. The resulting ideas and the ideation methods workshop session, including three who joined only for
that were used are described. that session. The participants were split into five
4. The resulting videos are analysed using groups of 3 to 5 participants, three used the Hybridex
narrative analysis. Deck [27] and two used the VNA cards [28].
Additionally, a selection of LEGOs, playing cards, pens
3. Resulting ideas and paper were made available to all. The groups
developed the following ideas, one final idea per group
(See Figure 4).
In this section, the three ideation sessions and the
Group one used the Hybridex Deck. The idea is a 2-
resulting game ideas are presented. See Table 1 for an
player console game or phone app. The player plays as
overview of the twelve ideas created in total, together
a black grouse or hunter and moves around a board
with the ideation cards that were used by the group,
with flowers and obstacles. As a grouse, you get points
the idea description, and themes that can be derived
when flowers are eaten. The hunter gets points from
from the idea. The number of participants in each
pointing a sword at the grouse. The game ends when
session is not always exactly the same as the number
the hunter kills the grouse by touching it. The final
of participants in the outdoors activity. Specifically,
video of the game was acted out using Lego characters,
there were more participants in the outdoors portion
flowers, and obstacles on a Lego board and included an
in sessions 1 and 2 compared to the workshop portion.
audio description. Playful music was added to the
There were also some participants at the session 2
video for effect.
workshop who did not participate in the outdoors
Group two used the VNA deck. In the idea, a young
activity.
couple battle a dragon to save their magical forest idyll.
In the final video, the game was acted out using Lego
3.1. Session 1 characters. The game is story-driven and lights to
create drama in the video.
For session 1, 9 participants attended the workshop Group three used the VNA deck. In the game, there
session. They were split into two groups of 4 and 5 are two players (Bob and Olivia). Each player finds
participants, one using the Hybridex Deck [27] and the geocaches and guesses whether the other player likes
other the VNA cards [28]. Additionally, a selection of the geocache. If there is agreement, then they get
LEGOs, playing cards, pens and paper were made points but no points if they do not match. At the end of
available to all. the game if they do not meet a threshold then Bob has
Group one used the Hybridex Deck to guide their to pick flowers. In the final video of the game, the game
ideation phase. As a result, the group imagined a was acted out using Lego characters and trees to depict
mixed-reality game which fostered forest engagement where the geocaches are.
and helped players learn about wildlife and the Group four used the Hybridex deck. In the resulting
complexity of the ecosystem. Players would use an app game, the player builds structures to protect the
to scan plants found in the wild, identify the species character from a dangerous typhoon that is
selected, and learn about them. Each scan of a new approaching. In the video, the game was acted out
plant would also grant the players some virtual ”seeds” using Lego depicting the structures and the typhoon.
to be used in their own customised virtual garden. In Group five used the Hybridex deck. The game
that game space, the real plants’ counterparts will involves playing as a robotic ant that roams the forest
grow and reproduce. collecting data. The video of the game was acted out
Group two used the VNA Deck to guide their using Lego to depict the character and the forest. A
ideation phase. In their final idea, a visitor arrives at a picture-in-picture mode is used to show what the
lean-to shelter in a forest. There they find a magic character sees in the forest using a video of a real
portal (a real-time video screen) that lets them travel forest. Playful music was added to the video for effect
through time to view different scenarios of the forest along with text displaying the game name.
around them, as well as forests in other parts of the
world through a network of connected shelters.
Initially, the screen shows a dystopian future, in a
destroyed forest. The players are then given tasks (e.g.,
trapping virtual invasive species with virtual fences)
which, once completed, see the forest condition begin
to improve. The final ideas of both groups were
recorded as two short videos using LEGOs to visualise
them (see Figure 3).
Figure 4: Session 2 games (Top left - Group 3, Bottom
Figure 3: Session 1 games (group 1 on the left, group left - Group 4, Centre - Group 5, Top right, Group 1,
2 on the right) recorded as LEGO play. Bottom right - Group 2).
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Table 1
List of all resulting ideas.
Session 1
Group Card deck Description Themes
1 Hybridex A digital gardening game which prompts Indoor-outdoor game, gardening,
players to go to a real forest and identify invasive species, environmental
invasive species. Digital garden restored to protection, real-world impact.
former glory by removing invasive species in
the real world.
2 VNA Portals connect forest recreation areas Invasive species, environmental
around the world. Augmented reality reveals protection, epic adventure, global
a dystopian vision with invasive species village, collaborative games
behind players. Players collaborate on tasks
to clear areas.
Session 2
Group Card deck Description Themes
1 Hybridex 2-player turn-taking game involving a hunter Hunting, resource management,
and game bird. Points are given for tasks. The chasing, strategy game, role-playing
game ends when the hunter kills the bird.
2 VNA A young couple battle a dragon to save their Forest peace and harmony, epic
magical forest idyll. fantasy, action-adventure, love
story, role-playing, conflict,
environmental protection.
3 VNA Two players find geocaches and guess How well do you know your friend?
whether the other player likes the geocache. Guessing game, geocaching,
Points for correct guesses. A threshold must punishment, location-based game
be met to avoid punishment.
4 Hybridex The game requires you to build structures to Climate change and mitigation, wild
protect your character from the approaching nature, human safety, adaptation,
dangerous typhoon. structure building, tower defence
game
5 Hybridex The game involves playing as a robotic ant Data collection, robotics, remote
that roams the forest collecting data. control, being in the forest remotely,
sandbox game,
simulation game
Session 3
Group Card deck Description Themes
1 Play An app for creating an asynchronous nature Mobile app, audio-based,
potential experience by recording and mixing sounds asynchronous experience, social
at a location for sharing with others.
2 Nothing Tasks are given to the user to enjoy nature Tactile experience, quests, enjoying
specific with e.g. hugging a tree or lying down on nature
moss.
3 Play Information is conveyed on how feeding Learning, story, wellbeing of animals
potential animals in the park can have bad
consequences.
4 Nothing An app invites the user to be mindful with Mobile app, mindfulness,
specific trees nearby. relaxation, location based
114
underneath the snow cover. In the final video, a Lego
character moves on snow, also made of Lego. It is
3.3. Session 3 revealed that there are cavernous structures under the
snow and even more things from the previous season
In session 3, participants were divided into 5 groups, hidden beneath the snow.
each consisting of 3 to 4 members. The use of card-
based methods in this session was not as integral to the
process in this session as the previous sessions.
Specific decks were not distributed to the groups, and
they had the flexibility to use any cards from the three
decks offered (VNA, HYBRIDEX, Play potential) and
could also use the nature experience cards they were
encouraged to create during the outdoors activity (see
Figure 5). For creating the videos, the groups once
again had access to LEGOs, as well as toys and objects
that were found within the workshop location (See
Figure 6). Additionally, they incorporated the outdoor
elements into their videos.
Figure 6: Session 3 games (Top left - Group 1, Bottom
left - Group 3, Centre - Group 2, Top right, Group 4,
Bottom right - Group 5).
4. Analysis
A simple narrative analysis was conducted, grounded
in generative semiotics [31] on all the videos produced
in the workshops. The analysis focused on their story
arc (the initial situation, its development, and the
ending), the characters (who are they and how do they
relate to their environment and to technology),
settings (what are the places that are represented and
Figure 5: Cards filled by participants.
how is it done), values (what are the values embedded
more or less explicitly in the story) and, lastly, the goal
Group one used the Play potential cards to aid their
(that a character or the designer is trying to
ideation. The idea is that it is possible to record and
accomplish).
mix audio at specific locations and share the result
As the videos were short (between 0:20 - 3:03
with others. This is accomplished with a mobile phone
minutes), analysis was conducted by watching the
application that is made as an asynchronous
videos and reporting how the above categories
experience for the users. In the final video, a person
appeared in them.
walks on snow towards a hut. There is a puddle of
water at the hut.
The person records the sound of light rain hitting 4.1. Analysis of concepts from
the water and walks away. Group two did not use a session 1 (videos enacted with
specific card method. Their idea revolves around the
idea of tasks being given to the user in order to LEGO)
promote enjoyment of the forest. In the final video,
nature scenery is first shown, followed by cards with Group 1: In the story, an avatar is playing in a digital
simple tasks (e.g. ”hum a tune like the sound of your garden. They want the vegetation to be more varied.
steps on the snow” and ”lie down on a bed of moss”) The player visits a forest in the real world, scanning
and then a doll is shown acting out these tasks. plants to obtain digital seeds. The scanned flower
Group three used the Play potential cards. Their reveals itself as invasive in both the game and real life.
idea is to warn about the dangers of behaving without The player uproots it in both environments.
better knowledge in the forest. In the final video, three Characters: Only one human character, present in the
birds are given a piece of cake by two elf dolls. Next, game through a robot-looking avatar, and physically in
the birds die, and the elves realise that it is because of the real world. Setting: Two settings: (1) a digital
the cake. garden (represented as a playful space with weird
Group four did not use a specific card method. sculptures and vegetation), (2) a Finnish forest
Their idea involved creating an application that (represented through a few elements: a tree, moss, and
informs the user about places to stop and be mindful. a flower). Values: (1) fun / customisation (the player
In the final video, a person walks in the snow and their enjoys taking care of the virtual garden), (2)
phone informs them that there is something next to enjoyment of nature (when moving in the real forest),
them. The person then moves to relax in front of tree, (3) ecosystem integrity (removing invasive species
and the video concludes with a view of the tree. from both environments). Goals: The aim of the game
Group five did not use a specific card method. Their seems to be teaching about biodiversity and activating
idea is to use a gamified application to sense the world actions for removing invasive species.
115
Group 2: In the story, a forest visitor reaches a (the game is about testing one’s knowledge about
laavu (a forest shelter) and finds a magic portal which another person), (2) fun (the game is supposed to be
allows them to see a dystopian future. The player fun to play). Goals: The goal of the game is to guess
completes tasks with a friend (e.g. traps invasive which geocaches someone else would like.
species) and the future vision transforms into a better Group 4: In the story, a typhoon hit a coastal area.
one. Characters: A forest visitor and a helper friend. A 3D printer, created for this purpose, prints a bench
Their opponent is some abstractly represented that is both indestructible and reassuring (playing
invasive species. Setting: A laavu in a Finnish forest, a music and soothing messages) to protect a person
digital representation of the future. The future is filled there. The person is unaffected by the storm.
with unnatural elements, mostly black, which are Characters: The main characters are the designers
exchanged with green colour and plants when it that set up the 3D printer, not represented in the video
transforms. Values: (1) friendship (voiceover insists besides in the voiceover. The main opponent is the
on collective action), (2) control (players fence off the typhoon, represented as a colourful LEGO tower. Only
invasive species), (3) ecosystem integrity (removing one human character is represented, as a passive
invasive species from both environments). Goals: The entity being protected by the 3D printed bench.
aim is to do multiple tasks with friends to improve the Setting: The setting is a beach (a shore in yellow and a
outlook of the area at the lean-to. sea in blue). On it, are two structures: a 3D printer and
a bench (the latter looks like a bunker, both
represented with very colourful LEGO pieces). Values:
4.2. Analysis of concepts from (1) Safety (the project is about protecting and
session 2 (videos enacted with reassuring). Goals: The goal is to protect people and
LEGO) help them survive a storm and feel safe.
Group 5: In the story, a robotic ant with a human
Group 1: In the story, the avatar of a hunter and a driver moves across a forest collecting data.
grouse move in a digital space. The grouse eats some Characters: A robot-ant, composed of one vehicle with
flowers before being slain by the hunter with a sword. long antenna-like sensors and a human driver wearing
Characters: Two opponents: the grouse feeding on a helmet. Setting: The setting is a forest, represented
flowers and a hunter pursuing the grouse with a long by a series of trees, leaves, and flowers, but also
laser sword. Setting: A digital space with maze-like human-made fences. Some video footage of the forest
qualities. The characters start at opposite sides of it. excursion is visible in the top left corner of the screen
Values: (1) fun (it is presented as a game), (2) and at the end of the video. Values: (1) Data (data
sustainability (voiceover stated the game aims at collection is presented as an important endeavour).
teaching sustainable hunting practices and Finnish Goals: The goal is to scan the forest with the robotic
culture), (3) Achievement (both characters pursue ant.
clear achievable objectives). Goals: Each of the two
players in the game attempts to reach a win condition: 4.3. Analysis of concepts from
the grouse eats flowers and reaches the top of the tree
or the hunter kills the grouse.
session 3 (live action videos
Group 2: In the story, a boy and a girl want to live and videos enacted with toys)
in peace in a magical forest, a dragon attacks them and
attempts to destroy the forest. After a battle, they kill Group 1: In the story, Isabella hears some trickling
the dragon. Characters: There are two human water while on a stroll. She uses a phone app to record
characters working together. They are represented the sound and shares it with others (who can access
with LEGO bricks and their genders are coded with and remix it via the app). She then continued her stroll.
light blue and pink colours. The opponent is a dragon, Characters: The only character present is Isabella.
also made out of LEGO bricks. The dragon fire is also Other humans are inferred by the use of the app.
represented with LEGO and highlighted with light Setting: A village covered in snow, featuring some far
effects. Setting: A magical forest is divided into two away trees and several wooden buildings. Water
sides, one for each main character. There is a tower trickles from a cabin’s overhang to a puddle below.
behind which the dragon is hiding and returns to die. Values: (1) aesthetics (the sounds of nature as a
Values: (1) companionship (the main characters want pleasurable aesthetic experience), (2) creativity
to live together), (2) harmony (they want a peaceful (remixing and editing natural sounds), 3) sociality
life in the forest), (3) valour (the story is about battles (sharing the sounds with others). Goal: To record, edit,
and might). Goals: The goal is for the boy and girl to and share soundscapes with others.
defeat the dragon and conquer the forest. Group 2: A person is roaming in the forest and
Group 3: In the story, there are two friends, Bob finds a series of invitations that suggest different
and Olivia. Bob visits 5 geocaches and marks which actions (hug a tree, lay on moss...). She then does all
ones he thinks Olivia would like. Next, they go together those actions. She finally finds one last invitation
to the caches and score points if Bob’s predictions are telling her to keep enjoying the forest. Characters: The
correct. The first two are correct, but not the third. To only character is one person, represented by a doll.
remedy this, Bob has to go into a pit and pick flowers Setting: A forest, represented with several pictures of
for Olivia. Characters: Two human characters, Bob trees and mushrooms, with some sticks and pinecones,
and Olivia collaborating. Setting: The setting is a and finally with a series of items (Christmas
forest, specifically five locations containing geocaches decorations, pieces of wood...). Values: (1) enjoyment
and a pit containing flowers. Values: (1) friendship (the value of the forest comes from the enjoyment of
116
it), (2) discovery (there are hidden clues to be found), influence of the field trip discussions, which often
(3) sensations (the game focuses on the sensations and focused on the impacts of invasive species on forest
feelings from interacting with the forest). Goal: The management and deforestation pressures.
goal is to do activities that get the person closer to the In the second session with a larger number of
forest. groups, the themes were rather broad with many
Group 3: In the story, a child and a mother see forestry-related themes appearing in the final game
some birds. They feed them chocolate cake and leave. designs. Geocaching and data collection, themes that
The birds eat the cake and some of them die. The family appeared during the field trip, were directly integrated
returns, realises what they did and runs away. into two of the ideas. The nature theme was present in
Characters: Characters include a child and a parent, all of the ideas. Also, themes relating to environmental
represented by dolls, and three birds, represented by protection and climate change were present. These
bird-shaped egg cups. Setting: A space hosting some themes were explored using a variety of game types
trees, a rocky hill, and a yellow building. Values: (1) including collaborative games, sandbox games, and
compassion (the characters decide to feed the birds as role-playing games. Furthermore, many of the game
an act of kindness), (2) escape from consequences designs used role-playing, fantasy, and epic adventure
(while feeling guilty, the characters run away from the as part of their design.
dead birds). Goal: Teaching people that feeding In the third session, most participants focused on
animals can be damaging. the human experiences of nature. All settings reflected
Group 4: In the story, a person walks on a snowy some form of interaction with natural phenomena, and
path and stops when he receives a notification on their all reflected, in one way or another, values that
phone. Probably prompted by it, he then notices a tree included aesthetic enjoyment and creativity, felt
at his left and approaches it. He then seems to meditate connection with the forest, and insight beyond what
or pray next to the tree. Characters: A person acted by the eyes can see. Even though the third idea aimed to
a human. Setting: A path near several threes. A bridge minimise the harm done to wildlife, its tone was also
and some buildings are visible down the path. Values: very much focused on human enjoyment, as signified
(1) surprise (the character seems to enjoy being by the child’s excitement and appreciation of the birds.
suddenly notified), (2) Mindfulness (the character The awareness that was the core of this idea was
eagerly engages in some meditative activity). Goal: To another prevalent theme—all other ideas included
find places to relax in the forest. forms of noticing and being mindful of and with the
Group 5: In the story a person walks on a snowy forest.
path and, thanks to some kind of application, can In Session 1, the themes were focused on dystopian
visualise patterns in the snow and even what is futures and technological advancements which may
beneath it - flora, fauna, water, etc. Characters: A reflect on the gamification researchers’ exposure to
person represented as a LEGO figure. Setting: A snowy these themes in the games they work with. However,
path and the layers beneath it. The layers are Session 2 seems to be more about enhancing existing
represented as a white snowy uneven surface with a activities or re-imagining them. The forest researchers
small stream crossing it, and a green surface with some are likely participating in these activities themselves,
flowers on it. Values: (1) perception (the app allows us such as hunting, protecting forests from risks,
to see complexity under the surface, (2) mobility measuring, and recreation. Session 3 is more diverse
(voice-over explains that this could lead to new ways and has a stronger connection to mindfulness overall.
of moving things and people via water/snow). Goal: This may be due to the mixed make-up of the group,
To discover what is under the surface of the snow. but also the different workshop structure that
emphasizes reflexivity exercises.
The outdoor activities worked well in connection
5. Discussion with the workshop activities. Clear connections to the
outdoor activities offered to the participants can also
All three design days produced creative ideas on how be seen in the produced ideas e.g. geocaching and a
to use technology for human-forest interaction and lean-to shelter as a game location appear in the ideas.
resulted in twelve distinct ideas captured in video Mindfulness and sensing nature is also a theme that
format. The themes included learning, social was promoted through the cards participants filled out
interactions, hunting, resource management, forest in session 3.
peace and harmony, adventure, environment In general, all of the ideation methods were
protection, conflict, geocaching, climate change, safety, successful in helping the participants generate the
mindfulness, robotics, and data collection. ideas. The field trips, along with the stated goals and
There were differences in the composition of the backgrounds of the participants, directed the
participants in the sessions. The first session consisted ideation process towards human-forest interaction,
mostly of gamification researchers, the second session which was the main goal. As a result, all of the final
mostly of forest science researchers, and the third ideas were very much grounded in this area. Although
session was a mix of gamification researchers, forest specific ideation cards work well when used, they
sciences researchers and researchers from other might not be essential as there are a multitude of other
fields. The sessions were also slightly different in tools available.
execution, as there was more freedom for the The analysis shows that three main types of
participants in the third session. narrative were presented. The most common is a
In the first session, the groups chose to reflect on ”gameplay” type (displaying some sort of playful
the negative consequences of direct, or indirect, activity - like the hunting game). There is also a ”scene”
human activity in the forest. This illustrates the type (in which there are no important changes of
117
status, but more the illustration of some principle - like in these cases relating to pro-social, healthy, and
perceiving what is hidden under the snow), and a nature-caring actions. The goals presented in the
”story” type (where some events are narrated - as in videos often explicitly highlight this exact connection.
the bird feeding video). The types of stories suggest a
focus on technology-mediated interactions that
generally have immediate and local effects - there is no 6. Conclusions
representation of long or wide scale consequences.
While this is probably due to the workshops’ The way the three design days were structured, with
instructions, it could be important in the future, to outdoor activities and collaborative workshops,
incorporate a more systemic and ecological layer to proved to be effective in directing participants’
the reflection. Interestingly, many of the stories creative efforts towards genuine and pressing issues in
featuring non-human characters had to do with killing the forestry sector, as well as towards a focus on well-
them, either voluntarily (in the hunting game and the being. The approach was accessible enough for
dragon battle) or involuntarily (the birds killed by everyone to participate, and all groups were successful
cake). This observation is somewhat surprising: in producing a video that captured their idea. The
despite the attempt to be conscious about nature in the videos manage to take what would regularly be a
walks and workshops, it seems that transcending an textual representation of the idea into a more tangible
antagonistic relationship with non-human creatures audio-visual representation that effectively
has not been fully realised. communicated and saved the produced idea. Effective
The characters are predominantly humans, or communication is key when moving from an idea to an
humans augmented with technology (game avatars). implementation.
Non-human characters are only mentioned or have Based on these findings, future efforts in designing
limited agency (the birds that eat cake and die), with playful systems for human-forest interaction would
the notable exception of the grouse and the dragon benefit from a similar approach, since forest play and
(both of which are killed, and the dragon is an informed discussions in combination provided a
unnatural character). Most stories feature only one or strong foundation for creative undertakings.
two characters, generally already related (friends, Still, there are also limitations to this approach.
family). This suggests a perception that interactions Specifically, the solution is currently reliant on
with forests and nature are a privileged space, where participants being able to be physically present at a
social bonds among humans are reinforced or enjoyed. location that is suitable for driving ideation. This
This could, in part, be attributed to the forest limitation could potentially be mitigated through the
excursions that preceded the workshops. In the future, use of virtual reality solutions. Another limitation of
it may be important to expand the stories to the study itself is that all of the participants were
encompass larger social groups and include non- somehow engaged in academia. It is not possible to
human characters. conclude how the approach would work with a
All of the settings in the videos represent different participant demographic.
environments with strong natural components There are many potential future directions for this
(forests, paths, shorelines). In some cases, these are work, e.g. (1) implementing designs based on the
mediated or completely virtual spaces. The elements findings, (2) conducting more workshops with a
used to represent these spaces are limited, and include similar setup within the same topic area or a different
a green base (representing grass), trees, moss, flowers, one, (3) conducting the workshops partially in virtual
snow, and streams/puddles. Most spaces contain only reality in such a way that it is not necessary to visit the
very few of these elements (between 3 and 7) to actual on-site locations, and (4) improving the
symbolise large natural spaces. The elements workshop method and creating more specific
generally have no specific significance but are generic guidelines into organising such workshops.
indicators of ”nature”. Most environments also include
some traces of human activity, such as structures or
vehicles. The repetition of elements, and the insistence Acknowledgements
on certain items (several videos contain some form of
interaction with flowers) can be due to the toys This research is supported by Research Council of
available to the participants. Many of the interactions Finland decisions 337653, 357907, 337127 and
and apps appear to be adaptable to many spaces, so 357906.
that the specificities of a place are not taken into
account, in order to, instead, maximise adaptability.
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