Interview with James Brown
by Marianna Shek
I conducted an interview with Human Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher James Brown who will be exhibiting his game Taphobos for the upcoming Texture exhibition.
Me: What does ‘Taphobos’ mean?
James: Taphobos is a mash-up of the Greek for tomb, τάφος — taphos, and fear φόβος — phobos.
Me: Can you tell us briefly about the development of Taphobos?
James: The original idea for the game came from a 2 day hackathon at the University of Nottingham during a Performance and Games Network workshop. A team involving myself and 4 others, Ida Marie Toft, Mike Kalyn, Andreas Taske and Linda McConnon came up with a coffin experience using an Oculus Rift and, at the time, a cardboard box so you felt uncomfortable and immersed whilst looking around.
This prototype was then taken to a local game exhibition and shown to the public for the first time, many people had a go and we got some great feedback. The potential of the game in research and general terms encouraged me to use it as a basis for a Masters by Research in Computer Science at the University of Lincoln. The research is based on “Uncomfortable Gaming Experiences” and uses past investigations in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to guide the development of the game.
Me: You’ve described Taphobos as an ‘uncomfortable gaming experiences’. What are your thoughts about the area of gaming that is moving away from entertaining player experiences?
James: This area is a very interesting a growing sector of the games industry. Though for some time we have had horror games and such that use psychological discomfort to make an engaging experience, thanks to new technology such as VR and AR we are now seeing games that use physiological (physical) discomfort to add an extra layer to player experience. As the technology develops I am sure we will see more and more of this type of game.
Me: This is the first time Taphobos has been exhibited in Australia. What can the players expect from this experience?
James: Firstly, I hope that the local Australian dangers won’t make Taphobos seem tame compared to everyday life, but the feedback from players from the UK, Europe and the USA has been very positive. Of course some people shudder at the prospect of getting inside a real coffin but fortunately Taphobos is a 2 player game so there is always room for players who don’t want to get inside. For those that do go inside they seem to go through various stages of emotion, from the initial shock when the lid goes on to the gradual realisation that they need to communicate with the other player if they want to get out any time soon.
Me: Where to next for your research? Can we expect a sequel to Taphobos?
James: We are investigating some aspects of this type of game that have come up during our initial investigations and they will hopefully be published in the near future. Though the research will culminate in my MSc dissertation early next year. Once that has been completed we have some ideas about how to commercialise the game so more people around the world can have a go and perhaps make their own coffin games. In terms of a sequel I hope that if we can get some form of coffin to more people then we could see a variety of unique concepts that will carry on the Taphobos spirit.
Me: Thanks for the interview and we’re looking forward to playing Taphobos at the TEXTure exhibition, The Edge 13th -18th October.
Marianna Shek is a writer and producer completing a Doctorate of Visual Arts in transmedia writing. Her story application Limerence explores the shape of the digital novel as it moves away from the book design. It was developed as part of her digital writing residency for the Northern Territory Writer’s Centre and was shortlisted for the Student New Media Writing Prize at the University of Bournemouth.
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