Imprecise but Fun: Playful Interaction Using Electromyography

Journal article, 2022

Novel input methods for game design often excite users, especially if they extend the way one interacts with the system. Electromyography (EMG) has the inherent potential to provide an intuitive—yet challenging—input channel for interactive systems. While this difficulty in control often limits the scope of applications for EMG in most systems, we argue that these qualities are especially relevant for games and playful interaction. The inherently challenging qualities of EMG input make the modality a prime candidate for designing body-centric playful experiences. Yet, we still need to understand its limitations to create engaging rather than frustrating experiences for users. In this work, we investigate EMG’s potential to support playful interaction through exploratory studies, deriving feasible game interactions based on EMG’s technical constraints, and study their application in game design. Based on our findings, we highlight design implications and pitfalls to avoid when creating EMG-based entertainment systems.