Co-experience: Understanding user experiences in social interaction

ability can be divided further into functional, structural, audiovisual and social
playability. (Järvinen et al. 2002).
If the willingness to be entertained is partly supported by the environment
and partly the person’s choice, what other factors affect the situation where
fun is to be had? The context of the social gathering is essential to the success
of for example an enjoyable game experience. While the game is played, realities
outside the game are consciously ignored and as long as the rules are followed,
play is fair. The management of tension, or the disparity between the
outside realities that are suspended and the gaming realities that are played
with, is essential to the success of game gatherings and game play. Only as participants
can people then enjoy and have fun in winning. However, participants
may become too involved in the game and take it so seriously that fun disappears.
If people leave in the middle, the remaining participants have to work
harder to try to maintain the fun in the game. (Goffman 1961) Fun, games and
play are also affected, then, by the social context and a mutually maintained
agreement to have fun.
The above examples suggest that fun is a matter of perception, framing and
interpretation which has to do with activities, their purpose and a temporary,
manageable and mutually agreed detachment from “serious” reality. Fun has
a social dimension, because framing situations is more enjoyable when others
engage in it too; having others around helps in maintaining the tension
between the big picture and the “fun” activity at hand. Fun is then not a property
of a product per se, but rather a type of action with self-contained aims
and purposes that can be communicated and understood by others as well. In
the work and play contrast, fun is about instant gratification, which is gained
at the expense of the “real outside world”. In practice it may be integral to our
wellbeing, and called forth because of unnatural demands on “serious” work
and productivity.
56 2 USER EXPRERIENCE DEMYSTIFIED
2.2.2 WHAT A PRETTY THING!
EMOTIONS AND DESIGN
Most people remember a moment of unbelievable frustration with a video recorder
or similar product. Sometimes these experiences are the unpleasant
norm rather than the odd exception. All product developers are keen to minimise
the frustration, dissatisfaction and desperation that alienate customers
and anger users. In the context of product design and user research, emotional
responses are interesting because of their business consequences: emotional
responses to the product itself or advertising help the customers select a product
from among many similar ones. As Desmet elaborates, seeing, using, own-