INTERACTION DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR INTERACTIVE ...

(a) (b)
Figure 5.10 TiVo WishList (a) and (b)
Principle: Enhancements must be intimately tied to content
Enhanced content within iTV programming should intimately support the content
and theme of the program. To be most effective, they should not be merely factoids or
trivia that only divert the viewer’s attention. Instead, iTV enhancements work to their full
potential and advantage when they serve to deepen the viewer’s relationship with the
world of the program.
Information appearing in the enhanced area should be tightly coupled to the
screen, or the action occurring within the fictional world. It should be relevant to the
moment and pique the curiosity of the viewer, motivating them to act. Skelly, et al,
observe that “Producers of film and television programming have had many years to
refine techniques for engaging the human brain’s attention-fixing mechanisms.
Unfortunately, studies indicate that passive viewing alone does not provide the emotional
rewards found in more actively engaging activities such as sports, hobbies, or video
games. In order to engage viewers enough to simply press a button, it may be necessary
to challenge them, but at a level appropriate to their abilities and desires – starting
simply, perhaps, with curiosity” (1994).
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