Musical Embrace: Using Social Awkwardness as a Game Ingredient

Some social situations can be awkward. However, socially awkward situations are not always negative; examples from the entertainment domain suggest that they can also result in memorable and engaging experiences. Yet so far, there has been little exploration into social awkwardness and digital games. In response, we present Musical Embrace, a digital game that requires physical contact between strangers through the use of a pillow-like controller that requires pressure from their torsos to move through a virtual soundscape. Through our observations from demonstrating Musical Embrace at an open house event, we developed a set of strategies to engage players in socially awkward digital play. With our work we hope to guide game designers when considering social awkwardness as a compelling ingredient in digital games. Author Keywords Exertion game; social awkwardness; digital play; body contact; tangibles; uncomfortable interactions