Starting out as a minor form of amusement, the game industry has become one of the most lucrative andsuccessful in the entertainment business competing against giants such as television, movies and music.As the internal competition within the developer community grows companies work hard at discoveringnew ways to attract and keep customers. By having a playcentric approach focusing on user experiencethey hope to achieve that goal. This thesis describes the process of designing a game with focus on theplayer. We apply the concept of flow on game development and investigate through research throughdesign if we are able to create a game that keeps the player in flow. Play tests showed several elements such as control issues and too difficult challenges early in the game,affecting the possibility for players to experience flow while playing. These negative factors came to becalled flowleakers. In the end, based on our play tests, we were able to conclude that we achieved ourgoal of making a game that generated flow.

This research navigates the nuanced implications and intricate experiences tied to interacting with a shape-changing artifact conveying intimate data. The project follows an autobiographical soma design process where first-person exploration formed the design of The Pillow. The Pillow physically represents through its shape-changing elements, intimate data, particularly menstrual cycle data. I contribute an empirical study on the longer-term, in-situ deployment of shape-changing touch technology and present findings that capture the intimacy of the relationship cultivated with The Pillow over the course of two months. The Pillow’s shape-changing capability evoked emotional responses, including feelings of sadness and joy. The research suggests that establishing a connection through sensory engagement is a gradual process. Engaging with The Pillow through its dynamic touch fostered a deeper connection with the artifact, prompting more profound reflection on internal bodily changes, rather than solely relying on visual observation of the artifact. The study also uncovered that the way others interact with intimate data physicalization can impact the owner’s personal boundaries, highlighting the need for further exploration into individuals’ boundaries concerning the physicalization of intimate data in shared environments. / Denna forskning navigerar de nyanserade implikationerna och komplexa upplevelserna knutna till interaktion med en formförändrande artefakt som förmedlar intim data. Projektet följer en autobiografisk soma-designprocess där förstapersonsutforskning formade designen The Pillow. The Pillow representerar fysiskt genom sina formförändrande element intim data, särskilt menstruationscykeldata. Jag bidrar med en empirisk studie om den långsiktiga, in-situdeploateringen av formförändrande touchteknik och presenterar resultat som fångar intimarelationen som utvecklats med The Pillow under två månader. The Pillow:s formförändrande förmåga framkallade känslomässiga reaktioner, inklusive känslor av sorg och glädje. Forskningen antyder att etablerandet av en koppling genom sensorisk engagemang är en gradvis process. Att engagera sig med kudden genom dess dynamiska beröring främjade en djupare koppling med artefakten och stimulerade djupare reflektion över interna kroppsförändringar, snarare än att enbart förlita sig på visuell observation av artefakten. Studien avslöjade också att sättet andra interagerar med fysisk representation av intim data kan påverka ägarens personliga gränser och understryker behovet av ytterligare utforskning av individernas gränser gällande fysisk representation av intim data i delade miljöer.