Designing Collective Experience: A Research-through-Design Framework for Gameful Multisensory Interaction

Abstract

This study investigates how multisensory and gameful interaction can be mobilized to shape collective embodied experiences within contemporary media environments through an interactive installation, Garden of Balloons: Synaesthetic Play and Collective Perception, which is designed around shared multisensory play. Through touch, scent, sound, and visual feedback, participants engage in collective activities that form the basis of this research-through-design (RtD) investigation. As participants move and play together, they begin to respond to one another in ways that create moments of shared attention and connection. Drawing observations, video recordings, and participant reflections, this study reflects these moments and derives a set of design principles for future multisensory and gameful experiences. At a time when many everyday interactions take place through screens and digital platforms, the findings suggest that multisensory gameful systems can create opportunities for people to pay attention to one another and share experiences in the same space. Moreover, interactive art becomes more than a medium for expression. It can also provide moments for people to connect, participate, and experience a sense of togetherness.