Master’s thesis / Interactive Media and Game Development
A comparison of two dollhouses: one tangible and one holographic. This page presents the project as an early investigation into hybrid physical/digital systems, craft, materiality, social interaction, and adult play.
Research question
The thesis asks how the creation process changes when a dollhouse is made with digital, holographic media rather than tangible media, and how play in a tangible dollhouse compares to play in a holographic one.
Project setting
The project uses the Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island as a source of personal memory, scale, atmosphere, and material imagination.
Core themes
The thesis organizes both the making process and the user study around these three experiential themes.
Project narrative
All Through the Night is a precursor to later dissertation work because it stages the relationship between craft knowledge, digital media, spatial computing, and embodied play.
The tangible dollhouse emphasizes handwork, scale, surface, weight, texture, light, and miniature objects. The holographic dollhouse emphasizes spatial media, immaterial presence, scale-shifting, and interaction in augmented reality.
Methods
Curated gallery
These images were extracted from the thesis and selected for portfolio presentation. Hover or focus on an image for a larger preview.
Figure 1-4 A playful overlay.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 10: A playful overlay
Figure 3-1 Details from the interior of the holographic dollhouse.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 21: Details from the interior of the holographic dollhouse
Figure 3-2/3 Details from the tangible dollhouse and having tea inside it.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 23: Details from the tangible dollhouse and having tea inside it
Figure 3-4 The tangible dollhouse setup.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 24: The tangible dollhouse setup
Figure 3-5 The completed dollhouse.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 25: The completed dollhouse
Figure 4-5 The holographic lighthouse against an historic building on WPI campus.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 29: The holographic lighthouse against an historic building on WPI campus
Figure 4-6/7 Social interaction and family help in the dollhouse project.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 31: Social interaction and family help in the dollhouse project
Figure 4-11 Playful interactions with the dollhouse.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 35: Playful interactions with the dollhouse
Figure 5-11 The holographic dollhouse on campus at WPI.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 53: The holographic dollhouse on campus at WPI
Figure 6-1 Study participants playing in the dollhouse.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 54: Study participants playing in the dollhouse
Figure 7-2 The dollhouse lighthouse beacon.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 73: The dollhouse lighthouse beacon
Figure 6-4 A study participant in the HMD.
Alt text: Thesis figure from page 57: A study participant in the HMD