Project Report The Marvel Cinematic Universe Mixed Reality ...

Project Report

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Mixed Reality Mobile Experience

By Deb Polson HUB Studio, QUT d.polson@qut.edu.au

QAGOMA Collaborators: Terry Deen - Head of Learning

HUB Studio Collaborators: Bryce Christensen - Web Programmer Sarah Quijano ? Graphic Production

Accessible at GOMA from May 26 to September 3, 2017.

Abstract

This report describes how a mobile experience was designed to create a playful illusion of mixed reality, intersecting the everyday space of a museum with the fantastic world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The aim was to arm the museum visitor with their own personal mobile device to transform displayed artefacts into explicit interfaces into the cinematic space, transporting and immersing them in the fictional world. The consequence of connecting the personal with the fictional in this way is that a zone of mixed reality is generated around the artefact simultaneously transforming the visitor into a hybrid version of part self as museum visitor and part agent gathering intel as a conspirator of the Marvel Universe. This mutual transformation of space and self is not an accidental consequence of the simple adoption of mobile technology, but a result of a refined interaction design practice taking into account all of the complex dynamics of the context, subject and stakeholders of the experience. To design and develop the final work, Deb Polson drew on years of experience with delivering large scale mixed reality projects for museum sites (SCOOT 2004-2009, Museum of Colliding Dimensions 2016). Subsequently, this report presents extensions of previously formed interaction design models and methods as well as a new strategy for acquiring `immersion levels' vital for contriving mixed reality experiences. Immersion levels are articulated as a sequence of deepening experience from basic distraction from the real to full submission to the fantasy. Such a strategy can be applied to project design and deployment and as a guide for evaluating the success of any work to engage participants with intersecting realities, in this case between the physical museum and cinematic world. This report also discusses the contingencies and limitations to the successful deployment of such an experience.

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Dr Deb Polson. October 8, 2017

Background

This project was designed with the support of Marvel Studios, Los Angeles and installed at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane between May 22 and September 3, 2017. The exhibition called, `Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe', became the most successful event in GOMAs' history with over 15,000 visitors recorded in a single day. The exhibition included displays of some of the most iconic artefacts from popular Marvel films as well as props that came directly from film sets still in production and had not yet been seen in cinemas. In October 2016, Deb Polson was approached to pitch new interactive works to be installed at the exhibition that both displayed the Marvel brand and provided a unique visitor experience with the museum context. After pitching and refining six very different concepts, the MCU mobile project became one of three projects selected and funded for development and installation.

Main deliverable considerations for this project were that it ? Be aesthetically and mechanically polished ? Be rigorous enough to withstand thousands of interactions a day ? Is able to withstand the scrutiny of hardcore fans and Marvel experts ? inspires interest in the Marvel Universe from non-fans ? represents both the Marvel brand and GOMA community ? be a colourful and playful experience for the younger visitors

The Interaction Design Approach

Context, Subject, Stakeholders and the Designer To successfully connect museum artefacts on display in a gallery with the cinematic universe of Marvel three key areas of consideration were identified early in the design process to establish the essential criteria for conceiving and presenting convincing project ideas: the context, the subject and the stakeholders:

? The Context: The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane has a vision to be the `leading institution for the contemporary art of Australia, Asia and the Pacific.' The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) was established nearby in 1982. But it wasn't until 2006 when GOMA became the `only art museum in Australia to feature purpose built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image' (QAG Annual Report 2015-16). With an active cinema program as well as gallery spaces, GOMA was well suited to presenting an international exhibition celebrating the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the designer, it was imperative to conceive works that were conducive to the GOMA environment and produce quality outputs commensurate to the expectations of key stakeholders within and around GOMA.

? The Subject: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has its' origins in the earlier Marvel Comics (1939) but has had an extraordinary growth of both critical and popular success in the cinema since 2008. There are 17 films included in the MCU GOMA event starting with The Incredible Hulk (2008) and most recently, Thor: Ragnarok (2017). The cinematic presentations of the Marvel Universe are rich with animation, sound, action and character developments and relationships. Marvel Studios are leaders in film-making innovation, especially with the development of special effects tools and techniques to bring such extraordinary fictional worlds into cinemas and homes with such detail and humour. In terms of the design objectives, it was essential to maintain the narrative, aesthetic and overall brand of Marvel Studios. To do so, a thorough study into the world and characters of Marvel was required to commence any kind of representative work and careful collaboration with Marvel Studio executives to verify any design decisions along the way. To become deeply familiar with the MCU, the designer watched all 17 films, referred to key publications and reviews, examined fan communities and creative activities and read comics before becoming a quasi-expert in the subject well enough to understand and connect critical MCU moments, characters and artefacts.

? The Stakeholders: Apart from the people of GOMA and Marvel Studios, there are a myriad of visitors with varying levels of interest and experience with either or both Marvel and GOMA. Most critical to the success of this project is the exhibition visitor. This is also the most challenging aspect of this project as the design team acknowledge the importance of engaging visitors within two very distinct experience extremes. The first being the hardcore Marvel fans who will arrive with a great deal of knowledge on the culture of the MCU and the visitors who have no interest in the subject, but are keen gallery visitors.

The Matrix of Extreme Stakeholders Here is a summary of what became the `Matrix of Extreme Stakeholders'. This kind of appraisal and understanding of the potential participant profiles is a design necessity for imagining the value of the project to visitors, articulating and evaluating the design progress with a team of developers and communicating the process and intentions with collaborators.

A detailed user profile and journey typical of user experience design (UXD) is not always required. Instead, with complex installations in complex sites with complex content, an appreciation of the potential attitudes and experience

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Dr Deb Polson. October 8, 2017

of extreme users is more helpful for applying concepts, inviting interactions and triggering transformations. For this project, I revised and combined an earlier version of a UXD Matrix (Polson & Morgan 2007) and the Human Dimensions Matrix (Polson 2013) developed for earlier mobile mixed reality projects, SCOOT and MiLK. For this new version, I considered the hardcore MCU Fan at one extreme and the Critical gallery lover at the other with the Curious visitor as a mid-level reference point. The two extreme visitors will approach the event with their own skepticism aimed at the gallery's presentation of the MCU. Note that as they are considered examples of extremes, the profiles can sound almost caricatured. This abridged version of visitor descriptions began as design assumptions to reference for design decisions during the making of the project, but were later often encountered and observed at the exhibition as noted in the matrix below.

Hardcore MCU Fan Invested deeply in the MCU culture, little interest with a gallery context

Curious Visitor Mild interest in either the MCU content or the Gallery context.

Pre-Visit Viewpoint Assumed At the extreme, the hardcore fan may expect to challenge the gallery's presentation of the MCU culture as a way to perform their knowledge, commitment and ultimately their status as a fan (I will refer to this kind of behavior as `Status Performance')

The impetus for visiting may come from either a curiosity for the subject matter (MCU) or an interest in the context (gallery) presentation of the content

General Visit Experience - Assumed At the least, the fans will enjoy the unique proximity to the artefacts that come directly from the sets of the MCU. They are expected to take the time to engage with each artefact, discussing its' origins, amazing in its' creation process and discussing the didactic details. They will be forensic in their analysis of the exhibition content and presentation. They will perform their knowledge to express their status with their peers and within the fan community.

It was assumed that this group would engage with casual interest. May have been to the gallery before and seen some of the Marvel movies or comics. But they expect to learn something new.

Specific Project Interaction Observed

Status Performance (MCU related) was observed as groups discussed MCU facts inspired by exhibited displays and challenged the accuracy of didactics. There was always a hierarchy of fan status observed in anyone group. The exhibition was an opportunity for them to guide others as well as to enjoy individually their proximity to authentic artefacts.

Many younger fans were so enamoured by the MCU that it was incredulous to them they were standing near an authentic artefact from the real film set that their heroes had actually handled. Overheard comments such as `NO! This can't be the real hammer'!, `Are you sure this is really Ironman's armour!?'.

This mobile experienced was an essential part in connecting, reminding and immersing the fan in the cinematic world.

The curious visitor was observed to have responded to the exhibition with an increased interest in both the MCU and the Gallery. Overheard comments such as `I didn't know Marvel did that!' or `We should come back to see that!'

Post-Visit Transformation Observed

We met a significant number of hardcore fans that came in multi-generational groups, most commonly fathers in their 40s with young children. On father mentioned that this was their first visit to an art gallery. Such groups were observed visiting other parts of the gallery to look at other events/exhibits and claimed they were looking forward to coming back to see future exhibits with their family. This is a total doubling of extremes from one (hardcore fan), embracing the other (critical art lover).

Increasing their Status Performance within the MCU and further increasing their comfort, confidence and status as museum experts through extending proximity to other parts of the gallery.

Some MCU fans crossed the `experience threshold' - using their familiarity with the MCU as an excuse to enter the unfamiliar museum world. Giving them confidence to return and engage further. A common observation was that the curious visitors made comments about their changed ideas about what to expect to see and do in a gallery. From passive presentation of historic forms to novel interaction with familiar content.

Critical Art Lover

Averse to the MCU content and loyal to more traditional art formats and histories

At the extreme, the committed gallery visitor/member may expect to be critical of the inclusion of the MCU in a gallery context. Judging the subject matter as `popular' or trivial rather than of `cultural' significance or value. They are likely suspicious of the Museums intentions to include the MCU and be wary of Marvel as big business exploiters.

If they are at the MCU exhibition, then they are probably there reluctantly. They are expected to at least engage with the craft of design (fashion, animation etc).

The design team interacted with the gallery guide groups (mostly volunteers) of whom most of them adamantly denied the MCU having any artistic. Some were even resentful of it being in the gallery at all. But after presenting the history, craft of costuming, concept art, production process, actor involvement etc... they were literally oohing and aghing over the artefacts and celebrities.

Many of the gallery guides we met earlier where later found on the gallery floor speaking enthusiastically and proudly about their newfound knowledge of the MCU. And some were actively seeking out people to convince and convert as they had been. Transforming how they engaged with youth as new peers and with peers as the new noobs. Creating a transformation loop. The art lovers as the site of conversion... the evangelists of new forms, technologies

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Dr Deb Polson. October 8, 2017

and critical languages/lenses applied in new ways.

Above is just a sample of the kinds of assumptions and observations that were made throughout the engagement process between the design team, Museum staff, exhibition visitors. There were also impressions and reviews in the

press that are not included here.

The Marvel Mixed Reality Mobile Experience

To participate, visitors follow mission clues on their mobiles to find specific artifacts from across the MCU exhibition. The visitors are rewarded at the artefacts with a scene from the film in which the artefacts first appear. This is the prime linking moment when the mobile interface merges the artefact on site with a clip from the cinematic world. The design team observed moments of sheer delight as visitors recalled and relived important scenes relating to the origins of important artefacts and often in the hands of their beloved heroes and villains. The proximity to the artefact both in the fantasy world and physical one places the visitor directly in the middle of the intersecting realities. Consequently, when placed in the intersections of two realities, the visitor is transformed into an inhabitant of a mixed reality. Even more so, they are the site, the core the origin of that mixed reality. A secondary consequence is that the characters and artefacts of the fictional world are brought directly into the space in which the visitor occupies and imagines. The most immersive of experiences have the potential to resonate and transform a visitors' personal relationship with the mundane everyday space in a continuing way rooted by the creation of new valued memories.

There are nine missions in total and at the end of each the visitor is challenged with moral questions such as `In the Marvel Universe temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Would you manipulate time to save lives'? By selecting one of three possible answers the results are processed and an overall 'balance of power' is revealed at the end of the adventure. The stability of the universe is either stabalised by your decisions or compromised. This was designed to create a communal outcome to an otherwise personal activity.

The above set of images illustrate how the participants employ the mobile interface to engage with the museum didactics, artefacts and original MCU content.

The project was designed to have distinct nodes for interaction. A node is a site (virtual or physical) where the visitor will interface with relevant artefacts and information to progress in the experience (Polson 2013). Since the nodes are designed for visitor progress they must be presented in a way that allows the visitor to understand how to identify and interact with or at the node (see page 10 for node maps, scripts, and UI examples). Once such an understanding is established, the visitor can then confidently explore the space, content and connections in a more meaningful way. Such an engagement order takes the visitor on a journey from casual curiosity to deep exploration to promote contemplation, discussion and debate:

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Dr Deb Polson. October 8, 2017

? Access Node ? Each node has a corresponding artefact to be found and each artefact has an icon designed as a clue. There are 2 interfaces used by a visitor to access clues and instructions for finding the next artefact. One printed and on display near the artefact. The other is a matching `button' on the main mobile interface. Both the printed and the mobile node have the matching icon and access code. An alternative way to access the node is to use the augmented reality (AR) feature that allows mobile users to simply hold the camera up to the artefact which is recognized by the mobile application and automatically displays the node information.

? Mission Nodes ? are at the site of each artefact o Mission Details ? Once a node is accessed the corresponding mission information is revealed including instructions on how to find the artefact and activate the origin clips. o Mission Response ? On finding the node and viewing the origin clip, the visitor then receives a moral question raised in the clip and given a series of options to select their most favoured response o Mission Info - displays a map indicating the locations of the artefacts with Mission Icon graphics. o Mission Complete - this mobile interface announces that the mission is complete and also reports on the current (real-time) status of the MCU depending on the weighting of responses to all node questions from all visitors.

See screenshots of selected mobile interfaces in the following table that illustrate various nodes.

An early version of the MCU Interfaces in a representative order of participant interaction from access mode through mission modes and finally to promotional mode.

The Interaction Design Strategy

Since 2004 Deb Polson designed, developed, deployed and refined a large-scale location-based mixed-reality experience for nine museums and university environments across Australia. The SCOOT game was the result of an initial PhD practice-based study. Consequently, a number of models were articulated to contribute to the formation of a design strategy for mixed reality experience design. This included a participation order, engagement levels, interaction order ...

But firstly, and in general, a project should be at least 3 of the following 4 to rate as a mixed reality event: ? An intersection between the physical and the virtual. ? A link between histories/experience and fiction/device/artefact. ? A re-engagement with authentic spaces and artifacts of place

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Dr Deb Polson. October 8, 2017

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