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Toy researcher and visual artist Katriina Heljakka’s (Doctor of Arts in visual culture, MA art history and M.Sc. econ... moreToy researcher and visual artist Katriina Heljakka’s (Doctor of Arts in visual culture, MA art history and M.Sc. economics) doctoral thesis Principles of adult play(fulness) in contemporary toy cultures. From Wow to Flow to Glow was examined at the Aalto University in 2013. She now leads the Pori Laboratory of Play research group (Chief of Play), holds a postdoc position at University of Turku (digital culture studies) and continues her research on the hybrid cultures of play in the Academy of Finland funded research Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies (CoE CULT). edit
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Jaakko Suominenedit
This article analyzes and deconstructs interactive and immersive ‘pseudo-museum’ environments, which seem to be all about making the self-documenting player the main exhibit, or spectacle. The research material collected through a visual... more
This article analyzes and deconstructs interactive and immersive ‘pseudo-museum’ environments, which seem to be all about making the self-documenting player the main exhibit, or spectacle. The research material collected through a visual autoethnographic approach consists of photoplays and videos evidencing the author’s visits and adult play in four museums dedicated to selfies during pre-pandemic times (2019-2020), namely the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco and New York, Happy Place and The Selfie Museum in Las Vegas. Findings of the autoethnography demonstrate that the play experience based on selfie-taking is both a solitary and social form of play, and to some degree dictated and directed by the exteriors, interiors, rules of engagement and the hosts assisting. Finally, it is argued that self-portraiture in the ‘pseudo-museum’ context is about the creation of ‘playfies’, and making a toy out of oneself.
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Psychology and Fandom
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Vuosi 2020 on ollut valtavien globaalien muutosten aikaa. Suomessakin olemme joutuneet noiden muutosten vuoksi uudenlaisiin, nopeasti muuttuviin ja epävarmuutta aiheuttaviin tilanteisiin. Jouduimme kaikki alkuvuodesta maailmanlaajuisesti... more
Vuosi 2020 on ollut valtavien globaalien muutosten aikaa. Suomessakin olemme joutuneet noiden muutosten vuoksi uudenlaisiin, nopeasti muuttuviin ja epävarmuutta aiheuttaviin tilanteisiin. Jouduimme kaikki alkuvuodesta maailmanlaajuisesti levinneen viruksen aiheuttamaan hämäännyksen tilaan. Yrittäjyyden, yritteliäisyyden ja tulevaisuususkon merkitys ovat saaneet aivan uudet ulottuvuudet. Emme anna periksi, vaan pikemminkin nyt toimimme tarmokkaammin, yhteistyössä ja toisiamme tukien. Sanoessani 3.10.2019 Helsingissä Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulun aulassa YKTT2019-päätöstilaisuuden yhteydessä: “Tehdään Mikkelin YKTT202 Yrittäjyyskasvatuspäivistä erityiset”, en arvannut noiden sanojen käyvän toteen näin sananmukaisesti. YKTT2020 – Yrittäjyyskasvatuspäivien järjestelyissä muutosten määrä toteutui potenssiin xxx. Tähän YKTT2020 – Yrittäjyyskasvatuspäivät -konferenssijulkaisuun on koottu päivien aikana esitettyjä akateemisia tai casetutkimuksia, niistä tehtyjä artikkeleita tai abstrakteja. Päivien anti oli erinomaisen vakuuttava, suomalaisen yrittäjyyskasvatustutkimuksen näyttämö. Aivan uusia tutkimusavauksiakin tehtiin mm. kestävän kehityksen, kiertotalouden, maahanmuuttajuuden sekä uuden normaalin ilmentymisen yrittäjyystutkimusten teemoissa
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Social robots are becoming increasingly common in the contexts of education and healthcare. This paper reports on the findings of the first stage of an exploratory study conducted with (n=16) Finnish preschoolers aged 5-7 years. The... more
Social robots are becoming increasingly common in the contexts of education and healthcare. This paper reports on the findings of the first stage of an exploratory study conducted with (n=16) Finnish preschoolers aged 5-7 years. The multidisciplinary study intertwining the areas of early education pedagogics, smart toys and interactive technologies, employed both a commercial robot dog and a real dog to study the potential of these artificial and living entities to support and facilitate social-emotional learning (SEL) through a guided playful learning approach. We performed a research intervention including facilitation, observation and video- recordings of three play sessions organized in March-May 2020. The preliminary findings indicate how guided playing with the robot dog supported SEL through conversation about human relationships, while interaction with the real dog facilitated empathic responses through spontaneous reactions on the animal's behavior. The contribution of our research is an understanding of that a robotic dog more than a living dog may assist in simulating human interaction more than human- animal interaction and is in this way suitable to support playful learning of social-emotional competencies.
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This exploratory paper focuses on the technological development of the toy medium with an interest in toys’ capacity to mobilize homo ludens, the playing human. By conducting an extensive literary review on the history and the present of... more
This exploratory paper focuses on the technological development of the toy medium with an interest in toys’ capacity to mobilize homo ludens, the playing human. By conducting an extensive literary review on the history and the present of mobile play objects, the study demonstrates how toys have developed from early moving and mechanical automata to playthings that move by themselves through in-built computerized components. The interest is two-fold: By analyzing the historical trajectory of mobile toys, the authors highlight the role of both toys and their players as participants in technologically mediated, phygital play. This hybrid form of playing combines the physicality of playthings with both mechanical and digital features. The results of the review show how toys—character toys in particular—have transformed from entertaining, self-moving spectacles to educational machines that mobilize the player both physically and geographically. Based on the results of the literary review, the authors suggest a continuum that visualizes the development of the types of toys that afford mobility in play of the past, present, and future. The paper concludes with the observation that phygital, playful technologies, such as character toys, have the capacity to influence human well-being in its various dimensions. By making them mobile, toys as a medium invite engagement with phygital playful technologies to enhance physical, cognitive, and social well-being.
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International audienceThis paper challenges the readers to rethink adult toy play by demonstrating evidence for the rich and multifaceted nature of contemporary adult toy play cultures. It is based on a ten-year period of extensive... more
International audienceThis paper challenges the readers to rethink adult toy play by demonstrating evidence for the rich and multifaceted nature of contemporary adult toy play cultures. It is based on a ten-year period of extensive research among mature toy players and illustrates the necessity of a shift in thinking about the user-groups of toys. The paper as a think piece bases on long-term, rigorous research, and argues for the need to acknowledge adult toy play as an important and growing area of contemporary toy cultures. It summarizes the work of a toy researcher interested in adult toy relations (conducted between years 2008-2018) and has a two-way agenda: By turning to cultural phenomena related to ludification and toyification of culture, it functions both as a cultural analysis of the ludic Zeitgeist, as well as a mapping of what has been learned about adult play in contemporary toy cultures so far. The case studies featured in this paper have been grounded in multiple rea...
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Playful approaches include many benefits for higher education. Here, they denote elements of playful learning that invite students to engage with various challenges related to imagination, innovation, and co-creation. As stated in earlier... more
Playful approaches include many benefits for higher education. Here, they denote elements of playful learning that invite students to engage with various challenges related to imagination, innovation, and co-creation. As stated in earlier research, playful learning follows the constructivism approach seeking students be active participants in their learning process, and tries to offer them surmountable challenges to learn while being intrinsically motivated—through learning by doing. Again, playful approaches include experimentation with uncertainty—through doing by playing. As particular instances of creative endeavors, they offer students joyful moments of discovery and possibilities to learn in a novel, but safe and failure-free situation and environment. This exploratory study presents new ideas on how playful learning methods, such as playful approaches may be used in higher education to contribute to the formation of playful resilience through playful activation. To substantia...
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Previous understandings of adult use of toys are connected with ideas of collecting and hobbying, not playing. This study aims to address toys as play objects employed in imaginative scenarios and as learning devices. This article... more
Previous understandings of adult use of toys are connected with ideas of collecting and hobbying, not playing. This study aims to address toys as play objects employed in imaginative scenarios and as learning devices. This article situates toys (particularly, character toys such as Blythe dolls) as socially shared tools for skill-building and learning in adult life. The interviews with Finnish doll players and analyses of examples of their productive, toy-related play patterns showcased in both offline and digital playscapes reveal how toy play leads to skill-building and creativity at a mature age.The meanings attached to and developed around playthings expand purposely by means of digital and social media. (Audio)visual content-sharing platforms, such as Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, invite mature audiences to join playful dialogues involving mass-produced toys enhanced through do-it-yourself practices. Activities circulated in digital play spaces, such as blogs and ph...
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Sociology, Education, Photography, Creativity, Material Culture Studies, and 15 morePlay, Narrative, Digital Media, Digital Culture, Skills Development, Social Media, History of Toys and Play, Narratives, Toys, Adult play, Dolls, Skill Building, Doll, Play and Creativity in the Curriculum, and Photoplay
Drawing on a study consisting of 29 multimodal accounts of orgasms, we make visible processes, emotions, and notions of playfulness that highlight the critical role of orgasms in transcending the fleeting distinction between reality and... more
Drawing on a study consisting of 29 multimodal accounts of orgasms, we make visible processes, emotions, and notions of playfulness that highlight the critical role of orgasms in transcending the fleeting distinction between reality and play. As sexual pleasure does not necessarily result from experiencing an orgasm, our data also reveals how playful strategies are enacted in order to mitigate ambiguity and societal norms. Instead of seeing the orgasm as a physiological or psychological change in an individual or as an epitome of “good” sex, the multimodal accounts employed in the study reveal attitudes, assumptions, and expectations related to playful pleasure.
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Drawing on a study consisting of 29 multimodal accounts of orgasms, we make visible processes, emotions, and notions of playfulness that highlight the critical role of orgasms in transcending the fleeting distinction between reality and... more
Drawing on a study consisting of 29 multimodal accounts of orgasms, we make visible processes, emotions, and notions of playfulness that highlight the critical role of orgasms in transcending the fleeting distinction between reality and play. As sexual pleasure does not necessarily result from experiencing an orgasm, our data also reveals how playful strategies are enacted in order to mitigate ambiguity and societal norms. Instead of seeing the orgasm as a physiological or psychological change in an individual or as an epitome of “good” sex, the multimodal accounts employed in the study reveal attitudes, assumptions, and expectations related to playful pleasure.
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L'articolo esplora le possibilità di intendere la fotografia come una forma contemporanea di gioco per adulti e come pratica che mira a risultati creativi condivisi sui social media. Il mio materiale di ricerca è composto da... more
L'articolo esplora le possibilità di intendere la fotografia come una forma contemporanea di gioco per adulti e come pratica che mira a risultati creativi condivisi sui social media. Il mio materiale di ricerca è composto da interviste a giocatori di giocattoli per adulti in Europa e dagli esiti delle mie attività di photo-play personale. Integrando anche il photoplay di altre persone su varie piattaforme, incoraggia le persone ad acquistare giocattoli e iniziare a esplorare l'accessibilità visuale e narrativa di questi oggetti fotografandoli.
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ABSTRACT As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Finnish citizens started to display teddy bears in their windows. As this activity gained media interest and popularity, it grew into a transgenerational form of toy play, where... more
ABSTRACT As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Finnish citizens started to display teddy bears in their windows. As this activity gained media interest and popularity, it grew into a transgenerational form of toy play, where children and adults participated as displayers and spectators in this visual-material play pattern, made available to a broader audience through sharing on social media. A previous phase of the study articulated and analyzed the phenomenon as an act that facilitates mental well-being through imagination, participation, and playing for the common good (Heljakka, 2020). By theorizing and framing the phenomenon as pandemic toy play, the researcher suggested the importance of resistance, resourcefulness, and playful resilience in times of forced self-isolation and social distancing. This article builds on the earlier phase of the study by focusing on the previously identified themes and investigates the occurrence of these themes in adult toy play during a pandemic.
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While the benefits of play have been widely recognized, carrying out activities with toys at adult age is still often seen as stigmatizing behaviour. Some adults solve this issue by referring to their toy activities as either hobbies or... more
While the benefits of play have been widely recognized, carrying out activities with toys at adult age is still often seen as stigmatizing behaviour. Some adults solve this issue by referring to their toy activities as either hobbies or collecting. Yet, the primary purpose of toys is play. People may therefore utilize their toys for new kinds of play. One popular decision is the utilization of toys in photographs and videos aiming at personalization and storytelling on social media. Using eight interviews, we point out that this visual contextualization of play ties into not only the adults’ sublimation of their desires to use their toys but also to threads of cultural history in which sublimated or substituted artistic uses have been found for objects. Finally, we show that this activity too is a form of play, made possible by the existence of photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Instagram.
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According to cultural studies scholars, the Zeitgeist of current times is ludic in nature, meaning that play(fulness) is taking center stage. Although play may be based on physical interaction with other players, toys of various kinds... more
According to cultural studies scholars, the Zeitgeist of current times is ludic in nature, meaning that play(fulness) is taking center stage. Although play may be based on physical interaction with other players, toys of various kinds influence greatly how contemporary understandings of play are formed. At the same time, adult toys, also called sex toys or novelties, are gaining popularity and becoming more common objects in adult play activities. This article explores the playful dimensions of the Fifty Shades of Grey canon by investigating how notions of toys and adult play are represented in the books and the film. As E.L. James’s working title for her first version for the book was Master of the Universe, it is plausible to perceive a connection between the literary work and the realms of toy culture. Master of the Universe also links to action figures launched by Mattel in the 1980s (‘Masters of the Universe’), might imply that the main character Christian Grey is an action fig...
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Three empirical case studies with an interest in character toys—Barbie dolls, Star Wars action figures, and Forest Families figurines—provide insight into the practices of prime players of contemporary toy cultures focusing on their... more
Three empirical case studies with an interest in character toys—Barbie dolls, Star Wars action figures, and Forest Families figurines—provide insight into the practices of prime players of contemporary toy cultures focusing on their activities as fans and historians of particular toy brands. Adult toy fans preserve and produce new play knowledge as they remember, recreate, and replay historical narratives of the objects of their fandom. Play knowledge, a relevant resource in current toy fandoms, helps describe the diverse ways fans act as historians through playful history management, thus contributing to existing research on fans' strategies to preserve play.
The Internet of Toys (IoToys) as an emerging type of edutainment presents a new research area, especially in the context of learning. This study investigates four connected toys played with in the preschool context. By turning to... more
The Internet of Toys (IoToys) as an emerging type of edutainment presents a new research area, especially in the context of learning. This study investigates four connected toys played with in the preschool context. By turning to preschool-aged children and their educators observed and interviewed during and after a play test and group interview session, we study how the educational value of IoToys is actualized in a play situation in an early learning environment. In order for IoToys to work as tools in toy-based learning in the preschool context, we suggest that educators acknowledge the engagement with these toys as a form of transmedia play which demands transmedia literacy skills.
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Psychology, Human Computer Interaction, Edutainment, Toy Based Learning, Intelligent Toy Based Learning, and 11 morePreschool Education, Early Learning, Playful Learning, Smart Toys, Internet of Things (IoT), Transmedia Studies, Transmediality, Internet of Toys, Toy Literacy, Connected toys, and Play-testing
This article reports on the design and evaluation of player experiences in relation to a location-based game (LBG). LBGs seek to move gamified play into the "real world" of cities, parks, and other locations. These games are... more
This article reports on the design and evaluation of player experiences in relation to a location-based game (LBG). LBGs seek to move gamified play into the "real world" of cities, parks, and other locations. These games are played in everyday places, where game information is tied to specific locations (Magerkurth et al, 2005). This connection to real-world physicality makes the game experience multidimensional and fun for players of different ages. Yet, to be able to envision and create an urban gamescape means that a set of criteria must be met. The unique challenge of creating and orchestrating LBG experiences requires a certain sensitivity from its designers to the multiple factors that must be considered. These may include—but are not limited to—factors such as the city's infrastructure, the flows of urban traffic, the maintenance of recreational areas, and human-related factors such as cooperation with the city administration. The game introduced in this article...
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This article discusses how designers learn about the creation of board games by familiarizing themselves with tacit knowledge and company processes. To some extent board game design depends on general design methodology and knowledge.... more
This article discusses how designers learn about the creation of board games by familiarizing themselves with tacit knowledge and company processes. To some extent board game design depends on general design methodology and knowledge. However, in order to be able to work in an international board game publishing house and to design board games (and thus facilitate play) for a multicultural audience, the designer has to know about preferences regarding materials, production processes, visualization and packaging. A board game is usually a product of teamwork where designers from different fields of expertise come together to solve design challenges having to do with both form and function. Since a board game sometimes is created from the idea to a ready made product all set for marketing inside a game publishing house, the designer also has to understand the different stages of the product development process. This study is conducted in the department of product development at a Scan...
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In this article, a playful intervention called "There Are No Rules" (TANR) is analyzed on three levels: interactions, play behaviors, and play episodes. In the course of five months, students and staff of University of Tampere... more
In this article, a playful intervention called "There Are No Rules" (TANR) is analyzed on three levels: interactions, play behaviors, and play episodes. In the course of five months, students and staff of University of Tampere engaged with an art installation placed in OASIS, a group work area that also functions as a living lab. The experiment period was recorded on video and photographed by the users and the research team. Combined analysis of the video data and photography data exposed a rich and successful playful intervention, positioning TANR as the centerpiece of a playful office and campus environment. The analysis is further cultivated as a framework for future analysis of similar experiments.
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This paper investigates the play potential of an open-ended and hybrid play concept: Comicubes – a platform for play, play- testing and simultaneously tool to stimulate (design) creativity. We propose a hybrid concept that interweaves the... more
This paper investigates the play potential of an open-ended and hybrid play concept: Comicubes – a platform for play, play- testing and simultaneously tool to stimulate (design) creativity. We propose a hybrid concept that interweaves the ideas of comics and three-dimensional toys together. The concept challenges the traditional idea of comics as images that are read one after another by suggesting a more open reading paralleling the interpretation and use of and a physically manipulable toy object. The concept introduced in the paper, combines the two-dimensional serial image with a three-dimensional and therefore more open-ended toy medium – the cube. Moreover, the concept invites integration of digital enhancements in the physical plaything and thus enables potential AGE (Augmented Game Experience) elements.
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The Internet of Toys (IoToys) as an emerging type of edutainment presents a new research area, especially in the context of learning. This study investigates four connected toys played with in the preschool context. By turning to... more
The Internet of Toys (IoToys) as an emerging type of edutainment presents a new research area, especially in the context of learning. This study investigates four connected toys played with in the preschool context. By turning to preschool-aged children and their educators observed and interviewed during and after a play test and group interview session, we study how the educational value of IoToys is actualized in a play situation in an early learning environment. In order for IoToys to work as tools in toy-based learning in the preschool context, we suggest that educators acknowledge the engagement with these toys as a form of transmedia play which demands transmedia literacy skills.
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Psychology, Human Computer Interaction, Edutainment, Toy Based Learning, Intelligent Toy Based Learning, and 11 morePreschool Education, Early Learning, Playful Learning, Smart Toys, Internet of Things (IoT), Transmedia Studies, Transmediality, Internet of Toys, Toy Literacy, Connected toys, and Play-testing
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This chapter conducts an empirical study on the Internet of Toys (IoToys) with preschool-aged children in Finland, focusing on the strategies that contemporary character toymakers use to persuade players to nurture, connect and take part... more
This chapter conducts an empirical study on the Internet of Toys (IoToys) with preschool-aged children in Finland, focusing on the strategies that contemporary character toymakers use to persuade players to nurture, connect and take part in social play. Four English-speaking IoToys were chosen based on their supposed innovativeness, popularity and availability on Amazon.com at the time of the research (September–October 2017) and were playtested with preschoolers who were 5–6 years of age. The study focuses on the variety of play affordances of the hybrid toys, which are both educational and entertaining, and investigates how these features are employed in play. By studying potential play patterns related to these toys, this study highlights preschoolers’ own responses to the affordances of the chosen IoToys.
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Katsauksen keskiössä ovat lelusuunnittelussa ilmenevä nostalginen teknologiasuhde ja vintageleikiksi kutsuttu esineleikin osa-alue. Kirjoituksessa esitelty uutuuslelu, Obsolete Pete (”Vanhentunut Pete”), ammentaa esikuvansa... more
Katsauksen keskiössä ovat lelusuunnittelussa ilmenevä nostalginen teknologiasuhde ja vintageleikiksi kutsuttu esineleikin osa-alue. Kirjoituksessa esitelty uutuuslelu, Obsolete Pete (”Vanhentunut Pete”), ammentaa esikuvansa nykyteknologian mahdollisuuksien sijaan menneen ajan välineistöstä ja estetiikasta. Leluhahmon suunnittelun lähtökohtia peilataan katsauksessa lelusuunnittelun ajankohtaisiin trendeihin ja osoitetaan, miten materiaalilähtöinen retrovaatio tietoisena suunnittelun lähtökohtana voi merkitä myös vanhentuneen ja analogisen teknologian monipuolista hyödyntämistä uuden hahmolelun muotoilussa.
Tutkimuksessa selvitetään esikouluikäisten lasten suhdetta nykyajan verkottuneisiin älyleluihin. Olemme erityisen kiinnostuneita Lelujen Internetiin liittyvästä opetuksellisista arvoista, opetuksellisesta sisällöstä ja niillä tapahtuvasta... more
Tutkimuksessa selvitetään esikouluikäisten lasten suhdetta nykyajan verkottuneisiin älyleluihin. Olemme erityisen kiinnostuneita Lelujen Internetiin liittyvästä opetuksellisista arvoista, opetuksellisesta sisällöstä ja niillä tapahtuvasta leikistä, jonka kautta leikkivälineet on mahdollista nähdä osana suomalaisessa esikouluympäristössä tapahtuvaa varhaiskasvatusta. Lelujen Internetin kanssa toimiessaan lasten on ajateltu oppivan eri asioita niin lelujen fyysisiä kuin etenkin niiden digitaalisia käyttömahdollisuuksia hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksemme selvittää yhtäältä, millaisia monimediaalisia leikin muotoja Lelujen Internetiin kytkeytyvät leluhahmot tukevat ja toisaalta, millaisia oppimisen mahdollisuuksia niihin sisältyy. Yksi tapaustutkimuksemme päätavoitteista on tarkastella, millaisia oppimislupauksia leluvalmistajat lelujen internetiin liittävät ja toisaalta, miten nämä lupaukset täyttyvät lasten käyttäessä leluhahmoja osana leikkiään. Tutkimukseemme sisältyy kolme osa-aluetta: lelu...
This paper introduces a study focusing on preschool children’s employment of coding toys as a part of their daily play activities. Twenty preschoolers, aged 5–6 years, and their preschool teachers participated in a three-month study of... more
This paper introduces a study focusing on preschool children’s employment of coding toys as a part of their daily play activities. Twenty preschoolers, aged 5–6 years, and their preschool teachers participated in a three-month study of playful learning and the STEM topic of coding. The main interest was to explore how preschoolers explore, utilize, and challenge the hybrid play affordances of the Dash robot, in relation to coding exercises, and how their teachers concurrently expanded their own knowledge of how a contemporary smart toy can support the learning of 21st-century skills. We approached this two-part research question through a multimethod approach, including diary methods, thematic teacher interviews, and an analysis of preschoolers’ own videos of their play sessions. The findings of our study highlight the mobility aspect of the playful learning of coding with Dash. Our study also shows how preschoolers quickly learned to build obstacle courses for Dash by coding them with an app on an iPad, and how the movement of the toy inspired the preschoolers to come up with new play ideas, incorporating themselves as players. In light of these findings, the authors suggest that coding toys, such as Dash, can be evaluated from the perspective of mobile playful learning, which centers around the use of interactive, smart, and mobile toys. Our study also shows that these toys playfully invite and encourage young learners to physical activity while they learn the logic and skills related to coding.
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The article aims to present, analyze, and discuss the attitudes of the three groups of adults—theorists, hobbyists and “everyday players”—toward play(ful) behavior and activities in relation to character toys. The rhetoric of play... more
The article aims to present, analyze, and discuss the attitudes of the three groups of adults—theorists, hobbyists and “everyday players”—toward play(ful) behavior and activities in relation to character toys. The rhetoric of play theorists is mirrored against the rhetoric of organized players (hobbyists) and (nonorganized) everyday players through in-depth interviews and participatory observation. Questions guiding the exploratory path this article takes include the following: First, what has led to the dominant ideas of the toy as a collectable item and of adult toy consumers as toy collectors? Second, why is the manipulation of toys that happens at adult age considered hobbying and not playing? The results of the analysis indicate that the uses of toys at adult age represent more complex and multifaceted actions and relationships to play than the terms “collecting” and “hobbying” imply.
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Previous understandings of adult use of toys are connected with ideas of collecting and hobbying, not playing. This study aims to address toys as play objects employed in imaginative scenarios and as learning devices. This article... more
Previous understandings of adult use of toys are connected with ideas of collecting and hobbying, not playing. This study aims to address toys as play objects employed in imaginative scenarios and as learning devices. This article situates toys (particularly, character toys such as Blythe dolls) as socially shared tools for skill-building and learning in adult life. The interviews with Finnish doll players and analyses of examples of their productive, toy-related play patterns showcased in both offline and digital playscapes reveal how toy play leads to skill-building and creativity at a mature age. The meanings attached to and developed around playthings expand purposely by means of digital and social media. (Audio)visual content-sharing platforms, such as Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, invite mature audiences to join playful dialogues involving mass-produced toys enhanced through do-it-yourself practices. Activities circulated in digital play spaces, such as blogs and p...
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The Internet of Toys-Character Toys with Digital Dimensions and Connections workshop 1 aims is to use the Comicubes service design method and prototyping tool to envision internet connected toys with workshop participants. This workshop... more
The Internet of Toys-Character Toys with Digital Dimensions and Connections workshop 1 aims is to use the Comicubes service design method and prototyping tool to envision internet connected toys with workshop participants. This workshop caters for the early stage of the service design process to create product and service ideas for the Internet of Toys by using the concept of character toys prototyped with cardboard cubes.
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The 21st century has been described as the Century of Play. The change in current play is particularly noticeable when looking at technological developments. This thesis deals with the technologization, digitalization, and connectedness... more
The 21st century has been described as the Century of Play.
The change in current play is particularly noticeable when
looking at technological developments. This thesis deals with
the technologization, digitalization, and connectedness of play
between 2010–2020. The research explores forms of contemporary
play, playthings, and players in a time when digitalization and
connectedness have extended to various tools and realms of play
— devices, toys, games, apps, and mediated playful environments.
At the heart of the research are playthings and technologies
conceptualized here as play machines, players using these tools
within their communities and contexts, and, due to technological
evolution, play research that increasingly, expands our knowledge
about How Play Moves Us physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
The change in current play is particularly noticeable when
looking at technological developments. This thesis deals with
the technologization, digitalization, and connectedness of play
between 2010–2020. The research explores forms of contemporary
play, playthings, and players in a time when digitalization and
connectedness have extended to various tools and realms of play
— devices, toys, games, apps, and mediated playful environments.
At the heart of the research are playthings and technologies
conceptualized here as play machines, players using these tools
within their communities and contexts, and, due to technological
evolution, play research that increasingly, expands our knowledge
about How Play Moves Us physically, cognitively, and emotionally.