EMBODIED VISUALIZATIONS

Soothing Systems: A Meditative Somaesthetic Experience

We present Soothing Systems, a web-accessible video game that utilizes body tracking through a webcam to guide users through yoga-inspired poses for a meditative somaesthetic experience). The overall experience consists of enacting different meditative poses by presenting the user targets that can be hit with specific body parts represented by their avatar. Visual and audio guides are provided for breathwork practices, and an on-screen narrator prompts users to reflect as they explore the game world presented on screen. Through this open-ended exploration of movement on the screen, users leave traces of movement on a canvas, leaving an abstract, colorful artwork representation, which can be printed out and taken away with the user as a souvenir. Through embodied explorations of a 2D game space, we aim to provide a space for meditation and relaxation that contributes to an ongoing dialogue of explorative somaesthetic experiences in the HCI community.

Co-Authors: Edward F. Melcer
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - May 11th, 2024