How Size Shapes User Behavior in Playful Full-Body Interactive Experiences: Insights on Territoriality and Social Distance

This paper investigates how the physical size of a large-scale floor projected full-body interactive environment influences user behavior, focusing on territoriality and social distance across different age groups. Through an interactive game, we examined the interactions of school-age children, adolescents, and young adults in environments of varying sizes <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathbf{3. 6} \times \mathbf{3. 6}$</tex>, <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$4.5 \times 4.5,5.3 \times 5.3$</tex>, and <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$6 \times 6$</tex> meters). Results revealed that schoolage children adapted their spatial behavior to the environment size, maintaining closer distances in smaller spaces and adjusting their play accordingly. Adolescents and young adults, however, exhibited consistent interpersonal distances across all scales, suggesting a preference for fixed personal space. These findings underscore the importance of age-related adaptability in designing interactive spaces, particularly for large-scale environments. This study provides insights into creating intuitive and effective game-based systems that support diverse user needs, offering practical guidelines for scalable, user-centered designs.