Modata: improving dota 2 experience and spectatorship through tangible gameplay visualization

Recently, interest in streaming and esports has flourished, placing increased emphasis on the spectator experience. We argue that by escaping the boundaries of the screen and incorporating a physical aspect, another stimulatory and social dimension, which heightens the interaction with the data and positively contributes to spectatorship, can be added. This paper reports on the design of Modata, a tangible visualization of Dota 2 matches that projects gameplay data onto a tangible representation of the Dota map. We report on the design process of Modata, explore the preferred type of interaction, and report on first user feedback collected through surveys and hands-on experience with a prototype of the concept. Results indicate that most (88%) of the asked participants see value in augmenting the game’s experience by visualizing in-game data and translating it into the physical world.