## 2 Research Methods
### The Prototyping Method
#### 2.1.4 The Detailed Process of System Operations  
In more detail, each role-play in the system operation process is composed of the following steps, which are, in concept, high-level instructions of an algorithm executed by the computer. Note that an italic text led by the two slashes \"/\" in the following means a comment that is included to explain the meaning of a preceding execution step. An illustration of the Step by-step situations of executing the above algorithm is shown in Table 3, which can be seen as a series of storyboards of the puppet-show process. In the table, the 2 nd column shows the images shown on the background screen or the pictures of the environment around the stage (with the user standing in front of the stage like that of Step 2.2 (A) and (B) or inside the stage like that of Step 2.2 (C) and (D)); the 3 rd column includes simpler descriptions of the system actions for the major steps of the algorithm; and the last column lists the relevant supplemental explanations of the algorithm steps. Note that when standing in front of the stage looking at the background screen, the user is supposed to be watching the video of an expert maneuvering a puppet of a certain role; and when standing inside the stage to face the audience outside, the user is emulating the expert's performance that he/she just watched. It is expected that the additional information in Table 3 can make the above algorithm easier to understand. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Category of Role**} & **A Representative** & **Typical Puppet** \\  & **Feature’s Name** & **Image** \\  & **(or Nickname ***)** & **Examples of Postures of the Figure** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{ \begin{tabular}{c} [PERSON] \\ (\(\#\)) \\ \end{tabular}  } & [PERSON] \\  & ( (\(\#\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%\)\(\%  
**Role-play algorithm. **  
_Stage 1: Initialization_ -- waiting for the user to start a role-play by issuing an RFID signal  
Step 1.1. Start the role-play process by showing following title text on the background screen for five seconds:  
\"Learning Traditional Glove Puppetry by Digital Technology\"  
_//The user is standing outside the stage, facing the screen inside the stage_  
Step 1.2. Show the following text on the screen, utter it simultaneously to the user, and wait for five seconds:  
\"Please select the puppet of one of the six roles of [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] that you like if you want to play a puppet show\". _//Six puppets of the six roles has been laid on the table behind the stage frame_  
_for selection by the user, each being attached a label of its role_  
Step 1.3. Show the following text on the screen and utter it simultaneously to the user:  
\"Please wear the glove puppet you select and attach it to either side of the stage\". _//Attaching the puppet with a hidden RFID tag inside onto the stage will generate a signal read by the RFID reader of the attached side of the stage_  
Step 1.4. Wait for one minute to check whether an RFID signal has come: if yes, go to Step 2.1; otherwise, go to Step 3.2 to exit the algorithm. _//The RFID signal will come initially from the tag inside the puppet selected by the user, be received by an RFID receiver and processed by the Arduino, and finally reach the computer_  
_Stage 2: Carrying out respective role-plays_ --according to selected puppet roles  
Step 2.1. If an RFID signal is detected and recognized to come from a puppet role \(S\), then carry out one of the following six cases as follows:  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.2 -- Case 1;  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.3 -- Case 2;  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.4 -- Case 3;  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.5 -- Case 4;  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.6 -- Case 5;  
if S = [PERSON], then go to Step 2.7 -- Case 6. Step 2.2.Case 1 -- perform the role-play with the puppet of [PERSON] by the following steps.