Because touch is physical, it gives users a sense of direct interaction with, and control of, technology. You can create more fluid, natural experiences by mimicking real-world physical interactions and enhancing them beyond what is possible in the real world. Super-realism pushes beyond what is physically natural so that applications do more than what is possible in the real world. In this way, super-realism is natural and direct, but not literal.

For example, a user might use a Microsoft Surface application to touch a photo and push it around, just like in the real world.

However, unlike the real world, the Surface application enables the user to scale the photo by using a two-finger gesture.

The objects in a Surface application have a “better than real” quality that mimics the physical nature of real-world objects. Every time a finger, hand, or object interacts with a Surface application, the unit responds to make the experience feel “alive” and natural. To design such an experience, you should make objects and interactions act beyond what is possible in the real world. Super-realistic objects with super-realistic capabilities give people a sense of control that other methods of interaction cannot provide.

To create natural interactions, create the base of the interactions in the real world and then extend them in an intuitive manner. To create super-realistic interactions, enhance the virtual objects in their digital environments to exceed the limitations of their real-world equivalents.  
 

Microsoft Surface applications respond to the people and objects that touch them and react based on the context of internal and external environments (what people are doing based on their behaviors and where they are in the overall experience). In the video game industry, this reaction is known as causality.

Microsoft Surface applications should respond to people’s actions in a way that clearly relates to their context and behaviors so that they can see the correlation between their actions and the Surface unit’s responses. These correlations help users learn to anticipate and control the consequences of any action. Without these reactions, the experience feels random and users do not know how to make changes in the environment.
 

The Microsoft Surface experience should offer fewer choices instead of superfluous features and should create one simple but rich, fun, and rewarding solution. For example, there might be only one method to print photos, but it might involve literally placing photos onto a visual representation of a printer.

To help users discover a solution through a rich and pleasurable journey, use scaffolding when you design Surface applications. Scaffolding is a teaching method that approaches bigger challenges (such as “How does this whole system work?”) by focusing on smaller problem-solving challenges (such as “How do I initiate this one action?”) through the use of prompts, hints, and leading questions. Scaffolding provides supportive structures and moments that encourage users to explore. You can use scaffolding to structure Surface applications by dividing tasks into small, self-evident steps to maximize the visual or emotional reward and to simplify moment-to-moment decision-making.

As part of scaffolding, present users with a minimal number of choices for a given decision to avoid confusion. By offering fewer choices, the experience is more enjoyable because of easier decision-making and the gradual disclosure of information or required choices over time.

Simplicity does not necessarily mean simplistic. Simple processes and tasks can be rich and powerful. Microsoft Surface experiences should demonstrate robust results that do not require complex procedures.
 

• Sight and sound. Create highly crafted visual representations of content, motion, and sound.
  
  
• Imagination. Enable users to discover new places, things, or effects and then stimulate their imagination with visually compelling cues.
  
  
• Challenge. Include challenges, but not daunting problems, for users to solve as they find solutions to the visual cues to inspire a sense of satisfaction.
  
  
• Pacing. Enable users to complete well-paced decision-making. Each user should have a set of rules, a context, and a goal, and then each user can find the most effective way to reach the goal.
  
  
• Immersion. Create experiences that deeply engage users so that they enjoy escaping to this environment and exploring its systems, rules, and space.

A Microsoft Surface unit responds to touch and direct manipulation, whether by one finger, many fingers, or objects. For example, users can explore a music library by flipping through album covers, or play a chess game by using physical game pieces. Users can seamlessly and intuitively manipulate content in real-time.