1. In a computing environment including a computer system and an interactive display surface, a method for manipulating attributes of an object in a software application by providing physical inputs via the interactive display surface, the method comprising the steps of: (a) executing the software application on the computer system, the application having at least one object with attributes that can be adjusted during execution of the application based on physical inputs inputted by a computer system user, wherein the positioning of the physical inputs relative to the visual depiction of the object on the interactive display surface determines the manner in which the attributes are to be adjusted, such that two of the same physical inputs can initiate different attribute adjustments without altering application input configuration settings based on where the two inputs are positioned relative to the visual depiction of the object on the interactive display surface; (b) determining a primary location adjacent to the interactive display surface where a primary physical object has been positioned by a user; (c) determining a second location adjacent to the interactive display surface where a second physical object has been positioned by a user, the primary location and the secondary location forming a physical object layout on the interactive display surface; (d) determining, based on the physical object layout, the order in which the primary and second physical objects were placed and the positioning of the physical inputs relative to the visual depiction of the object on the interactive display surface, which type of operation is to be initiated to adjust the attributes of the object, the operation type being variable and selectable from a plurality of operation types corresponding to various object layouts, wherein the same physical inputs can initiate different attribute adjustments without altering application input configuration settings based on where the two inputs are positioned relative to the object; (e) detecting a change in position of at least one of the primary location and the second location; and (f) initiating the determined type of operation to adjust the attribute according to the change in at least one of the primary and the second location, the change corresponding to at least one of the first and the second position.