Getting Healthy by Catching Them All: A Study on the Relationship Between Player Orientations and Perceived Health Benefits in an Augmented Reality Game

In recent years, location-based augmented reality games such as Pokémon Go have become increasingly popular. These games not only afford a novel gaming experience, but also have the potential to alter how players view their physical realities and alter the dynamics of traditional game play from its sedentary nature towards a more physical one. In this paper we investigate what kinds of players (achievement, immersion or social interaction -oriented) are more likely to derive health benefits from playing augmented reality games. We employ online survey data gathered among players of Pokémon Go (N=1190). The results show that playing location-based augmented reality games has a positive association with perceived mental, physical and social health outcomes overall. The results also suggest that the way in which players approach the game and what kinds of aspects of the game they emphasize can have a differential dynamic on how the health benefits of the game manifest. Results show that social gaming orientation is positively associated with physical, mental and social health outcomes, whereas achievement and immersion orientations are associated with physical and mental health outcomes

Urban Games: Convergence of physical and virtual

Redefining the city as interactive media can reveal new possibilities for architects and designers. Today, designers must augment architecture and urbanism by incorporating new aspects of virtual habitation. This paper investigates contemporary attitudes toward digital public spaces, from media facades, augmented reality games, and mobile apps to guerrilla-like techniques such as tactical media, activist gaming, and electronic civil disobedience. It looks at these notions as renewed forms of public participation that build upon the past analog models. It touches on the relationship between ownership and authorship of the public realm, and the role design, art, and technology play in this balance. Ubiquitous technologies, democratization of access to and means of creative production, and virtualization of physicality allow for broader participation in cultural authorship and ownership, an opportunity that may not be fully realized if not embraced effectively. In this redefined image of the city, online and mobile games become important contributor to genius loci and emerging social networks. Furthermore, this paper discusses the mutually-informing relationship between the imaginary (virtual) and the real (physical). It presents the city as a virtual construct modulated by pervasive and ubiquitous computing, social networking, and (geo)location-based participatory events such as augmented reality (AR) gaming. In the perceptual dimension, video games, such as Grand Auto Theft, Mirror's Edge, or Assassins' Creed, are becoming potent advocates or adversaries of traditional image (notion) of the city. The combination of purely virtual reality (VR) game cities and augmented reality (AR), information-laced and geo-located environments transforms our expectations towards urban landscapes. This paper investigates the following aspects of augmented urbanisms: the virtual city of computer games and movie narratives, the physical city overlaid with virtual information accessible via augmented reality browsers and electronic social networks. It also looks into how these new electronic agents facilitate an unconventional use of the city

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Developing serious games for cultural heritage: a state-of-the-art review

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Location-based technologies for learning

Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring location based technologies and their potential for educatio

Why playing augmented reality games feels meaningful to players? The roles of imagination and social experience

Augmented reality (AR) games such as location-based games add virtual content on top of the real world. We investigate why playing these games feels meaningful to players by focusing on the dimensions of imagination and sociality. We theorise a structural model that we test with data collected from a global sample of players of the popular AR game Pokémon GO (N = 515). Our findings show that nostalgic feelings about Pokémon increased imagining AR content in the real world. Surprisingly, using imagination in this way was a much stronger predictor of affection towards the fictional pokémon creatures than nostalgia. The affection towards the fictional creatures, in turn, increased the meaningfulness of playing. Regarding the social factors, community identification and social self-efficacy increased players' sense of meaningfulness of playing. As our study's main design implications, we highlight the importance of socially shared narratives and harnessing the players' imagination to support a sense of meaningfulness of playing.</p