Analyzing the Impact of Spatio-Temporal Sensor Resolution on Player Experience in Augmented Reality Games

Along with automating everyday tasks of human life, smartphones have become one of the most popular devices to play video games on due to their interactivity. Smartphones are embedded with various sensors which enhance their ability to adopt new new interaction techniques for video games. These integrated sen- sors, such as motion sensors or location sensors, make the device able to adopt new interaction techniques that enhance usability. However, despite their mobility and embedded sensor capacity, smartphones are limited in processing power and display area compared to desktop computer consoles. When it comes to evaluat- ing Player Experience (PX), players might not have as compelling an experience because the rich graphics environments that a desktop computer can provide are absent on a smartphone. A plausible alternative in this regard can be substituting the virtual game world with a real world game board, perceived through the device camera by rendering the digital artifacts over the camera view. This technology is widely known as Augmented Reality (AR). Smartphone sensors (e.g. GPS, accelerometer, gyro-meter, compass) have enhanced the capability for deploying Augmented Reality technology. AR has been applied to a large number of smartphone games including shooters, casual games, or puzzles. Because AR play environments are viewed through the camera, rendering the digital artifacts consistently and accurately is crucial because the digital characters need to move with respect to sensed orientation, then the accelerometer and gyroscope need to provide su ciently accurate and precise readings to make the game playable. In particular, determining the pose of the camera in space is vital as the appropriate angle to view the rendered digital characters are determined by the pose of the camera. This defines how well the players will be able interact with the digital game characters. Depending in the Quality of Service (QoS) of these sensors, the Player Experience (PX) may vary as the rendering of digital characters are affected by noisy sensors causing a loss of registration. Confronting such problem while developing AR games is di cult in general as it requires creating wide variety of game types, narratives, input modalities as well as user-testing. Moreover, current AR games developers do not have any specific guidelines for developing AR games, and concrete guidelines outlining the tradeoffs between QoS and PX for different genres and interaction techniques are required. My dissertation provides a complete view (a taxonomy) of the spatio-temporal sensor resolution depen- dency of the existing AR games. Four user experiments have been conducted and one experiment is proposed to validate the taxonomy and demonstrate the differential impact of sensor noise on gameplay of different genres of AR games in different aspect of PX. This analysis is performed in the context of a novel instru- mentation technology, which allows the controlled manipulation of QoS on position and orientation sensors. The experimental outcome demonstrated how the QoS of input sensor noise impacts the PX differently while playing AR game of different genre and the key elements creating this differential impact are - the input modality, narrative and game mechanics. Later, concrete guidelines are derived to regulate the sensor QoS as complete set of instructions to develop different genres or AR games

Collaborative billiARds: Towards the Ultimate Gaming Experience

Abstract. In this paper, we identify the features that enhance gaming experience in Augmented Reality (AR) environments. These include Tangibl

Collaborative billiARds: Towards the ultimate gaming experience

Abstract. In this paper, we identify the features that enhance gaming experience in Augmented Reality (AR) environments. These include Tangible User Interface, force-feedback, audio-visual cues, collaboration and mobility. We base our findings on lessons learnt from existing AR games. We apply these results to billiARds which is an AR system that, in addition to visual and aural cues, provides force-feedback. billiARds supports interaction through a visionbased tangible AR interface. Two users can easily operate the proposed system while playing Collaborative billiARds game around a table. The users can collaborate through both virtual and real objects. User study confirmed that the resulting system delivers enhanced gaming experience by supporting the five features highlighted in this paper

Augmented play: An analysis of augmented reality features in location-based games

As well as popularising location-based games, Pokémon GO helped connect location-based play with augmented reality (AR), bringing this still-nascent technology into the mainstream. Despite growing use of AR, its long-promised revolutionary potential remains stifled by limited innovation, technical barriers and lack of uptake by users. To explore how AR figures into location-based games, we analysed 11 location-based games with AR features. We identify four overarching ways these games incorporate the physical environment into gameplay: through superimposition, blending, immersivity and materiality. Our findings show that AR is most commonly a gimmick rather than a central element of the game experience and remains substantially hindered by technical glitches and limitations. While more advanced and deeply integrated AR mechanics are emerging, its use in location-based games remain far from the ‘technological imaginaries’ that have accompanied its development as AR continually oscillates between its status as a ‘mundane’ and ‘always-imminent’ technology.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Bridging the physical and virtual with mobile media

This thesis examines how mobile technologies can contribute towards bridging physical and virtual space through interactive, and location-specific, media experiences. Building on a research analysis of contextual discussions and precedents, it is noticeable that there is a discord between physical and virtual space usage as they are often utilised in different situational settings. This thesis therefore develops a mobile application as a wider investigation into how the physical setting and live data can be used to achieve a better link for contextualised content between the physical and virtual in urban areas. It explores this by making a location specific media experience, where the limits of the physical space are incorporated as boundaries in the virtual environment. Further to this, live data is used to influence the dynamics of the environment so that conditions are reflective of the physical world. These investigations are utilised with Augmented Reality, providing an end application that allows the viewer to physically explore urban space within an interactive mobile media experience. This approach offers a new perspective in urban space exploration and mobile media design, highlighting that contextual significance in media experiences are important aspects to consider and design for. Ultimately, such approaches may lead to larger narratives and experiences encompassing entire cities, or other diverse geographies

JaverianAR Javeriana Augmented Reality

El presente trabajo de grado pretende presentar una solución a los problemas de movili-dad y localización dentro de los campus de las Universidades de gran espacio físico en Colombia, en este caso específico de la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Colombia, Sede Bogotá. Este trabajo de grado es una alternativa acorde al constante desarrollo tec-nológico que se vive en esta década a nivel mundial, mediante el uso de dispositivos mó-viles, presentamos a personas que pertenezcan a la comunidad universitaria y visitantes, una posibilidad de mejorar su calidad de vida por medio de una aplicación de realidad aumentada que muestra las locaciones que son de importancia para integrantes de la comunidad universitaria dentro del campus de la universidad.This work presents a solution to the problems of mobility and localization inside the biggest Colombian schools, in this case the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Colombia, Bogota. This work is an alternative acording to the technological revolution that we live in the last decade in the whole world. Using the mobile devices, this project is a posibility to improve quality of live of the people who belong to the university and guests, through an application of augmented reality that shows to the people the important places inside the university.Ingeniero (a) de SistemasPregrad

Designing performance systems for audience inclusion

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-168).We define the concept of the Hyperaudience and a unique approach towards designing real-time interactive performance systems: the design of these systems encourages audience participation and augments the experience of audience members through interconnected networks. In doing so, it embraces concepts found in ubiquitous computing, affective computing, interactive arts, music, theatrical tradition, and pervasive gaming. In addition, five new systems are demonstrated to develop a framework for thinking about audience participation and orchestrating social co-presence in and beyond the performance space. Finally, the principles and challenges that shaped the design of these five systems are defined by measuring, comparing, and evaluating their expressiveness and communicability.by Akito Van Troyer.S.M

A framework for the design and analysis of socially pervasive games

Pervasive games have the potential to create large social impacts on players and non-players alike. However, this can only happen when the game becomes integrated and accepted within a social community - or in other words, is socially adopted in its target environment. A socially pervasive game must also adapt to allow people to play at their own convenience. In my research I describe Powell’s Pervasive Play Lens (3PL), a framework for the design and analysis of socially pervasive games. 3PL is a powerful model that elaborates the magic circle to illustrate the concentric boundaries of play that surround socially pervasive games, helping designers understand when and how a person and a community might adopt a new pervasive game. This 3PL framework and theory have been applied to develop and refine Snag’em, a human scavenger hunt that has been applied to help students learn professional networking skills in several conferences over three years. I present my findings in a design research narrative that details the complex and rich social environments for Snag’em and the evolution of it’s design over several iterations. This narrative illustrates the application of 3PL and how designers can predict and measure how particular game elements create affordances that increase the acceptance, adoption, and adaptability of socially pervasive games