Designing for the dichotomy of immersion in location based games

The interaction design of mixed reality location based games typically focuses upon the digital content of the mobile screen, as this is characteristically the primary navigational tool players use to traverse the game space. This emphasis on the digital over the physical means the opportunity for player immersion in mixed reality games is often limited to the single (digital) dimension. This research seeks to redress this imbalance, which is caused, in part, by the requirement for the player?s attention to be systematically switched between the two worlds, defined in this research as the ?Dichotomy of Immersion?. Using different design strategies we propose minimising the reliance of the player upon the mobile screen by encouraging greater observation of their physical surroundings. Using a ?research through design? approach for the mixed reality game PAC-LAN: Zombie Apocalypse, we illustrate design strategies for increasing immersion in location based games, which we believe will aid designers in enabling players to more readily engage with the physical context of the game and thus facilitate richer game experiences

The Mobility Laws of Location-Based Games

Mobility is a fundamental characteristic of human society that shapes various aspects of our everyday interactions. This pervasiveness of mobility makes it paramount to understand factors that govern human movement and how it varies across individuals. Currently, factors governing variations in personal mobility are understudied with existing research focusing on explaining the aggregate behaviour of individuals. Indeed, empirical studies have shown that the aggregate behaviour of individuals follows a truncated Levy-flight model, but little understanding exists of the laws that govern intra-individual variations in mobility resulting from transportation choices, social interactions, and exogenous factors such as location-based mobile applications. Understanding these variations is essential for improving our collective understanding of human mobility, and the factors governing it. In this article, we study the mobility laws of location-based gaming-an emerging and increasingly popular exogenous factor influencing personal mobility. We analyse the mobility changes considering the popular PokemonGO application as a representative example of location-based games and study two datasets with different reporting granularity, one captured through location-based social media, and the other through smartphone application logging. Our analysis shows that location-based games, such as PokemonGO, increase mobility-in line with previous findings-but the characteristics governing mobility remain consistent with a truncated Levy-flight model and that the increase can be explained by a larger number of short-hops, i.e., individuals explore their local neighborhoods more thoroughly instead of actively visiting new areas. Our results thus suggest that intra-individual variations resulting from location-based gaming can be captured by re-parameterization of existing mobility models.Peer reviewe

The art of tacit learning in serious location-based games

Over the past two decades, location-based games have moved from media art fringes to the mass cultural mainstream. Through their locative affordances, these game types enable practices of wayfaring and placemaking, with the capacity to deliver powerful tacit knowledge. These affordances suggest the potential for the development of location-based games in educational contexts. This paper presents three cases studies—TIMeR and Wayfinder Live and Pet Playing four Placemaking—to illustrate how each uses elements of wayfaring and placemaking to bring new opportunities for education through a tacit knowledge approach

Delivering real-world ubiquitous location systems

Location-enhanced applications are poised to become the first real-world example of ubiquitous computing. In this paper, we emphasize the practical aspects of getting location-enhanced applications deployed on existing devices, such as laptops, tablets, PDAs, and cell phones, without the need to purchase additional sensors or install special infrastructure. Our goal is to provide readers with an overview of the practical considerations that are currently being faced, and the research challenges that lie ahead. We ground the article with a summary of initial work on two deployments of location- enhanced computing: multi-player location-based games and a guide for the Edinburgh Festival

Engaging students with intellectual disabilities through location based games based learning

Learning, is both an emotional and cognitive process and according to researchers and teachers worldwirde, when players are engaged in activities that are intrinsically motivating, they are more prone to demonstrate deep learning. Since 1981 when Malone used digital games as a medium in order to analyze intrinsic motivation, digital games have been reported to stimulate the students’ interest, while motivating them to deploy control, curiosity and imagination. Studies within our research grouping have shown that Digital Games Based Learning (DGBL) can have a positive effect on some of the core development needs of people with Intellectual disabilities and associated sensory impairments. One current are of interests is the expansion of DGBL activities on mobile platforms. The RECALL Project describes the development and evaluation of a novel route learning system for people with disabilities using locative based services (on the Android OS) and is the output of a EU award (504970-LLP-1-2009-1-UK-KA3-KA3MP). In the following paper we will present piloting findings from the piloting use of RouteMate application as well as an initial proposal of a playful locative DGBL integration in the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities

People, Place, and Pokémon: How Location-Based Games Enhance Well-Being

Social connections and relationships are a critical component of overall human flourishing and well-being. Over time, the structure of physical spaces and how we engage with each other has changed. This paper explores how social ties impact well-being and how advances in technology have shifted people’s conception of public and private spaces and how we interact with each other in them It also examines both the positive and negative effects of video games on social connections and well-being with a focus on location-based games like Pokémon Go which blur the line between physical and virtual reality. It concludes with suggestions for how the disconnected disciplines of new media, place, and positive psychology can come together to explore the potential of location-based games to improve human well-being at scale