Designing a conceptual framework for reusable Alternate Reality Games Master Thesis in Media Software Design 2014 By Robert Stanescu Supervisor: Carl Magnus Olsson Examiner: Jan Persson Contact Information Author: Robert Stanescu Email: [email protected] Supervisor: Carl Magnus Olsson Email: [email protected] Malmö University, Department of Computer Science Examiner: Jan Persson Email: [email protected] Malmö University, Department of Computer Science 1 Abstract The main drawback of Alternate Reality Gaming, compared to other genres, is that it lacks reusability; typically it cannot be played freely by anyone, anytime, anywhere. However, with the help of modern technology, especially in the mobile devices section, this can be overcome, at least to a certain extent. Therefore, we propose a conceptual framework built upon these challenges raised by other ARGs, a framework meant for game designers and developers that wish to create reusable ARGs, to add reusability to their own ARGs or even turn their digital games into a mixed experience. We designed it by reviewing relevant literature of past ARGs that had a reusable or a digital component, from which we have drawn conclusions and mixed them with our own ideas. Then we tested it iteratively by developing two prototypes and evaluating them through user feedback. Keywords: alternate reality game ARG, augmented reality AR, conceptual framework 2 Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2. Related Research........................................................................................ 8 2.1. Background ........................................................................................................ 8 2.2. Reusability ....................................................................................................... 10 2.3. Location and Context Awareness ..................................................................... 12 2.4. Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3. Methodology .............................................................................................. 14 Chapter 4. Iteration 1 .................................................................................................. 16 4.1. Conceptual Framework .................................................................................... 16 4.1.1. Communication ......................................................................................... 16 4.1.2. Visual ........................................................................................................ 17 4.1.3. Audio ......................................................................................................... 17 4.1.4. Content Generation ................................................................................... 17 4.2. Prototype.......................................................................................................... 18 4.2.1. Design ....................................................................................................... 18 4.2.2. Development ............................................................................................. 21 4.3. Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 5. Iteration 2 .................................................................................................. 25 5.1. Conceptual Framework .................................................................................... 25 5.1.1. Communication ......................................................................................... 25 5.1.2. Visual ........................................................................................................ 26 5.1.3. Audio ......................................................................................................... 26 5.1.4. Content Generation ................................................................................... 26 5.2. Prototype.......................................................................................................... 27 5.2.1. Design ....................................................................................................... 27 5.2.2. Development ............................................................................................. 31 5.3. Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 35 Chapter 6. Discussion ................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 7. Conclusions ............................................................................................... 40 Chapter 8. References and Appendix ......................................................................... 41 8.1. References ....................................................................................................... 41 8.2. Appendix .......................................................................................................... 44 3 Table of Figures Figure 1. People playing an ARG .................................................................................... 6 Figure 2. Why So Serious? – The Dark Knight ARG ........................................................ 9 Figure 3. Ingress gameplay ............................................................................................. 9 Figure 4. Clandestine Anomaly – AR generated content ............................................... 10 Figure 5. Paper Prototype – Scenario ............................................................................ 19 Figure 6. Storyflow ......................................................................................................... 20 Figure 7. App screen ..................................................................................................... 21 Figure 8. App interface .................................................................................................. 22 Figure 9. One of the testers searching for the AR location............................................. 23 Figure 10. Storyflow ....................................................................................................... 28 Figure 11. ―Earth‖ website ............................................................................................. 29 Figure 12. ―Earth‖ clue - before and after AR ................................................................. 30 Figure 13. "Fire" website ................................................................................................ 31 Figure 14. App interface (screens) ................................................................................. 32 Figure 15. Call screen .................................................................................................... 33 Figure 16. Users/Sessions by country ........................................................................... 35 Figure 17. User-made choices ....................................................................................... 36 Figure 18. Devices used for testing the prototype .......................................................... 36 Figure 19. User Behavior Flow ...................................................................................... 37 4 List of Acronyms ARG Alternate Reality Game AR Augmented Reality NPC Non-Player Character API Application Programming Interface OTA Over The Air PC Personal Computer GPS Global Positioning System AI Artificial Intelligence QR (code) Quick Response Code SMS Short Message Service MMS Multimedia Messaging Service OS Operating System POI Point of Interest ADT Android Development Tools SDK Software Development Kit UI User Interface 5 Chapter 1. Introduction The video game industry is one of the largest components of the entertainment industry nowadays with billions of dollars in revenue [1] and it is continuously growing through newer and more powerful technologies. However, almost all games try to turn the player into someone else, to bring the user into that character's fictitious world. Therefore, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for a game that does the opposite, it brings the game into the user's world, with the help of one of the most common component of our everyday life, the mobile device. This device becomes a magical artifact, a tool that connects the game world and the reality through the use of Augmented Reality. The idea of bringing the game into reality is deeply explored by the concept of Alternative Reality Games (ARGs) [2]. This macro-trend [3] represents the future of gaming as ―all types of entertainment have been unconsciously converging on an ARG- like destination‖ [4]. The term of ARG will soon disappear as it will ―merely be assumed to be the case for every type of entertainment or game‖ [4]. Figure 1. People playing an ARG However, at the moment ARGs present a major drawback, and that is reusability [5], or the absence thereof. First, these games are played only once, during a specific time frame, they evolve around specific locations and with a limited number of players who discovered the game before it started [Figure 1]. Therefore, they lack repeatability because of time and location constraints. Second, ARGs require a large amount of human effort in order to run