ABSTRACT
Pervasive games are a new type of digital game, which combines game reality and physical reality within the gameplay. This novel game type presents new kinds of research and design challenges. In this paper we describe a location-aware mixed reality game called The Songs of North, which was designed to demonstrate possible technical and game design solutions for pervasive games.
We gathered the players’ input as early as possible, and therefore did first a scenario study on gameplay. Its results were then formulated as requirements for design. One of the main findings was that utilizing user requirements and overcoming technical limitations in the actual design process is a hard challenge and requires creativity.
INTRODUCTION
The goal of the research project Wireless Gaming Solutions for Future (MOGAME) in Hypermedia Laboratory of the University of Tampere is to develop a prototype of a persistent multiplayer game for mobile terminals. The focus of the research is on game concepts that take advantage of characteristic attributes of mobile terminals such as their communication possibilities and their usability in varied contexts (e.g. in different locations).
The implemented prototype can be seen as a detailed hypothesis to the research questions of the project: the feasibility of a mobile persistent game world, game design that supports communication, and player community
