Design Framework for Social Interaction with Location-based Games

Location-based games invite players to have new forms of meaningful social interactions with others and provide opportunities for players to engage with their own neighbourhood’s public space. Earlier research on user requirements for such games have identified seven different activity types that have proven to initiate social interaction and...

Software Architecture for Location-Based Games Designed for Social Interaction in Public Space

Location-based games (LBGs) are becoming increasingly more popular, especially those that focus on social interaction in public space. They have been successful to various extents at bringing players together to interact in public space; yet there is lack of knowledge and consensus on how to design these games from a technical perspective. This...

Requirements for Location-based Games for Social Interaction

Social interaction is part of the fabric of society and is essential to challenge many types of social barriers. Location-based games (LBGs) provide a means to foster such interaction in local communities. The design of such games is currently based primarily on designer experience and on the literature on game design in general, and not on...

Designing for meaningful social interaction in digital serious games

Digital serious games have shown to be effective in promoting citizen engagement and social interaction. The reasons for their success are, however, unknown. This paper proposes design recommendations to support designers of serious games for meaningful social interaction, based on player preferences, needs and desires, based on literature...

Exploring design guidelines for fostering citizen engagement through information sharing: Local playgrounds in The Hague

Citizens’ engagement in their neighbourhood community is pivotal for cities to effectively deal with future transitions. Knowing what is going on and having access to the neighbourhood network are important conditions for this. Although prior research has studied ways to foster information sharing between citizens, the underlying assumptions and...

Location-based challenges for playful neighbourhood exploration

Location-based activities can challenge citizens to explore their neighbourhood in new playful ways. This paper presents a classification of such playful activities based on the literature and experience gained (1) in co-creation sessions and (2) gameplay for neighbourhood exploration with citizens in the Hague. The location-based game designed...

Secrets of the south: A location-based game for the development of 21^st century social skills and promotion of social interaction

Location-based games (LBGs) successfully promote playful experiences engaging millions of players throughout the world. The potential of embedding such location-based experiences in educational practice has been recognised but not yet fully embraced. LBGs and educational location-based applications have been used to enhance critical thinking,...

Fostering Social Interaction in Playful Cities

This paper describes different types of activities/challenges designed for social interaction, while discussing the performance of such challenges using the mobile digital game “Secrets of the South” (http://secretsofthesouth.tbm.tudelft.nl/, Secrets of the South). The game was played as part of a scientific meeting, with participants from 25...

Conceptualizing Fidelity for HCI in Applied Gaming

Fidelity of games as a concept describes the level of representation of, or accordance with reality. The level of fidelity has influence on the interaction between player and game. Our study discusses the outcomes of a literature study and three cases with the goal to propose a comprehensive framework of game fidelity. This framework could...

Star Tag: a superhuman sport to promote physical activity

Superhuman sports (SHS) is a field where technological augmentations of human abilities and environment are combined to play a new and exciting sport. SHS make use of artificial senses or virtual reality to create a new experience that involves physical fitness and skills. Star Tag aims to combine these aspects with an engaging audience...

Superhuman sports in mixed reality: The multi-player game League of Lasers

In recent years, many promising developments have taken place around augmented, virtual and mixed-reality technology. One could wonder whether these technologies can be combined to yield a mix of video games and sports, involving physical activities previously deemed impossible: creating a superhuman sport. This work investigates how mixed...

Exploring Requirements for Joint Information Sharing in Neighbourhoods: Local Playgrounds in The Hague

Resilient communities are an important prerequisite to reach urban resilience. In such communities, citizens need to be able to participate for improving liveability and safety of their environment. The playable city, where participation is key, provides the environment for this process to unfold. This paper researches requirements for the...

Requirements and Game Ideas for Social Interaction in Mobile Outdoor Games

Challenging neighbourhoods in large cities most often lack social coherence. Meaningful social interaction between citizens in such neighbourhoods is needed to increase coherence, and games may be a means to this end. This paper reflects on the structure of a dedicated game design workshop with teenagers from 12 to 16 years of age designed to...

Serious Gaming in Augmented Reality using HMDs for Assessment of Upper Extremity Motor Dysfunctions: User Studies for Engagement and Usability

For a better understanding of how different disorders affect motor function, a uniform, standardized and objective evaluation is a desirable goal for the clinical community. We explore the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) combined with serious gaming and free hand tracking to facilitate objective, cost-effective and patient-friendly methods...

A novel gesture-based interface for crime scene investigation in mediated reality

This paper introduces a novel gesture-based interface for crime scene investigation. The interface is part of a mediated reality system in which remote collaboration is supported. Requirements elicited from interviews and interactive sessions showed that our gesture-based user interface is effective in operating a 3D interface and allows the...

Understanding Tools and Practices for Distributed Pair Programming

When considering the principles for eXtreme Programming, distributed eXtreme Programming, especially distributed pair programming, is a paradox predetermined to failure. However, global software development as well as the outsourcing of software development are integral parts of software projects. Hence, the support for distributed pair...