1. Learning in the City
through Pervasive
Gaming
Nikolaos Avouris
[Univ. Patras, GR]
rePLAYCE:theCITY, Gessnerallee, Zürich, Nov 7-9/2013
1

2. Our point of view
Interaction design –>study of humancomputer interaction-> learning technologies
design of mobile applications->design of
mobile games
MuseumScrabble
BenakiMS
CityScrabble
Invaders Zone
Invisible
City RvS
2

3. Mobile Games
• Multiplayer games in which the play is
affected by the players’ location. They
involve embedding location-specific
contextual information in physical space,
defining an interlinked physical and digital
space through the use of mobile devices,
wireless and sensing technologies.
• Alternative terms used are hybrid reality games
(emphasis in the interlinking of physical and digital
realities), augmented reality games, or pervasive
games (emphasis on the extension of game in
temporal, spatial and social dimensions).
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4. Mobile games: examples
• The most cited (first generation) location
based games: Savannah [Benford, 04], [Benford, 05a],
[Benford 05b], FeedingYoshi [Bell, 06], Mobilegame
[Schwabe 05], [Göth, 04], UncleRoy [Benford, 06], Camelot
[Verhaegh, 06], [Soute, 07], [Soute, 10], CitiTag [Vogiazou, 07],
[Vogiazou, 05], Relive the Revolution (RTR), [Schrier 06],
[Schrier 05], CityExplorer [Matyas 07], [Schlieder 06], Hitchers
[Drozd 06], Mogi [Licoppe 08], [Licoppe 05], Jindeo [Licoppe 06],
Riot! [Blythe 06], Frequency1550 [Raessens 07],
MobileHunters [Lonthoff 07] and AlienRevolt [De Souza
08].
From [Avouris&Yiannoutsou 2012]
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5. Mobile games: examples
• The most cited (first generation) location
based games: Savannah [Benford, 04], [Benford, 05a],
[Benford 05b], FeedingYoshi [Bell, 06], Mobilegame
[Schwabe 05], [Göth, 04], UncleRoy [Benford, 06], Camelot
[Verhaegh, 06], [Soute, 07], [Soute, 10], CitiTag [Vogiazou, 07],
[Vogiazou, 05], Relive the Revolution (RTR), [Schrier 06],
[Schrier 05], CityExplorer [Matyas 07], [Schlieder 06], Hitchers
[Drozd 06], Mogi [Licoppe 08], [Licoppe 05], Jindeo [Licoppe 06],
Riot! [Blythe 06], Frequency1550 [Raessens 07],
MobileHunters [Lonthoff 07] and AlienRevolt [De Souza
08].
From [Avouris&Yiannoutsou 2012]
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6. Hybrid game spaces
Game space
Physical space
6

7. Hybrid game spaces
Game space
Virtual (Digital)
space
Physical space
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8. Intra-spaces connections
• QR codes/ NFC scanning
• Image recognition
• Gestures
• Location-based instructions
encoding
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9. Intra-spaces connections
QR codes (quick response codes)
NFCtags (Near Field
Communication)
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10. Gesture interaction modalities
Scan an image
Invaders Zone using Vuforia
framework
Source: RExplorer
(Youtube)
Gesture-based
interaction
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11. Location-based instructions encoding
for progressing narration
• Ruyi from
whaiwhai
http://www.whaiwhai.com/en
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12. Primitive player actions
The players - through a mobile device perform actions (selection of an item, reply to
a quiz, etc.) that affect the state of the game.
The context of actions in game & physical
space, and the player identity, give meaning to
the actions.
e.g. proximity of two players may allow some
possible interactions between them, based on the
fact that they belong to the same or competing
teams.
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13. Examples of actions meaning
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collecting a piece of information
Unlocking next part of a story
Receiving further instructions
Replying to a question, doing a puzzle
Linking objects (action as part of a sequence)
Transporting “virtual objects” between
positions (action as part of a sequence)
• Modifying the state of an object, i.e. locking
or unlocking it
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14. Our cities contain an invisible
layer of cultural heritage
TimeMachine project
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15. Gap between “high” and
“popular” culture
• Young generations are attracted by “popular”
cultures, like the game culture
• It has been observed that there is a distance
of young generations from “high culture”,
e.g. the official cultural institutions,
monuments, heritage *
• This gap may be bridged by mobile city
games with learning potential
* EC. Access of Young People to Culture, Final Report
EACEA/2008/01
15

16. Can mobile city games
lead to learning ?
16

17. Mobile games & learning
De Souza & Delacruz (2006) claim that these
games facilitate learning :
• Social learning
– Multiuser activities content is created through
communication and collaboration
• Experiential learning
– The game provides opportunities for action and
reflection on action
• Situated learning
– Activity takes place in relevant physical location
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18. Mobile games & learning
Schrier (2006) identified an evaluation
framework for location-based games based
on so called 21st century learning skills:
http://www.p21.org/
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19. Pervasive fun vs learning games
peadic
Museum Role
Playing Games
Museum
Interactive
Guides
Situated
Language
Learning
Museum
Guides
Partcipatory
Simulators
Role Playing
Games
Fiction in
the City
Adventure
Games
Treasure
Hunts
Action
games
ludic
Avouris N., Yiannoutsou N. (2012) A review of mobile location-based games for learning
across physical and virtual spaces Journal of Universal Computer Science, vol 18.
19

20. Examples of learning in the city
• Learning about the city (tourists,
discovery of new facts)
• Learning through the city (learning
inspired by landmarks, historic sites,
etc.)
• Learning to live in the city (citizens’
skills, solving everyday problems)
Int. Observatory for Smart City Learning
20

21. Examples
• CityScrabble (linking game)
• InvisibleCity (party game
made city game)
• Who Killed Hannae (fiction in
the city)
• Frequency 1550 (education
city game)
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22. CityScrabble
A
B
C
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23. CityScrabble: Connect spots
to keys/themes
By scanning an object
you can select it. By
pressing the lock the
object may be connected
to a key, thus points may
be gained if the
connection is correct.
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24. CarnivalScrabble : large
scale implementation of
CityScrabble
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25. Patras’ Carnival: the treasure hunt game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patras_Carnival
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26. CarnivalScrabble
• Based on the CityScrabble idea
(linking places-themes)
• An activity in the 2013 Treasure
Hunt game of Patras’ Carnival
• Over 80 competing groups
using their mobile phones for
following instructions
• over 200 points in the city of
Patras, the players where asked
to access and relate them to 28
themes.
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27. Learning in CityScrabble
• The game was designed with a top-down
strategy in mind, where the players pursue
their goal by selecting a topic, searching for
objects of interest, creating links and so on.
• However, some of the teams switched to
bottom-up strategies, first scanning an object
and then flipping through the topics
searching for a hint that can be used in a
meaningful link.
Based on Sintoris et al. 2012, evaluation of MuseumScrabble
27

28. CityScrabble: disconnected places
Places as cut out letters just factual
disconnected information (Klopfer et al.,
2005) e.g.
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29. Preference for visual keys
Visual vs cognitive hints: preference to visual hints that
were consumed faster in the first part of the game
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30. Invisible City:
Rebels vs Spies (RvS)
Inspired by: Mafia game,
aka Night in Palermo, Werewolves,
Assassins...
Asymmetrical information,
informed minority VS un-informed
majority
a social game of trust, deception,
observation and performance
www.invisiblecity.gr
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31. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
Rebels → Uninformed majority
Spies → Informed minority
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32. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
At the beginning of a round
the players gather together and
choose a leader
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33. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
A leader is elected who decides the
missions for each player
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34. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
The leader sends the missions to the players
and becomes a normal player
Some missions are critical, some are not
If a critical mission fails, the round goes to the spies
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35. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
Each player proceeds to find the location
mentioned in the assigned mission
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36. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
The players can choose to either
succeed or fail
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37. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
After completing the mission players
proceed to the location for the next round
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38. Invisible city
Rebels Vs Spies: Expanding the concept
Spatial expansion
From the room → To the city
Locations are spread out
Players cannot observe each other
Meaning and storyline is fragmented
Situated play and contextual knowledge
Incorporate contextual information
Engagement through physical involvement
Integrate a coherent narrative
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39. RvS: a session of play
39

40. Game evaluation study
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41. Invisible cities: familiar places seen
through a new perspective
[ Extract 1 ]
R. Did you learn something about the city that
you didn’t know before playing the game?
A: We didn’t know any of it…. it was all new.
S: Yes, everything was new ….
M: …. we walk every day by these sites but we
had no idea of all these things about them
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42. Historic layer
[ Extract 2 ]
R: So, what would you say that you learned?
S. That the church of Pantocratoras was an
ancient temple before.
M: I was impressed with the information
about the Mayor (information about an ex
Mayor during the period 1949-1967)
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43. Visitors vs locals learning
[ Extract 3 ]
R: Do you think that the game would be useful for
a visitor who doesn’t know the city?
A: The game is not about “getting to know” the
city, it is about “discovering the city”. The game
is not designed for a visitor who wants to learn
what the characteristic sites of this city are. The
questions are about discovering the invisible citythings that were hidden and not obvious when
you look at the buildings for example.
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44. Selective attention
[ Extract 4 ]
R: Did you have the chance to look around when
you were playing?
K: I knew the surroundings more or less. ….
They missed the no-game related parts of
activity, they used the “game lens” to look into
the city
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45. Fragmented experience
• More interesting the meeting
points where all players gathered
than the executing the tasks
when learning about the city
takes place.
• Tasks interrupted by other events
• Tiring experience
45

46. Who Killed Hannae
(fiction in the city)
• A mystery story in the
city of Aalborg (Paay et
al. 2008) – existing novel
• Episodes of the book are
linked to sites of the city.
• Players play the role of a
detective
• Two players collaborate
to solve the mystery
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47. Who Killed Hannae
• The story is delivered in the
form of newspaper, digital
character interactions
• Users collect key evidence
(i.e. pictures of objects or
responses from digital
characters
When they are successful they are rewarded with a
half sign.
When two half signs are combined the next stop
appears on the map and the story continues
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48. Learning in “Who killed Hannae”
Participants all enjoyed walking through the
city of Aalborg; in fact current residents of
Aalborg claimed that they had learned new
things about their city. For example, the
existence of the Aalborg Convent, hidden
near the central city shopping precinct, and its
historical associations with the Danish
resistance during World War II had not
previously been known to any of the
participants.” (Paay et al., 2008, p. 128).
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49. Frequency 1550 (education game)
• The Place: Medieval Amsterdam
• The story: Players have to gain
366 points or days of citizenship (a
year and a day rule to earn civil
rights
• Two teams in each group:
Headquarters (HQT) and mobile
City Team (CT)
• Mobile groups undertake the role
of merchants, beggars, priests
with different status order in the
game
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50. Frequency 1550
• The headquarters monitor the mobile team and
guide them through the tasks, they receive
information from the mobile team and make further
investigations (Directing the game)
• The mobile team implements the tasks: go to this
place and take a picture or a video. Involve specific
places of interest (Play the game)
• Six areas of medieval Amsterdam linked to different
assignments: labor, trade, religion, rules,
government, knowledge, defense
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51. Learning in Frequency 1550
• Active experience of history adds to historical
awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the city
and its history (constructionist approach, Raessens,
2007)
• [Akkerman, 09] observed that ... the city teams who
enacted the story, were often distracted by all that
was happening in real time in the street, so while
trying to find their way through the city, they lost
the sight of the overall structure of the game and its
narrative and learning effect
• Directors (HQT) learned more than Actors (CT)
Akkerman, eta l. 2009
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52. Learning in Frequency 1550
• Players did not pay attention to the
backstory, the technology drew their
attention
• Not reading the texts that delivered
them historic information and advanced
the story, they were more triggered to
complete the assignments
Akkerman, eta l. 2009
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53. Learning in Mobile city games
Games mostly focus on factual
information → games as vehicles for
transferring new information to the
players
Yet searching for this information in an
intriguing, engaging and pleasant
activity.
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54. Learning in Mobile city games
However information is all there is to
learn about a city?
Embodied experience
City narrative
Balance is needed between exhausting
players with “making” activities and
more cognitive problem solving
activity
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55. … discussion
• in the context of this type of games
places or buildings are treated as a
bunch of disconnected and decontextualized things
• Game vs Fun: Players observed that
the needed attention on the place and
on factual information is “the price
they had to pay” in order for the fun to
continue
55

56. … discussion
• Narrative is lost because attention is
drawn to physical activity, city life
distraction, etc
• No reading instructions, backstories,
background information, the players
were eager to complete the
assignments
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57. Players as game designers
Contribution of new
objects, in InvisibleCity
Mission tasks can be
contributed through a web
site (e.g. a school teacher
can design a specific version
of the game for a school
party)
Rubén Muñoz and Christos Sintoris, 2012
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58. Players as Designers
• Contributing content
• Modifying game elements
• Using existing design patterns
– Previous design knowledge is re-used
in new design problems
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59. Learning through participation
in game design
• Active –constructive learning (users: cocreators of new ideas, knowledge and
products, public meta-artifacts)
• Rich learning opportunities: analysis and
synthesis around the city space and the
spatial content that is going to be integrated
in the game
• Ownership of information
• Participation in design communities
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60. Designing CityScrabble
• Choosing from a set of different types of links:
(i.e. Stars: One to many, Chains:A is linked to B, B is
linked to C etc, Thematic lists: linking concepts to
objects )
• Content
– Selecting the places of the city that will become
part of the game – analyzing them according to
the structure of the game
• Events (bonus elements, dangerous zones etc)
• Rules: When do you win (score)
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61. Playing by constructing your game
Two teams compete by creating questions
relating to modern art gallery exhibits
Di Loreto et al. 2013, Conference on Intelligent Environments
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62. Open Design Patterns
Deriving Design Patterns through a game
design workshop
Similar to: Pervasive Games Design Patterns
Davidsson, Peitz, & Björk, 2004, Björk &Peitz, 2007
Game Ontology Project (Hochhalter, Lichti, &
Zagal, 2005)
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63. Pompeii Game
Design Workshop
• The task is to design a game for the
archaeological site of Pompeii, given
design material and a design framework
• Objective is to observe design activity of
different design groups and deduce
common design patterns for this class of
games
63

64. Pompeii Game Design Workshop
The aim of the activity is each group to
design a game where the players move
in the archaeological site and use mobile
devices (e.g. smartphones) in order to:
– have fun
– discover the site and learn
– interact with each other
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65. The Pompeii Design Workshop
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66. The Pompeii Design Workshop
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67. Pompeii Design Workshop
: the Worksheet
The objective
What is the aim of the game? What
The rules
will you explain basic rules? How are
the players that
What are the to & technology
Use to do? How will the player
they have of tools
they guide the game to will be used? As
How will the mobile the end? Are
know about success? a narrative?
Mechanisms
there roles? Is there
information screens, communication,
How are the rules enforced? How is the
barcodeLocation and real-world objects
scanners, GPS, maps, radar,
game paced? Is there immersion in the
compass, flashlight...?involved in the game?
How are they game? What about
atmosphere of the and aesthetic result
Behaviors
How are the players interacting with
player communication? Awareness of to
How do you expect the game the
them?
actions of the other time? How will the players
evolve over players? Competion?
Cooperation? Deception?
feel playing it?
67

68. 32 game designs were produced in 6
workshops in 4 different countries
Zakynthos, GR :
Summer School
on Technologies
for Cultural
Heritage
68

69. Design workshops
Pecs, HU,
Erasmus IP on
cultural heritage
management
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70. Games: the titles
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71. Deriving design patterns
By applying methods from content
analysis and grounded theory we
identified codes in the design
documents and used these codes to
extract what patterns and strategies
the designers followed
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72. Design Patterns
http://hci.ece.upatras.gr/l-bags/ (soon in English)
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73. Cooperation
Information awareness
Competition
The cooperation and competition between players/groups is adjusted by
controlling information provided to them. Information Awareness regulates
competition. In a same-place game, there is the possibility of information
because the players are close (e.g. see and hear the opponent ) . Information
can flow accidentally (eg a sound from the device other players may reveal
some information ) .
Wrong information may be deliberately delivered (see patterns bluff,
sabotage).
If the mobile devices are personal telephones of players, they can be used as
phones for coordination and information exchange, bypassing or expanding
information channels of the game.
Information awareness concerns management of the information that is
known to the players, it may concern actions of other players or teams or
information about them (such as their score, position in space, etc.). One
example is the fog of war , where the actions of the opponent is hiding
behind a veil .
Can be combined with diversification of players (two players with different
characteristics have access to more information if found close together, see
also co-location).
Associated with heuristics 3.7
Control
bluffing
sabotage
Co-located players
Fog of war
Players diversification
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74. Experimental use of design patterns
74

75. Using design patterns
Using it as a checklist
Getting new ideas
Refining an initial idea
Checking old solutions to new
problems
Relating structure of the game to
game elements
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76. The Pompeii workshop
An open repository of design
knowledge for city mobile games
hci.ece.upatras.gr/pompeiigame/
Sintoris et al. (2014) on Design patterns
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77. thanks
hci.edu.gr
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