This document describes a pervasive augmented reality game called ExCORA designed to enhance tourism experiences of destinations. The game allows players to visit points of interest (POIs) in the real world using their mobile device. At each POI players validate their visit using QR codes or GPS and complete mini-games to earn points. The game was tested in San Sebastian, Spain with players taking the role of English soldiers in a historic battle. Testers provided feedback and future work aims to publish the game on app stores and personalize experiences.

1. Pervasive Augmented Reality Games
to experience Tourism Destinations
María Teresa Linaza, Aitor Gutierrez and Ander García
Department of eTourism and Cultural Heritage
Vicomtech-IK4, Spain
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Slide Number 1

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• Description of the game
– Game mechanics
– Additional options
– Implementation of the game
• Validation
• Future work
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3. Introduction
• During recent years, there has been a growing
technological trend towards Pervasive Games, which
bring more physical movement and interaction into the
game world
– Pervasive gaming can be considered a current hot topic,
although it is often used as a buzzword, meaning different
things to different people
– Nowadays, Location-based tourism experiences and
Pervasive Games, where the spatial movement of the player
in the physical world is a key element, have increasingly
become a research focus
– This has been possible due to the expansion of
SmartPhones with Internet, GPS and other sensing
capabilities, making mobile phone-based games easy to play
and more interesting
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4. Introduction
• Furthermore, the development of Augmented Reality
(AR) technology allows the user to see the real world
and perceive an additional virtual world superimposed
on the same field of view in real-time
– The user feels that the real and virtual objects coexist in the
same space
– Until recently, AR applications required custom designed
equipment which made it unfeasible in terms of size and
cost
– The development of mobile devices, along with location and
visualization technologies, has made it possible to integrate
all the components needed by AR applications on
SmartPhones at a low price
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5. Introduction
• This research aims at implementing a
Pervasive Game for tourists during their
visit to some of the most representative
PoIs in the city of San Sebastian, Spain
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6. Description of the game
• The main goal of ExCORA is the development
of collaborative and multiuser Pervasive
Augmented
Reality
games
in
open
environments for tourism destinations
– The creation of such experiences is based on the
combination of different basic elements
– Each of these basic elements will represent a
specific activity (augmented game, insertion of
virtual objects in patterns, collaborative
augmented
activity...)
related
to
the
corresponding PoIs
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7. Game mechanics
• Playing ExCORA only requires an iOS device
and the willingness of the player to move
around in the physical playing area
– Players should find their way to specific locations
or Points of Interest (PoIs)
– In those places, they are rewarded with story
segments within which lie hints towards where to
head next
– When players arrive to a PoI, they have to validate
the visit to unlock the next PoI
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8. Game mechanics
• The game begins with a short introductory video followed by a
welcome screen to inform about the dynamics and objective of
the game
• The display shows a map of the game field and the position of
the player on the map, with the PoIs displayed either on a mapview, a list-view or an Augmented view
» a
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9. Game mechanics
• Once the player has clicked on a PoI, the game
provides descriptive content as well as the access to
the validation of the PoI
• Each PoI is described by an image and a text, and
optionally also by a video, audio, 3D object or
panoramic image.
• There are two ways of validating each PoI in order
to ensure that the player is physically next to it
– Quick Response (QR) codes close to the PoI
– Location of the player provided by the GPS sensor from
the SmartPhone
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10. Game mechanics
• Once the Once the PoI is validated, the game presents a minigame so that players can be rewarded
–
–
–
–
–
Multiple Choice
Puzzle
Augmented Reality
Augmented Multiple Choice
Question pool
– X
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11. Game mechanics
• When a mini-game is answered or completed
correctly, players are rewarded with points for
completing that challenge
• Once the game is over, ExCORA will display the
number of points for each player
– Players can compare their points in a ranking with
other users
– Each player gets a QR code to be rewarded with
some type of prize
– Depending on the number of points, players can
even win physical prizes at the Tourism Office
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12. Additional options
• ExCORA has some additional options to
enhance the game
– The game includes social communication
capabilities so players can access the score, visited
PoIs and location of other players, as well as
communicate among them using a chat
– Users can access an information section to
configure the username and image used to
represent them on the chat, and to gain
information about their achievements during the
game (points, validated PoIs, ...)
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13. Implementation of the game
• The game has been implemented following a
client/server architecture
– The server is based on an Apache Web Server, while
the MySQL database and the logic have been
developed using the Slim PHP microframework
– The client has been developed as a multilingual iOS 6
application optimized for iPhone 4 (or newer) devices,
being also compatible with iPod and iPad devices.
• At this stage, the game has not been published at
the Apple Store but has been installed directly on
the validation devices (ad-hoc distribution)
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14. Validation of the game
• The background for the validation game is the
battle between the French and AngloPortuguese troops that occurred in San
Sebastian from the 28th of June to the 8th of
September 1813, exactly two hundred years
ago
» S
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15. Validation of the game
• A preliminary validation campaign has been
conducted during April 2013 with six partners
of the project in order to assess both the
contents and the technical performance of the
prototype
• Each player carries a SmartPhone or iPad with
a built-in camera and GPS receiver, which
provides the main requirements of the game
implementation: positioning and ability to
read visual tags
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16. Validation of the game
• The game starts outside the walls of the
fortress and finishes on the flag located on
the top of the Urgull Mountain
• Players take the role of an English soldier
trying to defeat the French army garrisoned
on the fortress
• The generated experience has six PoIs and
four treasures with different contents,
validation methods and related mini-games
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17. Validation of the game
• Several aspects of the model have been analysed
during the preliminary validation campaign
– Concentration on the Pervasive Game, as the player
should divide the attention among the in-game tasks
and those in the surrounding environment outside the
game
– Support for the skill development of the players, which
should be able to start playing the game without
reading a written manual
– Simple and intuitive interface of the game, allowing
players to feel in control over their actions, clearly
communicating the goals of the game and giving
feedback about their actions, progress and score
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18. Validation of the game
• Testers
propose
improvements
some
further
– The rating of the PoIs and share comments
about them
– The increase of the amount of narrated audio
content (to be heard while moving between
PoIs)
– The access to extended contents related to
some PoIs
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19. Future work
• Future work lines are opened both on the
client application and on the server
– Regarding the client, next steps are focused on:
• Publication of the application on the Apple Store
• Development of an Android version of the game
• Personalization of the game experience according to the
profile of tourists (family, youngster, elderly...)
– Future work on the server includes mainly the
development of tools to:
• Generate new experiences
• Exploit the information gathered on the server about
users (visited PoIs, tracks, times...)
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20. Thanks for your attention!
Further questions????
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