Pervasive Games

Games are no longer confined to card tables and computer screens. Emmy award winning games like "The Fallen Alternate Reality Game" (based on the ABC show) or "The Lost Experience" (based on the CBS hit show)- are pervasive games in that they blur traditional boundaries of game play. This book gives game designers the tools they need to create cutting edge pervasive games.

This book scrutinizes pervasive games from a technological perspective, focusing on the sub-domain of games that satisfy the criteria that they make use of virtual game elements. In the computer game industry, the use of a game engine to build games is common, but current game engines do not support pervasive games. Since the computer game industry is already rich with game engines, this book investigates: (i) if a game engine can be repurposed to stage pervasive games; (ii) if features describing a would-be pervasive game engine can be identified; (iii) using those features, if an architecture be found in the same ‘product line’ as an existing engine and that can be extended to stage pervasive games (iv) and, finally, if there any challenges and open issues that remain. The approach to answering these questions is twofold. First, a survey of pervasive games is conducted, gathering technical details and distilling a component feature set that enables pervasive games. Second, a type of game engine is chosen as candidate in the same product line as a would-be pervasive game engine, supporting as much of the feature set as possible. The architecture is extended to support the entire feature set and used to stage a pervasive game called Codename: Heroes, validating the architecture, highlighting features of particular importance and identifying any open issues. The conclusion of this book is also twofold: the resulting feature set is verified to coincide with the definition of pervasive games and related work. And secondly, a virtual world engine is selected as candidate in the same product line as a would-be pervasive game engine. Codename: Heroes was successfully implemented, reaping the benefits of using the selected engine; development time was low, spanning just a few months. Codename: Heroes was staged twice, with no stability issues or down time.

Emerging quickly from the fast-paced growth of mobile communications and wireless technologies, pervasive games provide a worldwide network of potential play spaces. Now games can be designed to be played in public spaces like conferences, museums, communities, cities, buildings or other non-traditional game venues...and game designers need to unde

"This publication covers the latest innovative research findings involved with the incorporation of technologies into everyday aspects of life"--Provided by publisher.

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) challenge what players understand as “real.” Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay is the first collection to explore and define the possibilities of ARGs. Though prominent examples have existed for more than two decades, only recently have ARGs come to the prominence as a unique and highly visible digital game genre. Adopting many of the same strategies as online video games, ARGs blur the distinction between real and fictional. With ARGs continuing to be an important and blurred space between digital and physical gameplay, this volume offers clear analysis of game design, implementation, and ramifications for game studies. Divided into three distinct sections, the contributions include first hand accounts by leading ARG creators, scholarly analysis of the meaning behind ARGs, and explorations of how ARGs are extending digital tools for analysis. By balancing the voices of designers, players, and researchers, this collection highlights how the Alternate Reality Game genre is transforming the ways we play and interact today.

The use of computing technology for entertainment purposes is not a recent p- nomenon. Video game consoles, home computers and other entertainment media have been used widely for more than three decades, and people of all ages are spe- ing an increasing amount of time and money on these technologies. More recent is the rise of a vibrant research community focusing on gaming and entertainment applications. Driven by the growth and the coming of age of the g- ing industry, and by its increasing recognition in the media and the minds of the broader public, the study of computer games, game development and experiences is attracting the interest of researchers from very diverse fields: social sciences, comp- ing, electrical engineering, design, etc. Research of this kind looks to extend the boundaries of gaming technologies. In a relentless drive for innovation, it looks to create and understand an ever increasing range of experiences, and examine how games can provide value for educational, therapeutic and other ‘serious’ purposes. These themes were reflected in the call for participation and eventually the papers accepted for presentation. The Fun n’ Games conference was the second event of a bi-annual series of c- ferences. The first event of the series was held in Preston in 2006 organized by the University of Central Lancashire. Following the success of this event it was decided to run a follow up.