The design of mobile games as a context to rethink representations of space

The design of mobile gamesas a context to rethink representations of spaceThe design of mobile gamesas a context to rethink representations of space

Nikoleta Yiannoutsou, Christos Sintoris, Nikos AvourisHuman-Computer Interaction Group, University of Patras

Maps and Games, Workshop at the 26th International Cartographic Conference in Dresden – August 25th 2013

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Outline

Representations of space in games

Modalities of interaction with space

Analysis of the representations in one case

How players experience space

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Representations of spacein location-based mobile games

"All maps state an argument about the world "*: not only a view of the world but also a way of interacting with it

Visibile representations (i.e. maps)

"Implied" representations which shape spatial experience (i.e. treasure hunt)– offer different ways of interacting with space– impose a specific way of navigating in space

*(Harley 1992 pp 242, in Propen 2009)

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J. J. Gibson (1979)

Affordances are the allowable actions specified by the environment

pic from http://spoonfiles.konstvet.uu.se/

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implied actions,

awarness of functional significance

What actions does this stile afford?

‹- pic from rethinkingchildhood.com

Affordance

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Wasteland (1987)

Most of the game is about moving and performing actions in a place

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Ingress (2012)The map aids the traversal of real space.

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Site-specificity: meaning is superimposed onto places and objects.existing meaning is altered

Ingress (2012)

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Representation of space, encodes and enforces rules

Places afford actions,depending on goals and motivations

Places are codified,new meaning is superimposed,existing meaning is altered

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Representing information about a placeHow does a game incorporate information?

What is there?selected spatial content(sites of a city or exhibits of a museum)

Where is it?position and information about this content.

How is it presented?rules/conditions for presenting information on content (e.g. depending on player position, on game state, on player actions etc.)

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Representing information about a place

Where am I?position of player and / or co-players

Where do I go?order of navigation in the different sites(dependent on time or on the structure of the information or on the actions of the player)

linear order of navigation nodal organization

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Modalities of interaction with spaceWhat does a game ask of a player in relation to space?

Moving,Be thereBe there at a specific time Follow a trail

navigate in space with a specific order

Interacting with other players,Be there firstCo-locality: be there at the same time with someone else

and perform a task (e.g. two-man rule)Synchronicity: be at specific different spots at the same time

and coordinate with other players (e.g. Ingress)

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CityScrabbleA connection game: connect real objects to concepts

In CityScrabble, teams compete to find "hidden" connections

Players read info on devices

Locate related QR tags

Associate located QR tags to info

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CityScrabbleA connection game: connect real objects to concepts

In CityScrabble, teams compete to find "hidden" connections

Clues are organized in themes

Players / teams compete on the grid

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CityScrabbleA connection game: connect real objects to concepts

In CityScrabble, teams compete to find "hidden" connections

Locations are spread out (224 tags)Players cannot always observe each otherMeaning is fragmented

Incorporation of contextual information– Observing features of places/objects– Scanning QR tags

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How do players experience space?Discussing with players after playing a game (invisiblecity.gr)

[ Extract 1 ]– Coordinator: Did you learn something about the city that you

didn’t know before playing the game?– Player A: We didn’t know any of it…. it was all new.– Player S: Yes, everything was new ….– Player M: …. we walk every day by these sites but we had no idea

of all these things about them

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How do players experience space?Discussing with players after playing a game (invisiblecity.gr)

[ Extract 2 ]– Coordinator: Did you have the chance to look around when you

were playing?– Player K: I knew the surroundings more or less. ….– Player R: Do you think that the game would be useful for a visitor

who doesn’t know the city?– Player S: It would take ages for someone who doesn’t know the city

to play the game because first he has to find out where the different sites are. Not easy if you don’t know where you are going.

– Player 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 city- things that were hidden and not obvious when you look at the buildings for example.

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Finally, how do games use space? (I)

Backdrop,space plays no role

Confrontation space,space is the object of dispute, (e.g. CTF)

Challenge,space offers resistance to playerse.g. how do I traverse space?, way finding based on clues

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Finally, how do games use space? (II)

Embed content, where factual content is encoded in the represenation of space, learn about this and that

Going beyond factual information– What to I see when I look from a specific point?– What about the people who live in it?– How do I behave here?

How can we take into account the city narrative?*

*(Gentes et al 2010)

Thanks!Thanks!

Christos [email protected]://hci.ece.upatras.gr

Christos [email protected]://hci.ece.upatras.gr