Transreality game

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A transreality game, sometimes written as trans-reality game, describes a type of video game or a mode of gameplay that combines playing a game in a virtual environment with game-related, physical experiences in the real world and vice versa. In this approach a player evolves and moves seamlessly through various physical and virtual stages, brought together in one unified game space. [1] Alongside the rising trend of gamification, the application of game mechanics to tasks that are not traditionally associated with play, a transreality approach to gaming incorporates mechanics that extend over time and space, effectively playing through a players day-to-day interactions. [2]

The essential part of transreality gaming is considered to be the fluidity between physical and virtual stages of gameplay, making it more and more difficult to see the distinction between what is allegedly 'virtual' and what is allegedly 'real' while playing. [3] Looking at a transreality game from that perspective it may also integrate (big) data feeds into the storylines of games as a means to make the gameplay more immersive, [4] like in the setup of Liping Xie's experimental scientific simulations in which a population of sample individuals search a real-world optimum in a virtual problem space, driven by real world forces in that space. [5] Further on it could benefit from new layers of reality mining, connected intelligence and ubiquitous computing that incorporate machines into our lives [6] like the Internet of things and wearable computing (both using sensors that are able to immediately re-create the actual world on and around a player on his or her device), cryptocurrencies, micropayments and nanopayments (for handling transmedial game credits), deployment of cleverbots, mind files and intelligent agent systems (to enhance the natural feel and learning skills of game characters) and games using kinetics (through motion controllers or through haptics).

Different authors have used the adjective 'transreal' as a starting point for the design of location-based games (like pervasive games, [7] mixed reality games [8] and augmented reality games [9] ) and cross media games (like simulation games, [10] LARP [11] and alternate reality games [12] ). All of these genres offer game experiences integrated with everyday routines and social networks. Its applications are to be found in serious games (education, [13] awareness, [14] skill training [15] ), gamification (like in production centers, [16] marketing, [17] research [18] and testing [19] ) as well as in mobile multiplayer trans-reality games, MMTRG (including gamification of Foursquare [20] ), using the actual geolocation of the player in the gameplay, like in games such as Ingress, Pokémon Go , Shadow Cities , Zombies, Run! , YouCatch, Roads of San Francisco, City Race Munich and Parallel Kingdom .

From a broader perspective it is argued that different location aware and transmedial game formats may also be considered to merely provide a facilitating infrastructure for transreality gaming in a broader sense, positioned as a new way of looking at the design of game spaces, meant to be played across different realities rather than across different media. [21] [22] [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live action role-playing game</span> Form of role-playing game where participants act out the roles

A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by real-world environments while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may be mediated by game rules or determined by consensus among players. Event arrangers called gamemasters decide the setting and rules to be used and facilitate play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augmented reality</span> View of the real world with computer-generated supplementary features

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one.

Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it. Video game gameplay is distinct from graphics and audio elements. In card games, the equivalent term is play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-mediated reality</span> Ability to manipulate ones perception of reality through the use of a computer

Computer-mediated reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smartphone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed reality</span> Merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments

Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time.

A persistent world or persistent state world (PSW) is a virtual world which, by the definition by Richard Bartle, "continues to exist and develop internally even when there are no people interacting with it". The first virtual worlds were text-based and often called MUDs, but the term is frequently used in relation to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and pervasive games. Examples of persistent worlds that exist in video games include Battle Dawn, EVE Online, and Realms of Trinity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Head-mounted display</span> Type of display device

A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one or each eye. An HMD has many uses including gaming, aviation, engineering, and medicine. Virtual reality headsets are HMDs combined with IMUs. There is also an optical head-mounted display (OHMD), which is a wearable display that can reflect projected images and allows a user to see through it.

Locative media or location-based media (LBM) is a virtual medium of communication functionally bound to a location. The physical implementation of locative media, however, is not bound to the same location to which the content refers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immersion (virtual reality)</span> Perception of being physically present in a non-physical world

Immersion into virtual reality (VR) is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.

A pervasive game is one where the gaming experience is extended out in the real world, or where the fictive world in which the game takes place blends with the physical world. The "It's Alive" mobile games company described pervasive games as "games that surround you", while Montola, Stenros and Waern's book, Pervasive Games defines them as having "one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play spatially, temporally, or socially." The concept of a "magic circle" draws from the work of Johan Huizinga, who describes the boundaries of play.

A projection augmented model is an element sometimes employed in virtual reality systems. It consists of a physical three-dimensional model onto which a computer image is projected to create a realistic looking object. Importantly, the physical model is the same geometric shape as the object that the PA model depicts.

Gregory Peter Panos is an American writer, futurist, educator, strategic planning consultant, conference / event producer, and technology evangelist in augmented reality, virtual reality, human simulation, motion capture, performance animation, 3D character animation, human-computer interaction, and user experience design.

A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to video games used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, politics and art. Serious games are a subgenre of serious storytelling, where storytelling is applied "outside the context of entertainment, where the narration progresses as a sequence of patterns impressive in quality ... and is part of a thoughtful progress". The idea shares aspects with simulation generally, including flight simulation and medical simulation, but explicitly emphasizes the added pedagogical value of fun and competition.

In computing, 3D interaction is a form of human-machine interaction where users are able to move and perform interaction in 3D space. Both human and machine process information where the physical position of elements in the 3D space is relevant.

Ming C. Lin is an American computer scientist and a former chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she also holds an endowed faculty position as the Elizabeth Stevinson Iribe Chair of Computer Science. Prior to moving to Maryland in 2018, Lin was the John R. & Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations, and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage users. This is generally accomplished through the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Location-based game</span> Game which reacts to the players location

A location-based game is a type of game in which the gameplay evolves and progresses via a player's location. Location-based games must provide some mechanism to allow the player to report their location, usually with GPS. Many location-based games are video games that run on a mobile phone with GPS capability, known as location-based video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamification of learning</span> Educational approach aiming to promote learning by using video game design and game elements

The gamification of learning is an educational approach that seeks to motivate students by using video game design and game elements in learning environments. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement by capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. Gamification, broadly defined, is the process of defining the elements which comprise games, make those games fun, and motivate players to continue playing, then using those same elements in a non-game context to influence behavior. In other words, gamification is the introduction of game elements into a traditionally non-game situation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial augmented reality</span>

Industrial augmented reality (IAR) is related to the application of augmented reality (AR) and heads-up displays to support an industrial process. The use of IAR dates back to the 1990s with the work of Thomas Caudell and David Mizell about the application of AR at Boeing. Since then several applications of this technique over the years have been proposed showing its potential in supporting some industrial processes. Although there have been several advances in technology, IAR is still considered to be at an infant developmental stage.

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer application which allows users to experience immersive, three dimensional visual and audio simulations. According to Pinho (2004), virtual reality is characterized by immersion in the 3D world, interaction with virtual objects, and involvement in exploring the virtual environment. The feasibility of the virtual reality in education has been debated due to several obstacles such as affordability of VR software and hardware. The psychological effects of virtual reality are also a negative consideration. However, recent technological progress has made VR more viable and promise new learning models and styles for students. These facets of virtual reality have found applications within the primary education sphere in enhancing student learning, increasing engagement, and creating new opportunities for addressing learning preferences.

References

  1. ↑ Trans-Reality Gaming, Craig A. Lindley, Institution Technology, Art and New Media, University of Gotland, Visby, Sweden (2004).
  2. ↑ Bonsignore, Elizabeth M., et al. "Mixed reality games." Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work Companion. ACM, 2012. doi : 10.1145/2141512.2141517
  3. ↑ Edward Castronova, Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games, The University of Chicago Press, 2005)
  4. ↑ "Narrative Structure in TransReality RolePlaying Games: Integrating Story Construction from Live Action, Table Top and ComputerBased RolePlaying Games", Craig A. Lindley, Institution Technology, Art and New Media, University of Gotland, Visby, Sweden (2005)
  5. ↑ Xie, Liping, Jianchao Zeng, and Zhihua Cui. "Using artificial physics to solve global optimization problems". Cognitive Informatics, 2009. ICCI'09. 8th IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, 2009.
  6. ↑ TECHVISION 2014, Accenture
  7. ↑ Kasapakis, Vlasios, Damianos Gavalas, and Nikos Bubaris. "Pervasive games research: a design aspects-based state of the art report." Proceedings of the 17th Panhellenic Conference on Informatics. ACM, 2013. University of the Aegean
  8. ↑ Jantke, Klaus P., Oksana Arnold, and Sebastian Spundflasch. "Aliens on the Bus: A family of pervasive games". Consumer Electronics (GCCE), 2013 IEEE 2nd Global Conference on. IEEE, 2013. (Children's Media Dept., Fraunhofer Inst. Digital Media Technol., Erfurt, Germany) doi : 10.1109/GCCE.2013.6664866
  9. ↑ Zarzycki, Andrzej. "Urban Games: Inhabiting Real and Virtual Cities". Paper ecaade 2012_298 (2012)
  10. ↑ Klopfer, Eric, and Kurt Squire. "Environmental Detectives—the development of an augmented reality platform for environmental simulations". Educational Technology Research and Development 56.2 (2008): 203-228.)
  11. ↑ Bergström, Karl, Staffan Jonsson, and Staffan Björk. "Undercurrents–A Computer-Based Gameplay Tool to Support Tabletop Roleplaying". (2010).
  12. ↑ Gutierrez, Lucio, Eleni Stroulia, and Ioanis Nikolaidis. "faARS: a platform for location-aware trans-reality games." Entertainment Computing-ICEC 2012. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012. 185-192. (University of Alberta) doi : 10.1007/978-3-642-33542-6_16
  13. ↑ Dunleavy, Matt. "Design Principles for Augmented Reality Learning." TechTrends 58.1 (2014): 28-34
  14. ↑ Chang, Alenda Y. "Playing Nature: The Virtual Ecology of Game Environments". (2013).
  15. ↑ Chodos, David, Lucio Gutierrez, and Eleni Stroulia. "Creating healthcare training simulations in virtual worlds." Software Engineering in Health Care (SEHC), 2012 4th International Workshop on. IEEE, 2012. University of Alberta ISBN   978-1-4673-1843-3
  16. ↑ Korn, Oliver, Albrecht Schmidt, and Thomas Hörz. "The potentials of in-situ-projection for augmented workplaces in production: a study with impaired persons." CHI'13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, 2013. doi : 10.1145/2468356.2468531
  17. ↑ Campbell, MacGregor. "The audacious plan to make the world into a game." New Scientist 209.2794 (2011): 36-39. doi : 10.1016/S0262-4079(11)60049-3
  18. ↑ Farhangi, Sanaz. "Reality is broken to be rebuilt: how a gamer's mindset can show science educators new ways of contribution to science and world?." Cultural Studies of Science Education 7.4 (2012): 1037-1044. doi : 10.1007/s11422-012-9426-y
  19. ↑ Kleinschmit, Matt, Andrew Reid, and Richard Rizzo. "VIRTUAL FUTURE: REAL LIFE OR FANTASY." (2012).
  20. ↑ Frith, Jordan. "Turning life into a game: Foursquare, gamification, and personal mobility". Mobile Media & Communication 1.2 (2013): 248-262.
  21. ↑ Game Space Design Foundations for Trans-Reality Games, Craig A. Lindley, Institution Technology, Art and New Media, University of Gotland, Visby, Sweden (2005)
  22. ↑ Montola, M. (2011). A ludological view on the pervasive mixed-reality game research paradigm, Personal Ubiquitous Computing
  23. ↑ Sakamoto, Mizuki; Nakajima, Tatsuo; Alexandrova Todorka "Digital-physical hybrid design: Harmonizing the real world and the virtual world" Desform (2012).

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