In this work, we discuss multiplayer pervasive games that rely on the use of ad hoc mobile sensor networks. The unique feature in such games is that players interact with each other and their surrounding environment by using movement and presence as a means of performing game-related actions, utilizing sensor devices. We discuss the fundamental issues and challenges related to these type of games and the scenarios associated with them. We also present and evaluate an example of such a game, called the "Hot Potato", developed using the Sun SPOT hardware platform. We provide a set of experimental results, so as to both evaluate our implementation and also to identify issues that arise in pervasive games which utilize sensor network nodes, which show that there is great potential in this type of games.
There is a large body of work regarding the pervasive games genre. The aim of the IPerG EU-funded project @cite_3 was the investigation of the pervasive gaming experience and the implementation of a series of showcase'' pervasive games. Several other works present implementations of pervasive games, see e.g., @cite_11 @cite_5 . Some examples of well-known pervasive games are , , @cite_15 , @cite_0 . In @cite_10 several interesting issues are raised, regarding the theory around pervasive games. In @cite_15 the authors evaluated how people perceive and play a pervasive game in normal, everyday settings. In general, most works focus on the design issues raised by specific games; some of these works additionally try to generalize such issues regarding the design of pervasive games overall, @cite_7 and @cite_2 or provide surveys of existing approaches. In @cite_13 the authors present scenarios that show the intended characteristics of pervasive multiplayer games and propose services for the development and deployment of crossmedia games, i.e., games that are played on multiple platforms with varying features.
@cite_13 @cite_7 @cite_3 @cite_0 @cite_2 @cite_5 @cite_15 @cite_10 @cite_11
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In this article we attempt to describe and analyze the formalisms of pervasive games and pervasive gaming (PG). As the title indicates, PG consists of atomic entities that nevertheless merge into a molecular structure that exhibits emergent features during the actual game-play. The article introduces four axes of PG (mobility, distribution, persistence, and transmediality). Further, it describes and analyses three key units of PG (rules, entities, and mechanics) as well as discusses the role of space in PG by differentiating between tangible space, information-embedded space, and accessibility space. The article is generally concerned with classifying the indispensable components of pervasive games and, in addition, it lists the invariant features of pervasive game-play, meaning the epistemology that is tied to this new kind of gaming situated on the borderline between corporeal and immaterial space. Of particular interest are game rules in pervasive gaming, since they seem to touch upon both the underlying, formal structure of the game (i.e., the ontology of PG) and the actual play vis-a-vis physical and or virtual constraints (i.e., the PG epistemology). Pervasive games are an emerging new game genre, which includes context information as an integral part of the game. These games differ from traditional games in that they expand spatio-temporal and social aspects of gaming. Mobile devices support this by enabling players to choose when and where a game is played. Designing pervasive games can be a challenging task, since it is not only limited to the virtual game world, but designers must consider information flow from the real world into the game world and vice versa. In this paper, we describe a user study with an experimental pervasive multiplayer mobile game. The objective was to understand how the players perceive pervasiveness in the game and what the crucial factors are in the design. Based on the results, we propose initial design guidelines and compare them to other design guidelines for the pervasive games. Crossmedia games are a genre of pervasive gaming where a single game instance can be played with a variety of heterogeneous devices that support different forms of players' participation and deliver different game experiences. In this article we present the PM2G initiative, a service-oriented architecture aiming to support crossmedia game development and execution. Due to their relevance in this document, content adaptation and interaction adaptation services are discussed in detail. We also present, as a case study, a game called Pervasive Wizards, which is used to validate our architecture. Finally, we present some performance results obtained in our experiments. This article gives an introduction and overview of the field of pervasive gaming, an emerging genre in which traditional, real-world games are augmented with computing functionality, or, depending on the perspective, purely virtual computer entertainment is brought back to the real world.The field of pervasive games is diverse in the approaches and technologies used to create new and exciting gaming experiences that profit by the blend of real and virtual game elements. We explicitly look at the pervasive gaming sub-genres of smart toys, affective games, tabletop games, location-aware games, and augmented reality games, and discuss them in terms of their benefits and critical issues, as well as the relevant technology base.