Discovering the invisible city: Location-based games for learning in smart cities

• Main Authors: Christos Sintoris, Nikoleta Yiannoutsou, Soteris Demetriou, Nikolaos Avouris
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scuola IaD 2013-05-01
• Series: Interaction Design and Architecture(s)
• Subjects: location-based games; game-based learning; situated learning; technology enhanced places; mobile game design
• Online Access: http://www.mifav.uniroma2.it/inevent/events/idea2010/doc/16_5.pdf

In this paper we discuss how location-based mobile games can be designed for learning in modern technology enhanced public spaces. We start with the description of the design process and we identify the main challenges faced. We elaborate the case of the game Invisible City: Rebels vs. Spies, a game to be played in a city centre using mobile devices. Through this case we highlight the adaptation of an original party game into a mobile form, the issues we faced and the key aspects conductive to learning in a smart city. It is claimed that creating mobile city games for learning is a new challenge, as our city landscapes are augmented with an increasing number of layers of digital information in which a new generation of city games are played.