Towards location- and orientation-aware gaming: Research on Location-based Games with additional compass features

Abstract

Location-Based Games have been around for over a decade. Despite never reaching a large audience, the increase in technology in mobile devices offers great possibilities for the genre. New features in mobile devices can be combined with Location-Based Games, which already use the GPS feature of mobile devices, to extend this genre. An example of such a combination is the addition of a compass to create an Orientation-aware Location-Based Game. Current mobile devices offer the components, but have not been examined to such an extent that the feasibility of these type of games is clear.

In this master thesis we will look at this feasibility by first assessing the necessary components. When the capabilities of those components are known a straightforward game with location- and orientation-aware properties is examined in a user study. From the results, we conclude that current mobile devices include sensors that, despite data with inaccuracy, still can deliver a sufficient accuracy for some purposes in a location- and orientation-aware application. The users responded very positively to the game and had little trouble in carrying out its tasks. This provides us with a clear step towards developing games for mobile devices that include the location and orientation features in its game design.