Alternate reality techniques in traditional gaming

Abstract

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are a new form of highly immersive gaming that's taking the world by storm. They can be likened to huge, country-wide treasure hunts with clues spread over a variety of media, such as television and the Internet. These games pioneered a new form of highly immersive gaming, so immersive that players caught up in the action are quick to proclaim: "This is Not a Game." This project takes a look at the birth and evolution of the ARG genre, as well as the psychological effect the games are known to have on players. Armed with that knowledge, the project details the construction of a software framework designed to simplify the creation of interactive cutscenes using an array of input and output techniques. The purpose of this software is to increase immersion in standard video games using some of the tactics employed by Alternate Reality Games. Lifelike immersion on your PC or gaming console. A prototype of the proposed framework was implemented and tested with a number of different subjects in a specially-prepared environment. The goal of the research was to gauge the effectiveness of the ARG techniques and study the emotional responses of the users to the increased immersion. Experiments were somewhat adversely affected by a number of unforeseen technical issues related to the testing location, but even so, subjects responded positively to the experience. Most users found the innovative application of speech recognition and motion recognition technology, as well as the use of SMSs to aid interaction, extremely engaging. The players chose adjectives like "creative", "impressive", and" stimulating" to define their experience in the subsequent interviews, and were eager to see the technology developed further - clearly results that promote further research in the field. As put by one subject: "It makes you realise that it's not just a game".