A comparative analysis of tools for developing location based games

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2020.100403Get rights and content

Highlights

  • LBG authoring tools are comparatively analyzed based on literature and benchmarking.

  • The comparative analysis of LBG tools can support an informed choice between them.

  • TaleBlazer, Aris & Unity with Mapbox can support the development of (serious) LBGs.

  • TaleBlazer favors educational role-based games while ARIS hybrid story-based games.

  • Unity with Mapbox favors ludic action-based games and supports 3D LBGs.

Abstract

The extended usage of mobile digital devices has nowadays become commonplace. Location-based games make the most of the mobile technologies by being played solely on mobile devices. The ever-growing interest for this type of applications goes beyond the mere goal of player entertainment, even reaching to the advocacy of civilization, research and education. In this article, three of the most famous and modern authoring tools for location-based games, Taleblazer, ARIS and Unity with Mapbox, are studied in-depth. The objective is to produce a comparative analysis of the aforementioned tools. Game developers may refer to this analysis to opt for the appropriate tool based on their needs, goals and technical expertise. In order to better understand the tool functionality and thus construct a reliable comparison framework, three game prototypes have been implemented. The results have shown that all studied tools provide the mechanics to develop location-based interactive experiences. Nevertheless, significant differences exist in their functionality, in their coding requirements, and in the extent of their respective learning curves. In conclusion, TaleBlazer seems to favor educational role-based games while ARIS favors hybrid story-based games. Unity with Mapbox, in turn, favors the development of recreational action-based games.

Introduction

As time goes by, the mobile market share steadily surpasses its desktop counterpart. The Android OS is currently in lead [1], and more than half of the time spent online in 2018 originates from mobile devices [2]. At the same time, this life-changing phenomenon has a profound impact on the means of digital entertainment and on the way that video games are being played. In particular, desktop and console games are also losing ground to games which primarily run on mobile phones and tablets, such as the location-based games (LBGs).

The LBGs are a subcategory of pervasive games in which the gameplay evolves and progresses via a player's location. The action is taking place in the real world, enhanced with a virtual space often expanded through the use of augmented reality technology. Thus, it is essential for these games to provide a mechanism to allow the player to report their physical location. This could be achieved by using a localization technology, like a GPS or a cellular network tracker. It could also be indirectly achieved through the use of an approximative method. Such could refer to the relative position to a Bluetooth beacon (BB) or quick response code (QRC) whose location coordinates are static and precisely known.

Undeniably, LBGs have been commercially deployed and proved to be a successful means of capturing the interest of players. That was achieved mainly with the publishing of the now famous games, Ingress and Pokémon Go, from which the latter came to be one of the best games of the year 2016 [3]. As of October 2020 more than 100,000,000 installations of Pokémon Go and more than 10,000,000 installations of Ingress were recorded in Google Play. Two new augmented reality LBGs that have attracted the players’ interest with over 10,000,000 installations according to Google Play are the multi-player game “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” and the single-player game “Jurassic World Alive”, that were released on June 2019 and May 2018 respectively. However, even before the popularization of the game type, researchers have repeatedly advocated the underlying opportunities that could be harnessed to promote innovative serious purposes integrated in these games. Specifically, engaging forms of learning, and the achievement of educational objectives combined with a well-balanced playful activity.

This article aims to explore the technical capabilities of three renowned authoring tools that can support the implementation of such games. To wit, TaleBlazer [4], ARIS [5], and Unity [6], in synergy with Mapbox SDK [7]. The main research question (RQ) of the study is the following:

What is the best authoring tool among ARIS, TaleBlazer and Unity with Mapbox for developing an LBG, given the specific needs of a developer?

We have to note that the study does not focus on a specific kind of LBG and aims to provide valuable information for the development of educational, hybrid and ludic LBGs as well. Although, each one of the aforementioned types of LBGs requires a focus on specific aspects during game design, it is clear that the same technical capabilities are expected from the authoring tool. The target audience of the study is anyone interested in developing LBGs, including but not limited to: (educational) LBGs developers; educators; and students. It is clear that there is no such thing as the best authoring tool for everyone, even if we refer to a specific group of stakeholders. For example, not all students have the same knowledge and skills. Consequently, the aim of the study is to provide all the necessary information to anyone interested in developing LBGs in order to make an informed decision in selecting the most appropriate tool for him/her. Specifically, the results on the following questions (Q) are presented for assisting stakeholders in making an informed decision:

Q1. What LBG elements are supported by each tool and how do they relate to the elements recorded in the literature?

Q2. What features for authoring LBGs (developer functionality) are provided by each tool?

Q3. What additional features for implementing LBGs elements (additional developer functionality) are offered by each tool?

Q4. What features for captivating the player's interest does each tool provide?

Q5. What player positioning techniques are supported by each tool?

Here, we must note that developer functionality (Q2) refers to basic functionality that is fundamental to a developer for authoring LBGs, while additional developer functionality (Q3) refers to features that are provided for implementing various LBGs elements.

The methodology of the study carried out for investigating the aforementioned questions can be summarized as follows:

  • 1.

    Reviewing literature and current trends in authoring tools for LBGs for selecting the ones that were actually compared and identifying metrics for comparing them.

  • 2.

    Familiarizing with the LBGs authoring tools and identifying additional comparison metrics through designing and developing a prototype LBG with each one of the selected tools.

  • 3.

    Comparatively analyzing the LBGs authoring tools based on the metrics identified in the previous steps.

The results summarize their creative potential, explaining how the essential game elements are represented in each tool. Additionally, they cover the necessary developer functionality provided by each tool, and evaluate the possibility of effective player captivation. Furthermore, an overall review and crucial feedback is supplied to those who intend to use the tools for efficient and rapid LBG development, especially for the production of applications emphasizing on serious ends. Generally, the results have shown that ARIS, TaleBlazer and Unity with Mapbox provide the necessary mechanics to develop location-based interactive experiences. Significant differences were recorded in their functionality, in their coding requirements, and in the extent of their respective learning curves. TaleBlazer seems to favor educational role-based games and ARIS hybrid story-based games, while both of them are ideal for people lacking in computer programming knowledge and skills. Unity with Mapbox, in turn, favors the development of recreational action-based games, while it requires programming knowledge or at least a high degree of motivation to improve ones programming skills. It is important to state, however, that Unity has numerous plugins that add functionality, but these were not included in this study since this was considered to be beyond its goals and scope.

The rest of the article is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a review of the existing literature focusing on the definition of game elements. The required functionality for developers and the proposed metrics of efficiency for LBG authoring tools, are also presented hereby. Section 3 presents the research methodology and Section 4 analyses the implementation of three LBGs, namely an educational game in TaleBlazer, a hybrid game in ARIS and a ludic game in Unity and Mapbox SDK. For each game, the scenario is presented, as well as the objective and the activities that ought to be fulfilled. In Section 5, a full-scale comparative analysis of the tools is conducted, proposing a game element equivalence between the tools. Furthermore, an overview and overall feedback are provided in addition to the developer functionality offered, the player captivation capabilities and the positioning techniques supported. In Section 6, there follows a discussion about the tools pointing out their respective limitations and advantages. Finally, Section 7 brings this article to an end, by drawing the ultimate conclusions about the tools' profiles.

Section snippets

Background

The existing literature is rich in LBG related material. Previous research has focused on: the characteristics [8], [9] of LBGs; design patterns [10,11]; theories of educational employment of LBGs [12,13]; LBGs elements [14], and the necessary development functionality provided by authoring tools [15,16]; and metrics for evaluating LBGs authoring tools [17,18]. In this section we review relevant literature in terms of: the fundamental elements of LBGs (Section 2.1); the need for LBGs authoring

Research methodology

As noted in Section 1, the aim of the study is to provide all the necessary information to anyone interested in developing LBGs in order to make an informed decision in selecting the most appropriate tool for him/her. The research consisted of the following steps:

Step 1: Studying literature on LBGs for selecting tools and defining metrics for comparing them

Literature on LBG authoring tools, as well as their official manuals, was studied for: choosing the tools that are freely available to use;

Implementing LBG prototypes in Aris, taleblazer and unity with Mapbox

In the context of this article, three LBG prototypes have been implemented, one with every tool that this research focuses on. The incentive for this decision was to better understand their functionality which in turn can produce a more reliable comparison framework. To be precise, the educational game “Citizenship” came into being by using TaleBlazer. Later on, a hybrid game called “Gathering” was created with the use of the ARIS tool. Finally, the ludic game “Pocket Droids Go” was actualized

Comparative analysis of aris, taleblazer and unity with Mapbox

This section presents an evaluation of Aris, TaleBlazer and Unity with Mapbox in terms of the five questions presented in the Introduction. It must be stressed that the study evaluates Unity with the synergy of Mapbox that provides functionality for LBGs and not the entire ecosystem of Unity with the numerous available plugins, since this is considered to be out of scope for this study. The comparative analysis combines bibliographic metrics as described in Section 2 with some ad hoc ones

Discussion

Based on the literature review and the implementation of LBG prototypes, one fact becomes self-evident truth. All three platforms are adequate tools for creating interactive location-based experiences that incorporate, on a minor or major scale, various augmented reality elements. Under the synergy of a team of LBG design experts possessing the necessary experience in the field, the tools can deliver games that ensure the overall player immersion. In terms of pedagogy, a well-designed game

Conclusion

At the end of this article, a general overview of the tools is presented, and feedback is offered to whom it may concern. In general terms, those who may benefit are ambitious game developers, innovative teachers who wish to introduce novel learning strategies to their teaching methods and the respected creators of the studied tools.

Concerning TaleBlazer, a disadvantage is the lack of extensibility toolkits that could enhance its functionality. Moreover, a significant problem is the relatively

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

References (38)

  • L.F. Maia et al.

    LAGARTO: A LocAtion based Games AuthoRing TOol enhanced with augmented reality features

    Entertainment Computing

    (2017)
  • J. Arango-López et al.

    CREANDO: Tool for creating pervasive games to increase the learning motivation in higher education students

    Telematics Inform.

    (2019)
  • Statcounter, Mobile Operating System Market Share Worldwide....
  • Techjury, 52 Mobile vs. Desktop Usage Statistics For 2019. https://techjury.net/blog/mobile-vs-desktop-usage/ (accessed...
  • Forbes, The 10 Best Video Games Of 2016....
  • TaleBlazer, About TaleBlazer. http://taleblazer.org/about#overview, 2013-2019 (accessed 23 November...
  • ARIS, Create location-based games and stories. https://fielddaylab.org/make/aris/ (accessed 23 November...
  • Unity, Unity for all. https://unity.com/, 2020 (accessed 23 November...
  • Mapbox, Mapbox Documentation, Maps SDK for Unity. https://docs.mapbox.com/unity/maps/guides/ (accessed 23 November...
  • M. Maraki

    Overview of mobile location-based serious games for educational purposes

    (2018)
  • C. Sintoris

    Design tools for location based game for informal learning

    (2014)
  • C. Sintoris et al.

    MuseumScrabble: Design of a mobile game for children’s interaction with a digitally augmented cultural space

  • M. Markus et al.

    Pervasive Games: Theory and Design

    (2009)
  • N.M. Avouris et al.

    A review of mobile location-based games for learning across physical and virtual spaces

    J. UCS

    (2012)
  • A. Kamarainen et al.

    Using mobile location-based augmented reality to support outdoor learning in undergraduate ecology and environmental science courses

    Bull. Ecological Soc. America

    (2018)
  • S. Xanthopoulos et al.

    Opportunities and challenges of mobile location-based games in education: Exploring the integration of authoring and analytics tools

    (2018)
  • M. Winter

    Location Based Games Authoring. “Literature review to inform the development of a location based games authoring tool for secondary school children”

    (2009)
  • S. Xanthopoulos et al.

    An overview of location-based game authoring tools for education

  • I. Siakavaras et al.

    Mobile Games in Computer Science Education: Current State and Proposal of a Mobile Game Design that Incorporates Physical Activity

  • Cited by (7)

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Matthias Rauterberg.

    View full text