Making Place-Based Games
Of the two approaches to augmented reality, VRAG and ARG, the second approach has been more successful in penetrating school programs given the reduced costs involved in obtaining the support technology required. A number of institutions now have software that can be installed onto PDAs that allow educators to become designers of scenarios for their augmented reality games.
Designing an ARG usually requires that the educator to know:
- the real world spaces where the game will be played to create believable interactions with characters
- how to select what information to provide at any given time when the players enter the space
One of the most popular ways to implement ARGs in educational programs has been to use a treasure hunt. The way this type of educational game works is:
- At the beginning of the game, the players are given a hypothetical scenario that represents a specific problem or issue of interest to the community.
- Limited information about the problem is given at first to the players in order to get them to conjecture and hypothesize about the nature and solution of the problem.
- The information given then provides suggestions for places the players could visit next, as well as hint at what kind of evidence they could look for there.
The assessment of academic content knowledge gleaned by using place-based games is still in its very early stages. In many ways, though, it follows the approach that videogame designers have taken before: playing the game itself. This approach can function as a form of formative assessment, since the decisions the players make at every turn will have an impact on the game system as a whole.