Project Flame
Narrative exploration of mobile Augmented Reality
Design narrative for real life
Mobile AR
Limitations
Real-life dangers
Attention is divided
Affordances
Physical actions as mechanics
Added context from the physical world
Games in mobile AR
principles used in traditional video games are not useful
instead of immersion we have to look at other ways of player engagement
Story implementation in games
High level : Narrative Structures
Moment to moment : Narrative Tropes & Techniques
Treating game experiences as systems
Game Experience = Game + Player + Gaming Environment
Lens of Evaluation : Narrative Engagement
Evaluation set up
Tested 3 different games on the narrative techniques they used
Testers were experienced gamers and seasoned mobile users
Development of a prototype for narrative structure evaluation
Prototype
"Flame" - A story driven mobile AR game
"Spark, a daughter of the sun, lands on a frozen world, far away from her home. However, reality is not what she sees at first."
Design
text based
multiple narrative structures
mechanic as metaphor
physical places = story milestones
choice driven gameplay
Results
loosely structured narratives
techniques that support division of attention
freedom of choice and action
