In the PLACE approach, field pointers are connected to physical objects. Using a standard QR code reader on a mobile device, users are directed to web content that mimicks application functionality. We use a Wordpress site, but any easy to use content management system would work. Additional functionality such as awarding badges for completed activities is handled using a traditional Wizard of Oz methodology. The PLACE approach extends previous work on in situ prototyping3.

Low-fidelity prototyping for location-based social gamesAnne Bowser, Derek Hansen, Yurong He, Dana Rotman, Jenny Preece

University of Maryland, Human-Computer Interaction Lab www.cs.umd.edu/hcil

References1) Bowser, A., Hansen, D., Rotman, D. & Preece, J. (2012). Low-fidelity prototyping for social, location-based game apps. In Proc. of CSCW '12 Workshop on Mixed-Reality Games. New York, NY: ACM Press.2) Graham, E., Vassallo, D., Gerrick, S., Han, K., Kang, J. & Hsieh, N. (2012). Challenges of mobile phone-based, GPS-dependent gaming for citizen science. In Proc. of CSCW '12 Workshop on Mixed-Reality Games. New York, NY: ACM Press.3) de Sa, M., & Carrico, L. (2009). A mobile tool for in situ prototyping. In Proc. of MobileHCI '09. New York, NY: ACM Press. 4) Li, Y., Hong, J., & Landay, J. (2004). Topiary: A tool for prototyping location-enhanced applications. In Proc. of UIST '04. New York, NY: ACM Press.

Social experience is key to many location-based games and activities. PLACE does not encourage testing users in isolation; rather, groups of 7-12 participants interact with one another in group sessions. Participants with existing relationships are encouraged to play together.

PLACE considers prototyping for activities, user motivations, and game dynamics more important than prototyping for an interface.

Sessions begin by users completing a simple, prescribed activity to demonstrate the application. Next, users are given “free time” to complete activities they choose from a list. This process provides researchers with data about which activities are worth including in future iterations and makes the experience more fun for participants. It also helps users generate new activities and enhance existing ones.

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Prototyping1

Location

Activities

Collective Experience

The PLACE Approach: Prototyping Location, Activities, & Collective

Experience

PLACE is an approach to low-fidelity prototyping for location-based social games and apps that offers a systematic framework for addressing these concerns. PLACE combines a classic approach to prototyping with a consideration of location, activities, time, and the collective experience of play.

We are currently using the PLACE approach to prototype Floracaching, a citizens science game that utilizes crowd sourcing to gather plant phenology data and data for the Encyclopedia of Life1,2.

The PLACE approach should be scaled. Initial sessions are run for 1-2 hours with a short list of activities and set number of participants in a small geographic space. Initial findings inform later sessions that are conducted at a larger scale. For example, we are currently conducting a week-long session that spans a college campus and encourages participants to join at any point in time.

Field Pointer Wizard of Oz

Website

NSF Award SES 0968546

PLACE offers a solution to unique challenges of prototyping location such as modeling location context and representing complex interaction sequences4.

In order to authentically represent location-based experience, users must move in the physical world. The PLACE approach condenses location to different scales. Initial tests are performed in a smaller space such as three floors of a building. Later iterations expand the space to a larger scale, such as a college campus.

Designers who prototype mobile games and applications are challenged by both the physical constraints of a mobile device and the necessity of representing complex factors like location, social experience, the context of use, different scenarios or activates, and use over time.

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