The Commercial Viability of Alternate Reality Games : A Proposed Framework for Profitability and Scalability

Alternate reality games (ARGs) utilize the real world as a platform for storytelling. These experiences deliver real world stories that may be altered by a player’s decisions and actions. However, these experiences were largely developed to function as onetime use marketing tools for particular products or services (Szulborski, 2005a). Consequently, ARGs evolved very little insofar as developing sustainable and profitable revenue models or any degree of scalability. As such, this paper will seek to coalesce existent research in the fields of ARG scalability and revenue modelling in order to generate a novel and theoretically sound framework for creating profitable and reusable ARGs. The major overarching elements within the aforementioned novel framework include design elements contributing to scalability, revenue modelling and experiential delivery. Leading with a brief discussion of dominant ARG elements, this research will draw on disparate existent research to support contributions to the consequent framework.

The Commercial Viability of Alternate Reality Games : A Proposed Framework for Profitability and Scalability

Alternate reality games (ARGs) utilize the real world as a platform for storytelling. These experiences deliver real world stories that may be altered by a player’s decisions and actions. However, these experiences were largely developed to function as onetime use marketing tools for particular products or services (Szulborski, 2005a). Consequently, ARGs evolved very little insofar as developing sustainable and profitable revenue models or any degree of scalability. As such, this paper will seek to coalesce existent research in the fields of ARG scalability and revenue modelling in order to generate a novel and theoretically sound framework for creating profitable and reusable ARGs. The major overarching elements within the aforementioned novel framework include design elements contributing to scalability, revenue modelling and experiential delivery. Leading with a brief discussion of dominant ARG elements, this research will draw on disparate existent research to support contributions to the consequent framework.

Review of Haptic and Computerized (Simulation) Games on Climate Change

Climate change imposes tremendous, complex challenges on humanity. Thoughtfully designed games can support solving them. This article presents a review of climate games and thereby updates the review conducted by Reckien and Eisenack in 2011. It provides an overview of published climate games and reveals the development of the field over the last years. A total of 119 climate games were found whereof 52 were already part of the review of 2011. The broad variety of discovered games indicates a lively community and different settings where such tools are being applied. A substantial number of games addressed topics such as international climate conferences, global impacts of global decisions, and effects of individual decisions on their local environment. Other topics, however, were largely absent. They included - amongst others - the connection between climate change and health, and games that bride local and global levels. Furthermore, the game types “video games” and “alternate reality games” were not applied frequently. Both, the absent topics and the scarcely used game types open up possibilities to develop the field. Forty-six per cent of the games listed by Reckien and Eisenack seem to have disappeared and could not be found for this review, an observation that may need further attention.

“Helping Nemo!”—Using Augmented Reality and Alternate Reality Games in the Context of Universal Design for Learning

This article reports on the main experiences gained from a teaching intervention which utilised the alternate reality game ‘Helping Nemo’ in an augmented reality environment for formative assessment. The purpose of the study was to explore the ways in which the affordances arising from the combination of alternate reality games and augmented reality, situated in the context of Universal Design for Learning, might facilitate students’ learning amongst the aspects of engagement, participation, and response to students’ variability. The study took place in a public primary school located in a rural area of Cyprus. A second-grade class consisting of 24 students aged 7–8 years old was selected to comprise the sample. A qualitative research approach was adopted. The data collection methods included classroom observations and focus groups with the students. Findings gained from the teaching intervention suggest that the creation of a multimodal environment that draws on the principles of Universal Design for Learning and combines the affordances of alternate reality games and augmented reality for formative assessment contributes towards higher levels of engagement and participation in learning of all students, including bilingual students, students with learning disabilities, and students who are currently disengaged.