Montag, 12. Oktober 2009

Adaptive Mobile Gaming: Scotland Yard - to go!

Many generations have been entertained by Ravensburger's "Scotland Yard" board game. As part of a programming lab students from the University of Bonn in cooperation with the game publisher Ravensburger Spiele and T-Mobile invented "Scotland Yard – to go!", the modern version where no longer figures are moved on the table but people interact in the real world chasing Mr. X.

The players are equipped with portable computer, a mobile phone and a GPS receiver. The GPS device provides the current location; the mobile is used for a connection to the internet. This enables to locate the accurate position of the detectives and also Mr. X in bigger intervals and on a map. The world is turned into one big game area.

The computer is not only a medium; it creates a whole new game experience since the game situation is adapted dynamically. For example when the player climbs on a bell tower not only his real sight is enlarged but also the virtual one in the game: The map will reveal more information about Mr. X position as before. This effect – "Adaptive Mobile Gaming" – is the outcome of several years of collaborative "Context Sensitive Intelligence" research between scientists from the University of Bonn and Telekom Laboratories in Berlin. The mobile game "Scotland Yard – to go!" which is developed by the students is now a demonstration of the possibilities this technology provides.

A project between Telekom Laboratories and Uni BonnAdaptive Mobile Gaming

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