Taking Video Games to the Streets - Parallel World on Your Handheld
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Taking a step away from AR, other groups have simply been using positioning systems to make the game aware of players’ locations. Without any AR headgear or Bluetooth power pellets, they still turn cities into game settings. One such game is Uncle Roy All Around You (official website). The game, like the Pacmans, consists of two kinds of players: real world players completing tasks and online players trying to guide them.
The players in the real world start off by handing over everything they’re carrying and being given a mobile computer. They then start looking for Uncle Roy’s office with a 60 minute time limit. Their mobile computer tracks their location, so the players can see where they are (and if they get lost, the computer will retrieve some help for them). The game designers, Blast Theory, shadow players and send them tips via text message. Online players can also lend a hand.
Uncle Roy Online
Online players can virtually walk through the city using a game program, which updates locations of real world players by tracking their mobile computers. Other online players show up as white figures and real world players as black ones. The online players have to help the real world players follow a series of clues. For instance, the players must find post cards hidden around the city, which online players can help them find. After finding this, the player calls a phone number. Eventually, s/he finds Uncle Roy’s office and ends up getting into a limo parked outside.
Though Uncle Roy hasn’t been played since 2003, there are other games that rely on this sort of technology. For one, BotFighters (official website) is a role playing game run on J2ME cell phones, available to people in Sweden, China, and Russia. The player’s cell phone detects other players and their territory, and it displays both. After meeting somebody else, the role players can battle each other. They can also chat, upgrade equipment and see where they rank among other players.
Botfighters
If interested, you could also look at games like Geocache (official website), which is basically a GPS treasure hunt.
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