A Comparison of Augmented Reality (AR) Platforms

John Martin · Seann Dikkers · Jim Mathews · Chris Blakesley · David Gagnon · Kevin Harris

Videogames have changed what we consider learning to be. Mobile games can change where we consider learning and gaming to be. Virtual worlds now exist that allow players to immerse themselves in rich learning environments. Some worlds, like Quest Atlantis, are designed specifically for students. Other worlds, like Azeroth, attract people of all ages. These virtual worlds have great affordances for learning, but also have great constraints. Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) games with their small screens and small processors cannot match the graphics and sounds of the console or computer games’ virtual worlds, but they offer a depth of physicality in the real world that virtual games cannot yet match, and with it, a degree of pedagogically rich interaction with real features of real places that are important to local communities. This interaction can be harnessed to create place-based games and simulations that motivate players to consider authentic issues through meaningful and entertaining exploration in the neighborhoods and places affected by the issues.

This paper presents and compares the constraints and affordances of two AR platforms. The first platform considered is the GPS-enabled OutdoorAR game platform developed by MIT and used since 2005 in developing games for the Local Games Lab as part of a U.S. Department of Education grant. The second platform is the open source ARIS (Augmented Reality Interactive Storytelling) platform, currently in development at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which makes use of wireless access points to determine player location. Specifically, the paper will examine the following questions: (a) What are the theoretical underpinnings that continue to shape the development of the two approaches; (b) how do the technologies that drive the underlying platforms (e.g., GPS vs. wireless positioning, and device- vs. server-housed game content) and how their affordances and constraints affect game design choices; and finally (c) what happens in the interplay between constraints specified by funding agencies and the ideologies of the game designers?

The paper will also present examples of games from the two game platforms, and the authors will be available at the conference to demonstrate the games and answer further questions.