BSP - The Project

Evaluation

Below is a few video clips from the evaluation (May 2007).

Dead body found at the field (6,8MB)

Burglars in the church (4,4MB)

Phase 1
March 2005 to March 2006


The first phase of BSP is now successfully complete. The aims were to design and implement a working game prototype which was carried out on Lidingo Island in Stockholm. The following movie gives a taster of what was achieved in the prototype.


Click below to launch the Backseat Playground trailer.

Windows Video version (35MB)

Quicktime MP4 Version (13MB)



Abstract

The purpose of the project is to design and implement a game prototype that enables kids/big kids travelling in the back seat of cars to enjoy a rich gaming experience where narrative episodes and embedded gameplay combine with the experience of traveling through the road network. The game and game story will be designed to be meaningful even when the tempo and order of the journey changes.

Our main challenge in designing such a game will be to look at how episodes and events can be uncovered and constructed by the player in a game world that exists within the everyday. Using a map database to link real world objects to the game, a series of narrative episodes could engage players with not only the story, but also their environment and the physicality of being a passenger on a journey.

Research that resulted from our ‘Road Rager and ‘Back Seat Gaming’ projects suggests that children, especially girls, prefer a gaming experience based on narrative rather than manipulative challenges. To further investigate the feasibility of the project, we will develop a prototype on a lightweight mobile device that will be customised to enhance functionality.



photo -John Paul Bichard

Project goals

• To research, build and evaluate a stand alone prototype for a back seat game

• To develop a scalable framework so the game can be implemented on vast road networks - initially in the Stockholm region and in the UK

• To explore designing technologies for interactive episodic storytelling

• To explore designing technologies for a 'real world' embedded game engine.

• Use technologies to enrich the time people spend in the back seat of a car, or travelling on the roads by other means

• Use technologies to support learning of geography, local history and computing in a fun and playful way


Background Introduction

Future mobile technology will provide more services that exploit the benefits of mobile life. Today and in the foreseeable future, travelling by car is for many families an important part of their mobile life. It is a largely mundane activity involving daily commuting, trips to the weekend house or longer journeys when going on vacation. Children travelling in the car often engage in different means of amusement in order to pass the time. They might read, talk or play mobile games. But current mobile games are often portable versions of classic computer games where the focus is on the interface and screen. Thus, gaming becomes a complete alternative that does not draw on the positive aspects of being on the road. This form of traditional computer game rather obscures the highway experience, than exploiting the journey for fun, exploration, play and creativity.

The possibility of incorporating different aspects of mobility to create immersive experiences is therefore still a promise not yet realised.

Our hypothesis is that a game could be particularly engaging, if it is aware of the vivid and dynamic mobile context. Travelling along a road means a continuous flow of impressions and new situations where changing scenes, sense of motion and contingent encounters provide for a very special experience. It can be seen as a sequential experience, resembling a dramatic play of space and motion, also called i.e.: the highway experience. We suggest that it is possible to engage kids in the journey instead of just focusing on a screen and that the travel experience could be turned into a fun and meaningful activity that is related to the places that are visited along the road.


Social and cultural relevance

• The importance of play - Gaming is of relevance in itself for the “homo ludens”, since it in various ways frees human awareness from the every day. It also gives us an opportunity to inspire our realities in interesting ways.

• Learning local geography history and computing - gaming has huge potential as a means of engaging the ‘real’ world. Our gaming experience will stimulate children to involve themselves with all aspects of their journey. As a result of linking the game narratives and properties to the roadside environment, we believe a learning situation will be generated, encouraging children to enquire into local history, and stimulating a dynamic relationship to what they understand by geography. Furthermore, computer games are an important introduction to computer use. This is an argument for computer games in general, but it is also important to design games that are appreciated by girls to support and encourage their use of computers.





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