Save 'Em: physical gameplay using augmented reality techniques

• Authors: Cody Watts;Ehud Sharlin
• Venue: Future Play '07 Proceedings of the 2007 conference on Future Play
• Year: 2007

We present Save 'Em, an augmented reality-based computer game designed to explore the challenge of making computer games more immersive and engaging by moving gameplay to the physical environment. As in the classic computer game, Lemmings, Save 'Em is based on maneuvering a group of slow-witted characters called Dudes through a treacherous maze. Using augmented reality techniques, Save 'Em places virtual game entities directly within the player's physical environment; gameplay takes place on a real game board rather than on a computer screen, and the Dudes' fate is tied directly to the player's physical actions. In this paper we discuss our Save 'Em game implementation and use our current findings to explain how moving game interaction from the virtual domain into the physical world using augmented reality can affect both gameplay and the players' overall experience.