WeQuest: scalable alternate reality games through end-user content authoring

  • Authors:

  • Andrew Macvean;Sanjeet Hajarnis;Brandon Headrick;Aziel Ferguson;Chinmay Barve;Devika Karnik;Mark O. Riedl

  • Affiliations:

  • Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are interactive narrative experiences that engage the player by layering a fictional world over the real world. Mobile ARG stories are often geo-specific, requiring players to visit specific locations in the world. Consequently, mobile ARGs are played infrequently and only by those who live within proximity of the locations that the stories reference. In this paper, we describe an ARG platform, WeQuest, that addresses the geo-specificity limitation through end-user content generation. An authoring tool allows end-users to create new ARG stories that can be executed automatically on geo-location aware mobile devices, leading to greater numbers of available stories to be played. An intelligent process called location translation makes geo-specific ARGs playable anywhere in the world.