Page 177 - Kaleidoscope Academic Conference Proceedings 2021

Connecting physical and virtual worlds

Figure 7 – The disturbance produced by the players in
public space
Based on the collected responses, the respondents were

Figure 6 – Comfort of shared environment of locative asked about the suitability of the gameplay of locative
augmented reality games in public spaces augmented reality games in public spaces. As shown in
Figure 8, 69.6% of the respondents agreed that the games
The respondents who answered either “no” or “maybe” were suitable for being played in public spaces, and 30.4%
totaled 56.8%. They emphasize that it would become disagreed.
uncomfortable if the players caused a disturbance and
distracted people’s movement. They perceived that most AR
games players were not aware of their surroundings since
they only focused on playing the games. Some respondents
were annoyed to see the crowd of players in the public space,
engaging with their mobile phones for the whole time. The
respondents suggested that the AR game players should play
at home instead. Limited social interaction among the
players and the public had also become an issue for the
public.

Hence the reasons behind the answers were varied due to the Figure 8 – The suitability of locative augmented reality
different public perceptions. Less than half of the games in public spaces
respondents accepted the gameplay in the public spaces, as
long as it did not disturb others. Meanwhile, more than half Finally, the respondents were asked to suggest a measure to
of the respondents perceived that AR games players should
not have gameplay in the public space as it had caused improve the existing public spaces for locative AR games.
One of the respondents suggested that public spaces should
disturbance to other users.
have separated pedestrian walkways for AR players to
subdivide the circulation from the primary pathways. Other
Question no 4 sought to get the public's opinion on the respondents added that locative AR players should have their
problem or disturbance of the environment in public spaces own designated public space for gameplay. The parks should
created by the locative AR game players. This question have boundaries to keep players away from the public.
required respondents to tick the most relevant perception Respondents also thought that the park authority should
they have. Most respondents chose the safety of both announce and control the events of AR games so that the
players and the public as the primary concern in the public public knew what was happening in the public space during
space. Three stated reasons are equally considered as the gameplay events. Having proper announcements and control
second vital concern: 1) the interaction between the players were important, especially for public safety, traffic
and the public, 2) the crowd of players, and 3) the trespassing arrangement, and lessening disturbance to others.
of the player in public space. The noise produced, and the
space conquered by the players became the third disturbance One of the respondents thought that the locative AR games
of the environment in a public space, with 12 frequent
selections each. The heavy traffic created by the players and should have their designated stadium because it is in great
demand. More and more players are interested in locative
the interaction among themselves both at the fourth place and
finally, the time of playing the games in the public park was AR games, and they need a place with the essential facilities
for locative AR games players. The respondent added that
one of the main problems in public perceptions. Figure 7
shows the level of disturbance concerns that respondents even though the public space is open for everyone to use, but
when it comes to safety, the appearance of too many AR
perceived regarding the locative AR games played in public
areas. game players can harm both players and non-players. Hence,
having designated spaces for the players might be a solution.
Meanwhile, another respondent suggested that locative AR
games should be introduced to the public to understand the
gamers better.

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