Augmented Reality Games Sources

There are a variety of resources available related to mobile gaming. Listed below are some places to find more information to help get you started.

1. 
   Research on augmented reality games – There has been a decent amount of research publications on augmented reality games (you can find even more on mobile gaming). Lead researchers to look for – Eric Klopfer, Kurt Squire, and Matt Dunleavy.
   
2. 
   New book Mobile Media Learning: Innovation and Inspiration. This book can be downloaded for free from http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/mobile-media-learning-innovation-and-inspiration
   
3. 
   The websites for the three major platforms for educational augmented reality games also have additional information about AR.
   
   1. 
      ARISgames.org
      
   2. 
      TaleBlazer.org
      
   3. 
      playfreshair.com
      
4. 
   The University of Wisconsin Madison holds a global summit each summer that includes a section on mobile gaming. You will get a number of ARIS users and other AR users attending this conference. It is a good place to network. This year it is July 7, 2015. More information - http://glsstudios.com/gls11/
   

Before you start creating a game there are several things you need to decide.

1. 
   Are you going to build it yourself or have someone build it?
   
   1. 
      There are several companies you can work with to build AR experiences (e.g. OnCell).
      
2. 
   If you are building it yourself which platform are you going to use?
   
   1. 
      The platform depends a lot on the features and functions you need.
      
      1. 
         Android vs. iOS or both
         
      2. 
         Indoor or Outdoor or both
         
      3. 
         Multiplayer or Single player
         
      4. 
         Features like web connection, videos, photos, spawning, etc.
         
      5. 
         Being able to play games online or offline
         
      6. 
         You may want to play a few sample games to get a better feel for the different platforms.
         
3. 
   Once you decide on a platform, most of them have documentation and videos that will help you learn more about the platform feature’s and how to create your own game.
   
4. 
   Map out your game (e.g., scripts, characters, movement through the game, locations people will visit, etc. All the details.) This will help you a lot when you go to actually create/ program the game. This step often involves research and talking to others to get all the information you need.
   
5. 
   Program the game. ARIS, TaleBlazer, and FreshAIR are all designed for novice users, but if you know some computer programming you can usually do more. If you need help, ask. ARIS has a great forum where people get help for issues they are having with their games. TaleBlazer has a support person who normally responds quickly to emails and will even set-up a time to chat with you.
   
6. 
   Make sure you test the game. Both ARIS and TaleBlazer have bump features that you can turn on that allows you to “play” the game from where you are without being at the physical location of the game. This allows you to test that the game is working as intended. I test on a mobile device while sitting at the computer so I can fix problems as I encounter them.
   
7. 
   Test the game on location. Hopefully by this point everything in the game is working as planned. Now you are just testing the placement of characters, objects, and any other physical based interactions. You want to make sure everything triggers and that the locations are actually where you wanted them to be. You may need to adjust locations or GPS setting at this point and test again. This can be time consuming if you have to run back to a computer to make the changes and then back to the location to check. It is recommended that you have one person on location and one person who can edit the game at a computer. Then you can talk through it over the phone. Another option is to bring a laptop or some tablets into the field and edit the game on site. This will require cellular through either a data plan or personal hotspot.
   
8. 
   Finally, before you release the game to everyone pilot test it with a group of the intended audience. Check that they understand how to play the game and that it is fun and educational for them to play.