Player feedback evaluation: Indicating mass public potential for pervasive games

Abstract

Player feedback data was collected for the pervasive game "Meet Your Heartbeat Twin", an event-type LBS (Location-Based Service) game including affective computing through the player's live heartbeats. Correlation analysis of the data demonstrates broad client profile for pervasive games, covering age, gender and hobbies. The data also shows that Urban Games are clearly a novel experience; they are not an extension neither from video games, nor from mobile phone casual games. Surprisingly, the online sharing of the player's very personal data, player's location and live heart rate was not perceived as a critical issue at all. As expected, game control is crucial: to have fun, players need some adaptation time for GPS orientation and this even for a very low level complexity of mobile phone usage. © 2009 Springer.