The design of an augmented reality collaborative game for sustainable development

Abstract

In spite of recent efforts, there is still a demand for tools facilitating sustainability instruction. To this end, serious games offer remarkable possibilities to foster learning in this area. However, evidences suggest that these potentialities have not been fully leveraged yet. In particular, it is challenging to design games representing the different domains (ecology, economics, politics, and culture) and social structures (individuals, families and communities) involved by sustainability issues. This work explores the mix of augmented reality, collaborative gaming and theoretical guidelines in the design of Sustain, an educational game focused on raising awareness on sustainability topics. The paper details Sustain design decisions, highlighting their relation with the chosen methodology. Our aims are: (i) to exemplify the use of a not yet adopted theoretical background, and (ii) to present reflections concerning its use.