Information Technology Reference
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Fig. 5.4
Gamespace levels.
a
Fully external
b
Partially contained
c
Fully contained
H
Fun
: many pervasive games have an educational goal, which seldom makes it
fun to repeatedly play those games. Playgrounds should primarily focus on a fun
experience, such that children will keep returning to them.
5.4.3
Gamespace
We introduce
Gamespace
as a one-dimensional measure defining to which degree
an act of play, or a game, is related to the play-environment or playground in which
it occurs. We define gamespace (see Fig.
5.4
) on a continuous scale on which three
global levels can be defined, independent of the level of “open-endedness” exhibited
by the playground play:
Fully external
: the playground is irrelevant to the game, except as the location
where it takes place. For example, children throw a ball back and forth without
looking at, or making use of what is in the playground.
Partially contained
: the game is not mainly dependent on the playground, but
incorporates elements of the playground. For example, the children play cops and
robbers, and use the climbing frame as the robbers' home base.
Fully contained
:
the game takes place entirely within the playground.
For
example, the children are swinging or using the seesaw.
We aim to merge traditional children's play and modern computer gaming into an
interactive playground. Ideally, a passer-by would see children playing together,
and only with a closer look would discover that the playground is technologically
enhanced. In a similar fashion, the children playing on the playground would in-
corporate elements of the interactive playground in their play, but would not let the
digital enhancements overshadow their play. Ideally, the games played within the
playground would be
partially contained
. They should be stimulated and facilitated
by the playground, but not be fully dependent on it. Partially contained play is open-
ended, but supported by and enhanced through the play environment. It fits exactly in
between the two worlds of traditional children's play (which is usually open-ended,
but limited in its interactivity) and computer gaming (which usually provides rich
interaction, but is often rule-bound).
