The Hybrid Space of Collaborative Location-Based Mobile Games and the City: A Case Study of Ingress

Abstract

Structural changes in the way we live and interact in cities are occurring due to advances in mobile communication technologies affecting everyday practices. One such practice, at the forefront of digital technology adoption, is digital gaming or play. Location-based mobile games (LBMGs), such as Pokémon Go and Ingress have surged in popularity in recent years through their introduction of a new mode of play, employing mobile GPS and internet-enabled technology. Distinguished by their embedded GIS, LBMGs can influence how people play, interact with and perceive the city, by merging urban and virtual spaces into ‘hybrid realities.’ Despite the popularity of such games, studies into how LBMGs affect urban dweller interactions with each other and the city have been limited. This article examines how the digital interface of the large-scale collaborative LBMG Ingress affects how players experience and use the city. Ingress is a collaborative hybrid or location-based game that uses GPS location information from smartphones, Google maps, and Google POI to create virtual gameplay environments that correspond to and interact with other players and the city. The methodology cross-references the MDA framework from game studies (Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics) within the urban mobility, sociability and spatiality characteristics of the hybrid realities theoretical framework. In this article, we explore how Ingress (re)produces hybrid space through deliberate design of interface game elements. By applying this analytical approach, we identify the game mechanics and their role in producing a hybrid gameplay environment with impacts on social and mobility practices altering the perception of and engagement with the city.

Assessment of a Location-Based Mobile Augmented-Reality Game by Adult Users with the ARCS Model

“…The flow of knowledge between the digital and physical worlds is gradually aligning them, blurring the lines and incorporating them into a hybridized space. This aids in city exploration and discovery by providing players with new and additional knowledge about known and unknown locations [34]. The tools for player communication and cooperation open up a whole new world of strategic and spatial possibilities for engaging with fellow citizens.…”

Understanding Social Interactions in Location-based Games as Hybrid Spaces: Coordination and Collaboration in Raiding in Pokémon GO

“…As previous research (e.g., [6,54]) suggests, ndings in LBG-related studies are not only related to one specic LBG but can be applied to other LBGs. Additionally, we focus on social interactions, which are key for all hybrid spaces [11,39].…”

“…In sum, this literature review demonstrates that in the context of LBGs, new social possibilities can dramatically inuence people's social behaviors when interacting with places and other individuals [54]. But there are insucient studies that explore this area.…”

“…Extant research, however, has mainly focused on the physical side of LBGs but has not thoroughly considered the interconnection of physical places and digital spaces. As its denition implies, hybrid space is not a simple addition of the physical place and digital space; instead, it is a product of "interrelations and entanglements between spaces" [54]. In other words, LBG as a hybrid space is a complicated whole formed by the collision of the two spaces, where the materials and information of the two spaces are mixed and presented with the interwoven eect.…”