An Overview of Location-Based Game Authoring Tools for Education

Abstract

Nowadays, computer literacy is common at a very early age. As mobile devices and new social communication trends are increasingly integrating in the modern digital lifestyle new opportunities arise for harnessing this potential for innovative serious purposes. Location-based games that layer educational activities with game play can help players gain a new perspective through active engagement. In this paper, a range of key issues for implementing location based games for educational purposes using the two most commonly used open source authoring tools ARIS and TaleBlazer are presented. Although the reviewed authoring tools vary in functionality, they share a fairly common conceptual model and in both cases the software architecture is comprised of the same components. Both platforms provide the required game mechanics to create sophisticated gameplay interactions and game logic extension. However, a number of issues should be carefully considered. The conceptual models are analyzed with a critical view, pointing out limitations and challenges that can inform the design and implementation of next generation authoring tools.