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.
Highlights
Spatial planning is currently being confronted with unprecedented change, which is taking place at the interface between traditional environments and the rapidly evolving virtual world....Change under discussion here is partially digitally constructed and virtually produced, affecting and transforming space and place
Technological advancements in both software and hardware technology have led to a certain type of digital games called location-based mobile games (LBMGs) or hybrid reality games (HRG)
As a counterpoint to the apolitical analysis of the potential for LBMGs to alter urban practices and facilitate collaborative possibilities, it should be noted that previous research into the case study of Pokémon Go has found that its design reinforces geographic inequalities (Colley et al, 2017), pointing to LBMGs and the need to study their wider effects on the city in this context
Summary
Spatial planning is currently being confronted with unprecedented change, which is taking place at the interface between traditional environments and the rapidly evolving virtual world....Change under discussion here is partially digitally constructed and virtually produced, affecting and transforming space and place. Digital technologies are increasingly becoming part of our daily existence, and their meditating influence on our everyday practices in city life is causing a fundamental transformation of culture and practice (Ash, 2015; Castells, 1996; Manovich, 2001; Rabari & Storper, 2015) Technological advancements in both software and hardware technology have led to a certain type of digital games called location-based mobile games (LBMGs) or hybrid reality games (HRG). A player’s avatar in the map-based virtual world corresponds to their geographical location, enabling particular interaction possibilities through the player’s smartphone interface and in the physical city space simultaneously These games, as with other mobile technologies, affect urban experiences encountered in cities (Colley et al, 2017; Hjorth & Richardson, 2017). The article concludes with a presentation of the analysis and a discussion on game design and new interactions and practices
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
