A location based nature iPhone game for

Transcription

FINAL REPORT
A LOCATION BASED NATURE IPHONE GAME
FOR CHILDREN
Student: Xiangxiang Gong - 105979
Supervisor: Dr. Kate Howland
Word count: 12000 11/05/2015
Computing for Digital Media BSc
University of Sussex
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Statement of Originality
This report is submitted as part requirement for the degree of Computing for Digital Media
at the University of Sussex. I t i s the product of my own l abour except where i ndicated i n the text. The report may be freely copied and distributed provided the source i s acknowledged. Signed: Date:
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Abstract
This report explains and analyses the process of developing an outdoor l oca6on-‐based game for children which encourages them to engage with nature, as well as how background research was analysed to support the design and development. The report also gives an account of the tes0ng and evalua0on of the results. 2
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Acknowledgement
Thanks to Dr Kate Howland for supervising this project. Additionally thanks to Cathy Grundy
from University of Brighton for assis2ng this project, contac2ng young par2cipants for both testing sessions and providing the opportunities to take part in a helpful research session in
a primary school.
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University of Sussex
Computing for Digital Media BSc
Xiangxaing Gong
Contents
Statement o f Originality .......................................................................................................1
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................................ 3
Contents ............................................................................................................................................ 4
1
2
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 6
1.1
Statement of the background ...................................................................................... 6
1.2
Project Aims and Objectives ........................................................................................ 8
1.3
Relevance of domains .................................................................................................. 9
1.4
Summary of Report .................................................................................................... 10
Professional Considerations.................................................................................................... 11
Public Interest ............................................................................................................ 11
Professional Competence and Integrity ..................................................................... 12
Duty to Relevant Authority ........................................................................................ 12
Environmental Impact ................................................................................................ 12
3
4
Requirements Analysis ............................................................................................................ 13
3.1
Target User/ Stakeholders ......................................................................................... 13
3.2
Background research.................................................................................................. 13
3.3
Existing location based games ................................................................................... 17
3.4
Choosing Location for the game ................................................................................ 19
3.5
Use Case Diagrams ..................................................................................................... 20
3.6
Functional Requirements ........................................................................................... 21
3.7
Non Functional Requirements ................................................................................... 23
3.8
Extension Functions ................................................................................................... 24
Design...................................................................................................................................... 25
Initial design ............................................................................................................... 25
Game name, Icon and launch Image .......................................................................... 27
Storyline Design.......................................................................................................... 30
Gameplay ................................................................................................................... 31
Initial UML .................................................................................................................. 31
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Development........................................................................................................................... 33
Application Architecture ............................................................................................ 33
4
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Technologies .............................................................................................................. 34
3D Modelling and Animation ..................................................................................... 36
Version 1.0 Overview ................................................................................................. 41
Version 2.0 Overview ................................................................................................. 45
iOS Implementations .................................................................................................. 50
Interface and HCI........................................................................................................ 53
Further Improvements ............................................................................................... 54
6
Testing ..................................................................................................................................... 57
User Testing................................................................................................................ 57
7
Evaluation & Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 68
Future work ................................................................................................................ 68
8
Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 70
Appendix A: Meeting Log ........................................................................................... 70
Appendix B: Gannt Chart............................................................................................ 71
Appendix C: Review against original Requirements................................................... 73
Appendix D: Ethical Reviews ...................................................................................... 75
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References: ............................................................................................................................. 93
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 1
Introduction
This sec(on presents the aims and objec(ves of the project, gives some key background, and explains how the project was approached.
1.1
Statement of the background
Children nowadays are more likely to prefer stay at home rather than play outside. One
online ar)cle from the Guardian par)cularly reported the nega)ve i mpact on children’s health and development without contact with nature [1] [Henry, 2010]. There are many
potential advantages of engaging with nature for children’s growth and education, and it is
important to address the issue that older children are less interested in playing outdoors
than younger children due to indoor digital entertainment [2].
A technology ar.cle from the Guardian states the results from Ofcom research showing that “the use of mobile phones generally is growing strongly among children aged 8 to 11,
rising from 55% a year ago to 61% now.” [3] Children often have access to the latest
technology, such as iPhones and iPads, and find these engaging. As an iPhone and Apple Mac
user, it would be easier to develop the game for iOS. Therefore, this project addresses the
challenge of creating a game on the iPhone which encourages children to engage with
nature, and aims to harness their interest in modern technology to encourage them to play
outside.
1.1.1
Problems:
As the indoor entertainment technology is rapidly developing, many problems appear.
Britain’s children watch 17 hours of television a week, almost two and a half hours per day,
every single day of the year. Despite the rival attractions of the Internet, this is up by 12%
since 2007 [3].Additionally, children are spending 20 hours a week online. [4]
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Adults when they were children used their local nature settings more often than children
nowadays. “Fewer than a quarter of children regularly use their local ‘patch of nature’,
compared to over half of all adults when they were children.” [5]
Unfortunately, children are unable to recognise some of the most common wild creatures.
According to a 2008 National Trust survey, “one in three could not identify a magpie; half
could not tell the difference between a bee and a wasp; yet nine out of ten could recognise a
Dalek.” [5]
1.1.2
•
Reasons why children are less interested in outdoor
activities
A wide range of a-rac/ve i ndoor digital entertainment i s rapidly ge7ng popular these days, such as video games. The i mpact of i ndoor entertainment i s varied. One nega've i mpact i s that children may get physical health problems i n cases when they are addicted to digital entertainment. Physical health issues such as dry
eyes, back aches, neck aches, severe headaches and others are especially common
[6]. Also children may develop mental health problems such as an9-‐social behaviour. 
Children are not allowed to go out by themselves. It is very difficult to keep children
in a 100% safe environment.

Some parents have no time to take their children outside.

In some areas, children are spending lots of time on extra academic classes rather
playing outside. This i s more l ikely to happen i n some Asian countries. 1.1.3

Advantages of engage with nature
Children gain improved “learning ability, creativity and mental, psychological and
emotional wellbeing” [1]

The book Children with Nature [7] states children in middle childhood are very
curious, capable of assimilating knowledge and able to understand the natural
world. “Critical thinking and problem-solving skills achieved through interaction and
coping in the nonhuman environment” will help their cognitive and intellectual
abilities [7].

Direct contact with natural settings enhances children’s “self-confidence, selfconcept, and capacity to cope with adversity and challenge” [7]. Additional
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong improvements in “self-esteem, independence […] decision-making and problemsolving abilities…” [7]

Another book named Children and their Environment [8] provides evidence of how
nature supports children’s development cognitive, social, and emotional skills. [8]

Gaining some knowledge about nature can also help them appreciate nature more,
encouraging more outdoor play.
1.1.4
Use of mobile phones and games for children’s
learning
Lately using mobile technology has increased rapidly. A mobile application or game can be
used for learning with children. According to a technical paper, “children's mobile phones [...]
should be an assistant in learning and helping them to collect, collate, create and express.” [9].
The Savannah research [10] shows how mobile games are used in learning. For example,
when children are running away in the game, they are physically running instead of moving
on the screen. Additionally, it states the game “challenges need to be real and complex and
difficult to solve” to encourage children in learning problem solving [10].
There are some existing applications for mobile learning like Geocaching, a location-based
game “where the player tries to find artefacts in a particular place that has been left by
other players” [2].
Therefore, it is a promising approach to create an outdoor digital learning game to attempt
to change the fact that children aged 8-12 are less interested in going out than younger
children due to indoor digital entertainment.
1.2
Project Aims and Objectives
1.2.1
Aims:
The overall aim of this project is to build a Global Positioning System (based) iOS
application for children to encourage them to engage with nature and learn about
nature.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 1.2.2
Objectives:
The location of the game is chosen to be Park Village wood on campus of University of
Sussex in Brighton. The reasons of changing the location from Stanmer Park to Park Village
wood are explained in section 3. The main objective of the game is to be location-based. This
means the application should load a real time map of Park Village wood and display the
current location of the player and the targets. Second objective is children should be able to
collect items as this gameplay increases their motivation. Another objective is using
Augmented Reality technology, since it is more interesting than using Quick Response (QR)
code.
To create vivid video effects, animation or sound effects are another objective will make the
game more appealing to children. The extension objectives are sharing results with friends
or family by using third party accounts like Facebook which can motivate the children by
showing off their achievements.
The achievement of these objectives will involve the design, development and deployment
of an iOS application.
1.3
Relevance of domains
The nature of this project is programming, modelling, therefore is relevant to Computing for
Digital Media degree.
1.3.1
Programming Concepts and Software Architecture
There are a lot of programming concepts and techniques that will be required to build an
efficient, reliable application in this project. To complete the project, a good understanding
of software architecture will also help to plan and structure the application logically.
1.3.2
iOS Application Programming
The project is an iOS application game, therefore an iOS programming language such as
objective-c will be used. Objective-c is officially supported by Apple developer platform,
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Xcode. The reasons of choosing iOS platform are it is one of the most popular platforms and
it is also important to learn the skills of self-learning. Knowing a different programming
language will also be a great advantage in the future.
1.3.3
3D Modelling and Animation
It is important to know the techniques of 3D modelling and principles of animation to be
able to create interesting digital characters. 3D modelling will also include texturing and
lighting techniques.
1.3.4
Human Computer Interaction
The principle of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is also important in this project due to
the project including design and testing. HCI technique is used to ensure the user interface is
effective and simple to use. In testing process, HCI is also applied to interviews,
questionnaires and prototype.
1.3.5
Testing
Testing is one of the most important parts of a software development project. Testing will be
required before the application is complete to help evaluate and improve the usability. Test
driven development will be utilized throughout development.
1.4
Summary of Report
In the following section, the professional and ethical considerations of this project are
explained. In section 3, there is an account of the requirements analysis process. Design
process is described in section 4, followed by development and implementation. Testing and
evaluation are included in the last two sections.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Professional Considerations
2
This project has been completed professionally followed the rules of the British Computer
Society Code of Conduct, the ethical standards governing the conduct of computing
professionals in the UK. [11][12]
A full ethical review has been carried out, and approval given by the Science and
Technologies C-REC for the user-testing study. It was necessary and important to apply for
an ethical review as the project involves children under 18 using technology to take part in
an outdoor activity, making it a high-risk project. The ethical review is used to protect the
safety, dignity and rights of the young participants and the researchers in this project. It also
ensures the research is undertaken with high ethical and professional standards. The ethical
review documents, consent forms, information sheet and study plans are included in
appendix D.
The BCS Code of Conduct, and its application to this project, is explained in detail below.
Public Interest
a. The game itself does not require and store any personal information which
allows researchers to identify individuals. In the testing session, participants are
asked some questions and asked to fill in questionnaires. Full permission is
obtained from participants and their parents for the collection of this data. The
information collected from participants is protected and secured to avoid
security problems. The information can only be accessed by supervisors and the
researcher. The collected information is not allowed to use without
participants’ consent.
b. The game activities should not contain any discrimination on the grounds of sex,
sexual orientation, marital status, nationality, colour, race, ethnic origin,
religion, or of any other condition or requirement. However, for safety reasons,
unfortunately this game is not recommended for people with disabilities due to
the location in which it is played (in a wood with uneven paths). Additionally,
the project should not offend any parties and should be aware of using words,
images and another content against different cultures.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong c. Players will have equal access to the benefits of the App. They will not need to
pay to access the game.
Professional Competence and Integrity
a. The main method to develop the professional knowledge is continuous studying
online tutorials in Objective-C programming skills. Additionally, it has been
important to pay attention to the technological developments, procedures and
standards that relevant to iOS App development.
a. I have knowledge and understanding of the relevant legislation, including the
university ethical review procedure, which I have followed. This is a nonprofit
project which will not be used to make money.
b. “Avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or
malicious or negligent action or inaction.” The game must be only played with
adult supervisions.
Duty to Relevant Authority
a.
The project does not break any UK, or EU laws. All relevant authorities’ requests
will be complied with.
Environmental Impact
a. The application should not cause unnecessary negative environment impact.
During development, it is obligational to choose the least environmental impact
when there are choices. For example, recycling paper, reducing waste and not
leaving anything that is unnatural in the wood while testing (e.g. litter).
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Requirements Analysis
It is important to plan the application before the design process. The purpose of analysing
requirements i s to ensure that users’ and stakeholders’ needs are well-‐understood, so that a design can be developed for an appropriate application which meets those needs.
3.1 Target User/ Stakeholders
Primary stakeholders are children aged in 8 to 12.
Secondary stakeholders are teachers.
Facilitating stakeholders are project supervisor, Dr. Kate Howland, and project advisor,
Cathy Grundy (University of Brighton).
3.2 Background research
The research paper “Games in the Park” [2] [Grundy, Howland, 2014] provides an account of
designing games with children to encourage them to interact with nature, and includes some
interesting results. People often believe that children will focus on the technology devices
rather than play in the nature. However, the research suggested that children can forget
about devices easily and focus on nature instead. It is important to create an interesting
storyline to keep children’s attention on the game and the associated activities. According to
the aim of the game is to encourage children to interact with nature, thus, the game should
not keep children’s attention solely on the application, but it should also keep children
interested to continue the game.
3.2.1 How to make the game interesting to children
3.2.1.1
Technology and storylines
A child’s mobile can be used for l earning with enjoyment. I t should have i nterac;ons to motivate children. Therefore, the game will allow children to collect information, interact
with virtual 3D characters and learn about nature via Augmented Reality (AR)1. Using
1 Augmented Reality is a digitally enhanced of a view of a real world.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Augmented Reality i s more i nteres2ng compared to Virtual Reality (VR) for a children’s game. Children will be seeing the virtual 3D characters in front of real world through the camera on
the device. Similar to Quick Response (QR) code2, a card with interesting graphics instead of
black bars will be more attractive to children. Children can scan the interesting card to see
the virtual 3D characters.
3.2.1.2
Design and style
It is necessary to consider what children at the ages of 8 to 12 find interesting about nature.
Research shows that boys and girls have differing views on nature. For example, girls are
more interested in plants and flowers than boys [13]. The design and style of this project will
need to consider the interests of both genders to keep everyone interested. By looking into
some popular handheld device games for children, [14] children are commonly attracted by
the graphics, exaggerated animation, and funny stories.
Cathy Grundy, who was an expert advisor for this project, has carried out research with
children in the area of creating stories and asking children to design characters. It was very
helpful to observe one of Cathy’s research studies as part of my requirements analysis.The
study was about what style of animal characters children like. Cathy provided children eight
different styles of foxes, rabbits and owls. Children will choose one of the styles of each
animal. Following the session, she made the character design work of 36 children available
for analysis on this project. Characters such as foxes, cats and spiders were particularly
popular, as shown in figure 1.
2 A QR code is a type of matrix barcode, contains information that can be read by machines.
14
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong What Characters do Childrens draw
Squirrels
Foxes
Rabbits
Spiders
Snails
Trees
Others
Snakes
Figure 1 Number of different characters Children drew in the research
Figure 2 Children's drawings provided by Cathy Grundy
Regarding specific character design features, most children characters with big eyes, cute or
funny looks. (see Figures 2 and 3)
In summary, children are o2en a3racted to colourful things, animals and moving things. Therefore, to create a vivid 3D nature characters, animations or sound effects will increase
children’s attention.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 3 Most popular character between children
3.2.1.3
Gameplay
The results of the research project “Savannah: mobile gaming and learning?” show that
children can easily identify the rules and problems within a game and learn to abuse these. It
suggests the game should be “developed with sufficiently sophisticated games rules, and
sufficiently focused challenges” to avoid children repeating the same strategies, instead
encouraging them to try and think about new strategies [10]. A respectable level of
difficulty, clear goals, feedback and social interactions make a game more engaging to
children [15][16].
3.2.2 The needs of teachers and parents
There are few additional points that teachers and parents will be concerned about:
•
Is the game suitable for the children?
The aim of the game is to be educational and fun for children to play. The game is
designed to be suitable for children over age 8. The benefit of the game is to
encourage children to go out to play in nature instead of staying inside.
•
What would this game teach children?
This game will teach children to observe, discover, and interact with nature.
Additionally, the game will provide a suitable level of knowledge about nature. The
game will also increase children’s cognitive ability.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 3.3 Existing location based games
In order to further understand the requirements for a location based game for children, a
number of existing location based games were examined and analysed.
3.3.1 Ingress
Ingress is an advanced location-based game which requires players to walk around outside
to play the game, is similar to the basic aim of this project. The gameplay is simple to
understand. The quests in the game encourage players to walk further distances to explore
more. The level up and unlock system is challengeable. The in-game locations correspond to
monuments and buildings in the real-world. Competition between two player groups
encourages players to keep playing. Additionally, the game is fair (no pay-to-win).
Figure 4 Ingress Screen shots
On the other hand, the story is not engaging. Players will need to keep checking their status
on their phones in case they are being attacked by the other group. The design is futuristic
which might be unappealing to some users, but some children might find it cool. The
features are detailed and complex which is not suitable for children as young as 8.
3.3.2 Treasures
Treasures is a location-based game that suitable game for children. This game has very
simple interface design and cartoony graphics which is very child friendly. The idea of the
interface design of this can be referred to the project. The game designed input feedback,
every time there is sound effect when a click is taken place. Additionally, when players
collect a treasure, there will be a reward sound effect. A step by step tutorial is designed for
17
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong first time players. However, the game is very restrictive if the player does not pay for ingame items.
Figure 5Treasures Screen Shots
3.3.3 L4C Lite (Demo of Geocaching)
This game is a location-based nature game. It is very entertaining and motivating to find the
physical hidden caches in different locations. It physically encourages players to explore
their surroundings to look for the caches and leave their signature which is an alternative
way of socializing. The interface design is laid out nicely with lots of features such as
compass, flashlight and the way to the target. The icon design is simple and easy to
recognize. It offers several different styles of maps.
Figure 6 L4C Lite Screen shots
3.3.4 Tourality
Tourality is a negative example of existing location-based games. The dimension of the game
is incorrect for the device. It takes a while to start the game. It has an advertisement bar
which pulled back the look of interface. The biggest problem of the game is performance as
18
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong it regularly crashes and freezes. Additionally, the return button disappears randomly. This
game has poor usability.
Figure 7 Tourality Screen shots
From analysing the existing location-based games, there are various advantages between
one and challenges with each. There are some of the features from other similar games in
the game, such as a level up system, an easy to understand tutorial, a compass and a
designed inventory. It is helpful to design a location-based nature game for children in
target age.
3.4 Choosing Location for the game
Stanmer Park was originally the planned location, as it has indigenous natural species and a
large natural area. On another hand, there are some hazards present such as unleashed dogs
and the most important ethical issue of this project is not to endanger child participants.
Therefore, safety is the main ethical issue to be concerned about. Due to the ethical
considerations, the location has been changed to the Park Village wood on campus to ensure
that the testing with children can take place in a safe environment.
Research trip to Stanmer Park:
Obtained from the first research trip to Stanmer Park, there are some ethical issues that
need to be concerned. The following issues arose from Stanmer Park.
•
There is lots of traffic on the main road through the park.
19
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong •
Is it safe for children to leave the trail and run into woods? Even children are told not
to go into woods.
•
Lots of people with dogs unleashed walking in the park.
•
Wild plants should not be picked and eaten.
•
It is not safe to try to catch wild animals or pick up dead animals.
•
Stanmer Park is a big open area, children might get lost in the park.
Research trip to Park Village Wood on campus:
Park Village wood is a small nature area on campus and with fence along the boundary of
university, thus it is easier to keep track on children by adult supervisors to ensure their
safety. There are no traffics or unleashed dogs around the wood area. Additionally, there are
university emergency and health centre if something happened.
3.5 Use Case Diagrams
Use case diagrams for the main functions of the game can be:
Figure 8 This diagram shows the activities a user will complete when using this application
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 3.6 Functional Requirements
3.6.1 General Application Requirements
Below are the general functionalities of the application that are required.
1. Players shall be able to click the icon on the device and open the app without
problems (e.g. crashing or freeze).
1.1.
The interaction response should be fast and easy to recognise. (e.g. The
button will be highlighted or changed size immediately after clicked.)
2. The game shall have a start button to start the game.
2.1.
The game shall have a short tutorial or clear instruction to guide players.
2.2.
The game shall load a map and main interface when player clicked Start
Game.
2.3.
The application should be closed when Exit game is clicked.
3. The game parameters shall be pre-set and fixed.
3.1.
The number objects should be more than 5 for players to explore.
4. The application should have high performance.
4.1.
The map should be able to load fast.
3.6.2 Map
5. The game should have a functional map for player to find locations.
5.1.
The map should have map pins to show players the pre-set locations.
5.2.
Players should be able to tap map pins to see annotations which contain
information and icon images of each location.
5.3.
Players should be able to tab the annotation to go to a more detailed view
with storylines and instructions.
5.4.
The map should allow users to change different types of map.
6. Players shall be able to see their updated location on the map.
6.1.
Players should be able to click a button/icon to center and zoom in to their
current location.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 6.2.
The location of the player should be updated in regular intervals.
3.6.3 Augmented reality and camera
7. Player shall be able to use the camera to scan a card or a nature pattern.
7.1.
The game should be able to track the pattern accurately.
7.2.
The tracking pattern is only activated at a pre-set location.
8. Layers shall be able to see 3D models on device through Augmented Reality camera
in pre-set locations.
8.1.
The game shall load a 3D model after a card or a nature pattern is scanned.
8.2.
The game shall withdraw the 3D model when the camera is turned off.
9. Player shall be able to use the camera to take photos of their activity outcomes in
some tasks.
10. The game shall reward players for complete each tasks.
10.1
The game shall have different level of rewards.
10.2
The different rewards should determinate different results.
11. The game shall have an inventory.
11.1.
It shall allow player to check their inventory.
11.2.
The game shall be able to display the collected items in the inventory.
11.3.
The game shall save the reward automatically into the inventory.
12. The game shall have at least one extra character to interact with the children.
12.1 Player shall be able to see a 3D model through camera directly.
12.2
The game shall also be able to load the character without scanning a card or
a nature pattern.
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 3.7 Non Functional Requirements
3.7.1 User Requirements
1.
The game shall encourage children to engage with nature whilst being educational.
1.1.
The children should not concentrate on the device all the time.
1.2.
The game environment should be safe for children to carry out activities.
2.
The graphics of the game shall be designed with children’s tastes.
3.
The game shall have a tutorial or a clear instruction to guide children.
4.
The story of the game should be light-hearted.
4.1
The game challenges or tasks should be on a suitable level for children in
target age.
4.2
The story shall be positive with a happy ending.
5.
The language of the game shall be on a suitable level for children.
6.
The game shall address reliable knowledge about nature.
3.7.2 System Requirements
7.
The game shall be run on iPhone 5 or above.
8.
The system should be able to render 3-Dimensional models.
9.
The system should be able to load images.
10. The game shall have a camera function.
11. The system shall support GPS and have a map.
12. The game requires internet access to load the map.
13. The functions and attributes should be consistent.
3.7.3 Product Requirements
Usability requirements ensure the game is simple to use.
14. The game interface shall be easy to understand and interact.
15. The game shall be available to all players.
16. The application shall require stability. (Developers will be able to improve the app
easily later.)
Performance requirements ensure the game runs smoothly.
23
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 17. The application should use reasonable size of images and graphics.
18. The 3D models should have low poly counts.
19. The texture of 3D models should be small size.
20. The game should be no bigger than 150 Mb (Megabytes).
21. Simplify the implementing algorithm.
3.7.4 Organizational requirements
This will consider the requirements of environment.
22. The game will have to take place in Park Village Wood on campus under the
supervising of adult supervisors or parents.
23. Good weather condition is required for this game to ensure children’s safety.
3.7.5 Ethical Requirements
Ethical requirements are important in this project to ensure the game is in line with the
Code of Conduct. It is also used to minimise risks when testing takes place. The Application
of ethical review has been approved.
3.8 Extension Functions
•
Reward children for walking certain lengths of distance.
•
Allow setting a task as the target and show the distance between the child and the
target task.
•
Time limit to complete each task will increase the challenge of the game and
increase the motivation of children in the game. However, it is likely to cause more
safety issues when children rush around the park.
•
Hand-drawn map for target location make the game more appealing to children.
•
Add second level with different stories and different characters.
•
Show the location of other children on the map but without showing identity.
24
Design
Design was completed before the main development of the game.
Initial design
Some rough hand-drawn designs (see figure 9) of the game’s interface and interactions are
one of the best ways to give an overview of how the game will be presented.
25
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 9 Sketches of initial design.
The app will have a home page with simple instructions, a map button to go to the map page
and a check button which navigates to a page to check the passcode. Simple interactions are
easier for children to follow. The map page displays a map and some map pins to show the
locations. The camera button is placed in the “Details page”. When scanning, virtual animals
are visible through the phone camera sketching the ideas was helpful in developing the
design quickly and efficiently.
A further design was done using Adobe Photoshop to provide a more realistic perspective of
the game. Some parts are differing to the initial design because navigation bar is more
consistent (see figure 10).
26
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 10 A Photoshop designed version the game interface
The initial designs helped to prevent the user getting confused due to inconsistencies.
Furthermore, using system-provided controls, icons throughout the game will be easier for
the users since they might have previous experiences. On the other hand, a nice designed
icon can also increase user experience. The same icons such as the camera always mean the
same thing.
Game name, Icon and launch Image
Game name and app icon give children the first impression of the game. Giving the game a
good name and iconic app icon might increase children’s interests, hence the style of the
name and app icon should be appealing to children. At the same time, the name and logo
should be related to the theme of the game and storyline.
Some Game name ideas:

Location Game

Find Them

Adventure in the Woods
Eventually Find Them was chosen because it directly addresses the theme of the game.
27
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Once a name was chosen for the game, designing an icon and launch image were the next
thing. Some rough design ideas were quickly sketched out on paper (see figure 11). Further
designs were carried out using Adobe Photoshop.
Figure 11 Some sketches of ideas for the game icon
Some Game icons:
Figure 12 Three icon designs
There are few designs for the app (see Figure 13). The first one is a cartoon style of a forest
painted in Adobe Photoshop. The design has nice contrast but it misses a focusing point. The
28
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong middle design with a bird shape on top of a map clearly relates to location and animals.
However, the simple colour contrast design in feeling of a utility application and is less likely
to be appealing to children. The icon with a magnifier was picked as the final design. A
magnifier is on top of the high contrast forest background to bring up the idea of adventure
in the wood. The forest design was also used for launch screen.
Figure 13 Launching design
29
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Storyline Design
Aris games [17] a platform for creating location-based games and play games. It was used to
design a storyline in this project. The created story can also be tested on location which is
very helpful as it allows designers to see how a storyline connects each location.
Figure 14 A story about a character bird requires children to collect stones from different locations and created with Aris 2.0
Figure 15 A story about a fox asks children to build a den for it.
30
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong After writing out some stories, the story of freeing trapped animals was used in the game.
The story starts with the Park Village wood is embraced by mist. All the animals in the wood
are trapped by some unknown dark magic. The only way to break the dark magic is to visit
all the animals and receive all the hidden magic codes.
Gameplay
The fundamental gameplay of this game is to visit different locations and complete the
activities. A reward system was also designed in form of giving hints to players. The received
hints were designed to free the animals and complete the game.
The hint message was initially designed with a four-letter words “HOPE” as each letter is
hidden in one location. “Hope” is a positive word with multiple meanings. It can be the
animals are hoping the player will free them. Having hope is an alternate explanation.
Initial UML
4.5.1
Object diagram
This class diagram is only the initial design.
Figure 16 An early Entity Relationship diagram showing classes
31
Activity Diagram
An initial design of an activity diagram was created to illustrate all the action states of the game.
Figure 17 An initial design of activity diagram
32
Development
Application Architecture
Model View Controller architecture (MVC) [5.2] is the most-used design pattern for
implementing user interfaces. It divides software into three parts, model, view and
controller which are connected to each other. (See figure 18)
Controller
Model
View
Figure 18 MVC design pattern
The model manages the data, rules of the application. The object stores application data. A
model example in this project is the MapPin class which defines the attributes of a mapPin
object.
A controller can send a request to the model to update the model’s state. In the map pin
case, the MapViewController class is a controller to create map pins and setting the
location coordinates value, the location names and another attributes within MapPin class.
A view is a visual representation of the model which also requests information from the
model. In XCode, views are represented using UIViews, MapViews, TextViews and different
view for different purpose.
5.1.1
Version Control
A small change will easily cause some undesired problems, when working with a large code
base. It would be hard to find where the problems were. Version Control is always a good
33
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong habit to track changes in a project. And a git version control system has been used to backup
and save changes of the project using command lines.
Figure 19 A screetshot of terminal within the git reponstory
Technologies
Number of technologies will be used in conjunction to complete the development of the iOS
application.
5.2.3
iOS Development Technologies
Xcode Integrated development environment (IDE) was chosen to develop the game as it is
an environment for building apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad provided by Apple. The newer
versions of Xcode introduced a new user friendly programming language, Swift3 as well as
the primary programming language, Objective-C (Object-oriented programming). As Swift is
a new programming language based on Objective-C, Objective-C is more stable. Additionally,
Swift inter-operates with Objective-C. Knowing Objective-C will be easier to learn Swift in
the future. Consequently Objective-C was used to implement the game.
Apple also delivers sufficient system interfaces in frameworks to develop a location based
application. A Foundation framework was commonly used. Data types such as strings
(NSString) and arrays (NSMutableArray) for collection of MapPin class were used. Additional
3
Swift is a multi-paradign, compiled programming language for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch. [19]
34
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong frameworks like CoreMotion, MapKit, CoreLocation , CoreAnimation and AudioToolbox were
applied for the development.
5.2.4
Augmented Reality SDK
An augmented reality technology is an approach to display virtual animals (3D models) in
real-world environment in order to increase children’s motivation in this game. Augmented
Reality algorithms consist of computer vision by detects interest points in the real world
images and overlay with the virtual image [20].
Figure 20 Augmented Reality Technology [20]
Tracking technologies of Augmented Reality are using digital cameras and GPS for this game.
As the main focus of this project is not Augmented Reality algorithms a pre-made
Augmented Reality software development kit was used to produce an Augmented Reality for
mobile application.
Augmented Reality SDK is the start of an Augmented Reality application development. There
are numbers of SDK to help develop Augmented Reality applications easily. Metaio and
vuforia are the well-known ones.
During developing, vuforia was the first choice to start with for augmented reality; however
there were compilation problems on both Unity and Objective-c which could not be solved
for weeks. At the same time, Metaio SDK was another choice. In addition, Xcode has chosen
to be the platform to create the iPhone game since it is the official software developed by
Apple. At the beginning, there were difficulties to come across some issues due to lack of
knowledge of objective-c and using Xcode, but Metaio provides much more detailed
resources including tutorials and examples for developers. It was one of the reasons for
choosing Metaio over Vuforia. [21]
35
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 3D Modelling and Animation
As discussed in the requirement analysis section, 3D animated models are one of the main
approaches to make children excited. What is more, the software and basic principles of 3D
modelling and animations will be explained in this section.
5.3.3
3D Modelling and Animation Software
There are many choices of 3D modelling and animation software for developers. Autodesk
provides various professional software in the area of 3D modelling and animation, including
3DS Max, Maya and Softimage. Other software like Blender and Cinema 4D are also an
option. 3DS Max was chosen to be the ideal software for creating 3D models and animation,
since it is a professional level application which provides complete functionalities to create
3D contents. A student license can be registered easily, moreover, some experiences on
using 3DS Max was obtained through previous projects.
5.3.4
3D Modelling
3D modelling is the process of creating a three-dimensional virtual object based on
mathematical coordinates to represent a real life object. 3D models can be connected by
geometric entities like lines, faces and polygons. The most basic object is vertices (points)
which can be connected to form a line(edge). A triangle formed by connected vertices is a
polygon. And polygonal modelling is the chosen approach to create the 3D models in this
project, as it is easy to construct meshes by connecting primitives (e.g cubes, cylinders and
spheres) together. Meshes can be modified with different features (e.g extude, subdivide
and attach). Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) is an alternate approach which is
commonly used in engineering and manufacturing. The shape of the surface is determined
by the weight of the control points. [22]
The bird model was created first in order to test the scanner which will be explained in the
implementation section. The other three models were also planned and modelled using the
approach of polygonal modelling for the game. According to the researches on which kind of
wild animals children like, a spider, a fox, a bird and a bunny were chosen. The development
36
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong of the bird model will be explained in detail, as all other models were created using similar
principals.
The bird model was initially modelled from a cylinder primitive, which was extruded out and
its vertices were adjusted and scaled to form the body shape. Due to the feet having more
details, one leg including the foot was modelled seperately which made it easier to extrude
the claws. After group smoothing the leg, it was attached to the body. Head was the next
hard part of this model because of its shape. The head was also created from a cylinder, but
some vertices were merged to create a narrow head. A similar process was applied to create
the tail. To ensure both side of the bird are symmetrical, half of the bird was deleted first
and mirrored afterwards. The last process was smoothing the model with group smooth
because it allows more controls on ploygon counts and still create a smooth look.
Figure 21 The wireframe of the bird model
Models need to be loaded into the mobile phone, thus it is important to keep the polygon
count as low as possible. Large number of polygons (“high-poly-models”) requires more
memory space, render slower and decrease the performance of an application [23].
5.3.5
5.3.5.1
Texturing and lighting
Texturing
Models can be textured with the standard material which consists of diffuse, ambient,
glossiness and other features. UV mapping is a texture technique which is commonly used in
37
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong this project, as textures can be designed for children (see figure 22). UV mapping is the
process of representing a 3D model’s surface by making a 2D image. Well made UV maps
minimise texture distortion, however creating a UV map is time consuming.
Use of Standard material
Use of UV mapping
Figure 22 Comparison of different texture methods
Applying a UVW unwrap modifier in 3DS Max to the geometry for creating the bird UV map.
Faces were aligned and flattend in the UV map to make the process of painting texture
easier (see Figure 23). The bird UV map was imported as an image into Adobe Photoshop
for creating the texture (see Figure 23). The large resolution of textures can also decrease
the performance of an application. The resolution value of “power of two” is also
recommended to avoid decreases of performance [23]. After the texture was finished, it
was wrapped back onto the model. The same UV mapping techniques were also applied to
the other animal models.
38
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong UV map
Texture
512 x 512 pixels
The bird model with an
unwrapped texture and light
Figure 23 The bird model
5.3.5.2
Lighting
Basic lightings techniques were applied to illuminate the models. Since realistic shadows are
not important in mobile application, four photometric Omni lights (free light) were used to
illuminate the model from different directions.
39
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 24 The bird model with two Omni light is off
5.3.6
3D Animation
Rigging techniques are often used to support animating complex models. One rigging
technique is used by creating an IK chain (Inverse Kinematics) inside the leg of spider. The IK
chain allows translating the whole legs by translating the lowest part of the leg. The Bird
model is animated with FK (Forward Kinematics) system which is opposite to the IK.
Animation can be very complicated when it applies all the principles of Animation. Some
principles are applied such as staging, weight, strong silhouettes to provide a more
interesting animation for children. A weight was applied to the bird when it jumps.
In this project, animated 3D models were developed for a mobile application. It is more
reasonable to create a simple animation with few key frames in order to improve the
performance.
5.3.7
Export
FBX (Filmbox) is a commonly used file format for Autodesk’s 3D products. It contains most of
models and animations features. OBJ (Object file) and MD2 (Model format) are alternate file
formats which can also be used for 3D models. However, Metaio SDK has limitations of
supporting OBJ and MD2 formats. OBJ format does not support animations and MD2 format
can only use one texture. In the end, the FBX format is the best choice for this project.
Metaio SDK also provides a tool named FBXMeshConverter to make FBX file suitable for
mobile devices by removing unwanted items and turning it into a fast runtime format [24].
40
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Version 1.0 Overview
The game has been improved from the initial design. The class diagram and activity diagram
illustrates the implementation structure and gameplay.
5.4.1
Class Diagram
Figure 25 Class diagram for the first version
41
Activity diagrams
Figure 26 Activity diagram for the initial version
42
Application Interface
The version 1.0 was tested in the round one testing session. Screenshots of the game are
shown in figure 27.
Home page with introduction of the
story and two buttons for map and
checking the code
The map displays map pins, user’s
location and choices of different
maps
43
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong The map pin annotation appears
when a map pin is tapped.
The 3D content is displayed on the
screen with a real life image
An image of the tracking pattern with
instructions and a camera button
The check page is for checking the passcode. It
gives alert if the passcode is incorrect
Figure 27 Screenshots of game interfaces. Including a home, a map, a detail and a check page
44
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Version 2.0 Overview
5.5.3
Game Play
After the round one testing, some updates were designed and changed. Different types of
gameplays were designed to improve the testing result. I will help finding out what types of
activities that children are more interested. Apart from the original two types of gameplays,
scanning tree pa,erns and a paper card, a G PS tracking and a nature ac4vity were added. The GPS tracking allows children to see the characters through the camera directly without
scanning a pattern. The nature activity was designed with building an animal shelter.
To increase the difficulty of the game, a word instead of a letter were designed. Words
“nature”, “colour”, “spirit” and “adventure” were chosen for each activity. The reason of
choosing these words is because of a beautiful phrase “Nature always wears the colours of
the spirit.” And the game is an adventure in the wood.
45
Class diagram
Figure 28 A further designed version of class diagram for the game
46
Activity diagrams
Figure 29 An activity diagram for the second version game
47
Application Interface
The map page with connected
locations and map pin annotations
The designed home page with a
map button
The detail page shows the image and
two buttons with instructions (speech
bubbles) which are interactive
The instruction shows in a popup
box with a close button
48
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong The nature activity instruction of
building a shelter is designed with
simple graphics
Check word page has a 4 text fields,
a line of text shows the states and a
button
Clicking the enter magic code button
to go to check page. The camera
button is hidden in this page.
An alert message appears when
incorrect code entered
49
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong The ending image appears with a
sound effect
Figure 30 Screenshots of version 2.0 game interface
iOS Implementations
Detailed process of implementing the scanner system and map system is included in this
section.
5.6.1
Implementing a Map system
The map system was implemented to achieve the main objective of location-based. MapKit4
and CoreLocation5 frameworks provided by Apple library were used to build a map system.
First of all, a map view was added in order to develop the further functionalities. Getting
user location needs to request user’s permission to retrieve location. LocationManager
object which is responsible for location data. It was used for receiving updated locations in
order to get user’s location.
4
MapKit framework provides an interface for embedding maps directly into views. It also support for
annotating the map and adding overlays. [26]
5
CoreLocation framework uses the available hardware to determine the user’s position and heading.
[27]
50
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong MapViewController class creates number of MapPin objects. Each MapPin object stores the
coordinates, locationName values which are assigned by the controller. MapPin object is
inherited from MapViewController. In the later version, map pins with custom icons were
added to distinguish between other default pins. After an array of map pins were created
and added to the map view, annotation views were added to each map pin.
A map pin annotation with an icon image, title and description provides information to
children. A calloutAcessoryControlTapped event method was used to make the
annotation interactive which navigates to a detailed page with an image and instructions.
(See figure 31)
Figure 31 Map pin annotation call out event
It is more efficient to load a sequence of images in the detail page (see figure 32). Images
can be replaced easily without changing the code.
Figure 32 Loading images in a efficient way
A map overlay polyline which connects all the map pins was added in the latest version to
help children find the locations. drawLineSubroutine method executes the process of creating
a polyline. Iterating an array of location coordinates and increases the index by 1 to create a
polyline on each increment.
5.6.2
Implementing a Scanner system
Augmented Reality is the second objective which was implemented. A scanner system is an
essential part of any Augmented Reality system. The Metaio SDK played an important role in
the implementation of this. Implementing the scanner system included two main methods.
One loads a tracking configuration file and another one loads objects. Metaio SDK provides a
sample tracking file with tracking configurations which was modified to fit with this game.
The tracking files stores tracking images and loaded into the application. Tracking
configurations consists of the performance of the application and the tracking accuracy.
51
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong In initial versions of the application, one tracking file was designed for tracking all three
models and message letters, because the tracking file is able to track multiple objects
simultaneously. A sensor ID is used to identify different objects. A 3D model and a letter in
image format were also loaded with an ID in order to load the right tracking sensor.
However, the tracking file takes a while to load due to all of 3D models and letters share the
same tracking file and needed to be loaded beforehand. Children are asked to scan one
pattern at a location, so only one object is needed to be loaded. The solution to improve the
performance was to use one tracking file for one object. With this setup, children will not be
able to scan different patterns simultaneously, but this not required functionality.
In the final version, another tracking method was added into the game. There is no need for
a tracking configuration file since it uses GPS tracking. The latitude and longitude values
were used to support tracking.
Animations and sound effect was implemented to reach the objective. Within the scanner
system, when the model is tapped on the screen, an animation takes place. This was done by
using a touch event within the Metaio window to activate the animation. In the final version,
sound effects were added to some models. It is activated when the model is tapped and
implemented using the AudioToolbox6 framework.
5.6.3
Implementing a Photo Camera
The functionality of taking photos and saving photos into an album were implemented to
provide activities for children. This functionality was included in the second version of the
game. An imagePickerController method and an UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum
method were created to pick up the image which was taken and save it to the photos album.
5.6.4
Implementing a Passcode System
The objective of item collecting system was implemented in a way of collecting clue
messages. The passcode system was implemented to check the validation of the collected
6
AudioToolbox framework provides interfaces for recording, playback, and stream parsing. [25]
52
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong messages. A string inputted into the text field is compared with a pre-defined string. If the
input string is not equal to the pre-defined string, a warning window will pop up.
In the latest version, four text fields were used to check four different strings. Each text field
was implemented to check validation of each string in both lower case and upper case (first
letter). After all text fields are correctly filled in and the check button is clicked, a finishing
image shows with a sound effect. A line of text was implemented to shows the states of each
action. Displaying the finishing image was implemented with an animation feature (see
figure 33).
Figure 33 Animation for displaying an image and a text
To improve the usability, the text field will be reset when an incorrect string is input. In
opposite, if the input text is correct, the keyboard cursor will move to next text field
automatically. This is done by assigning the next text field to become the first responder (see
figure 34).
Figure 34 Move to next text field automatically
Interface and HCI
The most important part to the user is the front-end of the application. Therefore, interface
and HCI design principles were considered, since it is important for user experiences.
The custom icon such as a star is different to other map pins to emphasize the start point
and finishing point. Every detailed page has the same layout when an annotation is tapped.
The position of the camera button was fixed in different activity modes.
53
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 35 The top star is the start point and the bottom one is the finishing point
Further Improvements
Some improvements were made after the round 2 testing session.
First the map was improved by implementing a tracking direction feature which is activated
by a button setting the user tracking mode to MKUserTrackingModeFollowWithHeading (see
figure 36).
54
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 36 The pink button is added to activate the tracking heading function
The most obvious issue from the second testing session was the usability of the instructions
and confusing gameplay. A new method of presenting the instructions was designed using
CoreAnimation and designed graphics (see figure 37). Some names of the locations were
edited to avoid confusions. (“Start” is changed to “Find Venessa”).
55
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 37 A different method of showing instructions with animations
6
Testing
Testing is one of the most important parts of this project. It ensures the application is
reliable, usable and efficient. This project has used black box (tests functionalities) tests. In
addition, the project benefitted from two rounds of user testing on location in Park Village
woods. Testing with real users and in the final interested environment is essential to gain
accurate and realistic feedback on the tool, and to test the functionality in situ.
User Testing
Two rounds of user testing were planned and carried out. The purposes of the tests were to
receive feedbacks and improve the application. The feedbacks are used to determine the
usability of the application, the enjoyment of the game and the effectiveness of the
application in encouraging children to engage with nature.
57
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Children will be asked to complete a designed questionnaire at the testing session. Using
questionnaire over interview for collection information is mainly because it is more suitable
for children. It will be difficult to interview group of children outdoor. In contrast,
questionnaires allow children to provide detailed feedbacks anonymously. A sample
questionnaire is included in appendix.
6.1.1
User Testing, Round one
The testing session was roughly an hour. Four girls aged 11 and 12 were recruited to take
part in the first round of user testing, through personal contacts of the project advisor. The
aim of this round of testing was to determine the effectiveness of children engaging with
nature and enjoying the game.
Figure 38 A photo from the round one testing session
The participants were asked to play the game and follow the story. They were told that while
them walking through the wood, they will need to find particular nature patterns and scan
them.
There were five locations, and four of them required participant to find the correct locations
and scan patterns. The first location has only one letter “H”. An animated bird model and a
letter “O” are placed on the second location. The first two nature tracking patterns are on
the trees. The third location is placed with a spider model and a letter “P”. The last task was
asking them to find the part of the biggest tree as the image shows and scan the printed
image instead. The return information is a fox model and a letter “E”. In the end, they will
need to input the correct information (“HOPE”) to success the game.
58
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong During Testing, children were observed to help analysing in order to improve the game to
reach the aim. Detailed notes were taken to record the observations. At the end of the
testing session participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire.
6.1.1.1
Observation Summary
The weather condition was cloudy, which may have had an effect on the camera’s scanning
ability. The children did sometimes have trouble, and took a while to get the phone into the
right position to see the model. However, this appeared to be more of a problem with
getting the right angle, and framing the shot exactly right.
When the children saw the letter “H” at the first tree, they did not realise that this was what
they were looking for and expected something else. When they see the animated bird at the
second tree, they were really excited and did not pay much attention to the letter. In this
case, girls are more attracted to the animated animal characters rather than letters.
There were a few squirrels running around in the woods that the children missed because
they were focused on their phones. Later, they did get excited and try to take photos when
they saw a bunny. The aim of the project is to encourage children to physically interact with
nature, thus it is not a good thing that the phones take their attention away from real
nature. On the other hand, the game is interesting to them, and did encourage them to look
closely at other natural elements that they may otherwise have not been interested in.
The children had trouble finding certain locations. The Park Village wood is a small area and
the distance between each location is small, so that the trees cannot be triggered precisely.
Besides that, the tree stump is obscure which can be easily missed. Though the children did
not mind spending some time on searching around, and still sounded excited when they said
'found it' when they found the tree stump. In fact, the children having trouble to find the
right locations immediately will give them more chances of discovering nature.
They had the idea of using one phone to get up the photo so they could see what they were
meant to scan using the other phone. It is a creative work around for when they had trouble
with scanning. It is also a way of improving their team work ability.
59
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong When they need to scan the paper for the last one they seemed confused. They did not see
why they would have to scan a photo rather than the real thing. It is helpful to know children
are more interested in interacting with real nature.
6.1.1.2
Questionnaire Summary
Four girls took part in the questionnaire. The result shows that all of them enjoyed playing
the game in the woods and would like to go to a wood to play again in the future. They all
liked the characters, particularly the bird. Three girls think the game is not easy and locations
were not so easy to find. One girl mentioned she liked the game made her look at the
different things on the trees, as well disliked scanning the sheet. The others think that it was
difficult to scan the tree patterns.
6.1.1.3

Usability feedback & Solution
There is some usability problems need to be fixed. The navigation buttons on top
bar of the screen navigates to correct pages occasionally. Besides the flow of the
pages was ordered differently, instructions were designed with a popover box.

The children had trouble finding the right angle to trigger the text and models in
Metaio. This was solved by placing the hint message on top of the interface instead
of next to the 3D model in Metaio.

It was difficult to track on the tree. It took a long time. Due to different nature
factor, it decreases the pattern detect accuracy. Adding GPS tracking rather than
tracking patterns was another solution.

The children also did not expect to remember the letters. It was emphasizes it in the
main text to remind them.

Difficulties to find the location can be improved by adding overlay trails on the map
to help children find the way easily. An overly polyline was added to connect each
map pin on the map.

The children were confused what the camera function does. More clear description
was included in the text to explain what the camera is for.

The children could not found one of the locations, due to the leaves were moved
and differ to the photo. It is reasonable to choose locations which is more
60
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong distinguish and unchangeable. Therefore, a different photo was taken and
substituted.
Original
Substitute
Figure 39 The unstable photo was substituted.

It seemed the word “HOPE” was too easy for the target age due to the children
guessed the last letter before they visited last location. Words were used instead of
letters to encourage them to visit every location. Each word is checked separately.

At the beginning the children were very concentrated on the game, did not notice
the nature animals. Take and save photos functions were added to encourage
children to observe the nature. Different tasks such as build a physical animal shelter
from branches were included.

The children were confused when they were scanning a paper. A designed card with
related graphics was created to make it more appealing to children.
61
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 40 A designed card for players to scan

The children were a little bit confused where to enter the word. The Enter Magic
Word button was designed to be only visible in the final location page.

One of the girls suggested to add a nice animation or picture after entered the
correct word in the end. A designed finishing image with sound effect was added.
Overall, the children really enjoyed the game and especially loved the animated bird and
provided very helpful feedback. Nevertheless, the game should improve the game play to
encourage children more to physically engage with nature.
6.1.2
User Testing, Round Two
The round two testing session lasted less than two hours. Participants included 4 girls and 3
boys aged 11 to 12 (plus one 5 years old brother who joined in on certain tasks such as the
den building) were recruited to take part in the second round of user testing, also through
personal contacts of the project advisor. Three boys took part in the second round of testing
which improves the testing result. Same as the first round of user testing, the aim was to
find out how effective the game encourages children engaging with nature and enjoying the
game.
The participants were divided into two groups, 4 girls and 3 boys. Four girls were working in
pairs and took turns of using the phone. They were informed to read instructions as they
went along and be safe. They were also given a designed card which was used in one of the
tasks. The game had been updated and certain parts had been changed completely. They
still needed to find and scan particular nature patterns. In addition, they needed to
physically interact with nature.
In the updated version, the hint will appear after the model is tapped. The start point
requires players to use the camera to scan around at the location to see the bird with the
word “nature”, to scan the tree pattern at the second and third location to see an animated
bunny with the word “colour” and a fox with the word “spirit”. The third activity is to place
the given card on top of the tree stump and scan it to see a spider and the word
“adventure”. The next activity is to find the biggest tree in the wood and take a photo of the
animal shelter that players are required to build. Entering all the hints they have received
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong from different places in the final location. When all words are entered correctly the game
completes.
Similar to the first testing session, the children were observed during the testing and
observation notes were taken. Additionally, participants were asked to fill out a
questionnaire at the end of the testing session. A sample questionnaire is included in the
ethical reviews in appendix D.
6.1.2.1
Observation Summary
At the beginning, the boys also did not expect the map pins are interactive. They were trying
to rotate the phone and expecting the map will rotate according to the direction they are
facing.
Both groups of the children missed the activity at the start point. They did not expect
activities at the start point. This might due to the map annotation of the second location is
numbered with one (“1.Eye Pattern”).
After being told about the first location, the boys were able to see the bird, and were quite
excited by it. Especially, the boys were jokingly saying it was scary, as it appeared next to
their heads. One of the boys tried to touch the bird in front of the camera. The girls went
back to the start point later but still had problems seeing the bird. Eventually they saw the
bird when they were suggested to rotate the camera fully. When they the bird, they did not
know how to get the hint. Later, the girls tried to take a photo of another girl with the virtual
bird which shows their creativity (see figure 41).
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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 41 A girl was taking a photo with the bird
At the second location the boys went straight to the camera, without clicking on the second
location and read the instruction. They also found difficult to find the right orientation while
they were trying to scan the tree pattern. However, in the third location, they could scan the
pattern and saw the fox without problems.
The boys often went off in the wrong direction, before realising their mistake and going back
on themselves. Although they took a while to find the location, they were still very excited
when they found the right location. Another point is the boys kept switching between the
map and the photo view in order to find the right place.
At the third location, the children had difficulty to work out what the spider was at first.
They could only see its leg (see figure 42). One boy says "Let's go. We have got the hint". It
seemed getting the hint is more interesting to him than seeing the spider.
Figure 42 The girls were trying to scan the card
64
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong The children did not read the text instructions even when they got stuck. This means they
did not know when a different mode of interaction was needed for some locations, such as
the card based trigger. The shows the instructions were not very helpful to them.
On the shelter building task the boys were initially very unexcited and commented:
“What? We have to build a shelter?”
“This is hard”
“I hate this”
In the end, this was the task they spent the most time on. One of the boys seemed to enjoy
this task better the more time passed, and even his 5 year old brother became involved to
build an impressive shelter. Most likely this was because they first felt that it was “work”
rather than a game activity.
There was competition between the boys and girls on building the shelter. The boys were
trying to finish before the girls and did not let them join in their shelter building. They also
did not want the girls to learn the secret words from them, as one boy even said “Don’t say
it out loud!” They were very happy about getting it correctly on their first tries, exclaiming:
“Yes, we’ve done it!”
When they had finished the game, the boys carried on with their shelter building. One of the
mum’s suggested they made use of a tree trunk which was already there to build the shelter
against. The boys became quite proud of their work. “We made a swagger one!” one of
them said (see figure 43). The girls were bouncing on the branch (see figure 44). None of the
children questioned whether they really needed to build a den and take a photo of it, or
whether they could just take a photo of anything and the game wouldn’t know.
Figure 43 The boys were building a shelter after completed the game
65
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Figure 44 The girls were bouncing on the tree branch
The secret words were much harder to remember than the simple letters spelling out a
single word in testing session one, but it did not seem to be a problem for the boys. The girls
entered the wrong words on their first try and were disappointed. Once they worked them
out correctly, they were happy. One girl remarked “It's cute that all animals are happy in the
ending page.”
Before leaving, the boys commented on the testing session, saying “That was cool, I liked
that game” “I really liked that” “It was cool!” A parent said that she liked the game and
thought it was a great way of getting them outside. She suggested that activities like the
shelter building should maybe be given a specific time period to try to encourage them to
spend more time on it (they rushed through it at first, so they could get the magic word, but
did come back to it after the game was finished.)
During the game, the girls were trying to work out who holds the phone and take turns
scanning a pattern. It was a good attempt of team work. The boys were trying to remember
the hint during the game.
6.1.2.2
Questionnaires Summary
The results show all children enjoyed the game in the woods during the testing session and
six of them would like to go back to the wood to play again in the future. However, only two
children think the game is very easy to play but the characters make it more engaging. Six
out of seven children love the characters in the game especially the bird (one boy, 2 girls)
66
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong and fox (one boy, 2 girls) and one boy likes the spider. When they were being asked about
what animals they would like to see in the game, all of them have different thoughts about it
(Chipmunk, eagle, pig, owl, monkey, squirrel and ladybird). Moreover, all of them think the
sound makes the game better.
Six children found the l oca1ons were easy to find although the boys took a while to find the right location. In the questionnaires, three children suggested making the map better
and four of them would like to see more animals and more things to look for.
In gameplay aspect, five children prefer seeing animals without scanning patterns and two
prefer nature ac+vi+es. 6.1.2.3

Usability feedback & Solution
The children missed the start point. This can be simply solved by moving the activity
from the start point to the next point, removing the start point or no numbering
system for each location at all.

The boys did not expect they need to click the map annotation for each location. An
instruction panel can be added on top of the map.

The children found the map was hard to follow. To improve the map by adding a
compass heading feature so it rotates the map to the player’s heading direction.

The boys found it hard to scan the pattern at the second location pattern. To solve
this is to choose a high contrast pattern.

Only the part of the spider were shown on the screen. This can be done by scaling
down and translate its coordinates.

The children did not read instructions, it is perhaps not helpful or difficult for them
to understand. In addition, reading a paragraph with small text sizes outdoors can be
difficult for them. Different representation of instructions and a step by step tutorial
can be added to the screen.

The children found the game was not engaging with the activities very well. More
work of designing an appealing story with gameplays are needed.
•
As a mom suggested, a -me period for nature ac-vi-es can be added to encourage them to spend more time on interacting with nature.
67
Evaluation & Conclusion
The aim of this project was stated in the introduction:
The overall aim of this project is to build a Global Positioning System (based) iOS
application for children to encourage them to engage with nature and learn about
nature.
The project has reached its aim as the children enjoyed the game most of the time and
physically interacted with nature in the second testing session. The game is overall very
close to the original dra/ed specifica2on, but some changes were made during development. The project has fully achieved all the primary objec6ves. The external objec6ve about sharing system can be fulfilled i n the future with a more stable version. Any feedback issues that were provided from first testing session have been improved and
different functionalities were added for the second test. Problems from the second testing
session will be addressed i n the future i f needed. Future work
External requirements were l isted i n sec2on 2 which can be i mplemented i n future versions. I mprovements from the second tes2ng session are i mproving code efficiency, a better way of designing instructions and improving the map. Participants have also given
feedbacks on game expectations. They would like to see more animals and more things to
look for.
From analysing the testing and questionnaire feedbacks, more than half of the children from
the testing session prefer the GPS tracking. In this matter, the game can be designed with
GPS tracking intersecting with some nature activities in the future. Children will not have
troubles of finding the right angle to scan the tree pa4ern. On top of that, the game will also be more flexible and can be developed for nature areas i n another city or country. 68
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong In implementation view, the iOS game can be developed with Swift programming language
interopera)ng with Objec)ve-‐C since i t i s the future of i OS applica)on development. For now, the iOS game will not be uploaded into the Apple Store since more research and
improvement work i s needed to complete i t. I f the i OS game will eventually be uploaded into the Apple Store, i t will be free. 69
Appendix
Appendix A: Meeting Log
Meetings
Meeting 1
23/09/14
Summary
Confirm on a project
Meeting 2
30/09/14
Details

The aim, purpose and general idea of a location aware
nature game to encourage children to out and engage
with the environment.


Timeline of the project
Going through the specification of the proposal.
Meeting 3
07/10/14
Meeting 4
14/10/14
Discussion on
storylines and
proposal
More details on
proposal
Discussion on Interim
Report

More discussions on objectives of the proposal.

Going through the specification of the proposal and
overall of the ethic proposal.
Meeting 5
28/10/14
Discussion on Ethical
Review and design


Filling in DBS check form.
Launch image and logo
Meeting 6
27/01/15


Ethical review – Change the location of the game to
campus wood (Park Village Wood)
Adding the map feature on the app.
Meeting 7
03/02/12
Discussions on Ethical
Review and
implementation
Discussions on Ethical
review


Make changes in Information sheet
DBS check form
Meeting 8
10/02/15
Discussions on
usability


Card designing for scan
Adding images to the map pin annotations
Meeting 9
17/02/15
Discussions on
implementation and
3D models
Discussion on
Augmented Reality
game play
Discussion on testing



Adding destination (The finish point) to the map
Loading spider to the app
Texture and rig the spider

Set the tracking pattern to the tree pattern then test it in
the wood
Try with different tree patterns


Testing session date
Testing details : Print out documents (Concern forms,
information sheets and questionnaires)
Meeting 12
17/03/15
Discussion on
analysing the testing
and poster exhibition




Add different activities
Need Better design of scanning cards
GPS tracking
Poster design
Meeting 13
24/03/13
Discussion on final
report

Write the final report based on the interim report
Meeting 14
31/03/15
Discussion on testing
session 2




Confirm the next testing session
Preparation for a small speech before testing session
Testing details
Discussion on draft report
Meeting 10
24/02/15
Meeting 11
03/03/15

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University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Appendix B: Gannt Chart
8.2.1
Gannt Chart – First Term:
71
Gannt –Second Term:
72
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Appendix C: Review against original
Requirements
8.3.1
Functional Requirements
Original Functional Requirements
The app should have a start button
Achieved?
Yes
The app should have a short tutorial
or clear instruction to guide players
The app should have an exit game
button
More than five objects should be
included in the game.
The app should have high
performance
The app should have map pins
Players shall be able to interact the
map pins
Player shall be able to change the
types of map
The map pin annotation should
provide information of the location
Players shall be able to see their
location on the map
The game should track patterns
accurately.
The tracking pattern is only activated
at a pre-set location
Yes
Users shall be able to see the 3D
models
Users shall be able to take photos
The game should reward the players
Yes
The game should have an inventory
No
The game should be able to see a 3D
model without scanning a patter
Yes
No
Yes
Comments
The map button navigates
to the next page
On the updated version
The game exists when the
app is closed.
Six locations were designed
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
It is no need anymore,
because one 3D model is
assigned to one location
and children will have to
visit the locations.
In nature activity location
The game will give them a
clue message when they
have visited a location
The gameplays are differ to
the initial plans, no need for
an inventory anymore
73
8.3.2 User Requirements
Original User Requirements
The game shall encourage children to
interactive with nature
The game shall keep children
interested
Achieved?
Yes
The graphics of the game shall be
designed at children’s states
Yes
The game challenges and task should
be suitable for children
The story shall be positive with a
happy ending
The language of the game shall be
suitable for children
Yes
Yes
Comments
The nature activity (Building
an animal shelter)
The gameplay of looking for
clues and seeing 3D animals
in reality.
The design of the launch
image and the instruction
icons.
Yes
Yes
74
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Appendix D: Ethical Reviews
75
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET
Animated Location-based Games for Children
Your child is invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide whether or
not to let your child take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is
being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following
information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
This aim of this study is to develop two iOS games which encourages children to go
out and play in nature, specifically around the wooded area next to Park Village
residences. The aim of this project is to determine whether the games are interesting
and fun for children and help them to interact with nature.
I would like the participants to interact with the applications and answer some
questions on how much they enjoyed the applications and what improvements they’d
wish from it.
Why has your child been invited to participate?
The applications were designed for children between the ages 11 to 12. Your child has
been chosen to participate in the research study as they are in target age range. There
will be at least 6 children that will be asked to participate, supervised by two
University of Sussex staff members.
Does my child have to take part?
It is you and your child’s decision whether to take part in this project. If you and your
child do decide to take part you will be given this information sheet to keep and be
asked to sign a consent form. If you and your child decide to take part your child is
still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason, but once the data has
been included in the final year report you can no longer withdraw. If you choose to let
your child take part or not take part in the study will have no impact on their marks,
assessments or future studies.
81
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong What will happen to my child if he/she take part?
Your child will be asked to interact with the applications in the wooded area next to
Park Village residences while the researcher observes and video records the play
session. Your child will be asked to fill out a questionnaire to provide feedback,
which will take no more than 10 minutes. The whole research activity will take
roughly 2 hours. It is up to you and your child to decide whether or not to take part.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
The project is taking place in the wooded area next to Park Village residences. Your
child will need to travel to the University of Sussex campus and give up
approximately two hours of their time to take part in the study. They will be exposed
to the possible risks which would normally be faced in a public park, but will be in
eye contact of a responsible adult at all times.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
The information you provide can contribute to the future development of the
application. Your child has the chance to try new locationbased games before any others.
Your child will be able to enjoy a modern way of teaching, making use of smartphone
technology. The games will encourage children to play outside more and engage with
nature.
Will information in this study be kept confidential?
All information collected from you or your child will be kept strictly confidential and
stored securely on the university network with a protected password. The information
will not be shared with anyone other than the supervisor. Participants will not be
identifiable in the project output. In the project report participants names will be
replaced with a pseudonym. The identifying details in video recordings will be hidden
by a mosaic and a voice filter.
What should I do if I want my child to take part?
If you would like your child to participate in the study, you will simply need to fill in
and sign the consent form.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
All information provided by your child will be stored securely. The results of
researching will be used in my presentation and in the final year report for BSc
82
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Computer Science degree. A copy of the published research can be obtained by
contacting me via my contact details below.
Who is organising and funding the research?
The research is being conducted by a student at the University of Sussex studying in
the school of Informatics. The University of Sussex has insurance in place to cover its
legal liabilities in respect of this study
Who has approved this study?
The research has been approved by the Sciences & Technology Cross-Schools
Research Ethics Committee (C-REC) ethical review process
([email protected])
Contact for Further Information
Research conductor: Xiangxiang Gong, [email protected]
If you have any concern about the way the research has been conducted you may
contact the project supervisor Kate Howland at [email protected]
Thank you for taking time to read the information sheet.
Date [
]
83
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Project Description
The purpose of this project is to design two iOS games to encourage children to go
out and engage with nature through an informal and fun learning activity. The main
approaches are using GPS and augmented reality. I would like to test the game with
young participants (ages 11 to 12) to receive feedback and improve the applications.
All information collected will be used to determine the usability of the applications,
the enjoyment of the games and the effectiveness of the applications in encouraging
children to engage with nature. This research study requires roughly six participants
of different ages from 11 to 12 and at least two adult supervisors (University of
Sussex staff) to take part in the research. The location will be in the wooded area next
to Park Village residences on campus of the University of Sussex. Children will be
asked to interact with the applications and discover the wood. Afterwards, the
children will be given a short questionnaire for each game to provide feedback. The
whole research session will take roughly 2 hours and the play session will be video
recorded.
The procedures involve the following:
Stage 1: Before user testing
It is essential that the legal guardian of the participant has read the information sheet,
explained the research to their child, asked the child if he/she would like participate,
and signed a consent form before user testing can commence.
Stage 2: Day of user testing
The guardian will take their child to the wooded area next to Park Village residences
on the day of testing.
At the beginning of the first test session, the researcher will explain their role in this
research.
 Script: Hello my name is [Name]. I am here today to see if you guys can help
me test two games I have made called. My first game is [Name of game]
(Show children the game on the device). I am testing this game to see if it is
easy and fun to play. Afterwards, I would like you to tell me your opinions
about the game and how I can improve it.
The purpose of documenting the activity and conversation will also be explained to
the child.
 Script: Do you want to take part in this research activity and test this game?
[Yes/No] I will take some notes down and video record the whole testing
process, so I can remember everything. Is it alright with you if I film you
84
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong playing in the wood? [Yes/No]
If you don’t want to be filmed, can I take some notes? [Yes/No]
I will explain the storyline of the game and some features in the games. Children will
be advised to work in pairs to walk around in the wood to complete each tasks.

Script: So you can see the target on the map that’s where you need to go and complete
the task.
After the first test session concludes and the children have filled out their
questionnaires, they can take a break before continuing.
 Script: I’d like you to test my second game now if you want. This game is
called [Name of game] (show children the game on the device). Just like
before I’d like you to try it and then tell me what you think of it.
Just as before, I will explain the storyline of the game and the basic features. Again,
children will be advised to work in pairs to walk around in the wood.
 Script: Do you want to test another game? [Yes/No] I’d also like to video
record you again during this play session, is this okay for you? [Yes/No]
If you don’t want to be filmed, can I take some notes? [Yes/No] You can quit
at any point.
List equipment and materials present during user testing:
iPhone or iPad
Pen and paper
Camcorder
85
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Recruiment Email
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am an undergraduate Computer Science student at the University of Sussex,
conducting research on my final year project. The purpose of this project is to develop
two iOS games (iPhone games), which encourage children to play in nature. I would
like to ask your permission to have your child as a volunteer test candidate for the
games and give feedback on what could be improved. Any input gathered from the
selected participants will be used to determine whether the developed application is
easy to use, educational, enjoyable and effective at encouraging children to engage
with nature.
I have prepared an information sheet explaining what the potential participant
s can expect from this session. There is a copy attached for you to read.
Ideally, and would like to begin data collection on [Date]. I would anticipate that the
whole research session will take no more than 2 hours; the questionnaires would take
no more than 10 minutes each. The play sessions will be video recorded, but only
with your and your child’s agreement. The video will also be edited to protect your
child’s identity, and will only be accessed by me and my supervisor.
You are invited to join us during the testing session. Alternatively, you may opt to let
your child take part under the supervision of [University of Sussex staff].
Participation in this study would be entirely voluntary and you or your child may
choose not to consent or to withdraw consent and discontinue participation in this
study at any time. I hope that you find the attached project description of interest.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact my supervisor, Kate Howland at
[email protected] if you would like a reference or other information.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards,
Xiangxiang Gong
86
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Animated Location based Game Questionnaire
1. How much did you enjoy playing the game in the woods
today?
2. Would you like to go to a wood to play again in the future?
3. Was the game easy to play?
4. Did you like the story?
5. Did you find the locations easily?
6.Did you like the characters?
6a.Which character did you like the most?
_________________________
87
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong 6b. What animals would you like to see in the game?
______________________________________________
7.Was the text easy to understand?
8.Did the sound make the game better?
9. Which type of activity do you like most?
A. Characters appear without scanning tree patterns or cards.
B. Scanning tree patterns to see characters.
C. Scanning a card to see characters.
D. Nature activities and take photos.
10. What did you like about the game the most?
11. What did you not like about the game? What could it be
improved?
88
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Response to Reviewer
Comment 1: CREC members requested more information about what the games
entail.
Response: The games are short interactive stories about nature. The player will meet
characters such as a fox and a bird who will ask for help with things such as building
a habitat or finding food. For the Aris game, children will need to follow the storyline
and walk around in the wood to find the correct locations and collect virtual items.
Children will be given some printed cards which they can scan to get a 3D model in
the augmented reality game. Children will also be rewarded in-game when they reach
each location.
Comment 2: There is insufficient clarity about what will be done with the video data.
If details are to be edited out does this mean that the recordings will be published or
put on a website? If so, then the child and parent would need to consent to this.
Response: The details of video data including the data to be edited out will not be
published or put on a website. All data will be kept private. The editing is suggested
as an additional data protection measure, on top of the secure storage of data.
Comment 3: Clarify who is responsible for the 11 year old getting to and from the
university campus. Explain what arrangements will be in place to ensure children's
welfare if they are on campus without a parent.
Response: Following this comment it has been decided that children can only take
part if they attend with a parent or guardian. Children’s parents will take them to the
university campus. Parents will now also accompany their children throughout the
whole study session.
Comment 4: CREC members recommended engagement with the University Health
& Safety Office to obtain advice in light of the terrain, risk assessments, etc. and to
report back on their advice. Clarify whether the university staff helping will always be
the same here. CREC members felt that rather than relying on campus security staff, it
would be wise for at least one person involved to have a first aid qualification.
Response: The risk assessment has been sent to the health and safety office, and we
will report back on their advice. Both members of staff will attend all sessions, and
both have previously attended first aid training courses, although not in the last 5
years. However, given that parents will now be present throughout, we believe that it
is no longer necessary for a first aider to be present during the session.
91
University of S ussex Compu3ng for Digital M edia BSc Xiangxiang Gong Comment 5: Please add the following statement to the information sheet: "The
University of Sussex has insurance in place to cover its legal liabilities in respect of
this study"
Response: "The University of Sussex has insurance in place to cover its legal
liabilities in respect of this study" has added to the information sheet.
Comment 6: The following section of the consent form should be clarified:
"I believe that ___________________________ (name) understands the above
project
and gives his/her consent voluntarily.
Name: "
It is difficult to understand whether this is primarily a parent consent form, or whether
it is a form for both parent consent, and for parents to confirm child assent.
Presumably the first "name" is the name of the child, while the "name"/address details
should be the name of the parent? Maybe taking out the box around "I understand that
my child's participation..." would help, and then modifying the final statement to
something like "I have explained the project to my child, and I believe that he/she
understands it and gives his/her assent voluntarily".
Response: The final statement of the consent form has been modified with “I have
explained the project to my child, and I believe that he/she understands it and gives
his/her assent voluntarily”.
92
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94

A location based nature iPhone game for

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