DSL and Engine for Pervasive Treasure Hunt Games

The purpose of this master thesis was to eliminate the technical barrier for creating pervasive games. In order to achieve this a domain-specific language (DSL) was made along with an engine to interpret the DSL scripts. This was done by using a customized development method, combining the DSL lifecycle and an iterative game development method. The goal was to make pervasive games more established in society and to make them more popular. Initial stage was to analyze pervasive games and making a game specification. This resulted into the four pervasive dimensions, goal, mobility, social, and temporal, with their three levels, low, medium, and high. These dimensions and levels, along with certain game elements, made it possible to create a DSL expressive enough to make pervasive treasure hunt games. The conclusion was that a DSL can be used to create pervasive games, thus making them more available for the audiences. This could eventually make pervasive games more popular.