Methodological issues in studying player experiences of location aware games

In the wake of ubiquitous computing and boosted by the proliferation of the Global Positioning System (GPS), a new genre of games emerged during the last 10 years, which combined two traditions of game play mutually exclusive till then, outdoor and digital games. Such games come under various names including but not limited to mobile, pervasive, ubiquitous, augmented reality or location aware games. What makes all of them location aware is that the player physically navigates within a game world, which blends the real world and virtual dimensions. This combination signicantly changes what players, designers and developers have until now understood about digital games. Furthermore, as the GPS phone market grows, and the number of start-ups developing these games increases, proven concepts and appropriate play tests methods are required to guide the development and counterbalance the risks.