1. PLUG
PLay Ubiquitous Games… and play more
A ubiquitous Mobile Edutainment Application For Learning Science Through Play
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
2. Who?
• The French National Museum of Industrial Arts and Crafts
(Musée des arts et métiers)
• Research laboratories:
• Industrials:
• Role players outdoor game-design association:
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
3. Why?
• Investigate the research domain of
pervasive games within museum
or cultural heritage context
• Push further the concept of
edutainment in museums
• Approach a new type of publics
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
4. Game Theories: Magic Circle
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
6. Concretely?
Plug - Secrets of the Museum (PSM) Plug - Paris Overnight University (PPOU)
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
7. PSM: audience
> kids and teenagers
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
8. PSM: choice of game-design
> Happy Families game
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
9. PSM: collecting cards
• 4 families of museum objects
• Virtual cards figuring real objects
• Virtual cards figured by RFID tags set on kiosks
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
10. PSM: trading cards
• Technology:
• Ways of trading:
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
11. PSM: virtual universe
• Animated cards
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
12. PSM: game logic
The winner is the player/team who gets the highest score within 55 minutes
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
13. PSM: point management system
• Develop our researcher potential:
=> Different possible playing strategies vs players’ skills
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
14. PSM: educational features
• Choice of the objects :
• Elaboration of the families :
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
15. PSM: return on experience
• Numbers of players: 160 (French annual Fête de la science 2008) to 750
• Sociological aspects (140 questionnaires, 40 interviews of 1 hour)
⇒ Great teaser for the museum
⇒ New goal for the Plug’s project team: more education, less play !
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
16. Plug Paris Overnight University (PPOU)
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
17. PPOU: new targets
> New audience
> New kind of events
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
18. PPOU: a new concept
• New game-design: pervasive infiltration game
=> To avoid boredom and discouragement of the players
• New features:
• New technical architecture
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
19. PPOU: scenario
To study museum artifacts and bring them again to life to provide new inventions
and innovations
• Narration:
• End of the game:
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
20. PPOU: game design
• Core of the new game design: scavenger hunt patterns
• Game-play : 4 progressive phases
1/ Room localisation 2/ Artifact localisation 3/ Artifact comprehension 4/ Validation
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
21. PPOU: competitive rules
• Exhibits charades: competition where two teams mime the exhibits
• Hacking:
players wearing sensors have to follow
the heart rate of other players
• Role of the game master:
- he decides when the teams face each other depending of their
progress into the game
- he arbitrates the competition (Dean of the University for the
narrative narrative universe)
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
22. PPOU: Return on experience
• 2010 : 4 test sessions, 60 players
• Players’ feedback :
- They look the selected artifacts and objects all around
- 80% could explain the relationships between linked objects
- The adaptation mechanism was very appreciated
- Charades & hacking helped to revamp the game
⇒ The PPOU game-design was more balanced
⇒ Immersion was a key of success
⇒ Adaptability was key to fine tuning the balance between learning vs playing
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
23. Plug & the two Games Theories
- Closed universe - Immediate feedback
- Defined playground - Interconnection reality/virtuality
- Objectives - Involvement (under control)
- Challenges & constraints - Dynamic adaptative
- Limited time - Immersion (narrative universe)
- Competitive environment - Adaptability
-> Magic Circle -> Flow Theory
=> Game within a museum = Combination of the two theories
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
24. Thank you
Coline Aunis
Web and multimedia projects manager
Musée des arts et métiers | Paris | France
@Lilmount
coline.aunis@cnam.fr
April 9th, 2011 Museums and the Web
- Games Session -
