Brick: Toward A Model for Designing Synchronous Colocated Augmented Reality Games

Augmented reality (AR) games have been growing in popularity in recent years. However, current AR games offer limited opportunities for a synchronous multiplayer experience. This paper introduces a model for designing AR experiences in which players inhabit a shared, real-time augmented environment and can engage in synchronous and collaborative interactions with other players. We explored the development of this model through the creation of Brick, a two-player mobile AR game at the room scale. We refined Brick over multiple rounds of iteration, and we used our playtests to investigate a range of issues involved in designing shared-world AR games. Our findings suggest that there are five major categories of interactions in a shared-world AR system: single-player, intrapersonal, multiplayer, interpersonal, and environmental. We believe that this model can support the development of collaborative AR games and new forms of social gameplay.