Revisiting design guidelines for pervasive games

Purpose Existing guidelines are typically extracted from a few empirical evaluations of pervasive game prototypes featuring incompatible scenarios, game play design and technical characteristics. Hence, the applicability of those design guidelines across the increasingly diverse landscape of pervasive games is questionable and should be investigated. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents Barbarossa, a scenario-driven pervasive game that encompasses different game modes, purposely adopting opposing principles in addressing the core elements of challenge and control. Using Barbarossa as a testbed, this study aims at validating the applicability of existing design guidelines across diverse game design approaches. Findings The compilation of Barbarossa user evaluation results confirmed the limited applicability of existing guidelines and provided evidence that developers should handle core game elements, taking into account the game play characteristics derived from their scenario. Originality/value Stepping upon those findings, the authors propose a revision of design guidelines relevant to control and challenge based on elaborate classification criteria for pervasive game prototypes.