Virtual Crystals Treasure Hunt

Spacerace–by Stephan A. Drab and Gerald Binder–is a location based game for mobile phones designed to demonstrate the possibilities of an Assisted GPS empowered mobile phone:

“The goal of the treasure hunt game Spacerace is to collect as many virtual crystals as possible in a small outdoor area. In order to collect a crystal, the Captain has to get near the virtual position of the selected crystal. He is guided by an Assisted GPS phone which shows the current distance to it. He is supported by the Navigator who has an overview of the position of the Captain and all the crystals they have to collect.

The Navigator tells the Captain which crystal to go after and where it is located by giving him directions in terms of points of the compass. The captain selects the suggested crystal number and tries to find it using the NavigatorÂ’s directions and the distance displayed on the screen of the mobile phone. After getting close to the desired virtual destination the crystal is collected and the team scores an amount of points. Crystals have a lifetime after which they disappear. The amount scored by the team after finding a crystal is dependent on the remaining lifetime. The faster the team finds the crystal, the more points they get.” [blogged by nicolas on pasta and vinegar]