Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
9-2020
Abstract
This paper explores the transformative effects of augmented reality mobile games on society and space. By layering playfulness onto public space through a digital interface, augmented reality mobile games create a pervasive sense of play that can be accessed by players potentially anywhere, and at any time. Games like these can therefore be understood as heterotopic inscriptions on otherwise mundane environments. Since being released in 2016, Pokémon Go has become one of the most popular augmented reality games in the world. It gamifies place by embedding digital objects within public spaces; in doing so, it can bring about a reimagination of publicness by incentivising players to engage with places – and with each other – in ways that are structured by the competitive logics of play. Through an empirical examination of the playing of Pokémon Go in Singapore, I consider how the game gives rise to new modalities of emplaced meaning, new ways of navigating the city, and increasingly public performances of private play. To conclude, I suggest that research continue to explore the gamifying effects of digital technologies on everyday life.
Keywords
Augmented reality mobile games, gamification, heterotopia, public space, Pokémon Go.
Discipline
Communication Technology and New Media | Geography
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Media, Culture and Society
Volume
42
Issue
6
First Page
1003
Last Page
1018
ISSN
0163-4437
Identifier
10.1177/0163443719890528
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Citation
WOODS, Orlando.(2020). Gamifying place, reimagining publicness: The heterotopic inscriptions of Pokémon Go. Media, Culture and Society, 42(6), 1003-1018.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3119
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719890528