ARIS App

I followed the instructions on the course blog and downloaded the ARIS app on an IPhone. Then, I created an account which let me log into the app. There I could see multiple games available under the location specific tab. The games under the location specific tab all require the player to be in a certain location. One game that caught my attention was the UW Campus Tour game. It reminded me of my experience as a freshman walking with a campus tour guide to explore the campus. The game started in memorial union and you need to walk up the Bascom hill. As you walk, the app will give you a history of the buildings on campus which I find really interesting. This experience is similar to walking with a real tour guide who also pinpoints the buildings and talks about their history. I think this would be a good game for people who are new to the UW-Madison campus. It helps the newcomers to get to know the campus environment and also its rich history. The fact that you can do all of this on your IPhone gives you the flexibility to do a campus tour anytime you want without worrying about missing the campus tour schedules. I am impressed with the idea and purpose of this game. The technology used in this game successfully connects the virtual world and real world to create something valuable for the society. Moreover, it can be played on a ubiquitous and popular device such as an IPhone, which makes it accessible to more people on campus.