A transreality game, sometimes written as trans-reality game, describes a type of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

or a mode of

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

that combines playing a game in a

virtual environment A virtual environment is a networked application that allows a user to interact with both the computing environment and the work of other users. Email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") betwee ...

with game-related, physical experiences in the real world and vice versa. In this approach a player evolves and moves seamlessly through various physical and virtual stages, brought together in one unified game space. Alongside the rising trend of

gamification Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations, and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage users. This is generally accomplished thro ...

, the application of game mechanics to tasks that are not traditionally associated with play, a transreality approach to gaming incorporates mechanics that extend over time and space, effectively playing through a players day-to-day interactions. The essential part of transreality gaming is considered to be the fluidity between physical and virtual stages of gameplay, making it more and more difficult to see the distinction between what is allegedly 'virtual' and what is allegedly 'real' while playing. Looking at a transreality game from that perspective it may also integrate (big) data feeds into the storylines of games as a means to make the gameplay more immersive, like in the setup of Liping Xie's experimental scientific simulations in which a population of sample individuals search a real-world optimum in a virtual problem space, driven by real world forces in that space. Further on it could benefit from new layers of

reality mining Reality mining is the collection and analysis of machine-sensed environmental data pertaining to human social behavior, with the goal of identifying predictable patterns of behavior. In 2008, ''MIT Technology Review'' called it one of the "10 tech ...

, connected intelligence and

ubiquitous computing Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering, hardware engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using a ...

that incorporate machines into our lives like the

Internet of things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...

and

wearable computing A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches. Wearables may be for general ...

(both using

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

that are able to immediately re-create the actual world on and around a player on his or her device),

cryptocurrencies A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank A bank is a financial i ...

micropayments A micropayment is a financial transaction involving a very small sum of money and usually one that occurs online. A number of micropayment systems were proposed and developed in the mid-to-late 1990s, all of which were ultimately unsuccessful. A s ...

and nanopayments (for handling transmedial game credits), deployment of

cleverbot Cleverbot is a chatterbot web application that uses machine learning techniques to have conversations with humans. It was created by British AI scientist Rollo Carpenter. It was preceded by Jabberwacky, a chatbot project that began in 1988 and ...

s, mind files and

intelligent agent In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent (IA) is anything which perceives its environment, takes actions autonomously in order to achieve goals, and may improve its performance with learning or may use knowledge. They may be simple or c ...

systems (to enhance the natural feel and learning skills of game characters) and games using

kinetics Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to: Science and medicine * Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes ** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies * Chemical ki ...

(through

motion controllers In video games and entertainment systems, a motion controller is a type of game controller that uses accelerometers or other sensors to track motion and provide input. History Motion controllers using accelerometers are used as controllers for ...

or through haptics). Different authors have used the adjective 'transreal' as a starting point for the design of location-based games (like

pervasive game A pervasive game is one where the gaming experience is extended out in the real world, or where the fictive world in which the game takes place blends with the physical world. The "It's Alive" mobile games company described pervasive games as "game ...

mixed reality games A mixed reality game (or hybrid reality game) is a game which takes place in both reality and virtual reality simultaneously. According to Souza de Silva and Sutko, the defining characteristic of such games is their "lack of primary play space; thes ...

and

augmented reality game Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be def ...

s) and cross media games (like

simulation games Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

LARP A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...

and

alternate reality games An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by inten ...

). All of these genres offer game experiences integrated with everyday routines and social networks. Its applications are to be found in

serious game A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to video games used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, he ...

s (education, awareness, skill training), gamification (like in production centers, marketing, research and testing) as well as in mobile multiplayer trans-reality games, MMTRG (including gamification of

Foursquare Four square is a ball game. Four square may also refer to: Internet and entertainment * Foursquare City Guide, a local search and discovery app * ''4 Square'' (game show), a British game show * ''4 Square'' (TV series), a Canadian children's s ...

), using the actual geolocation of the player in the gameplay, like in games such as

Ingress Ingress may refer to: Science and technology * Ingress (signal leakage), the passage of an outside signal into a coaxial cable * Ingress filtering, a computer network packet filtering technique * Ingress protection rating, a protection level that ...

, ''

Pokémon Go ''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android ...

'', ''

Shadow Cities ''Shadow Cities'' was an early location-based mobile game, created by the Finnish company Grey Area. The game took place in a "parallel world", using the player's physical GPS location on an in-game map, battling other nearby players. The game w ...

'', ''

Zombies, Run! ''Zombies, Run!'' is a 2012 mobile fitness game co-developed and published by British studio Six to Start and Naomi Alderman for iOS and Android platforms. Set around Abel Township, a small outpost trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, players ...

'', ''YouCatch'', ''Roads of San Francisco'', ''City Race Munich'' and '' Parallel Kingdom''. From a broader perspective it is argued that different location aware and

transmedia Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a producti ...

l game formats may also be considered to merely provide a facilitating infrastructure for transreality gaming in a broader sense, positioned as a new way of looking at the design of game spaces, meant to be played across different realities rather than across different media.Sakamoto, Mizuki; Nakajima, Tatsuo; Alexandrova Todorka
Digital-physical hybrid design: Harmonizing the real world and the virtual world
Desform (2012).

References

Further reading