Playing games with information: investigating perceptions of a mobile content sharing game

Abstract

We introduce Indagator (Latin for explorer), an application which incorporates multiplayer, pervasive gaming elements into mobile content sharing. Indagator allows users to annotate real world locations with multimedia content, and concurrently, provides opportunities for play through engaging interactive game elements. A study of Indagator was conducted to obtain usability feedback, and to examine the impact of the usability of its content sharing and gaming features on participants’ intention to use it. Participants used the software to complete a set of tasks and subsequently completed a questionnaire and attended an interview, both of which were to elicit their opinions on the usability of the system. Participants felt that the features in Indagator were able to support the objectives of content sharing and gaming, and that idea of gaming could be a motivator for content sharing. In terms of intention to use, usability of Indagator’s gaming features emerged as significant predictors.