Jump to content
iLRN2024 Proceedings (iLEAD and selected academic contributions) are now available at our Digital Library. Springer proceedings for Academic Full and Short papers will be available in the Fall. ×

  • GLIMMER: The iLRN Alternate Reality Game (ARG)

    Play GLIMMER

    GLIMMER runs in the browser, but not on mobile devices.
    The first time the game runs, it will take several minutes. It will look like it's stuck at about 90% loading. Please be patient.


    The Idea

    Initially, we had an idea to create the Immersive Learning Showcase, a database of publicly available immersive learning experiences either created by iLRN members or reviewed by iLRN members. We wanted to capture information such as the learning sector, platform used, and different iLRN Houses of Application in order to make the database easy to filter.

    The current database can be found at https://www.immersivelrn.org/ilshowcase/ and we would love it if you would submit your own projects.

    To introduce the database and encourage people to explore the exhibits, we thought up the idea of GLIMMER, an Alternate Reality Game where players would follow a story with puzzles that take you into some of the real-life showcase entries. We wanted to mix this with alternate reality elements such as messages from the story characters, live interactions with actors, and links to real life events. The hope was that we could end the story with a big bang at our 2024 conference.

    The project became overwhelming and time was short as the conference date steadily approached. Unfortunately, the story elements had to be dropped, but the software development team continued on. GLIMMER is the culmination of their efforts. In the future, we hope to take this concept to the next level by adding the alternate reality elements that we had originally planned.

     

    About the Game

    GLIMMER is a game where you explore a post-apocalyptic virtual world. Clues are hidden around the map as objects/nodes. Some clues requires you to jump into an immersive experience to look for the answer to a question. Some clues are fun facts related to the question node.

    Originally, the story had you follow a researcher who was trapped in virtual space, working to unlock different artifacts on a daily basis. Therefore, one of the game mechanics is that only areas unlock progressively. The game was meant to be played with all players starting on the same day. This version is set so that Day 1 is June 11, 2024 and new areas unlock every 8 hours.

     

    What do we want from iLRN members?

    We hope that GLIMMER and the idea behind it will spark people's imagination and start discussions about how ARGs can be used in immersive learning. Give us your feedback, add your projects to the Immersive Learning Showcase, and volunteer to be part of a continuing effort to explore ARGs.

     

    The Development Team

    An enterprising group of students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo volunteered to work with iLRN to create the game. The development team, led by Lucas, turned one of his game concepts into GLIMMER.

  • Lucas.png

    Hi, I'm Lucas, a master's student in Computer Science, specializing in computer graphics. Currently serving as the Game Development Lead at iLRN, I'm driving the creation of an innovative ARG. In this role, I oversee game development and project management, contributing to designing a 3D immersive game. Beyond my academic pursuits, I'm an avid game developer and musician, blending my technical expertise with a creative flair, checkout my site for more detail: https://gelzonexunsas.github.io/

  • Angela.png

    I’m Angela Chen, a second-year computer science major at Cal Poly! I’m interested in the field of virtual and mixed reality. Some of my hobbies include graphic design and dance. I’m excited to dive into game development with this ARG project and work on creating an engaging, accessible UI!


     

  • Brett.png

    Hi, I’m Brett Hickman, a computer scientist from Cal Poly specializing in computer graphics and game development. In the Glimmer project, I serve as a consulting developer, focusing on Unity development and providing comprehensive game design guidance. Besides my work on Glimmer, I am also developing my own games and projects, which you can explore on my website: bretthickman.github.io.

  • Justin.png

    Hi! My name is Justin Scabarozi and I am a Software Engineering Graduate from Cal Poly. My passion is game design and I love working on the mechanics and design elements. Some of my favorite games are the new God of War, Pokémon, Mother 3, and Baldur's Gate 3! I am very excited to see where this project goes!
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-scabarozi-620329219/
    https://freshly-minted.com/projects/

  • image.png

    Hi there! My name is Jeremiah and I am a 5th-year computer science student from Cal Poly with a minor in Computing for the Interactive Arts. I’m passionate about interactive media, artistic programming, VR/AR/MR development, and computer animation and graphics. I’m excited to work with the team on the ARG as a technical artist and use this experience in future interactive media projects.

  • Special Thanks

    Special thanks to Arathi Suresh and Hitcher Encounters. They collaborated with us on the storyline for this endeavor, which was titled Project Vanguard. They put in a lot of work on an amazing storyline that we didn't have enough time to integrate. We hope we will be able to continue working with them in the future and possibly integrate some of the great material they created.

    Thank you to all of the people who contributed immersive learning projects to the Immersive Learning Showcase.

    Also, a big thank you to Sarah Barker, who reviewed several of the entries in the Immersive Learning Showcase.

×
×
  • Create New...