“Let's be Pirates”: An Educational Treasure Hunting Location-Based Game for Exploring Points of Historical Interest

The paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of “Let's be Pirates”, a treasure hunt educational LBG. The game allows players to roam to a certain area in Patras city and with the use of a GPS enabled device, follow a tour around points of historical interest. It was implemented in TaleBlazer and addresses youngsters and teens aged from 12 year to 18. The design of the game follows the PACT theoretical framework and applies the Gestalt design principles. The paper discusses the parameters considered for a human-centered design, the functional options supported, and the two-phase evaluation methodology applied. The first phase was conducted via a Skype videocall for the remote application of the Think Aloud protocol. In the second phase the game was assessed for the level of engagement and its gamification elements in a “1-5” Likert scale. Moreover, the pervasive game flow model was applied to provide information about the level of enjoyment achieved in terms of concentration, challenge, player skills, control, clear goals, and feedback.