Augmented reality game like Pokemon Go differs from an alternative reality game in the way that it involves the players. For instance, while other alternative reality games are built specifically to only use the virtual objects and the applications’ settings, Pokémon Go employs Google Maps to place objects in a virtual world similar to the player’s real environment. Thus, when the player finds a Pokémon, it appears like it right there (Tabacchi, Caci, Cardac, " Perticone, 2017).
Comparing Pokémon Go and GeoCaching, it is inferred that both the reality games use global positioning systems to place objects in distinct positions to which the players are then tasked to identify. Moreover, both the games can be played by different players in different parts of the world at the same time.
Taking into consideration the popularity and the usability of the augmented reality games, I believe that they will continue to build up. For instance, people are so interested in the virtual games such that one like Pokemon Go hit over 30 million downloads in two weeks (Clark, " Clark, 2016).
References
Clark, A. M., " Clark, M. T. (2016). Pokemon Go and research: qualitative, mixed methods research, and the supercomplexity of interventions.
Tabacchi, M. E., Caci, B., Cardaci, M., " Perticone, V. (2017). Early usage of Pokémon Go and its personality correlates. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 163-169.
