Futuclass AR
Name
Hei Chun Shum
Abstract
In this thesis, an AR educational game called Futuclass AR was created. The game is based on the current VR game Futuclass Hub — an educational virtual reality (VR) game available on Steam developed by Futuclass OÜ. The Futuclass AR is based on the DLC module Reaction Balancing I. Futuclass AR created in this thesis is for the 2 popular mobile device platforms — Android and iOS. Futuclass AR shares the same goal as its VR version which is to provide a new kind of interactive learning platform for improving 7-9th grade chemistry learning through Extended Reality (XR).
During this thesis, the requirements for Futuclass AR were created in interaction with the client (Futuclass OÜ). The main contribution was the game asset design, the prototype implementation and gameplay improvement through usability testing evaluation. The most valuable part of this thesis is the game design considerations about using different kinds of AR markers. AR markers have been designed and act as learning materials. They are the Chemical Cards — self-printed AR markers with different chemistry-related elements like molecules’ name and chemical formulae. The main concept of the game design is to make use of the cards and the mobile screen to provide a fun, card learning game with AR contents.
Two usability testing sessions have been conducted with 13 7th grade pupils and 16 9th grade pupils correspondingly. There was an issue that the image tracking was not working as expected on some of the Android devices but it was unreproducible with our Android devices in internal testing. Due to the limited time scope, only iOS devices are tested for the 2nd usability testing session. Besides the above issue, feedback and some improvement suggestions were collected from the testing sessions. Fixes have been done to enhance the UX and improve the game flow. A mass-scale impact testing will be held in near future.
Thus, the thesis provides a good prototype for Futuclass OÜ to continue developing.
During this thesis, the requirements for Futuclass AR were created in interaction with the client (Futuclass OÜ). The main contribution was the game asset design, the prototype implementation and gameplay improvement through usability testing evaluation. The most valuable part of this thesis is the game design considerations about using different kinds of AR markers. AR markers have been designed and act as learning materials. They are the Chemical Cards — self-printed AR markers with different chemistry-related elements like molecules’ name and chemical formulae. The main concept of the game design is to make use of the cards and the mobile screen to provide a fun, card learning game with AR contents.
Two usability testing sessions have been conducted with 13 7th grade pupils and 16 9th grade pupils correspondingly. There was an issue that the image tracking was not working as expected on some of the Android devices but it was unreproducible with our Android devices in internal testing. Due to the limited time scope, only iOS devices are tested for the 2nd usability testing session. Besides the above issue, feedback and some improvement suggestions were collected from the testing sessions. Fixes have been done to enhance the UX and improve the game flow. A mass-scale impact testing will be held in near future.
Thus, the thesis provides a good prototype for Futuclass OÜ to continue developing.
Graduation Thesis language
English
Graduation Thesis type
Master - Computer Science
Supervisor(s)
Raimond-Hendrik Tunnel, Kristen Tamm
Defence year
2021