Title: Taleblazer vs. Metaverse: a comparative analysis of two platforms for building AR location-based educational games

Authors: Alexandros Kleftodimos; Georgios Lappas; Michalis Vrigkas

Addresses: Department of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia, 52100, Kastoria, Greece ' Department of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia, 52100, Kastoria, Greece; Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece ' Department of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia, 52100, Kastoria, Greece

Abstract: Location-based AR games are becoming increasingly popular in education. With location-based AR games, learners can obtain knowledge by visiting places of educational value through informative digital content that is activated and displayed on their mobile devices when specific locations are reached. To create location-based AR games, there are several available authoring tools. Taleblazer and Metaverse Studio are two popular platforms that are used nowadays by many educators. This study aims to perform a comparative analysis between these platforms to provide educators interested in developing location-based AR experiences with all the information needed to make an informed decision on which platform to use. The analysis examines the designer environment and its available features, the end-user interface, the documentation that accompanies each platform, and third-party applications that are developed by these tools. Furthermore, two game prototypes have been developed to better understand the two platforms' functionality.

Keywords: location based games; augmented reality; education; Taleblazer; Metaverse Studio.

DOI: 10.1504/IJENTTM.2022.129630

International Journal of Entertainment Technology and Management, 2022 Vol.1 No.4, pp.290 - 310

Received: 05 Jun 2022
Received in revised form: 13 Sep 2022
Accepted: 19 Sep 2022
Published online: 17 Mar 2023 *

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