Player Interaction with Procedurally Generated Game Play from Crowd-Sourced Data

This paper discusses the potential for player-data interaction enabled through the medium of gameplay that is procedurally generated using crowd-sourced data. A mobile game, which is called 'Balance Trucks' procedurally generates levels containing terrains derived from data collected through the SmartRoadSense (SRS) application. SRS allows data on the quality of roads to be collected via a user's mobile device whilst driving along various routes, providing open data towards boosting traffic conditions in Europe. Data collected can then be used to unlock game levels and the subsequent terrains. The paper describes the development considerations and process, providing insights on the technical infrastructure that could be adopted and adapted for different types of data. The player-data interaction demonstrated by this game provides a new form of human-computer interaction from the perspective of games and crowd-sourced data that can inform future data-driven games and also the engagement strategy for other crowd-sourcing and sensing initiatives.