Mscape
| Company type | Software platform |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mobile gaming, Location-based services |
| Predecessor | Mobile Bristol |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Hewlett-Packard |
| Defunct | March 31, 2010 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Headquarters | Bristol , United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Phil Stenton, Richard Hull, Patrick Goddi, Josephine Reid, Ben Clayton, Tom Melamed, Susie Wee, Erik Geelhoed |
| Products | Mscape Player, Mscape Library, Mscape Maker, Mscape Tester |
| Owner | Hewlett-Packard |
| Parent | Hewlett-Packard |
Mscape was a mobile media gaming platform created by Hewlett-Packard specifically for designing location-based games. Development was discontinued, and its official site, mscapers.com, was taken offline on March 31, 2010.
This platform offered flexibility, allowing creators to develop not only games but also location-specific informational guides, narrative experiences, and useful content. Mscape incorporated a player's GPS position into the gameplay, activating events triggered by their movements.
Through Mscape, users could build mediascapes—interactive narratives combining video, audio, images, and text—anchored to GPS coordinates. These experiences were delivered on GPS-capable Windows Mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs, where media elements would activate as participants navigated through real-world locations.
History
Beginning in 2002 under the name Mobile Bristol, the initiative aimed to enhance urban engagement through mobile technology and pervasive computing. Backed by the British government, HP Labs Bristol partnered with the University of Bristol and Appliance Studio to create interactive, context-sensitive mobile applications involving collaborations with artists, educators, and other stakeholders. Projects included virtual historical tours of Bristol’s harbor area and immersive learning experiences.
In 2007, Hewlett-Packard made the authoring tools and mobile player software available at no cost via the Mscapers community website.
Technology
Mscape emerged from research in Augmented reality and advancements in location-based services, merging digital content with real-world environments. It represented an example of Ubiquitous computing and context-aware pervasive technologies.
The foundation of mediascapes relied on three key technological components: portable computing devices, embedded sensors, and context-aware information coding.
Portable computing. The widespread presence of GPS-enabled PDAs and smartphones made Mscape accessible to end users.
Embedded sensors. The public release of Mscape primarily utilized GPS data for location tracking. Experimental versions expanded sensor integration to include short-range radio beacons and heart rate monitors. The platform supported plug-ins that allowed data input from infrared and radio frequency beacons, RFID tags, digital compasses, among other sensors.
Context-coded information. Media assets such as images, video clips, audio files, and Flash-based interactions were controlled by logic linked to specific geographic points. This logic could modify responses based on user presence or repeated visits. Supported media formats included:
- HTML pages, MP3 and WAV audio files
- JPEG and GIF images
- MPEG and WMV video formats, along with SWF Flash content
Hewlett-Packard envisioned future implementations featuring client-server models with streaming media over wireless networks to facilitate multiplayer gaming experiences and real-time dynamic content updates.
Mscape Player
Mscape Player was the application responsible for running mediascapes on GPS-enabled Windows Mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs.
Mscape Library
Mscape Library served as a management tool for both developers and users to organize mediascapes on their desktop computers. Users could download mediascapes from the Mscapers website into this library before transferring them to Windows Mobile devices. Developers accessed Mscape Maker and Mscape Tester utilities through the library interface.
The software also verified whether a Windows Mobile device had Mscape Player installed; if absent, it notified users and facilitated installation when needed.
Mscape Maker
Mscape Maker enabled developers to craft mediascapes through four primary functional areas:
Place Editor. This feature permitted the creation of maps by integrating images with GPS coordinates, associating them with actual geographic locations. Developers could designate trigger zones on these maps to attach digital media and interactive elements, facilitating straightforward mediascape construction through drag-and-drop functionality.
Script Editor. Developers utilized a streamlined scripting language similar to C# and akin to Adobe Flash ActionScript to program events. This user-friendly language was tailored for beginners, allowing the implementation of complex behaviors without requiring deep programming expertise.
Script Object Window. This panel displayed all script objects within a mediascape, encompassing:
- Media — including audio files, videos, Flash animations, and web pages
- Sensors — such as GPS points, specific places, defined regions, and speakers (audio sources localized spatially)
- States — variables of numeric, textual, or boolean types
- Tools — comprising buttons, timers, alarms, and playlists
Properties Window. Provided an interface for viewing and modifying the attributes of script objects.
Mediascapes created with Mscape Maker were saved in two distinct formats:
- .msl — the native format for authoring
- .msz — a compressed format optimized for playback on Windows Mobile devices
Mscape Tester
Mscape Tester functioned as a simulation tool on Windows Mobile devices, permitting developers to position an avatar anywhere on the mediascape map to evaluate gameplay at specific locations.
Licensing
The Mscape platform was available under both non-commercial licenses (intended for educational or nonprofit purposes) and commercial licenses.
When developers uploaded mediascapes to the community portal, they could grant a default non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license allowing use, reproduction, distribution, display, performance, or creation of derivative works. Alternatively, they could opt for a Creative Commons license.
Types of mediascapes
Mediascapes were categorized as either portable or anchored:
- Portable mediascapes could be experienced anywhere but usually required users to establish the game environment themselves.
- Anchored mediascapes were location-specific and playable only at designated sites.
With GPS-triggered interactions, mediascapes delivered varied experiences:
- Games presented challenges where players could succeed or fail.
- Guides offered informative content about current or historical features of a location.
- Stories conveyed imaginative narratives aimed at evoking emotions and reflections related to particular places.
Developers
The core HP Labs team responsible for developing Mscape included:
- Phil Stenton
- Richard Hull
- Patrick Goddi
- Josephine Reid
- Ben Clayton
- Tom Melamed
- Susie Wee
- Erik Geelhoed
The Mscapers community website was created by:
- Andrew Dahley
- Patrick Goddi
- Kurt MacDonald
- Allen Arakaki
See also
References
Stenton, S. P., Hull, R., Goddi, P. M., Reid, J. E., Clayton, B. J., Melamed, T. J., & Wee, S. (2007). Mediascapes: Context-Aware Multimedia Experiences. IEEE MultiMedia, 14(3), 98–105.