Awesome (OSM) Games

Room: Talks I

Friday, 12:00
Duration: 20 minutes (plus Q&A)

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  • Ben Hur Pintor

OpenStreetMap and games feel like they go hand-in-hand and that’s more than just coincidental. Both OSM and gaming have the power to bring people together, foster community engagement, and provide unique experiences.

In fact, the OSM wiki has a page for games built using OSM data (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Games) and in recent years, we’ve seen the increase in the use of tools such as MapRoulette and StreetComplete that gamify the experience of contributing to OSM. While the latter is a very interesting topic in itself, this talk will focus on the former—games that use, but are not necessarily intended to contribute, OSM data.

In this talk, we will explore the world of OSM-based/OSM-adjacent games to try and identify various game categories/genres and uses of OSM such as in location-based games (e.g. PokemonGO), serious and realistic simulation games, educational and trivia games, other niche/bespoke games, as well as both digital and tangible/tactile experiences.

Furthermore, we will try to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of using OSM in games and look into other open source "games/game resources/gaming communities" (such as those in the Open Source Tabletop/RPG genre) to uncover possible intersections and opportunities.

Whether you’re a beginner or experienced OSM contributor, a game developer, or just a fellow gamer, this talk aims to spark new ideas and inspire further discussions, activities, and developments around the intersection of OpenStreetMap and games.

Beyond the use of gamification for improving the OSM contributor experience, I feel that there is an opportunity to re-examine and revisit the broader topic of games using OSM data especially since OSM offers a rich and vibrant data source that can serve as the foundation for unique gaming experiences.

How is/was OSM data used in games? What works/worked? What doesn’t/didn’t? Where (or where else) can OSM and games intersect? A lot of games use maps, can we use OSM there too? What other games can we create with OSM (e.g. Tactics? TTRPG? Board Games?).

These are just some questions I’d like to ask and hopefully answer in the presentation.