Augmented Reality Gaming in Public Spaces: Dealing with Non-player Characters or Having a Shared Experience?

This chapter dives into the practice of using of Augmented Reality (AR) in public spaces and the chance that strangers (accidentally) enter your mixed reality scenery. In which situations is that a problem? And what are the solutions or approaches to deal with that properly? The focus is on one approach in particular: finding ways to embed people into an AR scene, instead of trying to avoid that from happening. Referring to two case studies, this chapter provides insight into the aspects that matter when designing or using an XR game with strangers playing a role in the experience as Non-playable Characters (NPCs).