Our AR module assignment this week was to write a UX review of an AR or VR experience. I chose a game called Ghosts ‘n Guns AR. While I’m not necessarily sorry that the resultant project ended up being as simple as it was, I kind of wish I’d chosen something a little more dynamic. It’s a simple game and there ultimately wasn’t too much to say about it, but it was fun to play! I read UX reviews of this game and other AR games to get an idea of what concepts to take into consideration when reviewing a game like this (Zombies, Run! and Jurassic World Alive)- but really, at the end of the day, Ghosts ‘n Guns could not be a simpler game. It’s a first-person shooter, played in your physical space. It was my first experience with any AR game (I almost fell off the bed the first time I opened it up). I wasn’t allowed to play video games growing up, which is one of the great tragedies of my life. In my early adult years I developed a love of playing arcade games like Time Crisis and Big Buck Hunter in bars, so the nostalgia factor or the highly pixelated characters weren’t entirely lost on me. Of course I’m joking about the lack of gaming in our house being a great tragedy, but these days I do often feel that I missed out on this foundational American childhood experience- and also that I’m in danger of being left behind. I’m sort of an involuntary luddite. Even playing Mario Kart is humbling; my husband’s parents beat me every time we play. So maybe this was actually the perfect choice for me: a safe, easy initiation.