Topologies for combining the internet of things and serious games

Serious Games have been established over recent years as a means of utilising gaming for applications other than entertainment. With the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, a new direction for serious games arises, where data gathered from the physical environment can be utilised towards new novel applications.

This literature survey uncovers existing topologies that can be applied for combining IoT with Serious Games. This paper presents findings from extensive research into IoT, Serious Games, Pervasive Games and Gamification, IoT topologies and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), to identify the requirements of a topology for Serious Games and IoT. By understanding the topological requirements for combining IoT and Serious Games, the development process is reduced, allowing for the advancement in the mentioned field.

Three topologies are presented for combining IoT with Serious Games and a detailed topology for developing a Serious Game that monitors student attendance is presented. Also included, is an insight into the new paradigm of Smart Serious Games (SSGs). This paper will aid future research and development in SSGs determine effective network topologies.