Gamifying the World Wide Web: Competitive and Interactive Play on Real Websites

Location-based games (LBGs) such as Pokémon Go integrate gameplay with real-world locations, creating novel player experiences. Motivated by the idea that new gameplay forms can emerge by rethinking the game field, we have proposed WWW-based games (WBGs) as a new approach to implementing location-based gaming within the WWW. WBGs utilize URLs and web content as game elements, allowing players to interact with web environments in new ways. To explore its feasibility and impact, we developed Text Monster, a game in which players capture monsters inhabiting web pages and compete for control over websites. User studies with two versions of the game demonstrated that WBG is technically feasible and engaging, as players voluntarily participated and exhibited strategic behaviors. Our findings suggest that WBG can influence web usage patterns and introduce new possibilities for interactive web-based experiences.