Airport Collaboration

Airport Collaboration is a semi-cooperative XR game where three different players and potentially a moderator play over HoloLenses or Meta Quests that are connected to a PC as a server. The three players represent three major independent companies that are involved in operating an airport. These companies are “Airport Management,” “Ground Handler,” and one “Airline.” The game simulates one day at the airport with a given flight schedule. All companies have different responsibilities in that game. “Airport Management” is in charge of the security checks and the management of the parking positions. “Ground Handler” organizes the transportation of the passengers from and to the outer parking positions of the aircraft. The “Airline” decides which service to book, gives the plane’s final starting order, and can determine if they are willing to pay extra compensation for passengers who missed their plane. All three companies lose the game if customer dissatisfaction gets too high because of missed or late planes. On the other hand, each company must pay attention to generate only a few costs to win in the end. The game mechanics of Airport Collaboration focus on the logistical aspects of managing the airport, customer satisfaction, and the cost structure. In most decisions, the player pitches customer satisfaction against cost structure and influences the cost distribution between the companies. Negotiating between the players under time and decision pressure is paramount to winning the game. The moderator may pause the time flow in the game and can replay a logged gaming session. A synchronized pointing functionality supports discussion between the different players. Airport Collaboration merges the advantage of a computer game with those of a tabletop game. From the computer game, we take the aspect of being able to run a complex simulation in the background. From the tabletop game, we take the possibility to play with other players face to face and discuss and negotiate decisions. This is especially interesting for semi-cooperative games, which have, by nature, a complex social dynamic component.