The Haunting uses the following items for game play: cellular phones, bluetooth beacons, global positioning satellite systems and is run by a software application created with the Mobile Experience Engine (MEE)

Cellular Phones:

Cellular telephones have become increasingly popular over the last decade. The MDCN researchers wanted to experiment with other kinds of ways cell phones could be used in the everyday and outdoors. For this game, players are issued i-mate SP3 and Nokia cell phones that are Bluetooth-enabled.

Bluetooth Beacons:

For this project, Bluetooth beacons were created by the MDCN engineering team. These small electronic devices have been programmed to detect the presence of a cell phone within a certain range and are used to activate Haunting content such as pictures, video and/or audio on nearby devices.

Mobile Experience Engine (MEE):

The MEE (Mobile Experience Engine), created by the MDCN engineers, is a software development kit and development platform for creating context-aware applications and media-rich experiences on mobile devices. The engine generates optimized and device-specific applications from a single XML script describing The Haunting game scenarios.

Global Positioning Satellite Location:

Using GPS technology, "hotspots" are created to localize and deliver instructions and content for game play. When a cell phone enters these regions, localized game content is delivered and specific interaction scenarios are initiated. For example, GPS location allows players to consult a phone-based map showing their proximity to the ghosts they are trying to capture.