Social Acceptability of Location-Based Games in Cemeteries

A survey of 1,053 Australian adults, stratified by age, gender, and state or territory, examined how socially acceptable digital technologies are in cemeteries, with particular attention to two location-based game concepts: a historical mystery game and a ghost-hunting game played on-site among graves and monuments. The work was grounded in a systematic review of cemetery technologies worldwide, which produced a typology of remote, embedded, and navigational tools, and it was undertaken in partnership with a cemetery trust and funded by the Australian Research Council.

The central finding is that respondents were broadly negative toward location-based games in cemeteries. Among the thirteen cemtech concepts tested, the two games drew the highest levels of negative responses, at 60% for the historical game and 74% for the ghost game. Concerns centred on the perceived disrespectfulness of play in a place of mourning and the disruption of its peaceful atmosphere. Respondents also anticipated hostile disapproval from bystanders, with one comment suggesting the possibility of aggression toward players.

Positive views nonetheless existed, expressed by 22% of respondents for the historical game and 12% for the ghost game. Favourable responses were associated with general enthusiasm for cemeteries, and respondents who visited cemeteries regularly were more receptive than those who did not. The authors conclude that an enthusiastic audience exists, but that designers of such games should weigh the emotional impact on onlookers and the social risks faced by players, and should prioritise sensitivity toward the deceased and their families and the cultural context in which such games would be played.