AR Xiangqi: Augmented Reality Chinese Chess with Gesture-based Interaction Play with AI Opponent

Abstract

Traditional chess games have been left behind, and people are missing out on the satisfaction of this intellectually challenging and strategic game. The era has embraced digitalized board games which nowadays are considered a way for attracting people to pick up the board game again, and Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the advantageous technologies to be utilized. AR provides irreplaceable digital and physical blending experiences to society. This work presents AR Xiangqi, an augmented reality of the traditional Chinese chess board game that implements gesture-based interaction for gameplay and artificial intelligence search algorithms as the AI opponent. The AI engine can suggest the best next move to players as well as immediate feedback to enrich the UX gaming experience as it enhances interactivity and creates an immersive gameplay experience. Evaluations carried out to assess AR Xiangqi were based on the usability and user experience of the players. The findings indicate that the majority of evaluators conveyed contentment with the user interface of the game, recognized the effectiveness of hand gesture interaction, and valued elements like prompt feedback, destruction effects, and suggestions for the next move. These results confirm that the game has effectively provided an immersive and pleasing AR gaming experience, as respondents expressed satisfaction with different facets of the design and features of AR Xiangqi.