  One of the most promising technologies inside the Extended Reality (XR)
spectrum is Augmented Reality. This technology is already in people's pockets
regarding Mobile Augmented Reality with their smartphones. The scientific
community still needs answers about how humans could and should interact in
environments where perceived stimuli are different from fully physical or
digital circumstances. Moreover, it is still being determined if people accept
these new technologies in different social environments and interaction
settings or if some obstacles could exist. This paper explores the impact of
the Social Environment and the Focus of social interaction on users while
playing a location-based augmented reality game, measuring it with user
experience and social acceptance indicators. An empirical study in a
within-subject fashion was performed in different social environments and under
different settings of social interaction focus with N = 28 participants
compiling self-reported questionnaires after playing a Scavenger Hunt in
Augmented Reality. The measures from two different Social Environments (Crowded
vs. Uncrowded) resulted in statistically relevant mean differences with
indicators from the Social Acceptability dimension. Moreover, the analyses show
statistically relevant differences between the variances from different degrees
of Social Interaction Focus with Overall Social Presence, Perceived
Psychological Engagement, Perceived Attentional Engagement, and Perceived
Emotional Contagion. The results suggest that a location-based AR game played
in different social environments and settings can influence the user
experience's social dimension. Therefore, they should be carefully considered
while designing immersive technological experiences in public spaces involving
social interactions between players.
