Not unlike fiction, video games have traditionally aimed to transport the player to another world, away from reality. But with the rise of “check-in” based platforms like Foursquare, mobile gaming has become, well, a bit too bound by the real world.

The Tap Lab, which today announced that it has raised $550,000 in seed financing, wants to fix that by bringing the richness and fun of traditional video games to real-world mobile gaming.

The angel round was led by the founders of Harmonix, the company behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and was joined by Don Dodge of Google as well as other investors. The company, a 2011 Techstars Boston alum and a MassChallenge Silver Prize winner, plans to use the money to build out its development team.

Its forthcoming game TapCity2, to be released this summer, will attempt to “cut the ball and chain which is the check- in,” according to co-founder Dave Bisceglia, by removing proximity as a limitation for gameplay.

The game works similar to a virtual version of monopoly, where players can buy, sell and own actual locations in a city through Foursquare’s database. While physically visiting these locations unlocks enhanced gameplay, players can interact with properties from anywhere.

Bisceglia called gaming an “emerging strength” for Boston, led by companies like Harmonix and Viximo. One of the biggest gaming conventions in the country is set to descend upon Boston this weekend.

“Boston has been so good to us,” Bisceglia told me. “In Boston, I feel like you can get in touch with anyone. There’s no ceiling.”

[Image via Kevin Rooney]