Abstract: "This paper describes the creation of a 2D game engine, the ULL Introductory Game Engine (UIGE), for
use in an introductory video game programming course as part of an undergraduate computer science
curriculum. Having the right tools available can make illustrating the concepts of game development and
design substantially easier. In creating the engine, a number of factors such as ease of use and
accessibility, were considered. Furthermore, course instructors must determine how much assistance (in
the form of tools for the engine) is too much assistance, as students may miss core principles if development
with the engine is made too abstract. Successful implementation of tools like UIGE allow students to
produce games quickly and the concepts of game development to be taught more effectively."
Abstract :"Immigrants
entering the European Community face a range of
challenges in adapting to and understanding the culture of their
host nation. Failure to address these challenges can lead to
isolation and difficulties integrating into the society
of the host
country,
leading to
fragmented communities and
a range of
social
issues
.
As part of a comprehensive suit
e of services for
immigrants
, the European
-
funded M
obile Assistance for Social
Inclusion and Empowerment of Immigrants with Persuasive
Learning Technologies and Social Network Services
(MASELTOV)
project seeks to provide both practical tools and
le
arning services via mobile devices, providing a readily usable
resource for
immigrants
.
In this workshop paper, the
game
-
based
learning
aspect of the MASELTOV project is introduced, with the
rationale behind its design presented. In doing so, the b
enefits and
implications of mobile platforms and emergent dat
a capture
techniques for game
-
based learning
are discussed, as are methods
for putting engaging gameplay at the forefront of the experience
whilst relying on rich data capture and analysis to pro
vide an
effective learning solution.
Through comparison to several other
projects, a number of recommendations are put forward for games
deployed in contexts similar to that of MASELTOV: a focus on
establishing a significant audience with which to conduct
ethical
research into efficacy, the need for robust pedagogical frameworks
suited to the learning context,
and the evolution of methods for
data capture and analysis of player activity."
Abstract: "This paper explores the use of modern sensor technologies for physical interaction
on educati
onal games and interactive spaces. More specifically the thesis studies the potential
effect of motion capture and wearable body sensors on educational interactive games, on two
aspects: i) on the involvement of human body and motion in the process of lear
ning, and recall of
knowledge (embodied learning), ii) on assisting the development of basic social emotional
competencies, through the enhanced social affordances of embodied games.
The paper presents
a prototype
of an educational
game developed using a m
otion capture controller and two bio
feedback sensors, proposing a generic architecture for multi
sensor interactive spaces.
Finally
the paper provides a review
of previously
studied modalities for emotion recognition, and
examines their application on gam
e mechanics and AI game agents."
from the abstract: "The Meta!Blast project was developed to provide a medium that lends itself to the com-
prehension of cell and metabolic biology by placing the student into a virtual plant cell and
allowing them to experience plant biology rst-hand (Wurtele, 2011). By taking advantage
of existing agile development methodologies, Meta!Blast has been designed to meet many of
the challenges of developing video games in an academic environment. Using a special editor,
educators and researchers can also modify in-game content in an eort to tailor the game to
their specic curriculum needs.
Due to the massive, explorative environment in which the game places players, Meta!Blast
provides an ideal environment for a variety of other STEM-related mini-games. By leveraging
existing methods of current software used to teach computer science, the initial development
stage of a mini-game within Meta!Blast called TALUS (Technology Assisted Learning Using
Sandbox) has been designed to let players experience dierent computer programming con-
ix
cepts. The rst iteration has shown that an environment can be created that allows players to
interact with actual computer code in a fail-safe and non-violent manner; furthermore, it has
the potential to augment a player's existing knowledge of computer programming."
Abstract: "This paper presents data analysis from a course on
Software Engineeri
ng in an effort to identify metric
s and
techniques that would allow instructor to act proactively and
identify patterns of low engagement and inefficient peer
collaboration
.
Over
the last
two terms,
106 students in their
second year of studies formed 20 groups and worked
collaboratively to
develop video games.
Throughout the lab,
students
have to use a variety of tools for managing and
developing their projects, such as software version control
,
static
analysis tools
, wikis, mailing lists, etc
. The students are also
supported by weekly meet
ings with teaching
assistants
and
instructors regarding group progress, code quality, and
management issues.
Through these meeting
s
and their
interactions with
the software tools, students leave a detailed
trace of data related to their individual engageme
nt and their
collaboration behavior in their groups
. The paper provides
discussion on the
different source of data that can be monitored
,
and present preliminary results
on
how the
s
e
data can be used to
analyze students' activity."
Abstract: "Identifying and measuring a musical talent is not a
simple task that could be performed by computers. In addition to
the technical challenges, it also involves social, emotional and
cultural issues. This problem is aggravated when the task needs
to be performed taking as input the huge amount of music
content available on the Internet today. In this paper we report
work in progress on a social interactive Game with a Purpose
using fun as a key motivational factor to assist in recruitment and
measurement of musical talent. "
Abstract: "Abstract
Game developers spend a large portion of their time developing and
tweaking the articial intelligence in video games. Problems related to
productivity in the development of AI have been solved using various
modeling techniques in the eld of AI, language design and easier to use
editors. Using a domain specic language to assist in describing AI can
increase productivity in this area. In addition to this, game developers
can be relieved from irrelevant tasks such as worrying about performance,
correctness of the implementation, memory management and optimiza-
tion data structures and focus on the high level description of the game
play. In this thesis, we focus on real-time video games and we investigate
the development of a domain-specic language containing the necessary
elements to describe and execute strategies to achieve goals in a real-time
video game. We develop a domain-specic language to express strategies
for computer controlled actors using techniques commonly found in em-
bedded domain-specic languages, and in particular embedded domain-
specic languages in Haskell. To demonstrate this language we have
developed a prototype of a real-time strategy game that uses strategies
implemented using the domain-specic language developed in this thesis"
abstract: "This
paper discusses a scenario in which human computation is used to
segment timestamped fashion images for mining trends based on
visual features of garments (e.g., color and texture) and attributes
of portrayed subjects (e.g., gender and age). State-of-the-art
algorithms for body part detection and feature extraction can
produce low quality results when parts of the body are occluded
and when dealing with complex human poses. In such cases, these
algorithms could benefit from the assistance of human agents.
In order to jointly leverage the potential of crowds and image
analysis algorithms, a game with a purpose (GWAP) is proposed,
whereby players can help segment images for which specialized
algorithms have failed, so as to improve the extraction of color
and texture features of garments and their association with the
features of the subject wearing them."
Abstract: "It has been well-noted that contemporary digital games tend to design for a relatively high skill
threshold engineered to appease a well-entrenched and digitally literate audience (Hayes, 2005).
Such design practices, however, serve to disenfranchise new and novice players wanting to learn
to play. This novice-expert divide is a significant barrier to entry for individuals wanting to play
digital games, and given that digital games are seeing increased use in pedagogical contexts
(Akilli, 2007; Becker, 2007; Nieborg, 2011; Shelton, Satwicz, & Caswell, 2011; Ulicsak, 2010),
such skill-based barriers further complicate the seamless incorporation of digital games into the
classroom. In an effort to explore how we might bridge the gap between new and weathered
players, I created three tutorials for World of Warcraft (2004) in an attempt to improve the
existing tutorials for newer entrants to the game. These new tutorials offered different modalities
of instruction, as well as instructional strategies in assisting newer players. Tutorials were
designed using the Structured Sound Functions (SSF) model of instructional design, following
the Attentional Control Theory of Multimedia Learning (ACTML). The tutorials were then
analyzed for their effects on play outcomes, player engagement, and player motivations using the
Dick and Carey (2011) three-stage model of formative evaluation. This work thus makes two
important contributions. First, this research conducts a much-needed in-depth study of game
tutorials, which is an area yet to be well-charted in the disciplines of either education or games
studies. Secondly, by analyzing the results of the formative evaluation, I conclude that players
react favorably to a faded or "just-in-time" instructional strategy-an approach to player
scaffolding which showed significantly increased motivation for play, engagement, and play
mastery among novice participants. Implications for game design and future research are
disc
Abstract: "The advancement of game-based learning has encouraged many related studies, such that students could better
learn curriculum by 3-dimension virtual reality. To enhance software engineering learning, this paper develops a
3D game-based learning system to assist teaching and assess the students' motivation, satisfaction and learning
achievement. A quasi-experimental design is based on the ARCS Theory (Attention, Relevance, Confidence,
and Satisfaction) to investigate the effectiveness of game-based learning strategy in 3-dimension virtual reality
scenario. The students are randomly assigned into two groups for quasi-experimental design. In game-based
learning, the curriculum content is mapped into the game to provide a scenario learning environment. After
implementation of quasi-experimental design, the pre-test and post-test results shown that 3D game-based
learning system with software engineering curriculum could achieve a better learning achievement and
motivation than using traditional instruction. The statistical test displayed that learning motivations of students
have significant impact on learning achievement, and learning achievements of students with game-based
learning are better than those who use traditional face-to-face teaching. After re-checked the questionnaire, this
paper finds that game-based learning challenging and attractiveness can lead to learners' curiosity and
immersion in learning activity. And the results show that 80% students are satisfaction, and 83% students are
confidence for the course learning after use the game-based learning system. Lastly, the research results could
provide to related educators as references"
Abstract:
Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) may suffer numerous cognitive impairments, including significant problems with executive functioning, language, attention, and memory [40]. It is estimated that two to five percent of children born in the U.S. are affected by FASD [34]. It has been shown that training improvements can be made in working memory and attention in children with ADHD [25]. Computerized training with game elements enhances not only motivation but training efficacy of these interventions [38]. This thesis examines the creation of two suites of serious games, Cognitive Carnival and Caribbean Quest, intended to improve working memory aspects of attention with the assistance of a trained psychology interventionist in a therapeutic setting. A game-based approach is chosen to provide motivation to children for sustained cognitive challenges presented by cognitive exercises built into the gameplay. Cognitive Carnival was shown by interventionists to have positive effects in neuropsychological studies of populations of children with epilepsy and FASD [33, 30].
"Automated lm editing involves the generation of the position,
orientation, motion and selection of virtual cameras
in interactive 3D graphics applications. There is a pressing
demand for techniques to assist and automate the control of
virtual cameras in the computer games industry where the
rapid development of personal computers and high performance
consoles has led to substantial improvements in the
visual delity of games. The goal of this survey is to characterize
the spectrum of applications that require automated
lm editing, present a summary of state-of-the-art models
and techniques, and identify both promising avenues and
hot topics for future research"
"This dissertation presents the use of procedural content generation to create expressive design tools: content generators that are accessible to designers, supporting the creation of new kinds of design tools and enabling the exploration of a new genre of game involving the deep integration of procedural content generation into game mechanics and aesthetics. The first of these tools is Tanagra, the first ever AI-assisted level design tool that supports a designer creating levels for 2D platforming games. Tanagra guarantees that levels created in the tool are playable, and provides the designer with the ability to modify generated levels
and directly control level pacing. The second tool is Launchpad, which supports a designer controlling both component and pacing features of generated levels; its companion game Endless Web uses the generator to create an infinite world for players to explore and alter through their choices. Endless Web is one of a handful of games in a new genre enabled by content generation: PCG-based games. Finally, this dissertation presents a novel method for understanding, visualizing, and comparing a generator's expressive range, thus allowing designers to understand the implications of decisions they will make during the design process."
"Abstract. If iteration is the rule in modern software development practices, this
is more the case in game development. While the secret recipe for fun in games
remains hidden, game development will remain a highly iterative trial-and-error
design process.
In this paper we present a semi-automatic process that, through FCA, can assist
in the software design of modern videogames. Through FCA we can identify
candidate distributions of responsibilities among components, and let the users
edit such distributions. We support iteration by facilitating the application of past
edits when going through a new iteration of identifying candidate components to
accommodate for new version of the game requirements."