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Abstract : "This paper explores how supernormal stimuli may have contributed to the remarkable popularity of several types of video games: first-person shooters (FPSs), massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), and Minecraft. Human culture, technology, and environments have advanced so rapidly in the last 10,000 years that the brains of Homo sapiens have not been able to keep up. Humans survive in the modern world, but still retain a mind stuck in the Pleistocene. Supercharged representations of ancient stimuli, which appealed to prehistoric human ancestors in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA), appear in many video games and may be hyper-stimulating humans' adaptive instincts. These supernormal stimuli appear to correlate with the remarkably engaging, pleasurable, and satisfying experiences human players derive from playing these games. This paper goes on to propose that greater recognition of the potential of supernormal stimuli, and experimentation with the creation of virtual worlds stand to improve not only digital games, but the way in which humans live, work, and play in the real world."

A forum from HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory) inviting commentary on questions including games for digital humanities, video game pedagogy and gamification

"Mary Flanagan, a game designer and professor of digital humanities at Dartmouth College... explores the way we represent ourselves in playculture and digital spaces. She is an activist designer who has founded Tiltfactor, a gaming research laboratory at Dartmouth focusing on designs that foster a "joyful commitment to human values." "

From the introduction: "In this paper, we focus on theorizing the design of digital games to support the learning of core scientific concepts and representational practices. Theoretically, we consider two frameworks: Knowledge in Pieces (or KiP) (diSessa 1993; Hammer 1996; Sherin 2001; Clark et al. 2009) and Science as Practice (or SaP) (Pickering 1995; Lehrer and Schauble 2006a; Duschl et al. 2007). While KiP is a theory about the structure of human knowledge, SaP is a theoretical perspective about the development of scientific expertise. Grounded in the history of science, SaP argues that the development of scientific concepts is deeply intertwined with the development of epistemic and representational practices (e.g., modeling). We report how these theoretical frameworks have shaped the design of our digital games for learning Newtonian dynamics across an extended design experiment. We show how shifting from KiP to SaP as the underlying theoretical anchor has ena bled a shift from designing games that focus on conceptual integration (Clark and Martinez-Garza 2012) to games that focus on disciplinary integration. Whereas conceptually integrated games integrate the targeted conceptual relationships directly into the mechanics of the core game environment, disciplinary integration extends conceptual integration by incorporating disciplinary practices as well as conceptual relationships into the mechanics of interacting with, manipulating, or navigating the core game environment. "

From the abstract: "we present Bubble Popper, an exertion game that considers and facilitates body contact. Bubble Popper, which uses very simple technology, also demonstrates that considering and facilitating body contact can be achieved without t he need to sense body contact. Through reflecting on our design and analyzing observations of play , we are able to articulate what impact physical space layout in relation to digital game elements, and physical disparity between input and digital display c an have on body contact. Our results aid game designers in creat ing engaging exertion game s by guiding them when considering body contact, ultimately helping players benef it more from engaging exertion games."

Abstract: "Reality-based interfaces bring new design opportunities to social games. These novel game interfaces, exemplified by Wii, Kinect, and Smart phones, leverage players' existing physics, bodily, environmental, and social skills. Moreover, they enable a shared hybrid physical-digital space in which the players' co-presence can be enhanced by their physical and digital co-location. However, many digital social games occupy players' attention with the digital display and content, reducing their attention spent on one another and limiting the synchronization of actions and emotions among players. How do we design technologies that do not interfere with social play but enhance and innovate it? In this thesis work, I focus on one particular kind of reality-based interfaces, Handheld Augmented Reality (HAR), to extend players' interaction from the small mobile devices to the shared hybrid space around a computationally trackable surface. This thesis explores how to encourage social play with HAR interfaces, which brings in challenges of designing with the affordances and constraints of the HAR interface, understanding the complicated phenomenon of social play, and integrating these understandings in multiplayer HAR game design. Adopting Research-through Design as the overarching research method, I collaborate with multiple teams, design and study three multiplayer HAR game prototypes. I present four main contributions. First, this work yields design artifacts and examples of social games with HAR interfaces. I communicate to the game design and Augmented Reality communities through these prototypes, including BragFish, ARt of Defense, and NerdHerder. Second, I provide empirical findings on social play in a shared hybrid space. Through lab-based user studies, observation, video analysis, interviews, and surveys, I collect and analyze interpersonal play behaviors and emotions in the shared hybrid space enabled by the HAR interface. Third, I adopt and adapt sociologic

"This project created an Application Programming Interface (API) for a simulated modular digital game system. Each module consists of a triangle that displays colors at the center and edges, monitors an input and signals from the surrounding modules, and communicates with a computer controller. The API allows users to develop game programs for the system. The simulation runs the game files and displays the results. The focus was on practical coding and design of an instructional game system. The challenges in creating such a system provided a valuable learning environment for us in the areas of user interface design, system tool management and design, human computer interaction, and designing educational platforms"

"The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has launched the Center for Digital Games Research to study digital media and games from a multidisciplinary approach. Launched with seed funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the center brings together 30 faculty members with expertise in "human-computer interaction, virtual environments, simulations, social networks, data mining, interactive storytelling and narrative, media neuroscience and behavioral health," among others, according to a news release."

"For millennia, humans have participated in rituals in order to experience meaning and purpose in life. With the rise of digital games as a form of media, designers are increasing seeking to use games to provide meaningful experiences - the kind of experiences provided by rituals. This project, Farosia, explores the mechanisms by which rituals convey meaning, and presents a detailed framework for how to incorporate ritual into interactive experience design. The project consists of several small game prototypes, each intended to emphasis different aspects of ritual. By developing and playtesting these prototypes, we were able to determine how to implement these ritual modes within digital experiences, and how to use them to create a more meaningful experience to the user."

Abstract: "In this work we investigate whether the innate visual recognition and learning capabilities of untrained humans can be used in conducting reliable microscopic analysis of biomedical samples toward diagnosis. For this purpose, we designed entertaining digital games that are interfaced with artificial learning and processing back-ends to demonstrate that in the case of binary medical diagnostics decisions (e.g., infected vs. uninfected), with the use of crowd-sourced games it is possible to approach the accuracy of medical experts in making such diagnoses. Specifically, using non-expert gamers we report diagnosis of malaria infected red blood cells with an accuracy that is within 1.25% of the diagnostics decisions made by a trained medical professional."

Abstract: "The main goal of this research is to understand how Utrecht's business environment must be developed in order to increase the region's international competiveness in the gaming industry. Utrecht's aim is to specialize in the gaming industry. In this research it is estimated that Utrecht is focused on small digital development game companies. The results indicate that Utrecht's competitive advantages are in its policy intervention, low labor wages and real estate costs, well developed demographical factors and infrastructure compared to the other investigated European cities. However, Utrecht scores below average on the categories of investments, quality of life and human resources. Once Utrecht has a stronger promotional effort in the gaming industry, it enlarges its attraction to draw game companies and to better its international position."