Group items tagged

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. "

Abstract: "Cloud gaming now makes any computer game playable on a thin client without the previous worries and frustrations about the hardware requirements. It frees players from the need to frequently upgrade their computers as they can now play games that are hosted on remote servers with a broadband Internet connection and a thin client. However, cloud games are intrinsically more susceptible to latency than online games because game graphics are rendered on cloud servers and thin clients do not possess game state information that is required by delay compensation techniques. In this paper, we investigate how the response latency in cloud gaming would affect users' experience and how the impact of latency on players' experience varies among different games. We show that not all games are equally friendly to cloud gaming. That is, the same degree of latency may have very different impacts on a game's quality of experience depending on the game's real-time strictness. We thus develop a model that can predict a game's real-time strictness based on the rate of players' inputs and the game screen dynamics. The model can be used to simultaneously enhance players' gaming and optimize the operation cost of data centers."

Abstract: "This paper describes the design and evaluation of Zoo U, a novel computer game to assess children's social skills development. Zoo U is an innovative product that combines theory-driven content and customized game mechanics. The game-like play creates the opportunity for stealth assessment, in which dynamic evidence of social skills is collected in real time and players' choices during gameplay provide the needed data. To ensure the development of an engaging and valid game, we utilized an iterative datadriven validation process in which the game was created, tested, revised based on student performance and feedback, and retested until game play was statistically matched to independent ratings of social skills. We first investigated whether the data collected through extensive logging of student actions provided information that could be used to improve the assessment. We found that detailed game logs of socially relevant player behavior combined with external measures of player social skills provided an efficient vector to incrementally improve the accuracy of the embedded assessments. Next, we investigated whether the game performance correlated with teachers' assessments of students' social skills competencies. An evaluation of the final game showed (a) significant correlations between in-game social skills assessments and independently obtained standard psychological assessments of the same students and (b) high levels of engagement and likeability for students. These findings support the use of the interactive and engaging computer game format for the stealth assessment of children's social skills. The created innovative design methodologies should prove useful in the design and improvement of computer games in education."

"Examination of the history, development, and future of adaptive, dynamic, and interactive music in video games. Discussions include nonlinear music historical developments, compositional approaches for adaptive music, generative music, testing methods in the compositional and implementation stages, the evolving industry of adaptive music composition, future technological developments in music production and gaming, and adaptive music beyond games. Also included is an appendix of video game case studies, as well as an appendix of professional insight from game industry veterans."

Abstract: "This article examines the need for public school educators to adapt a game design mentality when designing secondary level curriculum and instruction . Game design is presented as a tool for improving student learning and suggestions are offered for how educators can incorporate game dynamics such as narrative context, explicit interconnectedness, well - ordered problems, control, choice, customization, and co - design."

Abstract: "Search-based procedural content generation methods allow video games to introduce new content continually, thereby engaging the player for a longer time while reducing the burden on developers. However, games so far have not explored the potential economic value of unique evolved artifacts. Building on this insight, this paper presents for the first time a Facebook game called Petalz in which players can share flowers they breed themselves with other players through a global marketplace. In particular, the market in this social game allows players to set the price of their evolved aestheticallypleasing flowers in virtual currency. Furthermore, the transaction in which one player buys seeds from another creates a new social element that links the players in the transaction. The combination of unique user-generated content and social gaming in Petalz facilitates meaningful collaboration between users, positively influences the dynamics of the game, and opens new possibilities in digital entertainment."

Abstract: "Mobile gaming is a big driver of app marketplaces. However, few mobile games deliver truly distinctive gameplay experi- ences for ad hoc collocated users. As an example of such an experience, consider a sword ght dual between two users facing each other where each user's phone simulates a sword. With phone in hand, the users' thrusts and blocks translate to attacks and counterattacks in the game. Such Phone-to- Phone Mobile Motion Games (MMG) represent interesting and novel gameplay for ad hoc users in the same location. One enabler for anMMG game like sword ght is continuous, accurate distance ranging. Existing ranging schemes cannot meet the stringent requirements of MMG games: speed, ac- curacy and noise robustness. In this work, we design FAR, a new ranging scheme that can localize at 12Hz with 2cm median error while withstanding up to 0dB noise, multipath and Doppler eect issues. Our implementation runs on com- modity smartphones and does not require any external in- frastructure. Moreover, distance measurement accuracy is comparable to that of Kinect, a xed-infrastructure motion capture system. Evaluation on users playing two prototype games indicate that FAR can fully support dynamic game motion in real-time."

Abstract: "We propose a powerful new tool for conducting research on computational intelligence and games. 'PyVGDL' is a simple, high-level description language for 2D video games, and the accompanying software library permits parsing and instantly playing those games. The streamlined design of the language is based on defining locations and dynamics for simple building blocks, and the interaction effects when such objects collide, all of which are provided in a rich ontology. It can be used to quickly design games, without needing to deal with control structures, and the concise language is also accessible to generative approaches. We show how the dynamics of many classical games can be generated from a few lines of PyVGDL."

Abstract: "Game Artificial Intelligence (Game AI) is a subdiscipline of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) that explores the ways in which AI and ML can augment player experiences in computer games. Storytelling is an integral part of many modern computer games; within games stories create context, motivate the player, and move the action forward. Interactive Narrative is the use of AI to create and manage stories within games, creating the perception that the player is a character in a dynamically unfolding and responsive story. This paper introduces Game AI and focuses on the open research problems of Interactive Narrative."

Abstract: "The video game industry is a billion dollar industry with an ever-growing fan base. Massachusetts, along with other states, has begun to take an interest in further developing this dynamic industry. A problem facing many policy makers and economic developers is accurately defining the video game industry, determining the types of workers that form of human capital within its workforce and where these businesses are located. This study helps to solve this problem by converting video game credits, found in all video games, into Standard Occupational Codes to identify the types of workers who comprise the industry and by conducting spatial analysis using Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). It also uses the Occupational Information Network to evaluate what forms of human capital comprises the video game industry. The results show the video game workforce comprises both creative workers such as artists and musicians, but also computer programmers, engineers, and business management and marketing professionals. This workforce tends to be concentrated not only in larger U.S. metropolitan areas but also in regions with a significant high-technology workforce, college towns, and government laboratories. Also, as this diverse workforce contains a wide variety of skills and abilities, a common theme is being able to work together as a team to develop a product. This study is part of a growing body of research and initiatives to identify and to locate new, creative industries within metropolitan regions. This research will contribute to future research using occupational analysis to identify new and growing industries."

Abstract: :Games for a Digital Age: K-12 Market Map and Investment Analysis includes a sector analysis and market map of game‐based learning initiatives with an analysis of relevant trends in education and digital technology that are likely to impact development of a robust game-based learning market segment. By formulating a new framework for understanding the changing dynamics of purchase decisions at the school, extended learning, and consumer levels including a "follow the money" analysis, this report will guide efficient use of existing capital and examine where new investment would be most productive. Conducted and written by Dr. John Richards, Leslie Stebbins and Dr. Kurt Moellering, the report synthesizes findings from extensive market research and a series of fifty interviews with leaders in the developer and publishing industries, and from the government, foundation and research sectors."

From the abstract: "This paper examines the state of the art in narrative creation and writing for video games and simulations, and proposes a methodology for writing dynamically immersive branching dialogue. Conclusions reached are based upon the author's research and development as head writer for the First Person Cultural Trainer (FPCT), UTD Arts and Technology's multi-award winning training simulation."

"Game-based simulation systems are increasingly being used to train users in several applications across government, in- dustry, and academia. Designing game-based training sys- tems that can measurably improve learning while providing an engaging training experience is a challenging problem. In this paper, we describe a novel framework that tightly inte- grates game-based training systems with instructional com- ponents using data analysis to address this problem. Intelli- gent training systems based on this framework dynamically adapt both the training and the instructional components to measurably improve learning in play sessions. We propose a three phase approach to automatically identify points in a play session to predict high-value future scenarios, validate predictions, and prescribe actions. A case study using the KDD Cup 2010 educational data set is described illustrating the e®ectiveness of the proposed approach."

From the abstract: "In this paper, we propose the integration of two PCG-based approaches (experiencedriven and context-driven PCG) to support the generation of adaptive mobile game levels. We present and discuss the implementation of our approach in an existing game, 7's Wild Ride. Gameplay semantics and player modeling are used to steer a level generator, featuring a time-dependent dynamic diculty adjustment mechanism. From our two user studies, we conclude that (i) context-driven levels are preferable over traditional ones, and (ii) the game can adapt to dierent player types, keeping its gameplay balanced and player satisfaction."

"how game environments can be designed to support many kinds of sociability"

"Abstract: Previous research proposes that human beings are motivated to protect endangered species by both instrumental values and intrinsic values of biodiversity. However, it has been difficult to tease apart the two kinds of value at the behavioral level. Using an innovative fishing game, we tested one kind of instrumental value (financial value) and one kind of intrinsic value (existence value) of the endangered Steller sea lion. In the fishing game, players make repeated decisions on how much Pollock to harvest for profit in each period in a dynamic ecosystem. The population of the endangered sea lion depends on the population of Pollock, which in turn depends on the harvesting behavior of humans. The data show that in general, people responded to the financial value, but not the existence value, of the sea lion by cutting down commercial fish harvesting to keep more sea lions in the ecosystem. However, not all people behaved the same regarding the existence value. Females displayed a higher existence value than males, as did people who reported stronger proenvironmental attitudes than those with less pro‐environmental attitudes. Our findings have multiple implications on public opinion elicitation and public policy design."

Abstract: "Digitalization has given rise to new opportunities for small and medium-sized video game development studios. No longer bound by physical products and creative restrains, the de-veloper has been empowered with independency. This qualitative study is aimed to under-stand how a development studio develops their business model and how underlying strate-gy is formulated. Additionally we evaluate the degree of innovativeness of the business model in terms of radical and incremental innovation according to Damanpour (1991). To achieve this we present a comprehensive literature review as to gain a more theoretical un-derstanding of industry mechanics and to be able to comprehend reasoning behind existing business models. We structure the dynamics of the business model by analyzing nine busi-ness model aspects as suggested by Osterwalder, Pigneur and Clark (2010). Following our theoretical framework we gain practical input from four separate case studies. An interpret-ative research method is used to gain better understanding of reasoning and choices made. We interpret our findings following a narrative approach which shows that the digitaliza-tion has preluded a paradigm shift in the sense that development studios have started to adopt activities otherwise performed by key partners. As barriers dissipate small and me-dium-sized development studios try to make sense of the current industry, but struggle in doing so. Having to reinvent themselves we conclude that a focus towards creating thicker customer relationships is considered and the idea of seeing games as a service is acknowl-edged to depict the future of the industry. The conclusions of this study contribute to both academic science and industry practice."

Abstract: "We present a method for simulating the melting and owing of material in burning objects fast enough to be of use in video games where most of the graphical and computational resources are needed elsewhere. The standard practice of us- ing particle engines or uid dynamics for melting are far too costly for use in this environment. We demonstrate that our method, which is based on systematic polygonal expanding and folding, uses only a fraction of the computational power avail- able by implementing the computation on a very modest GPU using CUDA"

"By analyzing the data taken from many different types of gamers through gameplay testing the players linear difficulty graph slope can be found. Once a target slope has been established the difficulty will increase or decrease based on how the player performs; that is, if they are falling too far behind or staying too far ahead of the target curve it will have to readjust again to keep them from getting bored or frustrated."