Group items tagged

"This project involves developing an action-platformer game for the Flash platform. The user controls a character who must progress through levels, while avoiding obstacles, collecting items and fighting many types of enemies. Role-playing game elements such as equipment and upgrades support user customization and varied battle strategies. Developing a successful Flash game involves several factors. Flash games must be simple to get into, yet rewarding to play in both short and long sessions. Flash games must be accessible to a wide audience; both in terms of user preferences and technical limitations. Finally, Flash games must offer something unique to stand out from the crowd, in a market where hundreds of free games are published every month. This report covers the research, design and implementation done to achieve these requirements, in terms of game mechanics, interface, level design, visual design, accessibility options, and replay value. Technical challenges include building, testing and optimizing a game engine and interface from scratch, balancing the game mechanics and difficulty, and structuring the whole development process in a way that enables easy creation of new content. In addition to game design and development, this project also deals with the business aspects of developing online games; how games generate revenue, how they are marketed and distributed, and developing trends in the consumer market. Project success in different areas has been evaluated through usability studies, user ratings and reviews, and vast quantities of usage and distribution statistics. Overall, the project has been a success in terms of user reception and generated revenue, and the final section of this report includes plans for a second game, utilizing and building upon the same game engine and mechanics."

From the introduction: "We introduce the FCO-IM modelling methodology and some of the short comings we perceive. Next we introduce some theories. First we introduce the notion of serious gaming. Then we move on to the Game Design Theory as proposed by Järvinen, augmented by a view on goals for serious gaming. These theories helped us generating the framework for a serious game. Next we introduce the concept of Focused Conceptualisation. This theory helped us shaping the contents of the game. In the final section of this chapter we will discuss some previous attempts by students to design a serious game for FCO-IM and how we want to make a new contribution towards this field. In chapter 3 we unified the theories by creating a first design. We do not exhaustively describe these first designs, but only the genesis and design choices made at the start and during the process. This work culminates into a final design in chapter 4. The final design consists of a global description of the game, a more detailed description and an abbreviated "rulebook". The rulebook can be compared to the rulebook of a board game. It is intended for someone already familiar with the game. The detailed description can be viewed as a thorough reference guide for first time players or players seeking clarification. This final design was subjected three test sessions. We realize this is not a whole lot. But the objective was to see whether the approach is workable. Exhaustive testing was not part of the scope. We gained some valuable insights nonetheless. In chapter 5 we derived a generic conceptual model for dialogue games. We present a framework that can be used to create dialogue games for a number of different purposes. We hand one the basic tools, make one's own game. This can be viewed as a basic game engine as it is found in the video gaming industry. Chapter 6 will recap our design question and discuss if and how this design question has been answered. This includes insights gaine

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: "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: "This work focuses on the design and implementation of an educational game for deployment on the Xbox 360 commercial game console. Video games can be extremely powerful and effective learning tools when deployed with methodical precision. Currently, no learning tools are available for commercial consoles that focus on teaching core concepts in Engineering. This work presents an overall design for an educational game to address Number Systems in the scope of the Electrical and Computer Engineering curricula. BINX is an educational adventure game designed to address Number Systems and their arithmetic operations in Digital Logic Design, a core course is Electrical and Computer Engineering programs. Object Oriented Design Principles were used in the development of this game. This work presents one sublevel implemented using the XNA framework - a Microsoft Software Development Kit (SDK).The BINX gameplay takes place inside a computer where a malicious virus is threatening the computer's operability. The player has to find the virus and eradicate it by disconnecting the terminals of the graphics processor. The player has the opportunity to practice before taking on the Boss Challenge. In the practice phase, the player practices number conversions without fear of penalties. In the Challenge phase, the player is timed and has to perform the number conversions before the allotted time expires. The combination of practice and challenge provides players with the ability to practice number conversions and, when ready, to take on the challenge task where assessment is conducted to provide the player with the knowledge of how well he/she has performed on the challenge. The number conversion level of BINX was implemented and formally evaluated showing improvement in student scores after using BINX."

Abstract: "Lifespan is an Interactive Media and Game Development Major Qualifying P roject developed in the Unity game engine over the course of one year by six students. Lifespan is a first - person puzzle game in which the player affects objects in the environment by using a time - manipulation device. Designed with a unique spin on standar d puzzle games, Lifespan seeks to add realism, science, and nature to the environment with new and interesting mechanics."

From the abstract: "A serious game for construction planning and scheduling education must provide an authentic environment for gameplay. To achieve this requirement, the game environment must be created from CAD drawings of a real project. The game engine must have components for providing timely scaffolding and support to the user. Storing the vast amount of data for a real project requires data structures optimized for fast rendering at the same time easily accessing and manipulating building elements and element data. This paper discusses a game engine developed for creating construction planning and scheduling educational games. The game engine is designed from scratch for performance and flexibility. It includes a component for directly importing data from a Revit model for building the game environment, interfaces Microsoft Project for scheduling, includes a feedback module, and a scoring system for measuring user performance."

Abstract: "As the video game industry grows, both developers and cre- ative authors are seeking new ways to convert story content into scripting code, which is often a difficult process dur- ing game creation. ScriptEase II provides a solution to this common bottleneck in the games design process. Although the goals are similar to the goals of ScriptEase, ScriptEase II is able to generate code for any game engine with a provided translator. It utilizes high-level game design patterns such as cause-effect and quest patterns which can be abstracted between most games. In addition, ScriptEase II further en- hances the use of these patterns with a simple drag-and-drop interface. The generality of the code generation has been tested using two different game engines, and it can be used to further test the benefits of using high-level game design patterns in content creation."

Abstract: "The software engineering process for games has enough special structure that it can be formulated as a kind of game itself. This, in turn, p ermits the teaching of game construction in a unique way with new potential to motivate students. We present a new game design client program for an existing collaborative problem-solving website known as CoSolve. The client was built with an emphasis on increased interaction and fine control over a problem's state. With this comes the opportunity to more easily design and test games in the CoSolve space. It is our hope that this will teach and inspire student users to learn more about game design, problem posing, and programming in general."

"Sustainability education has become an international imper- ative due to the rising cost of energy, increasing scarcity of natural resource and irresponsible environmental practices. My research seeks to investigate how to build a customiz- able serious game engine for sustainability called Makahiki. This work is motivated by the encouraging results of the in- augural residence hall energy competition at the University of Hawaii in Fall 2011. Makahiki is intended to provide a production quality, pluggable component-based open source game engine and an experimental test bed for game-related research in the context of sustainability."

Abstract: "This paper explores the consequences of using the game engine Unity to construct 3-D models of Pompeian houses, linked to art and spatial databases, as an ongoing research colloquium for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities. Rather than serving as a neutral piece of visualization software, the game engine functions as critical tool because, more than any other visualization platform, it permits real time, embodied movement through the houses. One outcome of such embodied movement has been the recognition that the traditional vocabulary for describing space in Pompeii is inadequate, and a much more careful methodology is required, using network topology and visibility graph analysis to establish spatial profiles for the rooms. As they construct the models in Unity, students also encounter the contradiction between the texture pipeline used to produce immersion in games and the emphasis on accuracy and scientific objectivity found in cultural heritage discourse, a discourse which paradoxically also stresses immersion. Finally, the game engine encourages students to consider the rhetoric of embodied play in the Pompeian decorative ensembles themselves."

Abstract: "Herein is proposed the creation of an Application Program- ming Interface (API) for the Unity 3 and 4 video game de- velopment engine that not only reads behavioral measures from traditional video game input devices (such as if there has been an increase in mouse movements and clicks) but also takes into account physiological measures from biomet- ric devices (such as an increase in respiratory rate). The API parses these inputs based on study results that correlated player performance and engagement with physio- logical signs across several dierent game genres. Through the use of several rudimentary machine learning algorithms, raw physiological data is transformed into data relevant to a developer, including player engagement. The results of these calculations allow a game designer to have powerful tools for detecting when players experience certain emotions, and al- low for the design of aective games. Furthermore, the API also exposes the raw data to de- velopers wishing to propose and utilize their own learning algorithms, to allow for a rich development environment for developers of all skill levels. These development tools will enrich the game experience for the player, as well as prepare designers for the use of the next wave of non-traditional in- put hardware. This report serves to illustrate the current status of the API. A brief overview of the signicance of galvonic skin re- sponse (GSR), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR) in detecting player performance and engagement will be fol- lowed by a discussion of the API itself and the design choices therein."

"ARM (Adventure Running Machine) is a game engine and editor which can be used to build top-down adventure games without knowing how to program. It includes documentation and tutorials for using the software. Games built utilize the HTML5 canvas for playability in most web browsers."

"There's a recent tradition of developers screwing with pirates-from releasing enormous, immortal pink scorpions on them, to booby trapping their games with glitches when they get cracked. This weekend, Greenheart Games, creator of Game Dev Tycoon, just blew the curve for everyone. This is fantastic."

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

"07/2012; In proceeding of: The 11th International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Practice (SERP 2012), At Las Vegas, USA ABSTRACT Usability is considered a relevant quality factor in video games. However, usability evaluations are usually performed too late in the game development lifecycle. We present a usability evaluation strategy that can be used in early stages of model-driven video game development approaches. The usability evaluation is based on a Video Game Usability Model, which extends the usability characteristic of the ISO/IEC 25010 (SQuaRE) standard by incorporating measurable attributes and measures related to the video game domain. The traceability established between the models that are produced in a modeldriven development process and the corresponding source code allows performing usability evaluations on these models, facilitating the early detection/correction of usability problems that may appear in the final video game application. To show the feasibility of this approach, we have performed an early usability evaluation of a video game for the XBOX360 platform."

Abstract: "Abstract-In computer games and simulations, content is often rather static and rigid. As a result, its prescripted nature can lead to predictable and impersonal gameplay, while alienating unconventional players. Adaptivity in games has therefore been recently proposed to overcome these shortcomings and make games more challenging and appealing. In this paper, we survey present research on game adaptivity, identifying, and discussing the main challenges, and pointing out some of the most promising directions ahead.We first survey the purposes of adaptivity, as the principles that could steer an adaptation and generation engine. From this perspective, we proceed to thoroughly discuss adaptivity's targets and methods. Current advances and successes in this emerging field point to many yet unexplored research opportunities. Among them, we discuss the use of gameplay expectations, learning preferences, and assessment data in the integrated adaptation of game worlds, scenarios, and quests. We conclude that, among other methods, procedural content generation and semantic modeling can powerfully combine to create offline customized content and online adjustments to game worlds, scenarios, and quests. These and other promising methods, deserving ample research efforts, can therefore, be expected to significantly contribute towards making games and simulations even more unpredictable, effective, and fun."

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 specic 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."

Unreal Englne and its potential