Group items tagged

Abstract: "As a way to support developers , we propose the creation of specialized tools to deal with accessibility. The hypothesis defined was that it is possible to produce tools that coul d reduce the cost and effort needed to adapt games for people with special needs while achi eving a sufficient level of usability and a pleasant player exper ience . Because of the ambitious of the approach , the goal of the project is to explore if it is feasible through preliminary research . T hree experiments were set up to cover and explore different alternatives , given the diversity of player characteristics and game develop ment approaches . In these experiments we targeted t wo different platforms: a desktop game authoring tool oriented to educators , and a mobile game development framework oriented to programmers . In these experiments we used the to ols developed to produce several games that were also tested by end users . While the project focuses on disability, the ideas proposed can be generalized and applied to support optimizing game interfaces for a wide and diverse audience."

The author reports data from a 2012 study on the diversity characteristics of students in game programs in the United States and future workforce implications.

Published 2013 and excerpted in Google Books. From the description: "In Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers, 16 groundbreaking game developers share their stories and offer advice for anyone aspiring to a career in the games industry. You'll learn from their triumphs and failures and see how they dealt with sweeping changes in technology, including critical paradigm shifts from CD-ROMs and 3D graphic cards to the Internet and mobile revolution. The book presents in-depth interviews with a diverse mix of game professionals, emphasizing the makers of adventure games, role-playing games, and real-time strategies. It focuses on developers who have contributed to multiple eras or genres as well as those who have hired, taught, or mentored newcomers. Since the mobile revolution has opened up new demographics and new gameplay mechanics, the book features current developers of games for mobile devices. It also explores how indie game developers are making commercial-quality games with a small team mostly using free tools and funded with crowdsourcing applications."

Abstract: "The intent of this research is attempt to discover what makes a multiplayer game fun, for it is the fun which will take the game from simply being a one off diversion and instead become a go to object in the social consciousness, no different to a pack of cards. "

Abstract: "A game genre as diverse as that of computer role - playing games is difficult to overview. This poses challenges or both developers and researchers to position their work clearly within the genre. We present an overview of the genre based on clusterin g games with similar gameplay features . This allows a tracing of relations between subgenres through their gameplay , and connecting this to concrete game examples. The analysis was done through using gameplay design patterns to identify gameplay features a nd focused upon the combat systems in the games . The resulting cluster structure makes use of 321 patterns to create 37 different subgenre classifications based solely on gameplay features . In addition to the clusters, we identify four categories of patter ns that help designers and researchers understand the combat systems in computer role - playing games"

Abstract: "The Global Game Jam provides a unique opportunity to study time-constrained game development at a massive scale. We administered a free-response survey to 2013 Global Game Jam participants about their game development process. Categorized responses show: (a) participants use diverse in- spirations; (b) set goals for their personal benet, the im- pact on game players, and structure of the game system; (c) rarely employ traditional prototyping; and (d) evolve their games by scoping down many ideas, grounding a vague idea through implementation, and iteratively expanding a sim- ple core game. We discuss next steps to gain more in-depth information about design processes"

"In spring 2011 University of Tampere Game Research Lab in collaboration with Aalto University organized a working paper seminar with the aim of bringing together scholars of games and innovation from diverse fields and stimulating dialogue between them. Moreover, the goal of the seminar was to encourage the further development of rigorous academic research on the topic while keeping the work accessible to game professionals."

" In March 2012, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan expressed his conviction that "technology is a game-changer in the field of education." One year ago President Obama put out a call for "investments in educational technology that will help create digital tutors that are as effective as personal tutors, educational software as compelling as the best video game." What are the sorts of promising innovations living up to this challenge? How are they accelerating the quality of and access to education? Is gaming an effective tool? What are the challenges in adapting these technologies in everyday practice? And how can we trust that they will deliver on the promises? Are there compelling opportunities for entrepreneurs? The Churchill Club has assembled a diverse set of thought leaders to offer unique perspectives on these questions and explore big changes looming over the horizon."

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."

From the abstract: Recent studies show that the second generation of migrants is not adequately integrated into mainstream society but tends to segregate into secluded segments. 'Internet Use and Friendship Structures of young migrants in Vienna: a Question of Diversity within Social Networks and Online Social Games'1 is a transdisciplinary2 research project with the objective to create a serious music-based online social game, which firstly is intended to be a positive impact game with the purpose of furthering integration and encouraging the manifestation of meaningful multiethnic relations. Secondly, the game shall make social interaction observable for evaluation. This paper gives an overview of which methodological approaches can be combined in the phases of the game's design process and shows how the mutual embedding of game design researchers and social scientists works in this context."

From a book on haptic interfaces ,"Currently, a diverse spectrum of games available in the market take advantage of the force feedback stimuli effects offered by mainstream haptic interfaces. Here we intend to give a broad view of past and present developments aimed at enabling game environment with haptic augmented interfaces, while discussing the strengths and weaknesses of such developments."