Group items tagged

From the abstract: "This thesis is dealing with what have been identified as "pervasive games". Investigation and analysis of reasons behind their appearance, popularization is made. Different trends within classical game-development and theory of classical game-design are investigated to establish similarities and differences, challenges and solutions this newly emerged type of games is introducing. Knowledge presented in theoretical sections is used to design, develop, deploy and test a game-environment for mobile platforms that is adjusted for campus area. This designed game-environment consists of two essential components: Front-End, which is represented by Android mobile application and Back-End server logic. Both of components were designed, tested and implemented. Designed game-environment received a name "DTU GoblinsNGold and has been launched. It is made available publicly worldwide through Google Play market. All of these aspects and milestones are described in details inside practical part of this thesis. During game-environment testing valuable data was received that described all aspects of functionality of implemented system together with behavioral patterns of players. These results of deployment together with conclusions are presented in later sections."

Abstract: "Out of the recent popularity of downloadable contents (DLC) among video game manufac- turers has resurfaced the issue of versioning of informatio n goods. The central idea behind the zero-day DLC strategy is that consumers who find the base v ersion of a game to be suffi- ciently attractive would pay a premium to upgrade by purchas ing such a DLC. In this work, we combine the literature on versioning with that on product sampling to model the impact of consumer learning on the product-line strategy of a game m anufacturer. In doing so, we demonstrate that a manufacturer's desire to vertically diff erentiate could actually stem from a horizontal separation among consumers. When consumers diff er in their perception of the fit between their tastes and the features of the product, horizo ntal differentiation seems a natural choice. However, if the manufacturer is unable to classify p otential consumers into groups with distinct tastes, horizontal differentiation becomes impra ctical. We find that, interestingly, this inability to differentiate horizontally does not limit the m anufacturer from vertically positioning its product line. We characterize the conditions under whic h the DLC strategy is effective and discuss how it affects consumer and social welfare. Our resul ts also have obvious implications in markets for other digital experience goods."

"Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification" from the European commission

Abstract: "In recent years videogame companies have recognized the role of player engagement as a major factor in user experience and enjoyment. This en-couraged a greater investment in new types of game controllers such as the WiiMote™, Rock Band™ instruments and the Kinect™. However, the native software of these controllers was not originally designed to be used in other game applications. This work addresses this issue by building a middleware framework, which maps body poses or voice commands to actions in any game. This not only warrants a more natural and customized user-experience but it al-so defines an interoperable virtual controller. In this version of the framework, body poses and voice commands are respectively recognized through the Ki-nect's built-in cameras and microphones. The acquired data is then translated into the native interaction scheme in real time using a lightweight method based on spatial restrictions. The system is also prepared to use Nintendo's Wiimote™ as an auxiliary and unobtrusive gamepad for physically or verbally impractical commands. System validation was performed by analyzing the per-formance of certain tasks and examining user reports. Both confirmed this ap-proach as a practical and alluring alternative to the game's native interaction scheme. In sum, this framework provides a game-controlling tool that is totally customizable and very flexible, thus expanding the market of game consumers."

Abstract: "the boom of Cloud Computing services in the recent years has created new opportunities and removed many of the limitations that are typically tied to software deployed on the Internet. It has been shown that the development of online games can benefit from the integration of Cloud services into their design in order to solve many of the problems that plague their development and maintenance. In this paper, we first discuss the current designs of online gaming architectures and present their limits. The solutions offered by using Cloud services in respect to these video games are then explored and the new problems that arise from this combination are addressed. We also present a case study by deploying an online First Person Shooter multiplayer video game on currently available Cloud infrastructures (using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud) and detailing our architecture specifically designed for this purpose. We show that, where once entering the market of online games was solely affordable by big companies due to the high infrastructure costs, a single person could now create and deploy an online game."

Abstract: "As computational capability continues to increase, the tools available to designers of digital games have become more robust, allowing high fidelity graphics and sound to become common, and resulting in a market saturated with kinetic-based games. However, consumers and educators are eschewing such games for more complex and immersive stories, the creation of which has proven a difficult mountain for designers to climb. A central reason is that story-immersive games rely on dialogue between the player character (PC) and nonplayer characters (NPCs), the writing and coding of which is time consuming and inefficient. This paper documents the author's experiences with complex, branching dialogue systems, and examines the possibility of system automation through natural language processing (NLP)."

"Millions flock to their computers, consoles, mobile phones, tablets, and social networks each day to play World of Warcraft, Farmville, Scrabble, and countless other games, generating billions in sales each year. The careful and skillful construction of these games is built on decades of research into human motivation and psychology: A well-designed game goes right to the motivational heart of the human psyche. In For the Win, authors Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter argue persuasively that gamemakers need not be the only ones benefiting from game design. Werbach and Hunter are lawyers and World of Warcraft players who created the world's first course on gamification at the Wharton School. In their book, they reveal how game thinking?addressing problems like a game designer?can motivate employees and customers and create engaging experiences that can transform your business. For the Win reveals how a wide range of companies are successfully using game thinking. It also offers an explanation of when gamifying makes the most sense and a 6-step framework for using games for marketing, productivity enhancement, innovation, employee motivation, customer engagement, and more."

"In the space of several years, the Chinese games industry to reverse its market share with regards to Korean incumbents in China. We analyze the catch-up process that allowed this to happen by separately analyzing the core constituents of games (design, technology (code), content, and in a broader fashion, elements of the business model) as layered components."

Abstract: "Despite the continuous and abundant growth of the game market the uptake of games in education has been hampered by the general impression that games require complex technologies and that games are difficult to organise and to embed in education curriculums. This paper explores to what extent a simple serious game scenario that can be easily adopted and adapted by individual teachers and that only uses a common, relatively simple technology can leverage the adoption of serious games. It discusses the design of such a game, Argument, based on a Wiki and its use in a 6 weeks trial by students of a Master of Learning Sciences Programme. The results indicate that, even though a Wiki has clear limitations, it is a useful instrument to build game alike educational activities, to gain experience with and as a first step to use (more) complex serious games."

Comparison of mobile gaming with traditional console games and industry figures

Abstract: "Through the use of an online discussion, this study collected the detailed perspectives of 29 'hardcore' and 'casual' gamers, regarding the topic of FPS video games. It investigates what the gamers want in a FPS by means of an online discussion which builds on the benefits of both ethnography and focus group methodologies. Since the study's main goal was exploratory, a qualitative approach was considered the most appropriate; in addition to this, the method used to collect the data was done within a grounded theory framework. This study finds that, though graphics have historically been a major factor in driving the success of a FPS video game, this is no longer the case. Gamers expect there to be a balance between the different components, with a more holistic gaming experience desired, and that too much focus on one component at the expense of another will result in an unsatisfactory video game experience. This can be seen in comments given by the participants indicating too much emphasis of the graphics quality in a FPS and not enough on story or the multiplayer aspects results in a video game which is neither fun nor praiseworthy. The latter is perceived significant as with such an oversaturation in the video game market, developers rely heavily on positive word of mouth to advertise their games. This study's main goal was to develop a better understanding of the expectations of gamers regarding FPS; in doing so, it has laid out the basis for producing a 'magic formula' for a great FPS video game. It has also highlighted several other areas which need further investigation in order to better understand the behavioural motives and actions of gamers from both 'hardcore' and 'casual' communities."

International trade association welcoming "developers, artists, programmers, publishers, project leads, administrators, faculty, human resource personnel, middleware and tool companies, service providers, vendors, researchers, analysts, marketing, advertising and public relations personnel, consultants and students."

"The app world is becoming cluttered. The best launch initiatives are those that involve choosing strategic partners, creating clever story angles that dovetail with newsworthy occasions, and running a cause marketing campaign and contest. This case study will cover some of these tactics and offer some of the lessons we learned along the way."

"Turkey's gaming presence is on the rise for the year 2012, as a Newzoo survey infographic shows an estimated $450 million gaming market for the country full of dedicated massively multiplayer and social gamers."

Includes overview of Mass DiGi's activities (outreach. marketing, business development,) education and research, events, advocacy and fundraising, and next fiscal year preview

Application of political economics to the study of video game industry business models

"what makes a video game replayable and why exactly the replayability of a game should matter to the companies producing the games and the consumers buying them. Information on replayability is very important to both the companies producing games and the consumers purchasing them. It is necessary for companies to achieve a balance in the amount of replayability a video game possesses. In other words, companies should aim for a certain ―value‖ of game play per dollar. If a game is not replayable, consumers will quickly tire 7 of the game and discard it, as it does not have high replay value. This takes away from the popularity of the game and possible sales from future games in the same series. On the other hand, if the game is too replayable, the consumer may not feel a need to buy any more games and video game companies will be unable to generate a profit. For companies, the value of the game requires a delicate balance to produce a game which will keep players interested long enough for the company to develop a new game before they tire of the game they have, but not too long so that when the company release the new game the buyers are in line waiting for it."

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."

"In this study we build and analyze corpora of internet message board discussions and use this analysis to build a model that attempts to predict videogame sales figures. Weekly corpora are built by downloading and processing text consisting of the discussions of a large community focused on the topic of videogames. This text is then analyzed to determine which videogame titles generate the most discussion within the community for each week. We use support vector regression to create a model that is able to make predictions about future sales figures"

Computer games for pets, potential new market?