"A Comprehensive Study of Sound in Computer Games: How Audio Affects Player ActionJørgensen, Kristine This study examines the functionality of sound in computer games, a topic which has received little attention in game studies and media studies." Especially focuses on player experience of sound
Abstract: "In this project, the following research question is set forth: is it possible to create fair
maps for a video game using multi objective evolution algorithms? A description of
the video game used for this project, Civilization V, is provided as well as an overview
of other map generation methods, and research being done in the field of procedural
content generation. A definition for what is fair is made and expressed through
functions, that evaluate maps for the video game Civilization V. These evaluation
functions express five distinct perspectives on how fair maps are perceived. The
fitness functions are designed to conflict as little as possible with each other. A
method is defined as to how this theory is applied in practice to generate maps for
Civilization V. The evaluation functions are applied on maps from the game's map
generation method, and compared to maps that have been evolved with the method
provided by this project."
"Online games increasingly sell virtual goods to generate real income. As a result, it is
increasingly important to identify factors and theory of consumption values that affect intent to
purchase virtual goods in online games. However, very little research has been devoted to the
topic. This study is an empirical investigation of the factors and theory of consumption values
that affect intent to purchase virtual goods in online games. The study determines the effects of
game type, satisfaction with the game, identification with the character, and theory of
consumption values on intent to purchase virtual goods. The study used a survey to collect
information from 523 virtual game users. Study results showed that game type is a moderating
variable that affects intent to purchase virtual goods. And it demonstrated that role-playing game
users are affected by theory of consumption values: functional quality, playfulness, and social
relationship support. Moreover, war-strategy game users are affected by satisfaction with the
game, identification with the character, and theory of consumption values: price, utility, and
playfulness. The study also presents conclusions, proposes applications, and describes
opportunities for further research."
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: "Scalability, fast response time, and low cost are of utmost importance in designing a successful massively multiplayer online
game. The underlying architecture plays an important role in meeting these conditions. Peer-to-peer architectures, due to their
distributed and collaborative nature, have low infrastructure costs and can achieve high scalability. They can also achieve
fast response times by creating direct connections between players. However, these architectures face many challenges.
Distributing a game among peers makes maintaining control over the game more complex. Peer-to-peer architectures also tend
to be vulnerable to churn and cheating. Moreover, different genres of games have different requirements that should be met by
the underlying architecture, rendering the task of designing a general purpose architecture harder. Many peer-to-peer gaming
solutions have been proposed that utilize a range of techniques while using somewhat different and confusing terminologies.
This paper presents a comprehensive overview of current peer-to-peer solutions for massively multiplayer games using a
uniform terminology"
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: "Among numerous classical statistics paradoxes, N
-
uel (for N
ℕ
\
{1}, because N
-
uel where
N =
1 is clearly not that interesting!) problem shows that the fittest of all competitors does not
necessarily win this competition.
Truel, Quadruel,
and
Nuel
is simply an extension of a duel
tournament, which involves more than two people (
Pirates of Caribbe
an
three
-
way sword fight serves
as an appropriate visual representation).
In addition, each N
-
uel player actually may possess different
winning maximization strategy
, since the Nuel tournament is known to illustrate that a fitter/better
competitor in a mul
ti
-
entry survival type competition does not necessarily possess significantly
higher chance of survival than others.
It is my desire to see this process: I want to visualize the N
-
uel process as a third
-
person observer, and if a person was playing this as
a video game (which I plan
on developing via Java Programming), I also want to visualize the winning strategies each video
game participant follows."
Abstract: ""Sequence
Breaking" is a type of feature interaction conflict that exists in video games
where the player gains access to a portion of a
game that should be inaccessible. In such
instances,
a
game's subsuming featur
e
-
its storylin
e
-
is
disrupted, as the predefined set
of valid
event sequences
-
event
s being
uninterruptable unit
s
of functionality that
further
the game's story
-
is
not honoured, as per the game
designer
s'
intentions.
We postulate
that sequence breaking
often arise
s
through
bypassing
g
eographic barriers, chea
ting, and
misunderstanding on the player's behalf.
Throughout this dissertation, we pre
sent an approach to preventing seque
nce breaking at
run
-
time
with the help of Use Case Maps.
We create a "narrative manager" and traversal
algorithm to monitor the playe
r's narrative progress and check the legality of attempted
event calls. We verify our solution through test cases and show its feasibility through a
game
, concluding
t
hat our solution is sufficient and feasible."
"e describe an approach for developing an in-
telligent game master (GM) for computer role-playing games.
The role of the GM is to set up the game environment, man-
age the narrative ow and enforce the game rules whilst
keeping the players engaged. Our approach is to use the
popular Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model of agents to de-
veloping a GM."
Abstract :"Immigrants
entering the European Community face a range of
challenges in adapting to and understanding the culture of their
host nation. Failure to address these challenges can lead to
isolation and difficulties integrating into the society
of the host
country,
leading to
fragmented communities and
a range of
social
issues
.
As part of a comprehensive suit
e of services for
immigrants
, the European
-
funded M
obile Assistance for Social
Inclusion and Empowerment of Immigrants with Persuasive
Learning Technologies and Social Network Services
(MASELTOV)
project seeks to provide both practical tools and
le
arning services via mobile devices, providing a readily usable
resource for
immigrants
.
In this workshop paper, the
game
-
based
learning
aspect of the MASELTOV project is introduced, with the
rationale behind its design presented. In doing so, the b
enefits and
implications of mobile platforms and emergent dat
a capture
techniques for game
-
based learning
are discussed, as are methods
for putting engaging gameplay at the forefront of the experience
whilst relying on rich data capture and analysis to pro
vide an
effective learning solution.
Through comparison to several other
projects, a number of recommendations are put forward for games
deployed in contexts similar to that of MASELTOV: a focus on
establishing a significant audience with which to conduct
ethical
research into efficacy, the need for robust pedagogical frameworks
suited to the learning context,
and the evolution of methods for
data capture and analysis of player activity."
Abstract: "With the increasing potential for gaming hardware
and peripherals to support biometrics, their application within
the games industry for software and design should be
considered.
This pa
per assesses the ability to use a form of biometric
measurement, heart rate, in real
-
time to improve the challenge
and enjoyment of a game by catering it to individuals of
varying ability
.
While the findings of this study are valuable to
game developers in
terested in providing additional dimensions
to gameplay and testing, they may also be useful for those
researching medical or the
rapeutic applications for games
.
The results suggest that although the tested game was
inherently challenging and enjoyable, t
he adaptive affective
gameplay was not altering the game enough to induce strong
physiological or emotional responses from participants.
Biofeedback games lend themselves to medical applications,
but adaptive affective games can be used to respond
sympathe
tically to the player without requiring direct control
of physiological responses
as a form of input."
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 benet, 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"
Abstract: "A number of changes are occurring in the field
of computer game development: persistent online games, digital
distribution platforms, social and mobile games, and the emer-
gence of new business models have pushed game development to
put heavier emphasis on the live operation of games. Artificial
intelligence has long been an important part of game development
practices. The forces of change in the industry present an
opportunity for Game AI to have new and profound impact on
game development practices. Specifically, Game AI agents should
act as "producers" responsible for managing a long-running set
of live games, their player communities, and real-world context.
We characterize a confluence of four major forces at play in the
games industry today, together producing a wealth of data that
opens unique research opportunities and challenges for Game
AI as producers. We enumerate 12 new research areas spawned
by these forces and steps toward how they can be addressed by
data-driven Game AI Producers"
Abstract: "Location-based mobile gaming
combines gameplay with physical ac
tivity. We have developed a game, O-
Mopsi, based on the concept of orienteering, which can
be played on mobile phones with GPS receiver and
Internet connection. In order to complete a game, a play
er must visit a set of targets that are photos chosen
from a user-generated geotagged database. Game crea
tion, management and live tracking can be done using
a web interface. The game was presented at an annual
international festival whic
h is aimed at introducing
science and technology to school children and the overa
ll feedback received from the players was positive. "
Abstract: "The explorer player type has remained a focal point in discussions of game design and
research for several years. Though valuable insights have built an understanding of
explorers from online multiplayer and individual characteristic perspectives, there still
remains a need to further understand and empirically specify what aspects of games are
appealing to explorers. Accordingly, the Gameplay Enjoyment Model (GEM; Quick,
Atkinson, & Lin, 2012b) provides a detailed, empirical perspective on the explorer
through a set of specific game design features. Using these features, games can be
designed to leverage what is known about how explorers experience enjoyment through
games. A practical demonstration of how to design Exploration features into a game is
offered through an analysis of Pathfinders Way. This article aims to encourage a deeper
understanding of explorers and provide practical guidance on how empirical research
results can be incorporated into game design practice."
abstract: "This
paper discusses a scenario in which human computation is used to
segment timestamped fashion images for mining trends based on
visual features of garments (e.g., color and texture) and attributes
of portrayed subjects (e.g., gender and age). State-of-the-art
algorithms for body part detection and feature extraction can
produce low quality results when parts of the body are occluded
and when dealing with complex human poses. In such cases, these
algorithms could benefit from the assistance of human agents.
In order to jointly leverage the potential of crowds and image
analysis algorithms, a game with a purpose (GWAP) is proposed,
whereby players can help segment images for which specialized
algorithms have failed, so as to improve the extraction of color
and texture features of garments and their association with the
features of the subject wearing them."
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: "ARTigo
is a Game with a Purpose platform whose goal is
to collect tags for
artworks, which
can be used for retrieval.
The ARTigo gam
es form a tagging ecosystem, where the
games cooperate in order to gather a wide range of
information.
Description games
create initial tags, in order
to enable other games to be played and collect semantically
shallow surface tags.
Dissemination games
sp
read existing data to other
artworks or languages, and do not create new information.
Diversification games
feed
on data produced by other
games
and guide the players
to
entering
more specific tags.
Finally,
integration games
create higher
-
order tags with
deep semantic meanings, describing emotions for example.
All these different types of tags have different semantic
depths, and are present in different quantities. Together,
they create a pool of complementary tags accurately
describing
artworks, which
can
be processed for data
mining."