Group items tagged

Abstract: "This thesis is a presentation of the design and development of a novel computational artifact: the educational videogame Desperate Fishwives, which harnesses the idea of procedural rhetoric to instruct players on aspects of early modern (cc. 17th century) English life. Herein is detailed the validity of using games as rhetorical and educational devices and the process of designing a game to reflect a particular client's pedagogical style and interpretation of history. This thesis, using the ideas of procedural rhetoric, procedural literacy, and expressive processing, seeks to bridge the gaps between humanities, rhetoric, and software development."

Abstract- "What keeps a player in the game? What makes a game fun? In this paper, we present the results of our studies which may help answer these questions. We will discuss aspects of replayability and the possible existence of ecological effects within our data. Towards a game design methodology, we apply our results by proposing a mapping between core and casual levels in games and replayability aspects. We believe these results can aid software developers produce entertaining games with a long lasting appeal."

Argues that stereotypes of gamers as young and male and women avoiding technology careers are not accurate, and encourages girls and women to seek out careers in gaming industry

"In the first two parts i and ii of this series, I put together an initial model for node.js multiplayer tic-tac-toe game then bolted in a backbone.js controller framework, which allows clients to Backbone.Model.sync model states to backing server. This post completes the game implementation by adding asynchronous plumbing for synchronizing game state amongst game clients."

" 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."

DICE Summit talk from Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney on exponentially increasing computing power and its impact on games

14 of 25 titles launched on Sony's new Vita console are reviewed here

"LÖVE is an *awesome* framework you can use to make 2D games in Lua. It's free, open-source, and works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Contribute You can find the source code on Bitbucket. You can also filebugs and feature requests there."

"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."

"This article is about the learning that occurs from making games, rather than from playing games. In this paper, we describe the use of Rapid Digital Game Creation (RDGC) for learning and teaching Object-Oriented (O-O) concepts. RDGC involves the rapid building of digital games with high-level software that requires little or no programming knowledge. We examine how RDGC supports the understanding of various O-O concepts. Using a theoretical framework of constructionism, we discuss pedagogical guidelines for RDGC-based learning. We suggest that RDGC is a useful pedagogic tool that complements formal programming languages and can help flatten the steep learning curve needed to learn O-O computer programming (or OOP)."

"Inspired by the buzz around HTML5, game development studio Wooga recently attempted to build a complete mobile game with standards-based Web technologies. To share the results of its year-long experiment, the company has published the game's source code on GitHub under an open source software license."

abstract: "Game development is one of the fastest growing industries today. The demand for popular games is impressive and the prospects for employment are promising. However, many recent college graduates do not specialize in this field. A generic computer science degree is adequate, but it could be improved with more relevant training. We propose a dedicated minor that emphasizes software development to prepare students for future study or employment in the game industry. We anticipate that this minor will distinguish students from other recent graduates, increase enrollment, and improve feedback from existing students."

Abstract: "A comprehensive undergraduate curriculum in computer game development is described. The program was created as a set of elective courses in the context of a traditional computer science (CS) degree. Primary goals of the program were to increase enrollment in CS and prepare students for careers in the entertainment software industry. In addition, the CS department sought to compete for students with larger state institutions. To do so effectively the department needed to offer a unique program. Results show the new program helped the CS department to nearly triple enrollment over four years and achieve both statewide prominence and national recognition."

Automating game content generation

Description of a game developed to teach cultural heritage to young Indonesians

From the abstract: "This paper presents a design project of a computer game for integration in multisensory stimulation environments, to be played by children with intellectual disability. The LED-ME prototype is based on accessible technological solutions and dispenses the manipulation of peripheral devices resorting to Camspace® software. The different stages of the project are presented, from the design problem, to the definition of design guidelines, the pilot test and discussion of results. The LED-ME game is suitable for use in multisensory environments, enabling moments of play that require basic cognitive and motor skills."

Enabling streaming of music from social media sites and integrating into online game play

Exposing young children to retro games and equipment and observing the results

Otis report study from 2007-2010 does note " Digital media, including software publishing and video game design and production, had robust earnings gains, with payrolls in the two counties up by a third, to $1.33 billion," although number employed actually declined