Group items tagged

"The UT^2 game bot, created by computer scientists Jacob Schru, Igor Karpov and Risto Miikkulainen, won the Humanlike Bot Competition at the IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI 2012). "The idea of the competition is to evaluate how we can make game bots, non-player characters (NPCs) controlled by AI algorithms, appear as human as possible," explains Miikkulainen, professor of computer science in the College of Natural Sciences. "It is generally recognized that NPCs are relatively weak in most video games: their behavior is predictable and mechanical, and they often make mistakes that human players would be unlikely to make. Players often enjoy playing against other humans, because it provides a more interesting game experience. The goal of the competition is to promote more research in human-like bots, as well as evaluate how well we are currently doing in this area."

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

Abstract: "In on-line role-playing games (RPG), each race holds some attributes and skills. Each skill contains several abilities such as physical damage, hit rate, etc. Parts of the attributes and all the abilities are a function of the character's level, which are called Ability-Increasing Functions (AIFs). A well-balanced on-line RPG is characterized by having a set of well-balanced AIFs. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary design method, including integration with an improved Probabilistic Incremental Program Evolution (PIPE) and a Cooperative Coevolutionary Algorithm (CCEA), for on-line RPGs to maintain the game balance. Moreover, we construct a simplest turn-based game model and perform a series of experiments based on it. The results indicate that the proposed method is able to obtain a set of well-balanced AIFs effi-ciently. They also show that in this case the CCEA outperforms the simple genetic algorithm, and that the capability of PIPE has been significantly improved through the improvement work."

"The game enjoyment threshold model was used to evaluate player feedback in the feasibility study of a serious game, Wellness Partners. This game was purposefully developed as a web-based application that combines digital gaming and social networking to promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. The game design team led by the second author consisted of current students and alumni at the Interactive Media Division at the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California. The primary participants were middle-aged university staff (egos) and they were asked to invite at least one family member or friend to enroll in the game as their wellness partners (alters). Players can accumulate points by sending status updates about their physical activities or setbacks. They can redeem their points to collect virtual objects or play animations of a virtual character related to healthy activities. A tag cloud is generated based the frequency of physical activities reported by members in a playgroup."

Abstract: "The paper describes the process of building a new database of sound effects recordings for computer games and the first version of such product. Ways of applying signal processors for postproduction is described, as well as differences in audio edition for films and games. Some aspects of using sounds in games are also mentioned as well as the first version of the list of possible tags of the audio files in the database. Both the language of the tags and the datatabse will be substanially enlarged."

Abstract: Joseph Campbell's Monomyth not only provides a well-proven pattern for successful storytelling, it may also help to guide teams and team leaders through the challenges of change and innovation processes. In project "HELD: Innovationsdramaturgie nach dem Heldenprinzip" researchers of the University of the Arts Berlin and the Berlin Gameslab, part of the University of Applied Sciences HTW-Berlin, team up to examine the applicability of the Hero's Journey to change management using an adaptation of Campbell's pattern called „Heldenprinzip®". The project's goal is not to teach the stages of the Monomyth as mere facts but to enable participants of training courses and interventions to actually experience its concepts using a portfolio of creative and aesthetic methods. While a pool of aesthetic methods - like drawing, performing or role-playing - is already being used, the Gameslab subproject qualitatively researches the potentials for enriching and complementing these methods with interactive digital media and games. This paper discusses three types of game based learning treatments to be used in training and intervention sessions as well as teaching the Monomyth in a game based learning university course. The first option is providing participants with a game that follows the Hero's Journey and inducing them to reflect on the experience and its relation to the learning goal. An alternative strategy is to make participants go through a game sequence broaching issues that are relevant for a stage or the journey of change in general. Last but not least, digital equivalents of the non-digital aesthetic methods can be constructed using digital games or digitally enhanced set-ups for playful interactions. All three treatments have their merits and pitfalls, which are discussed in relation to the identified game-based learning scenarios: self-study, blended game-based learning and face-to-face sessions"

Abstract: "This literature review describes gamification and how it can be used in a crowdsour cing context. It relates motivations for participating in such activity as more intrinsic than conventional methods, and as such provides numerous benefits. Such benefits include more accurate work, better retention rates, and a more cost effective solutio n. Elements of gamification are examined, as well as how it can be applied to existing applications."

abstract: "This literature review will discuss the efficacy of using video game programming as an attractor and entry point to engage middle- and high-school girls in a computer science curriculum. The review begins by exploring historical trends of female participation in the technology industry and in computer science programs at the high-school and collegiate levels, and the impact these trends have on women's opportunities. For additional background context, the review will then review a number of empirical studies regarding girls' attitudes toward computer science, as well as environmental and social influences that impact their participation in the field. It will then identify the educational and social goals of increased female participation in the computer science curriculum and briefly discuss various potential attractors that have been under investigation. Finally, the review will describe specific research studies that explore both how effective the teaching of computer game design is in attracting female students to a computer science course of study, as well as its efficacy in teaching important computer science concepts."

Excerpted in Google Books, Published November 2012."Join videogame industry veteran Michael Thornton Wyman on a series of detailed, behind-the-scenes tours with the teams that have made some of the most popular and critically acclaimed videogames of the modern era. Drawing on insider's perspectives from a wide variety of teams, learn about the creation of a tiny, independent game project (World of Goo), casual game classics (Diner Dash, Bejeweled Twist), the world's most popular social game (FarmVille) as well as the world's most popular MMORPG (World of Warcraft), PC titles (Half Life 2) to AAA console games (Madden NFL 10), and modern-day masterpieces (Little Big Planet, Rock Band, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves). Hear directly from the creators about how these games were made, and learn from their stories from the trenches of videogames production. This book is an excellent resource for those working directly on game design or production, for those aspiring to work in the field, or for anyone who has wondered how the world's greatest videogames get made."

Abstract: "Commissioned by the campus Office of Admissions, we have built a series of three campus tour and orientation games over the past academic year with undergraduate student project teams. Based on well-established game industry practices we followed an iterative agile process with Scrum and managed to avoid many classical pitfalls in game development. While we achieved some measure of success, in post-project analysis, it becomes obvious that our process would have benefited from the heavy emphasis of "users" in the User-Centered Design (UCD) methods. In this position paper, we propose that the serious game development community continue to critically analyze the results from the UCD projects to benefit from its lessons, well-understood good practices, and development paradigms."

Abstract: "Older adults in nursing homes often lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; but these games are not designed with age-related impairments in mind, which prevents the games from being leveraged to increase the activity levels of older adults. In this paper, we create a gardening game specifically addressing institutionalized older adults. Additionally, we present an evaluation of the game that demonstrates how full-body motion-control games can accommodate a variety of user abilities, have a positive effect on mood and, by extension, the emotional well-being of older adults, thereby increasing their quality of life."

"Problem-based learning is a pedagogical approach which started in early 1970s. It is well developed and established until now. Aalborg University in Denmark is one of pioneering world universities in PBL and has accumulated a huge experience in PBL for many different study lines. One of them is Medialogy education, which was established in 2002. This paper presents transfer of experiences from Medialogy education in Denmark to Game development education in Serbia - a new (2 years old) study line successfully developed in the country where game development companies hardly exist, but a need for newly educated programmers is evident."

Report from the Canadian Association of Information Science meeting focusing on game research. Features audio and slides for the presentation "Gaming Works: Mental Health and Wellness in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games" by Diane Rasmussen Neal and Caroline Whippey (scroll down page for presentation)

A discussion with Drew Davidson, author of Well Played, on "the participatory future of content creation" and game design will be archived here.

"this book is full of in-depth close readings of video games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game. Contributors analyze sequences in a game in detail in order to illustrate and interpret how the various components of a game can come together to create fulfilling a playing experience unique to this medium. "

Report of a session from the Connected Health Symposium hosted by Partners Healthcare in Boston this week

From the introduction: "In this paper, we focus on theorizing the design of digital games to support the learning of core scientific concepts and representational practices. Theoretically, we consider two frameworks: Knowledge in Pieces (or KiP) (diSessa 1993; Hammer 1996; Sherin 2001; Clark et al. 2009) and Science as Practice (or SaP) (Pickering 1995; Lehrer and Schauble 2006a; Duschl et al. 2007). While KiP is a theory about the structure of human knowledge, SaP is a theoretical perspective about the development of scientific expertise. Grounded in the history of science, SaP argues that the development of scientific concepts is deeply intertwined with the development of epistemic and representational practices (e.g., modeling). We report how these theoretical frameworks have shaped the design of our digital games for learning Newtonian dynamics across an extended design experiment. We show how shifting from KiP to SaP as the underlying theoretical anchor has ena bled a shift from designing games that focus on conceptual integration (Clark and Martinez-Garza 2012) to games that focus on disciplinary integration. Whereas conceptually integrated games integrate the targeted conceptual relationships directly into the mechanics of the core game environment, disciplinary integration extends conceptual integration by incorporating disciplinary practices as well as conceptual relationships into the mechanics of interacting with, manipulating, or navigating the core game environment. "

"During recent years "gamification" has gained significant attention among practitioners and game scholars. However, the current understanding of gamification has been solely based on the act of adding systemic game elements into services. In this paper, we propose a new definition for gamification, which emphases the experiential nature of games and gamification, instead of the systemic understanding. Furthermore, we tie this definition to theory from service marketing because majority of gamification implementations aim towards goals of marketing, which brings to the discussion the notion of how customer / user is always ultimately the creator of value. Since now, the main venue for academic discussion on gamification has mainly been the HCI community. We find it relevant both for industry practitioners as well as for academics to study how gamification can fit in the body of knowledge of existing service literature because the goals and the means of gamification and marketing have a significant overlap."

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."

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."