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From the abstract: "Traditionally, the tasks associated with game AI revolved around non player character (NPC) behavior at dierent levels of control, varying from navigation and pathnding to decision making. Commercial-standard games developed over the last 15 years and current game productions, however, suggest that the traditional challenges of game AI have been well addressed via the use of sophisticated AI approaches, not necessarily following or inspired by advances in academic practices. The marginal penetration of traditional academic game AI methods in industrial productions has been mainly due to the lack of constructive communication between academia and industry in the early days of academic game AI, and the inability of academic game AI to propose methods that would signicantly advance existing development processes or provide scalable solutions to real world problems. Recently, however, there has been a shift of research focus as the current plethora of AI uses in games is breaking the non-player character AI tradition. A number of those alternative AI uses have already shown a signicant potential for the design of better games. This paper presents four key game AI research areas that are currently reshaping the research roadmap in the game AI eld and evidently put the game AI term under a new perspective. These game AI agship research areas include the computational modeling of player experience, the procedural generation of content, the mining of player data on massive-scale and the alternative AI research foci for enhancing NPC capabilities."

Abstract: "The purpose of this research was to develop and test smartphone game application for physical activity promotion in adolescen ts. The first study included various user - centered approaches (e.g. qualitative data, idea sessions) to get feedback on what was desired from the adolescents in terms of game development and design. The second study examined the degree to which mobile heal th studies reported on internal and external validity indicators. The last study evaluated the smartphone game applications through a mixed - methods approach. The results of this research showed that ph ysical activity while playing smartphone game applica tions can yield moderate physical activity intensity. Moreover, adolescents had moderate perceptions of the games and recommended specific changes to the games. Likewise, t he data suggest that smartphone physical activity game applications can be enjoyable if they are aesthetically appealing, easy to use, and foster social peer interactions . Overall, t his research demonstrated that smartphone games that were developed and designed based on adolescents' preferences and persuasive technology design principles could increase physical activity in adolescents and provides a tool for further exploration."

"Keywords for Video Game Studies Colloquium Saturday, May 19, 2012 8 AM to 4 PM Communication 202 University of Washington, Seattle" "The Keywords for Video Game Studies colloquium invites game scholars, artists, designers, developers, and enthusiasts to participate in roundtable discussions, presentations of individual and collaborative work, scholarship, and play. This year's colloquium, broadly themed by the keywords "research/design," is the capstone event to a year-long series of workshop sessions on democracy, time, altplay/fandom, gold farming, and hack/mod. The colloquium, now in its second year, hopes to foster the growing engagement with what it means to study or make or play digital games."

Abstract: "This paper discusses the theoretical choices underpinning the creation of a video game called Medicina. This game is designed to broadly foster better language skills among international nursing students with English as a Second Language (ESL) and more specifically to teach confusable medication names and improve reaction time to verbal orders. Research shows that the intentional learning of vocabulary is important to language learning. Without adequate vocabulary knowledge, it is difficult for an international student to interact in professional and university settings. This situation is compounded by the expectation that students will learn key vocabulary incidentally through academic pre-readings, despite the Research demonstrating this to be an inefficient and inadequate method of learning. Moreover, medication names are low-frequency vocabulary. Thus, the international student who seeks to enter the health profession encounters the task of learning an entire subset of language but without the amount of exposure theorised as being necessary to it. Repeated exposure to these words is needed, leading to automaticity. The paper will outline how the language-learning video game is designed to encourage discrimination between word forms, allowing for multiple exposures to both written and spoken vocabulary, and promoting automaticity in pharmacological terminology."

Abstract: "The CHERMUG project aims to develop a digital game to support students in acquiring methodological and statistical expertise. This deliverable describes a literature review which was carried out to identify papers which describe digital games which aim to teach research methods and statistics. Search terms included varied terms for digital games, terms relevant to the twin goals of games for learning and engagement and terms for methodological and statistical knowledge. Search terms identified 38 papers which were considered relevant. The literature review confirmed that there are relatively few papers describing the use of games for teaching research methods and statistics and even fewer which carried out rigorous evaluations of their success, although several e-learning applications and animations to teach research methods and statistics were identified as well as papers looking at how statistics should be taught."

"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."

"a national program that provides scientific leadership and resources to advance the research, design and effectiveness of digital games and game technologies that promote health. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio and headquartered at the University of California, Santa Barbara"

"Driven by an initiative of the Adult & Paediatric Diabetes Psychology Service of New Zealand, research has been performed to develop new mechanisms, in the form of computer games, to educate children and teenagers about living with diabetes. Aimed at achieving maximum education effectiveness, the ultimate goal of our research is to develop innovative machine learning algorithms that can be used in games to improve their ability to learn about the changing needs of children and to incorporate this intelligence into the game interface. We also plan to collect and report on the information collected from testing our computer games within a small group of children who have been diagnosed with type I diabetics. "

Abstract: "Twenty three interviews and four surveys were conducted as case studies investigating the perceptions of expertise, expertise acquisition, and gaps in employment readiness for novice game developers. Participants were primarily game development production staff and educators involved in game related programs. Research results were compared to employability skills Research. The findings indicated that there is a great deal of alignment between them, but employability skills may be insufficient on their own to be a reliable standalone source for curriculum development in the game development field because of the industry's unique characteristics. Implications from the Research results, and insights from the in-depth interviews, that may be relevant to curriculum developers include evidence for a mismatch of the values, needs, and expectations of stakeholders; and a delineation of key characteristics of expertise and long-term success that may be valuable for inclusion in curriculum outcomes and measures. Two of the key characteristics identified were goal-focused passion, and holistic perspectives. Holistic perspectives included an awareness of heuristic use of tacit knowledge. The model of an expert learner was supported as a potential curriculum outcome focus that encapsulated the main characteristics of expertise that novices or advanced beginners could acquire. Another implication is that there may be a relation between expert characteristics and characteristics of functional behaviours that are related to positive psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy."

Health Games Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio (RWJF), has updated its online health games database-the only one of its kind-by adding advanced search features to enhance the user experience. These updates make the database more accessible to new audiences and easier to search through saved searches and new item alerts.

Athens, Ga. - A team of University of Georgia researchers has been awarded a $500,000 small business grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop interactive educational software aimed at teaching high school students how the five senses work in the context of the brain and how neurons work.IS3D LLC, a partnership founded in 2010 by eight UGA faculty and staff members, will develop the software with input from high school teachers and students in Atlanta and northeast Georgia.IS3D will design a game based on the five senses, along with a series of interactive case studies that will allow students to explore how neurons work. The software will be tested in classrooms to gauge their effectiveness in helping students learn and whether they improve the students' engagement in science curriculum

"The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has launched the Center for Digital Games Research to study digital media and games from a multidisciplinary approach. Launched with seed funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the center brings together 30 faculty members with expertise in "human-computer interaction, virtual environments, simulations, social networks, data mining, interactive storytelling and narrative, media neuroscience and behavioral health," among others, according to a news release."

This is the blog of Games and Learning Alliance (GaLA), Network of Excellence for Serious Games, a project " to shape the scientific community and build a European Virtual Research Centre aimed at gathering, integrating, harmonizing and coordinating Research on SGs and disseminating knowledge, best practices and tools as a reference point at an international level. The other key focuses of the project are: the support to deployment in the actual educational and training settings; the fostering of innovation and knowledge transfer through Research-business dialogue; the development high-quality didactics on SG by promoting and supporting courses at Master and PhD level."

"As research for a Ph.D. thesis, we propose to show that a layered Statechart-based AI is a suitable formalism for Game AI, enabling the use of model-driven development techniques such as reuse and high-level analysis including model-checking. The fundamentally modular nature of this approach leads naturally to reuse as a fundamental component of the design process. Supported by a clearly defined formalism, useful behavioural analyses become possible, such as testing reactions to various inputs at design time. We also explore transformations at the modelling level to enable procedural generation, allowing rapid deployment of varying AIs. Additionally, such a model allows for the generation of efficient code that can be directly inserted into games. Tool support for reuse, generation, and analysis will be developed, then employed in creating an industrial scale AI, proving that this formalism is appropriate for industrial use."

Abstract: "Mobile games - in particular, games played on smartphones and tablet computers - are becoming increasingly popular. Yet, there has been little research into whether players can experience immersion while playing mobile games. As the potential for immersive mobile games would be of interest to game developers, researchers and players, it is proposed to measure mobile immersion by comparing Osmos, a multi-platform ambient video game, on three differentsized devices - a smart phone, a tablet and a desktop computer."

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."

Abstract: "This study develops a way to use the technology of video games to help teach people the violin. The unique characteristics of this research are to create a visual representation for music for violinists, to utilize pedagogy for violin education within a video game, and to use the Fast Fourier Transform to process input from an actual acoustic instrument and use the data to track user progress. Music games like JamGuru [9], Rocksmith [19], LittleBigStar [13], and Rock Band [18] have made strides in these areas of research; however, most of these technologies have not been applied to the violin. Expected results are that students' progress rate will increase as a result of playing the game. The input processing used in this research could be applied to areas where sound recognition is important. Furthermore, the concept of an adaptable game can be applied to other academic subjects."

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: "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