Becker Video Game Design

proposal for real-time learning assessment for educational games

"What are the appropriate curriculum competencies for a secondary level Game Art and Design curriculum for technology education in the United States? There was an absence of research related to gaming education in the secondary level classroom, particularly in the field of technology education. This research strove to alleviate any impediments, while establishing curriculum competencies for a secondary Game Art and Design course framework."

considers career progression and barriers for men and women in game design and development

"Many games and consoles today allow for a player to substitute a personal music playlist into the video game. We examined the influence that a player's choice of music has on the player's experience in one particular game, Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage. "

Responding to research showing most players replace game soundracks with their own musical selection and miss game cues, software named Harmonious is introduced to improve such substitutions

From the abstract: Recent studies show that the second generation of migrants is not adequately integrated into mainstream society but tends to segregate into secluded segments. 'Internet Use and Friendship Structures of young migrants in Vienna: a Question of Diversity within Social Networks and Online Social Games'1 is a transdisciplinary2 research project with the objective to create a serious music-based online social game, which firstly is intended to be a positive impact game with the purpose of furthering integration and encouraging the manifestation of meaningful multiethnic relations. Secondly, the game shall make social interaction observable for evaluation. This paper gives an overview of which methodological approaches can be combined in the phases of the game's design process and shows how the mutual embedding of game design researchers and social scientists works in this context."

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

An industry report from BMO Capital Markets (October 2011)

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

"Old school" game design project at Lorain County Community College

Nominations accepted until Feb 1, public voting open March 1, awards April 3, 2012

Ars Technica's 10 worst and 20 best games, reviewed

Combined video game and computer science course with emphasis on iPhone/iTouch

Abstract: "The rising acceptance of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) in the e- Learning field poses new challenges such as producing student-centered courses which can be automatically tailored to each student's needs. For this purpose digital games can be used, taking advantage of their flexibility (good video games always try to adapt to different players) and capabilities to stealthily track players' activity, either for producing an accurate user model or enhancing the overall assessment capabilities of the system. In this chapter we discuss the integration of digital games in Virtual Learning Environments and the need of standards that allow the interoperable communication of games and VLE. We also present a middle-ware architecture to integrate video games in VLEs that addresses the technical barriers posed by the integration. We present a case study with the implementation of the architecture in the game authoring platform, along with three examples of video game integration in educational settings"

Global citizenship considered in the context of digital games?

Study of leadership principles revealed in multiplayer games which can inform future game design

TEMPE, AZ--(Marketwire - Dec 9, 2011) - The IEEE announced Tellus as the winner of the second contest in the SAVEEARTHGAME Playable Game Design Competition. The Tellus team created and submitted a fully functional game that challenges players to save the Earth based off real-world data and issues. IEEE collaborated...

Relativity in a rock field: A study of physics learning with a computer game David Carr and Terry BossomaierCharles Sturt University These results appear to run counter to people's intuitive understanding, and lead to such unexpected effects as length contraction, time dilation and mass dilation (some background is provided in the following Literature review section).

Consideration of usability testing for serious, educational games

by Larissa Hjorth, published February 2011 (Bloomsbury)