Becker Video Game Design

Sales of physical games on decrease compared with digital games

Report from the Games for Health conference points to US government interests and potential regulatory considerations

Abstract: "Using aleatoric compositional principles borrowed from the American avant-garde composer John Cage, we have created a work that explores the auditory experience of video game play. IJCno1 is interactive, relying on live video game play to provide sonic input, input that is manipulated using a soundboard."

Abstract: "Video games that customize to a player's experience level and abilities have the potential to allow a broader range of players to become engaged and maintain interest as they progress in experience level. A game that uniquely customizes the player's experience could attract additional demographics to gaming, which will result in a distinct edge in marketability and potential revenue. This thesis examines a subsection of adaptive gaming systems from the perspective of identifying game factors that alter the level of difficulty. Our focus is to provide a solution useful to both research and commercial gaming communities by developing a system that simulates results offline yet can be integrated into online play. While online performance is the main goal of an adaptive system, the offline simulation provides several benefits. Offline simulation allows the elimination of insignificant factors from inclusion in the training and evolution phase of machine learning algorithms. In addition it provides commercial games with a useful tool or method for performing game balancing and level tuning. To test our approach we designed a test-bed version of the game Pac-Man. The experimental testbed alters environment variables to evaluate their effect on a set of selected response variables. Observing the results of several response variables provides the potential to represent multiple player states, though our focus is on controlling the difficulty for a player. The testbed will simulate the actions of both Pac-Man and the ghosts over a variety of different settings and strategies. The evaluation of a factor's significance and its effect size are calculated using a factorial analysis approach. This method allows the identification of factors relevant to both individual strategies, and the set of all player strategies. Finally, as a proof of concept for both the online and adaptation prospects of this method, we developed a prototype adaptive system. Utilizing the releva

Mainstream game publishers exploring Linux game development

"Yanis Varoufakis, "an academic economist," recounts the story of how his widely read writings on the Euro crisis led to a job offer from Valve software, who were contemplating the creation of a shared virtual currency between two worlds. Valve founder Gabe Newell was contemplating balance of payments when he realized "this is Germany and Greece," and he wrote to Varoufakis to ask for his consulting help. "

"A new iPhone game that turns players into pathogens keen on destroying humanity has gone viral and its creator and locals say the app does a better job of teaching users about disease than terrifying them. In the two weeks since its release, Plague Inc. has become the top paid app for iPhones."

"In this study, we investigate these issues in the context of a table tennis video game. The results show that the impact of holding a physical controller, or indeed of the fidelity of that controller, does not appear in simple measures of performance. Rather, the difference between controllers is a function of the responsiveness of the game being controlled, as well as other factors to do with expectations, real world game experience and social context."

"Motion-based games help to increase the likelihood that a patient will complete therapeutic exercises at home by using a game context to motivate the patients. The scope of this paper is to explore the interactive technologies that are used to develop these games, and their value in the context of stroke rehabilitation. The games will be evaluated from both a result focused perspective and patient usability perspective."

"A video celebrating the 100,000+ items of player-created content that can be found and played in Trials Evolution on Xbox Live Arcade."

"June 19, 2012 - Students in the University of Utah's Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) program have pulled more firsts out of their impressive hats. This time, it is the release of "Heroes of Hat," the first game produced by students in the EAE program that can be played by up to four people in what is called "multiplayer co-op mode.""

"Our group formed around the common theme of piracy, and after iterating through several different subthemes, we finally settled on two distinct persuasive objectives in our game. First of all, we intended to persuade the player that piracy is not theft. Secondly, we intended to convey the message that the media industry hides and distorts the reality of the situation for its own benefit. The game is meant to inspire critical thinking and discussion about the topics being discussed in the game."

"Abstract The use of simulations and digital games in learning and assessment is expected to increase over the next several years. Although there is much theoretical support for the benefits of digital games in learning and education, there is mixed empirical support. This research report provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical evidence behind five key claims about the use of digital games in education. The claims are that digital games (1) are built on sound learning principles, (2) provide more engagement for the learner, (3) provide personalized learning opportunities, (4) teach 21st century skills, and (5) provide an environment for authentic and relevant assessment. The evidence for each claim is presented and directions for future research are discussed."

"One Shrewsbury company is bringing online, tech. and video game-related jobs to the area. Elevation Exhibits & Events, an exhibit design and event-planning firm, announced a new client, Rooster Teeth. The newly added user is one of the fastest-growing online communities in the comic book, video, film and gaming industry."

"Turkey's gaming presence is on the rise for the year 2012, as a Newzoo survey infographic shows an estimated $450 million gaming market for the country full of dedicated massively multiplayer and social gamers."

"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."

"Examination of the history, development, and future of adaptive, dynamic, and interactive music in video games. Discussions include nonlinear music historical developments, compositional approaches for adaptive music, generative music, testing methods in the compositional and implementation stages, the evolving industry of adaptive music composition, future technological developments in music production and gaming, and adaptive music beyond games. Also included is an appendix of video game case studies, as well as an appendix of professional insight from game industry veterans."

"Video games are a real revolution in the world of computers, programming and amusement. It all started from a small experiment of a programmer and has exploded into a great unstoppable industry producing even video games addicts. Basics: A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device."

from Proceedings of the 12th European Conference of Knowledge Management Academic Conferences Limited

June 28, 2012 - A new video game design lab will research and develop compelling video games that engage students in innovative ways and validate student learning of the core skills deemed critical by states for college and the 21st century workplace.