Becker Video Game Design

"Smartphone devices are becoming the de facto personal com- puting platform, rivaling the desktop, as the number of smartphone users is projected to reach 1.1 billion by 2013. Unlike the desktop, smartphones have a constrained energy budget, which is further challenged by increasingly sophisti- cated applications. Amongst the most popular applications on smartphone devices are games and virtual environments that rely on 3D graphics. Due to the computational inten- sity of geometry and rasterization, as well as the perpetually illuminated display, these applications are extremely power- hungry. To prolong the battery life of devices running these applications, we propose two new energy-aware adaptation schemes that can be employed in 3D graphics applications: lighting limitation and textural transformation. Our results show that we can conserve between 20% and 33% of energy with acceptable sacrices to a user's visual experience."

"Given the accessibility of games, Fiellin and other Yale researchers see them as an ideal way to teach kids the skills they need to prevent HIV infection. The project is being funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program at Yale."

A game designed to handle large datasets to speed up disease diagnosis through crowdsourcing

Critique of popular crowdfunding sites and identification of a new alternative to raise capital for one's startup or product

from the abstract: "The Meta!Blast project was developed to provide a medium that lends itself to the com- prehension of cell and metabolic biology by placing the student into a virtual plant cell and allowing them to experience plant biology rst-hand (Wurtele, 2011). By taking advantage of existing agile development methodologies, Meta!Blast has been designed to meet many of the challenges of developing video games in an academic environment. Using a special editor, educators and researchers can also modify in-game content in an eort to tailor the game to their specic curriculum needs. Due to the massive, explorative environment in which the game places players, Meta!Blast provides an ideal environment for a variety of other STEM-related mini-games. By leveraging existing methods of current software used to teach computer science, the initial development stage of a mini-game within Meta!Blast called TALUS (Technology Assisted Learning Using Sandbox) has been designed to let players experience dierent computer programming con- ix cepts. The rst iteration has shown that an environment can be created that allows players to interact with actual computer code in a fail-safe and non-violent manner; furthermore, it has the potential to augment a player's existing knowledge of computer programming."

Abstract: "People with motor disabilities have a limitation or a loss of capacity carrying out activities considered as normal for human beings. This may incline the relationship with the society and thus it is essential for these people to undergo therapeutic treatments. However, rehabilitation is a tedious process that often fails due to that patients drop treatment. For this reason, this thesis investigates if music in a serious game for rehabilitation can make the experience to become more engaging and, accordingly, whether positive experiences from playing such a game can encourage the rehabilitation process of a patient i.e. to make the rehabilitation process less tedious for the patient. The results, based on a pilot study conducted in a rehabilitation center, indicates that this is the case and further research on the matter is suggested."

Abstract: "To improve musical auditory habilitation for children post cochlear im- plantation, we developed MOGAT: MObile Games with Au- ditory Training. The system includes three musical games built with o-the-shelf mobile devices to train their pitch perception and intonation skills respectively, and a cloud- based web service which allows music therapists to monitor and design individual training for children. The design of the games and web service was informed by a pilot survey (N=60 children). To ensure widespread use with low-cost mobile devices, we minimized the computation load while retaining highly accurate audio analysis. A 6-week user study (N=15 children) showed that the music habilitation with MOGAT was intuitive, enjoyable and motivating. It has improved most children's pitch discrimination and production, and several children's improvement was statistically signicant (p < 0:05)."

"This paper focuses on the design and development of a gamebased forensics course using the game-based learning (GBL) approach building the game in a real computing environment that has direct access to actual forensics tools from a forensics machine and the evidence from a suspect machine. Interactive visualizations will be used to help students to understand the intangible and inaccessible abstract concepts such as deleted/hidden/encrypted/over-written digital evidence."

"Abstract: Digital games have the potential to create active and engaging environments for learning, supporting problem-solving, communication and group activities, as well as providing a forum for practice and learning through failure. The use of game techniques such as gradually increasing levels of difficulty and contextual feedback support learning, and they can motivate users, using challenges and rewards, competition and mystery. Above all, computer games provide safe spaces in which learners can play, explore, experiment, and have fun. However, finding appropriate games for specific educational contexts is often problematic. Commercial entertainment games are designed for enjoyment, and may not map closely to desired learning outcomes, and the majority of educators do not have the time or specialist expertise to create their own games. Computer games are expensive to purchase or produce, and learners, particularly busy adult learners, need to be convinced of their effectiveness. So while there are many theoretical benefits to the use of computer games for learning, it given the increasing economic constraints in education, their use may simply not be practical. This paper presents three alternative ways in which the theory and practice of computer games can be applied to education, without the expense. First, the option of developing simple and cost-effective games with low technical specifications, such as alternate reality games, or using virtual worlds or one of the growing number of accessible game-builder toolkits to create educational games, will be explored. Second, learning from games rather than with them is discussed, examining game techniques that naturally enhance learning, and embedding those elements in traditional teaching practices. Third, the paper presents the option of giving learners agency as game creators rather than simply players, so that it becomes the process, not the product, which facilitates learning. The advantages and drawbacks

Abstract: "We describe an approach to using standard data mining algorithms to help analyse recurring themes in game design across several games, and to help suggest novel game design ideas. This is illustrated with the analysis of 119 different resource systems across 20 games. Clustering is used to validate the assignment of resources into archetypes; frequent pattern mining is used to find commonly co-occurring resource attributes; and decision tree induction is used to visualize the relations between resource archetypes. We discuss the relation between qualitative and quantitative analysis of game design and suggest that qualitative analysis is necessary but that quantitative methods can be of invaluable help."

"xDELIA Project Number 231830: Xcellence in Decision-making through Enhanced Learning in Immersive Applications"

Abstract: "Procedural content generation (PCG) is concerned with automatically generating game content, such as levels, rules, textures and items. But could the content generator itself be seen as content, and thus generated automatically? This would be very useful if one wanted to avoid writing a content generator for a new game, or if one wanted to create a content generator that generates an arbitrary amount of content with a particular style or theme. In this paper, we present a procedural procedural level generator generator for Super Mario Bros. It is an interactive evolutionary algorithm that evolves agentbased level generators. The human user makes the aesthetic judgment on what generators to prefer, based on several views of the generated levels including a possibility to play them, and a simulation-based estimate of the playability of the levels. We investigate the characteristics of the generated levels, and to what extent there is similarity or dissimilarity between levels and between generators."

"This book supports my own 30-year crusade to demonstrate that games are an art form that undeniably rivals traditional arts. It gives detailed explanations of game art techniques and their importance, while also highlighting their dependence on artistic aspects of game design and programming."

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."

"Create the Gotham for your Batman, the African savannah for your Simba, or the bustling newsroom for your Clark Kent. Background, setting, environment...whatever you call it, it is the silent character in the visual story, and a dynamic and compelling setting can define and hone the action and drama of your story."

Games Learning and Society Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education

from the abstract: "This thesis identifies the need for an advanced search function which takes into consideration the notions of purpose and contextual circumstance of using educational games in order for such a database to be of greater usefulness for users. This thesis presents a design of such a search function, based on the theories of Purushotma (2005), Pannese and Carlesi (2007), Charsky (2010) and Reinders and Wattana (2011). Furthermore this thesis provides an updated metadata model to support such a search function. In the future the search function could be polished from a usability perspective and further developed to incorporate other types of serious games."

"Despite the proliferation of video games in the twenty-first century, the theory of game design is largely underdeveloped, leaving designers on their own to understand what games really are. Helping you produce better games, Game Design Theory: A New Philosophy for Understanding Gamespresents a bold new path for analyzing and designing games."

From the abstract: "In Northern Ireland a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) infrastructure is in place. However, statistics and government reports suggest that VLE use amongst the primary school sector is quite limited. In an attempt to redress the limited use of VLEs in the primary school sector this research investigates the potential of serious games and how they may compliment the National Curriculum with the development of AmbiLearn, an enhanced learning environment with a content neutral game-based approach and content creation and reporting modules. This paper presents the design and implementation of AmbiLearn. Preliminary analysis of data from evaluation of AmbiLearn shows promising results and directions for future work are discussed."