Becker Video Game Design

Abstract: "More and more (IT-)suppliers of- fer services to implement gamication in their customers' organizations [2]. What should be considered when start- ing such a project? What are critical success factors to get users involved? This paper is aimed at identifying ways to improve user involvement, specically by target- ing a target audience by its demographics. It aims to do so through literature research and interviews about com- pleted projects. The goal of this research is to add an overview of not only the aforementioned success factors but also a view on if and how they are applied."

towards a game tutorial to "adapts to the skill of the player and tailors itself to the individual player"

Abstract: "Digital games have the potential for changing attitudes towards social issues such as climate change and sustainability. This paper presents the experience of developing a prototype locative game with an augmented reality interface that is designed to fit in with the fractured nature of travel time on public transport. We discuss the technical challenges, usability issues and game design approaches used to work within these constraints."

Abstract: "Amongst the highly interactive media of modern times, video-games are the highlight of digital interactive story- worlds. With a push towards ever increasing player free- dom, video-games have started oering large explorable worlds for the player to delve into. However exploring the digital space in itself often has no meaningful bear- ing on the story. What could be done to make exploring these vast digital worlds itself the catalyst for unfolding a story? Within my research paper, I will investigate what techniques allow for a story-immersive reason to explore, and how a story may be born from exploring."

"In this episode of the Ars Technicast, we talk about where we think the industry is headed and which new players might have real impact. Senior Apple Editor Jacqui Cheng, Social Editor Cesar Torres, and Senior Reviews Editor Lee Hutchinson join Kyle in a discussion about hardware, software, and indie development issues."

"At a DICE Summit conversation this morning, Valve cofounder Gabe Newell and TV and movie director J.J. Abrams announced plans to collaborate on future game and movie projects, including potential Portal and Half-Life movies."

Date to be announced. Taught by Kevin Werbach, University of Pennsylvania. Description: "Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Abstract: "We present concepts of user experience (UX) research and show application areas where UX can be applied. We categorise assessment methods, and present estimation models and metrics of UX. Especially the relations between UX and bio-physiological responses, as well as observations are in the foreground." Includes a section on gamification and game experience.

An event scheduled in Toronto February 20-24 at multiple venues exhibiting art based on video games

Abstract: "We introduce Mechanic Miner, an evolutionary system for discovering simple two-state game mechanics for puzzle platform games. We demonstrate how a re ection-driven generation technique can use a simulation of gameplay to select good mechanics, and how the simulation- driven process can be inverted to produce challenging levels specic to a generated mechanic. We give examples of levels and mechanics generated by the system, summarise a small pilot study conducted with example levels and mechanics, and point to further applications of the technique, including applications to automated game design."

Abstract: "This paper explores the possibilities of game-based learning within the context of a graphic design education. A global network now exists that puts all professionals in competition with one-another, and in order to stay competitive as educators, we must be able to produce professionals that can solve problems creatively. However, traditional teaching methods may in some contexts be unable to provide the kind of education students need, and initial research suggests that game-based learning may be a viable solution. This study establishes a framework of good game-based learning principles and a design for a video game to be used in a teaching environment. Primarily target audiences are teenage students, roughly ages 10 - 14, and college level undergraduate students, ages 18 - 25, of all genders. This video game is intended to teach players situated meanings for key visual communication concepts of grid and modularity, in a way that allows them to create high level relationships between these and their creative work."

From the abstract: "This poster describes instructional strategies that match the information processing needs of adults with ASD. The poster is based on findings from a qualitative pilot study designed to identify best practices for teaching adults with ASD video game design. Data from semi-structured interviews with adult learners revealed direct, interactive, and experiential learning as instructional preferences along with the elimination of stressors (competition with others, limited time, and test taking)."

From the abstract: "Collective Artificial Intelligence (CAI) simulates human intelligence from data contributed by many humans, mined for inter-related patterns. This thesis applies CAI to social role-playing, introducing an end-to-end process for compositing recorded performances from thousands of humans, and simulating open-ended interaction from this data. The CAI process combines crowdsourcing, pattern discovery, and case-based planning. Content creation is crowdsourced by recording role-players online. Browser-based tools allow non-experts to annotate data, organizing content into a hierarchical narrative structure. Patterns discovered from data power a novel system combining plan recognition with case-based planning. The combination of this process and structure produces a new medium, which exploits a massive corpus to realize characters who interact and converse with humans. This medium enables new experiences in videogames, and new classes of training simulations, therapeutic applications, and social robots. .... As a proof of concept, a CAI system has been evaluated by recording over 10,000 performances in The Restaurant Game, automating an AI-controlled waitress who interacts in the world, and converses with a human via text or speech. Quantitative results demonstrate CAI supports significantly open-ended interaction with humans, while focus groups reveal factors for improving engagement."

Abstract: :In this paper, I draw on an embodied cognition approach todescribe how sound mediates our identification with andempathy for video game characters. This identification isdiscussed in terms of mirror neurons and body schema, drawingon theoretical and empirical research to explore ways in whichidentity is created from our embodied interaction with sound. Iconclude by suggesting ways in which sound designers andcomposers can use this information to create more empathy andidentification between players and their game characters."

open source HTML5 mobile game engine

Abstract: "the boom of Cloud Computing services in the recent years has created new opportunities and removed many of the limitations that are typically tied to software deployed on the Internet. It has been shown that the development of online games can benefit from the integration of Cloud services into their design in order to solve many of the problems that plague their development and maintenance. In this paper, we first discuss the current designs of online gaming architectures and present their limits. The solutions offered by using Cloud services in respect to these video games are then explored and the new problems that arise from this combination are addressed. We also present a case study by deploying an online First Person Shooter multiplayer video game on currently available Cloud infrastructures (using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud) and detailing our architecture specifically designed for this purpose. We show that, where once entering the market of online games was solely affordable by big companies due to the high infrastructure costs, a single person could now create and deploy an online game."

Developing educational games with a look towards employing game mechanics in educational settings

abstract: "This paper examines video game sales by platform in the North American market from a period spanning 2006 through 2011. As the home video game industry has rapidly matured and become established as a forefront facet of interactive entertainment in the home, we seek to determine what aspects of the video game market seem to most impact sales. This question is particularly poignant as the maturation of the video game industry has witnessed efforts at both vertical integration and horizontal expansion on the part of the top game publishers and developers in hopes of solidly grounding the industry. This study employs a Kruskal-Wallis test to compare eight different gaming platforms. The results indicate Nintendo's Wii and DS are the top selling game platforms, Xbox 360 is in a second tier, multiple Sony PlayStation platforms are in the third tier, personal computer games are in tier four, and the retired sixth generation Nintendo GameCube is the lowest sales tier."

"Seth Cooper is the lead designer of Foldit, and one of the original creators of the game. He is currently the creative director for the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington. In a recent Science Observer, American Scientist associate editor Katie Burke discussed Foldit and other citizen science games. The following is an extended version of her conversation with Cooper"