BibSonomy publications for /user/yish/gamesresearchFri Feb 04 12:18:15 CET 2011Interactive Learning Environments161-75Design approaches in technology enhanced learning152007CERME-6-patterns CnE07 Design Designpatterns GLiSL IJCEELL ILE Interactive KalDesignResearch LDSE Technology WLEFormativeEAssessment asld-book asld2011 cal09-patterns cerme6 chais2007 contel11 design designpatterns eLPBookMor edid9 education emdp enhanced environments experiments gamesresearch haifa-edtech jime08 jls10 ldg learning learningdesigngrid lgcbook lp methodology my myown mythesis olnet patternlanguagenetwork patterns polonsky postdocapplication research science selected top Design is a critical to the successful development of any interactive learning environment (ILE). Moreover, in technology enhanced learning (TEL), the design process requires input from many diverse areas of expertise. As such, anyone undertaking tool development is required to directly address the design challenge from multiple perspectives. We provide a motivation and rationale for design approaches for learning technologies that draws upon Simon's seminal proposition of Design Science (Simon, 1969). We then review the application of Design Experiments (Brown, 1992) and Design Patterns (Alexander et al., 1977) and argue that a patterns approach has the potential to address many of the critical challenges faced by learning technologists.Fri Sep 24 00:32:42 CEST 2010Handbook of computer game studies2005computer design game games gamesresearch haifa-games-course handbook learning theory New media students, teachers, and professionals have long needed a comprehensive scholarly treatment of digital games that deals with the history, design, reception, and aesthetics of games along with their social and cultural context. The Handbook of Computer Game Studies fills this need with a definitive look at the subject from a broad range of perspectives. Contributors come from cognitive science and artificial intelligence, developmental, social, and clinical psychology, history, film, theater, and literary studies, cultural studies, and philosophy as well as game design and development. The text includes both scholarly articles and journalism from such well-known voices as Douglas Rushkoff, Sherry Turkle, Henry Jenkins, Katie Salen, Eric Zimmerman, and others. Part I considers the "prehistory" of computer games (including slot machines and pinball machines), the development of computer games themselves, and the future of mobile gaming. The chapters in part II describe game development from the designer's point of view, including the design of play elements, an analysis of screenwriting, and game-based learning. Part III reviews empirical research on the psychological effects of computer games, and includes a discussion of the use of computer games in clinical and educational settings. Part IV considers the aesthetics of games in comparison to film and literature, and part V discusses the effect of computer games on cultural identity, including gender and ethnicity. Finally, part VI looks at the relation of computer games to social behavior, considering, among other matters, the inadequacy of laboratory experiments linking games and aggression and the different modes of participation in computer game culture.Mon Sep 13 17:00:08 CEST 2010Understanding video games: the essential introduction2008games gamesresearch haifa-games-course introduction From Pong to PlayStation 3 and beyond, Understanding Video Games is the first general introduction to the exciting new field of video game studies. This textbook traces the history of video games, introduces the major theories used to analyze games such as ludology and narratology, reviews the economics of the game industry, examines the aesthetics of game design, surveys the broad range of game genres, explores player culture, and addresses the major debates surrounding the medium, from educational benefits to the effects of violence. Throughout the book, the authors ask readers to consider larger questions about the medium: what defines a video game? who plays games? why do we play games? how do games affect the player? Extensively illustrated, Understanding Video Games is an indispensable and comprehensive resource for those interested in the ways video games are reshaping entertainment and society. A Companion Website (www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415977210) features student resources including discussion questions for each chapter, a glossary of key terms, a video game timeline, and links to other video game studies resources for further study.Thu Aug 12 15:30:46 CEST 2010DIGRA Conf.conf/digra/2005Towards an Ontological Language for Game Analysis.2005analysis design games gamesresearch ontology The Game Ontology Project (GOP) is creating a framework for describing, analyzing and studying games, by defining a hierarchy of concepts abstracted from an analysis of many specific games. GOP borrows concepts and methods from prototype theory as well as grounded theory to achieve a framework that is always growing and changing as new games are analyzed or particular research questions are explored. The top level of the ontology (interface, rules, goals, entities, and entity manipulation) is described as well as a particular ontological entry. Finally, by engaging in three short discussions centered on relevant games studies research questions, the ontology’s utility is demonstrated.Wed Jun 30 15:22:24 CEST 2010Ludoliteracy: defining understanding and supporting games education2010games gamesresearch learning ludology t seems like teaching about games should be easy. After all, students enjoy engaging with course content and have extensive experience with videogames. However, games education can be surprisingly complex. This book explores ludoliteracy, or the question of what it means to understand games, by looking at the challenges and problems faced by students taking games-related classes. In response to these challenges, this book then describes how online learning environments can be used to support learning about games by helping students get more from their experiences with games, and helping students use what they know to establish deeper understanding. Based on the findings from a series of research studies, Ludoliteracy examines the broader implications for supporting games education.Wed Jun 30 15:15:35 CEST 2010Pittsburgh, PA, USABeyond Fun: serious games and media2008free games gamesresearch learning serious This book focuses on strategies for applying games, simulations and interactive experiences in learning contexts. The contributors orchestrated this collection together, reading and writing as a whole so that concepts resonate across articles. Throughout, the promises and problems of implementing games and media in learning experiences are explored. The articles have been authored by Clark Aldrich, Ian Bogost, Mia Consalvo, William Crosbie, Drew Davidson, Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Melinda Jackson, Donna Leishman, Michael Mateas, Marc Prensky, Scott Rettberg, Kurt Squire, David Thomas, Siobhan Thomas, Jill Walker Rettberg, and Jenny Weight.Fri Dec 18 14:06:46 CET 2009American Scientist3247-253Perceptual Pleasure and the Brain942006ZPD brain cerme6 fMRI games gamesresearch haifa-games-course information infovores learning neuroimaging neurology pleasure surprise From hand-held DVD players to hundred-inch plasma screens, much of today's technology is driven by the human appetite for pleasure through visual and auditory stimulation. What creates this appetite? Neuropsychologists have found that visual input activates receptors in the parts of the brain associated with pleasure and reward, and that the brain associates new images with old while also responding strongly to new ones. Using functional MRI imaging and other findings, they are exploring how human beings are "infovores" whose brains love to learn. Children may enjoy Sesame Street's fast pace because they get a "click of comprehension" from each brief scene.Fri May 30 02:30:04 CEST 2008Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges5107-116Alice: a 3-D tool for introductory programming concepts1520003D Alice children educationalprogramming games gamesresearch gamestudies mythesis programming Mon May 21 23:52:41 CEST 2007New York, NY, USACHI '00: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems486-493Alice: lessons learned from building a 3D system for novices20003D Alice children educationalprogramming games gamesresearch gamestudies mythesis programming Sun May 06 14:04:22 CEST 2007Narrative Planning: Balancing Plot and Character2004AI artificial gamesresearch intelligence narrative planning plot virtual worlds The ability to generate narrative is of importance to computer systems that wish to use story effectively for a wide range of contexts ranging from entertainment to training and education. The typical approach for incorporating narrative into a computer system is for system builders to script the narrative features at design time. A central limitation of this pre-scripting approach is its lack of flexibility -- such systems cannot adapt the story to the user’s interests, preferences, or abilities. The alternative approach is for the computer systems themselves to generate narrative that is fully adapted to the user at run time. A central challenge for systems that generate their own narrative elements is to create narratives that are readily understood as such by their users. I define two properties of narrative – plot coherence and character believability – which play a role in the success of a narrative in terms of the ability of the narrative’s audience to comprehend its structure. Plot coherence is the perception by the audience that the main events of a story have meaning and relevance to the outcome of the story. Character believability is the perception by the audience that the actions performed by characters are motivated by their beliefs, desires, and traits. In this dissertation, I explore the use of search-based planning as a technique for generating stories that demonstrate both strong plot coherence and strong character believability. To that end, the dissertation makes three central contributions. First, I describe an extension to search-based planning that reasons about character intentions by identifying possible character goals that explain their actions in a plan and creates plan structure that explains why those characters commit to their goals. Second, I describe how a character personality model can be incorporated into planning in a way that guides the planner to choose consistent character behavior without strictly preventing characters from acting “out of character” when necessary. Finally, I present an open-world planning algorithm that extends the capabilities of conventional planning algorithms in order to support a process of story creation modeled after the process of dramatic authoring used by human authors. This open-world planning approach enables a story planner not only to search for a sequence of character actions to achieve a set of goals, but also to search for a possible world in which the story can effectively be set.Sun May 06 14:01:38 CEST 2007Interaction StudiesStory and discourse: A bipartite model of narrative generation in virtual worlds2006AI discourse gamesresearch intelligence narrative planning story virtual worlds In this paper, we set out a basic approach to the modeling of narrative in interactive virtual worlds. This approach adopts a bipartite model taken from narrative theory, in which narrative is composed of story and discourse. In our approach, story elements – plot and character – are defined in terms of plans that drive the dynamics of a virtual environment. Discourse elements – the narrative’s communicative actions – are defined in terms of discourse plans whose communicative goals include conveying the story world plan’s structure. To ground the model in computational terms, we provide examples from research under way in the Liquid Narrative Group involving the design of the Mimesis system, an architecture for intelligent interactive narrative incoroprating concepts from artificial intelligence, narrative theory, cognitive psychology and computational linguistics.Wed Apr 25 13:25:52 CEST 2007Online publication (http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020313/kreimeier_00.htm)Online publication (http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020313/kreimeier_00.htm)The Case For Game Design Patterns2002design designpatterns games gamesresearch patterns Wed Apr 25 12:16:56 CEST 2007Paper presented at the Aesthetics of Play conference in Bergen, Norway, 14-15The use of architectural patterns in MMORPGs2005Alexander Architecture4Participation MMORPGs WoW aesthetics design designpatterns games gamesresearch patterns The latest of the online games is World of Warcraft. It has been an immense success with more than 1.5 million subscribers world wide. When examining the game, it is evident that its virtual world is exceptionally designed. Intentional or not, many areas in the game are similar to the solutions found in the classical architectural work A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. This paper will explore these patterns and examine how they are applicable to MMORPG world design in general by doing a close study of the design in World of Warcraft. The patterns described by Alexander are not only spatial construction blocks, but also intended to be used in creating a healthy society that enables social interactions. Therefore, many of these patterns should be useful in virtual worlds as well. Some of the patterns discussed in this study include Activity Nodes, High Places, Community Of 7000, Promenade, Country Fingers, Local Transport Areas, Neighborhood Boundary, Eccentric Nucleus, Sleeping in Public and Country Towns. As an example, the pattern “Local Transport Areas” tells us that cars kill social interaction. Hence, local transportation should be done with bicycles, scooters or other means that stills enables a close interaction with the surrounding. Looking at World of Warcraft, we find that local transportation is either done by foot or using a mount. As used in the game, transportation is therefore not a means of moving between two places but rather a way to meet other players. The aim of this paper is to create an improved understanding for the possible uses of architectural patterns in virtual world construction for digital games. It will show how some patterns are directly applicable, while others are useful in concept, and yet other fail to have any purpose.Mon Apr 23 00:42:26 CEST 2007BMJJuly7509122--123Video games and health3312005children games gamesresearch health negative unread video Mon Apr 23 00:41:41 CEST 2007The British Journal of Occupational TherapyAugust8332--341The Therapeutic Use of Videogames within Secure Forensic Settings: a Review of the Literature and Application to Practice672004computer forensic games gamesresearch learning therapeutic therapy videgoames Engagement in leisure pursuits that involves the use of tools and objects and the exploration of a new environment can provide a success experience that leads to increased feelings of competence and mastery. Such experiences are considered important in the rehabilitation of forensic clients. The findings from videogame research within a general population are compared with those among mental health and forensic clients. Within the general population, videogames may provide opportunities for social interaction and the expression of creativity and humour as well as offering a graded approach to building computer skills. Within a forensic population, videogames have been found to be a normalising, age-appropriate and culturally appropriate activity, useful in engaging clients and improving self-concept and locus of control. The findings suggest that videogame play offers access to a safe virtual environment that encourages exploration and mastery and that it may be a useful therapeutic tool in secure settings where such opportunities are often limited. The use and potential contraindications of videogames within a forensic setting, the content of certain games and their possible influence on behaviour and the implications for future research are also discussed.Mon Apr 23 00:40:13 CEST 2007Hands On!2Where's the Math in Computer Games?211998commercial computer design games gamesresearch learning mathematics survey Market research reports that families are spending an increasing amount of money on computer games that are intended to educate as well as entertain their children. "Edutainment" products that promise to beef up children's mathematics skills are proliferating. Software packages entice parents with claims such as "Makes math skills a no-brainer" and "Learn the math you need to know for real life." Bombarded by this type of marketing, many parents find it difficult to choose software that can help their children with math. So what should parents look for and expect from good math-based computer games? The critical question, one that needs more attention by software designers and educators alike, is "Where is the significant mathematics in math-based computer games?" Many games are entertaining and claim to be mathematical, but their math content is limited. They emphasize arithmetic, speed, and instant recall of facts, giving parents and children the message that computation is all there is to mathematics. Because the focus of many of these games is narrow and the presentation repetitive, many developers resort to using elaborate "bells and whistles" to keep children interested. We believe that games can be both intellectually demanding and entertaining. They have the potential to engage children in a much broader range of mathematical content, including data analysis, logic, programming, 2- and 3-D geometry, and pattern finding. Games that make playing with mathematical ideas integral to the real play of the game can provide an arena for rich mathematical problem solving, and at the same time, be fun for children. Finding such games, however, is not easy. As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, TERC researchers have reviewed a large set of mathematical computer games. We are studying how children interact with these games and what mathematics they learn as they play in an effort to develop some criteria for evaluating the software. To examine the games in action, we observed middle school children working with the software in informal after-school settings, where playing the games was a voluntary activity. Two of the games we observed children playing are Math Blaster: In Search of Spot, published by Davidson \& Associates, and Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, developed by TERC and published by Brøderbund Software. The games have many similarities. They begin with stories that put the player in the role of savior or protector of characters introduced in the story. They involve slapstick violence, and in both games the players spend the majority of their game play on mathematics. But looking at the dialogue of a pair of children playing each game reveals differences in the type and quality of the mathematics the children are engaged with.Mon Mar 12 03:21:46 CET 2007Game Studies1Games Telling stories? - A brief note on games and narratives.12001games gamesresearch learning narrative theory Fri Feb 09 07:32:41 CET 2007New York, NY, USAACM Computers in Entertainment120-24Book Synopsis - What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy 12003games gamesresearch learning Good computer and video games like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Pikmin, Rise of Nations, Neverwinter Nights, and Xenosaga: Episode 1 are learning machines. They get themselves learned and learned well, so that they get played long and hard by a great many people. This is how they and their designers survive and perpetuate themselves. If a game cannot be learned and even mastered at a certain level, it won't get played by enough people, and the company that makes it will go broke. Good learning in games is a capitalist-driven Darwinian process of selection of the fittest. Of course, game designers could have solved their learning problems by making games shorter and easier, by dumbing them down, so to speak. But most gamers don't want short and easy games. Thus, designers face and largely solve an intriguing educational dilemma, one also faced by schools and workplaces: how to get people, often young people, to learn and master something that is long and challenging--and enjoy it, to boot.Mon Feb 05 12:10:22 CET 2007Vancouver, BCPaper presented at Digitial Games Research Association Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in PlayNew design methods for activist gaming2005design games gamesresearch hacktivism learning social Significant work in the gaming and HCI communities has focused on systems that support human values such as privacy, trust, and community. Designers and engineers have become increasingly aware of ways in which the artifacts they create can embody political, social, and ethical values. Yet there has been little work toward producing practical methodologies that systematically incorporate values in the design process. This paper is aimed at introducing systematic methods for the iterative discovery, analysis, and integration of values into the work of game designers and technologists. It is our hope that such work will shed light on the benefits and challenges of employing a values-oriented approach across a variety of design contexts.Tue Jan 09 02:54:41 CET 2007Innovate6Epistemic Games12005epistemic games gamesresearch learning