A Classification of Scripting Systems for Entertainment and Serious Computer Games

The technology base for modern computer games is usually provided by a game engine. Many game engines have built-in dedicated scripting languages that allow the development of complete games that are built using those engines, as well as extensive modification of existing games through scripting alone. While some of these game engines implement proprietary languages, others use existing scripting systems that have been modified according to the game engine's requirements. Scripting languages generally provide a very high level of abstraction method for syntactically controlling the behaviour of their host applications and different types of scripting system allow different types of modification of their underlying host application. In this paper we propose a simple classification for scripting systems used in computer games for entertainment and serious purposes

A study on creating games and virtual worlds from a software engineering perspective

The industry of developing games and virtual environments have come a long way, but it is not without its share of problems. In many ways, virtual worlds entail similar development processes as games, as they both require expertise from creative and technical facets. While facing similar difficulties as other commercial projects, creating games presents its own unique challenges due to its multi-disciplinary nature. Because of this, beginner and indie developers face complications in attempting to apply Software Engineering methods (which are efficiently tailored to guide general software projects) to reduce the chance of project failure. This study aimed to examine the construction of games and integrate it into the Software Process. First, the background of game development and Software Engineering were explored, deriving the introductory guides for both. Then, a guidelines draft is developed to offer advice on grafting aspects of the Software Process onto existing game or virtual world projects. They are aimed at independent developers as they represent the future workforce of the game development industry. To test the draft, an experimental project is carried out using the guide as a supplementary resource. The project resulted in a 3D action-RPG game platform that can be used as a starting point for advanced feature placement and content development. It demonstrated that the guidelines were educative but lacks depth and correctness. Revisions on these guidelines will transform it into a stepping stone resource that introduces novice game developers to integrating Software Engineering processes and practices into their projects. (Abstract by author

Modding the Apocalypse: (Re)Making Videogames as Post-Structuralist Free Play

This dissertation is about seeing videogames, and videogame design, through the lens of Gregory Ulmer ™s electracy apparatus theory. Videogame modding is emphasized an electrate approach to intervening in existing media. Mods have the potential to make potent rhetorical arguments, but they are little-understood in the field of rhet-comp, and there are numerous obstacles to carving a space for them in academic curricula; nevertheless, they are an increasingly common form of participatory engagement that make use of a broad digital skillset. Modders fit into Gregory Ulmer ™s electracy apparatus as egents ”agents of change in the Internet age ”and their playful appropriation of objects from various archives resembles the electrate genre of MyStory (personal alternative-history). By positioning modding as electrate composition praxis, a new gateway for academic game study and production is opened, one where play is integral to the process of knowledge formation. Fallout 4 (2016) serves as an example of a moddable game whose rhetorical affordances can be adapted to craft MyStories and MEmorials

CIS1330TK01 Videojuego para promoción turística de San Agustín

La promoción turística de los parques nacionales es escasa contribuyendo al desconoci-miento de estos mismos al público en general. Por esto se creó una herramienta tipo video-juego para la promoción turística de San Agustín Huila, orientado al público adulto extran-jero, el juego está disponible en plataforma web para su fácil divulgación. De este modo se da a conocer el parque a un mayor número de personas.The promotion of tourism in national parks is scarce that contributing to the ignorance of the existence of the national parks to the general public. For this I created a videogame like tool for promoting tourism in San Agustin Huila, aimed at adult audiences abroad, the game is available on web platform for easy dissemination. This discloses the park to a greater number of people.Ingeniero (a) de SistemasPregrad

Gear2D : um motor extensível de jogos baseado em componentes

Monografia (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2013.Motores de jogos elevam o nível de reuso na criação de jogos eletrônicos, centralizando em APIs coerentes com o domínio as funções comumente utilizadas. Entretanto, utilizando os motores atuais, a arquitetura de muitos jogos é construída modelando as entidades através de hierarquias de classes, o que pode ocasionar conflitos de nomes e/ou duplicação de código. Motores baseados em componentes minimizam esses problemas, contudo, devido ao forte acoplamento entre os componentes que pode ser introduzido quando é usado acesso direto para comunicação entre eles, ainda são pouco flexíveis no que tange à extensão e adaptação de entidades em tempo de execução. Gear2D é um motor de jogos que segue uma abordagem diferente, provendo adaptação dinâmica de entidades através de componentes desacoplados. Esse design resulta numa maior flexibilidade ao se criar jogos, característica discutida através do desenvolvimento de dois componentes não triviais, Pathfinder2D para busca de trajetória e lua-proxy para suporte a scripting, e através de um relato do processo de desenvolvimento do jogo Naval Warfare com um time de cinco desenvolvedores. _________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTGame engines boost software reuse during development activities by centralizing commonly used domain abstractions within a set of coherent application programming interfaces. Many games and game engines focus on class hierarchies, which is the intuitive way to model entity taxonomies but may lead to naming conflicts and code duplication. Component based architectures, conversely, minimize this problem by exposing features through components instead. However, due to strong coupling that can still be introduced when using direct access to provide component communication, dynamic entity adaptability may be hindered. Gear2D is a game engine that uses a different approach, providing dynamic entity adaptability through decoupled components. This design results in greater flexibility for creating games, a characteristic discussed through the development of two nontrivial components: an AI pathfinder and a Lua proxy, and through a report of the development process of a game called Naval Warfare with a team of five developers

Languages of games and play: A systematic mapping study

Digital games are a powerful means for creating enticing, beautiful, educational, and often highly addictive interactive experiences that impact the lives of billions of players worldwide. We explore what informs the design and construction of good games to learn how to speed-up game development. In particular, we study to what extent languages, notations, patterns, and tools, can offer experts theoretical foundations, systematic techniques, and practical solutions they need to raise their productivity and improve the quality of games and play. Despite the growing number of publications on this topic there is currently no overview describing the state-of-the-art that relates research areas, goals, and applications. As a result, efforts and successes are often one-off, lessons learned go overlooked, language reuse remains minimal, and opportunities for collaboration and synergy are lost. We present a systematic map that identifies relevant publications and gives an overview of research areas and publication venues. In addition, we categorize research perspectives along common objectives, techniques, and approaches, illustrated by summaries of selected languages. Finally, we distill challenges and opportunities for future research and development

A Simplied Game Engine for a Game Development Course

The Video Game industry is maturing. Success in the video game industry relies on many things, including marketing, sound business practises, and top notch technical implementation. Games Engines are software systems that facilitate game production. The growth of the game industry has increased the demand for programmers trained in game development technologies. A simplified game engine, designed specifically for the game development courses which service the supply of graduates for the industry, could have many advantages. This dissertation analysed the requirements of such a system. We found that such a game engine would need to be extensible, reusable, modular, be easy to learn, and be open source. It would also need to at least include graphics, audio, networking and pathfinding components. Our analysis found that no game engine currently exists that fulfills all these requirements. We designed and implemented a game engine to fulll all these requirements. Our game engine is built around a module framework, where each task of the game engine is handled by a module. This modular design allows us to easily change functionality by adding, removing or updating modules. All source code of the engine is available, thus any part of the engine can be changed if needed. Open source also means the engine is free for all to use. Game engines also need to be reusable so that in the industry the development costs of creating an engine can be amortised multiple projects, but also in a university context it means that time students can continue to use the system across multiple projects. The system was tested by having students complete game development tasks using our game engine, ModEngine, and another comparable game engine. We used lines of code as a measure of code complexity and completion time as a measure of performance. We found that there is a statistically significant reduction in both the lines of code and the completion time of student's ModEngine assignments versus the comparison. Our p value (the probability that the data was due to chance alone) for lines of code is 9.662776 X 10^(-5) and for completion time is 0.018. Students were also given questionnaires to complete where they were asked about their experience using both engines. ModEngine was found to be easier to learn and was simpler to use; students can more easily explore game development concepts with ModEngine and can get started working with it much more easily

Developing a Community: Qualitative Approaches to Understanding the Role of Community Engagement in Gameswork

Through multiple qualitative approaches, this dissertation contributes to understanding the increased role of addressing, engaging, and managing online communities in gameswork. It pays particular attention to how individual actors – such as game developers, content creators, community managers, and game journalists – collectively react to shifting industry trends that prioritize community engagement and building. It contributes to the literature on games by highlighting the experiences and perspectives of those working within the industry – such as community managers and game developers – as their industry undergoes significant shifts in priorities. In addition, it contributes to media and platform studies by examining the impacts on the production and consumption of media when audiences demand more intimate and direct access to creators. It pays specific attention to the workers who act as the filter between those who produce and those who consume. This dissertation draws together four individual projects with distinct methodologies, research partners, and questions to illustrate the impacts of this shift. Chapter 2 examines critical games journalism to show how a lack of investment in community engagement leads to a breakdown of the community. Chapter 3 uses qualitative interviews and observation of drag content creators to show how they grapple with building their online communities amidst changing platform dynamics. Chapter 4 uses qualitative interviews with game developers to highlight how they choose to or choose not to work with content creators as they adapt to new priorities in their industry. Chapter 5 uses qualitative interviews with community managers to examine how their work has changed, continues to change, and leaves lingering anxieties and questions about the future of their work. These individual projects are tied together through the complementary theme of servitization (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988; Weststar & Dubois, 2022), which captures the trend of traditionally individually produced, packaged, and consumed products moving to a system of continuous access and consumption. As gameswork produces more products designed as a service for consumers, it changes the needs and expectations of gaming communities. I argue that this increased emphasis on community changes priorities for those working within creative and cultural industries that have implications for developers, community managers, and players. As these priorities change, new concerns arise regarding the working conditions, career, and educational pathways for those in community-focused roles