Design and Development of the Virtual Museum of Informatics and Telecommunications as an Immersive Virtual Living Lab

Το Μουσείο Πληροφορικής και Τηλεπικοινωνιών (MΠ&T), που ιδρύθηκε το φθινόπωρο του 2019, είναι η πιο πρόσφατη προσθήκη στα μουσεία του Εθνικού και Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών. Μια ομάδα μουσειολόγων και αρχιτεκτόνων έχει εκπονήσει τη μουσειολογική και αρχιτεκτονική μελέτη για την αναδιαμόρφωση του σημερινού χώρου του Μουσείου. Τα σχέδια βασίζονται σε μια σύγχρονη προσέγγιση που έχει ως στόχο να διαμορφώσουν το ΜΠ&Τ σε έναν μόνιμο εκθεσιακό χώρο με σκοπό την προβολή της ιστορίας της πληροφορικής και των τηλεπικοινωνιών μαζί με την έννοια της «υπολογιστικής σκέψης» στο κοινό και ταυτόχρονα σε «ζωντανό εργαστήριο» για την ανάδειξη και υποστήριξη της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας και της επιστημονικής έρευνας. Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία παρουσιάζει το σχεδιασμό και την ανάπτυξη μιας εμβυθιστικής διαδραστικής εικονικής έκδοσης του MΠ&T, βασισμένης στην ιδέα της εικονικής ανακατασκευής του φυσικού χώρου του Μουσείου όπως προβλέπεται να γίνει στο μέλλον. Το εικονικό MΠ&T φιλοδοξεί να εξελιχθεί σε εργαλείο που συμπληρώνει και επαυξάνει την επίσκεψη στο πραγματικό μουσείο προσθέτοντας ένα υψηλό επίπεδο εμβύθισης καθώς και μια ποικιλία αλληλεπιδράσεων που δεν θα ήταν δυνατές στον πραγματικό κόσμο, αξιοποιώντας έτσι τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά της Εικονικής Πραγματικότητας. Για την κατασκευή του εικονικού MΠ&T, δημιουργήθηκε ένα ακριβές τρισδιάστατο μοντέλο του νέου Μουσείου με βάση τα αρχιτεκτονικά σχέδια. Στη συνέχεια, προστέθηκαν πολλαπλές αλληλεπιδράσεις για την ενίσχυση της εικονικής εμπειρίας μέσω παιχνιδιών και δραστηριοτήτων που σχετίζονται με την Πληροφορική και τις Τηλεπικοινωνίες. Επιπλέον, για να υποστηρίξει τον ρόλο του φυσικού Μουσείου ως «ζωντανού εργαστηρίου», η εικονική του απόδοση έχει σχεδιαστεί με αρθρωτό τρόπο που επιτρέπει την ανάπτυξη συμπληρωματικών σκηνών που μπορεί να χρησιμεύσουν ως πειράματα ή ερευνητικά έργα. Τρεις τέτοιες σκηνές έχουν κατασκευαστεί για να δείξουν το επίπεδο εμβύθισης, ή «παρουσίας», που μπορεί να προκαλέσει το εικονικό περιβάλλον. Περιγράφονται λεπτομερώς σε αυτή τη διπλωματική ως παραδείγματα για μελλοντικούς προγραμματιστές που μπορεί να θέλουν να δημιουργήσουν συναφείς διαδραστικές ή/και πολυαισθητηριακές εμπειρίες. Το εικονικό MΠ&T αξιολογήθηκε σε μια διερευνητική μελέτη με 16 συμμετέχοντες από διαφορετικές ηλικιακές ομάδες και υπόβαθρα. Κάθε συμμετέχων βίωσε το εικονικό περιβάλλον χρησιμοποιώντας μια φορητή συσκευή VR, το Oculus Quest 2, και στη συνέχεια ακολούθησε συζήτηση για την εμπειρία με τη μορφή ημι-δομημένης συνέντευξης που διεξήγαγε ο ερευνητής. Τα ευρήματα αποκάλυψαν τα δυνητικά οφέλη και τις εκπαιδευτικές δυνατότητες του εικονικού μουσείου και των υποστηρικτικών του περιβαλλόντων (mini-games). Ωστόσο, τόνισαν επίσης τα πεδία βελτίωσης, κυρίως όσον αφορά τη χρηστικότητα καθώς και τη βελτίωση της διαδραστικότητας και των αντιληπτών δυνατοτήτων αλληλεπίδρασης. Η προσέγγιση «ανοικτού κελύφους» που υιοθετήθηκε στο σχεδιασμό και την υλοποίηση του εικονικού MΠ&T επιτρέπει στους μελλοντικούς σχεδιαστές και προγραμματιστές να εφαρμόσουν αυτές τις βελτιώσεις και να εξελίξουν το εικονικό μουσείο σε ένα δυναμικό πειραματικό εργαστήριο που θα συμπληρώνει το πραγματικό Μουσείο.The Museum of Informatics and Telecommunications (MI&T), founded in the fall of 2019, is the most recent addition to the cohort of museums of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. A team of museologists and architects have created plans for renovating and remodeling the Museum’s current space. The plans are based on museological concepts aiming to mold it into a permanent exhibition area with the purpose of showcasing the history of informatics and telecommunications along with the concept of ‘computational thinking’ to the public, and at the same time acting as a ‘living lab’ for scientific research in multiple disciplines and at various (high school, pre- or post-graduate) levels. This thesis presents the design and development of an immersive interactive virtual version of the MI&T, based on the notion of virtually reconstructing the physical Museum space as it is envisioned to become in the future. The virtual MI&T aspires to evolve as a tool that complements and augments the museum visit by adding a high level of immersion as well as a variety of interactions that would not be possible in the real world, thus leveraging the core attributes of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. To construct the virtual MI&T, an accurate 3D model of the new Museum was created based on the architectural designs. Then, multiple interactions were added to enhance the virtual experience through gamified processes and activities related to informatics and telecommunications. Moreover, to support the physical Museum’s role as a ‘living lab’, its virtual rendition is designed in a modular way that allows the development of supplemental scenes that may serve as experiments or research projects. Three such scenes have been constructed to demonstrate the level of immersion, or ‘presence’, that the virtual environment is able to evoke. They are described in detail in this thesis as examples for future developers that may want to create immersive, interactive, multisensory experiences. The virtual MI&T was evaluated in an exploratory study with 16 participants from different age groups and backgrounds. Each participant experienced the virtual environment using a mid-tier portable VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2, and then discussed their experience in a semi-structured interview conducted by the researcher. The findings revealed the engagement and educational potential of the virtual museum and its supporting environments (mini-games). However, they also highlighted the areas for improvement, primarily in terms of usability as well as in the enhancement of interactivity and interaction affordances. The ‘open shell’ approach adopted in the design and implementation of the virtual MI&T allows for future designers and developers to follow-up on these improvements and evolve the virtual museum into a dynamic experimental lab that will complement the real Museum

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING DIGITAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE VISITORS WITH NON-VISIBLE OUTDOOR HERITAGE

This PhD investigates the role of digital media in optimising visitor engagement with non-visible outdoor heritage. Motivated by concerns that digital media products developed for the heritage sector might not be reaching their potential to enrich the visit experience and concerned about a lack of clarity as to what constitutes visitor engagement; this thesis proposes guidance for the production of interpretive digital media and a framework for visitor engagement. Cultural heritage sites featured in this study are characteristically outdoor locations; frequently non-stewarded with very little tangible evidence of the historical or cultural relevance of the site. The unique potential of digital media products to address the specific challenges of engaging visitors with invisible heritage in these locations is discussed within this thesis. The practice of interpreting heritage is investigated to identify the processes, stages, experiences and behavioural states associated with a high level of engagement. Visitor engagement is defined in this study as being a transformational experience in which the visitor’s emotional and/or cognitive relationship with the heritage is altered. This is achieved when the visitor sufficiently experiences appropriate states of engagement across all stages of the visitor engagement framework. This study proposes guidance to advise and support heritage professionals and their associated designers in the design, development and implementation of interpretive digital media products. Within this guide sits the engagement framework which proposes a framework for engagement, defining the stages (process) and the states (experiences and behaviours) of visitor engagement with cultural heritage. In using this resource the cultural heritage practitioner can be confident of their capacity to run and deliver interpretive digital media projects regardless of their expertise in design or technology. This thesis proposes that well designed interpretive digital media can optimise the engagement of visitors in ways which cannot be achieved by any other single method of interpretation. This PhD contributes a design guide and an engagement framework to the existing field of knowledge regarding interpretive digital design

Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Live Coding

Open Access peer reviewed papers on live coding published at the 1st International Conference on Live Coding (ICLC) in Leeds

3D-virtuaalimaailmojen käyttö yliopisto-opetuksen tukena

Kiinnostus 3D-virtuaalimaailmoja kohtaan on kasvanut jatkuvasti. Maailmoja on satoja ja niitä syntyy jatkuvasti lisää. Myös maailmojen käyttötarkoitukset kehittyvät. 3D-virtuaalimaailmojen opetuskäytön kokemuksista on raportoitu paljon, mutta niitä käyttävän kurssin tuotantoprosessi on jäänyt vähemmälle huomiolle. Tässä tutkimuksessa etsittiin tärkeitä teemoja tätä prosessia ajatellen perustuen 3D-virtuaalimaailmoja käyttäneiden opettajien kokemuksiin. Tuloksena esitettiin tuotantoprosessin malli kurssille, jolla hyödynnetään 3D-virtuaalimaailmoja. Kirjallisuusanalyysiä käytettiin etsiessä raportoituja etuja ja ongelmia 3D-virtuaalimaailmojen käytössä opetuksessa. Raportoidut edut sisälsivät toimimisen riskittömässä ympäristössä, yhteistyön ja viestinnän tehostumisen, kasvaneen sitoutumisen, vaihtoehtoisen tilan tarjoamisen toiminnalle sekä vaikean sisällön visualisoinnin. Raportoituja ongelmia olivat vaikeus löytää opetuksellista lisäarvoa tuottavat käyttötavat, kehon kielen puuttuminen, teknologiset ongelmat, kulut, käyttäytymiseen, terveyteen ja turvallisuuteen liittyvät ongelmat, standardien puute sekä käyttäjien sopeutumisen vaikeudet. Lisäksi virtuaalimaailma Second Lifessä toimivien opettajien yhteisön viestintää analysoitiin. Analyysin pohjalta eriteltiin tärkeitä teemoja, joita olisi syytä huomioida tuotantoprosessissa. Löydettyjä teemoja olivat mm. virtuaaliyhteisön tuen merkitys, tekniset ongelmat sekä valmiiden resurssien hyödyntäminen. Käyttäen pohjana olemassa olevia tuotantoprosesseja kursseille, luotiin prosessi ottaen huomioon virtuaalimaailmojen asettamat erityisvaatimukset sekä viestintäanalyysissä löydetyt keskeiset teemat. Luotu malli tuotantoprosessista kuvaa kurssin ympäristön, prosessin eri vaiheet ja tarvittavat roolit. Lisäksi se antaa ideoita luoviin ratkaisuihin ja neuvoja ongelmien välttämiseksi. Sitä voidaan käyttää lähtökohtana tai tarkistuslistana virtuaalimaailmoja käyttävän kurssin tuottamisessa. Uuden teknologian tuominen opetukseen asettaa vaatimuksia myös organisaatiolle, kuten vaatimukset IT-infrastruktuurille, koulutuksen suunnittelulle, opetukselle, joustavuudelle, uudenlaiselle asiakaspalvelunäkemykselle sekä organisaation oppimiselle. Lopuksi käsiteltiin virtuaalimaailmojen käytön strategista tasoa yliopistossa ja käytännön merkityksiä.Increasing interest in 3D virtual worlds has lead to the creation of hundreds of such environments and to an expansion in the scale of their application. A considerable amount of research has focused on reporting experiences of using virtual worlds in education. However, less attention has been paid to the production process of a course that utilizes 3D virtual worlds. The aim of this research was to identify important themes related to such production process based on experiences of educators that have used virtual worlds. A process model for producing a course utilizing 3D virtual worlds was created as a product of this research. Literature review was conducted to find advantages and problems related to virtual world usage in education. Reported advantages included conducting activities in a risk-free environment, enchanting collaboration and communication, increasing engagement, enabling an alternative space for instruction and tasks, and the visualization of difficult content. Respectively, reported problems included the difficulty to find appropriate value-added educational applications; the inability to read "natural" physical cues; technological issues; costs; behavioural, health and safety issues; the lack of standards; and user adoption problems. The electronic mailing list of a Second Life educator community was analyzed for focus themes that should have an impact on the production process. Found themes included the importance of virtual community support, technical problems, and using ready-made resources. Based on existing models of course production process, one was created taking into consideration issues specific for virtual worlds and found focus themes from the community analysis. The model describes the environment, different phases, roles, provides ideas for creativity, and advices to avoid problems. It can be used as a starting point for or as a checklist in planning and producing a university course. With a few modifications, the process model can be used in other environments as well. The introduction of new technology to teaching states new requirements for the organization, such as requirements for IT infrastructure, education planning, teaching, flexibility, new customer service view, and organizational learning. The strategic level view and practical implications were considered in the discussion section

Advances in Computer Science and Engineering

The book Advances in Computer Science and Engineering constitutes the revised selection of 23 chapters written by scientists and researchers from all over the world. The chapters cover topics in the scientific fields of Applied Computing Techniques, Innovations in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Applications and Advances in Applied Modeling

An Investigation of Special Education Teachers\u27 Perceptions of the Effectiveness of a Systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop for Increasing Social Skills

This study describes how a systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop promoting inquiry, experiential learning, and sociocultural theory guided the enculturation of 18 special education teachers into three-dimensional virtual worlds. The main purpose was to enable these teachers to make informed decisions about the usability of virtual worlds for students with social skills challenges, such as students with autism. Mixed-methods data analysis and triangulation were based on the analysis of seven instruments. Six of the seven steps of the intervention received high ratings indicating its viability for teachers\u27 professional development opportunitie

I am here - are you there? Sense of presence and implications for virtual world design

We use the language of presence and place when we interact online: in our instant text messaging windows we often post: Are you there? Research indicates the importance of the sense of presence for computer-supported collaborative virtual learning. To realize the potential of virtual worlds such as Second Life, which may have advantages over conventional text-based environments, we need an understanding of design and the emergence of the sense of presence. A construct was created for the sense of presence, as a collaborative, action-based process (Spagnolli, Varotto, & Mantovani, 2003) with four dimensions (sense of place, social presence, individual agency, and mediated collaborative actions). Nine design principles were mapped against the four dimensions. The guiding question for the study\u27s exploration of the sense of presence was: In the virtual world Second Life, what is the effect on the sense of presence in collaborative learning spaces designed according to the sense of presence construct proposed, using two of the nine design principles, wayfinding and annotation? Another question of interest was: What are the relationships, if any, among the four dimensions of presence? The research utilized both quantitative and qualitative measures. Twenty learners recruited from the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University carried out three assigned collaborative activities in Second Life under design conditions foregrounding each of the two design conditions, and a combination of the two. Analyses from surveys, Second Life interactions, interviews and a focus group were conducted to investigate how various designed learning environments based in the virtual world contributed to the sense of presence, and to learners\u27 ability to carry out collaborative learning. The major research findings were: (a) the construct appears robust, and future research in its application to other virtual worlds may be fruitful; (b) the experience of wayfinding (finding a path through a virtual space) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of place; (c) the experience of annotation (building) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of agency; and (d) there is a positive association between sense of place and sense of agency

Examination of interactive experience: Construction of physical and social presence in virtual environments

Interactivity seems to be a familiar concept, which partially explains its frequent use in discussions about new communication technologies and what they can bring to communication studies. However, interactivity research has yet to reach a comprehensive and concrete consensus concerning the antecedents and consequences of interactive experiences. The main objective of this research is to determine the factors responsible for fostering the interactivity experience in the multiuser virtual environments and to observe how this variance in interactivity will affect the formation of physical and social presence. The study also examines the possible relationship between physical and social presence via correlation analysis and uses a one-way ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tests to designate the effects of interactivity on physical and social presence

Second Life : representation and remediation of social space

Ao longo da última década os jogos online e as plataformas sociais têm-se tornado cada vez mais populares, tendo vindo a contribuir para o desenvolvimento da internet. Os jogos online multiplayer têm conquistado cada vez mais utilizadores. Estes têm como locus a realidade virtual e como objetivo a recriação de um novo mundo. Um exemplo deste tipo de jogos é o Second Life, um jogo social que conta com um elevado número de utilizadores – cerca de 31 milhões de utilizadores registados. Esta plataforma foi desenvolvida pela Linden Lab e reúne as características de um mundo virtual: é um cenário digital tridimensional, no qual utilizadores de todo o mundo, representados por avatares, interagem em tempo real formando diversos tipos de redes sociais. Uma das suas características distintivas é o facto de 99% do conteúdo existente dentro do espaço virtual ter sido desenvolvido pelos utilizadores. Os jogadores, denominados residentes, estão a contribuir não só na construção do espaço, mas também para o desenvolvimento social deste mundo virtual. Para além disto, existem mais quatro características que tornam o Second Life um objeto de estudo interessante: todos os avatares são controlados por seres humanos em tempo real; o reconhecimento de direitos de propriedade intelectual; a existência de uma micro-moeda – o Linden Dollar; e o facto de todos os jogadores terem acesso a ferramentas básicas de construção, e à linguagem de programação desenvolvida pela Linden Lab, a Linden Scripting Language, essenciais para criar objetos. O Second Life é um espaço colaborativo e participativo que, apesar de ser um jogo, oferece aos seus utilizadores uma experiência muito diferente da vivida nos videojogos tradicionais. Por ser um jogo do tipo caixa de areia os jogadores podem estabelecer uma relação diferente com esta plataforma, pois podem contribuir para as diversas dimensões da vida dentro do jogo. Devido às suas características, este mundo virtual tem despertado o interesse de investigadores de diferentes áreas que têm procurado perceber o seu impacto para a interação social, educação, economia, lei, e indústrias criativas. No entanto, tendo em conta que o ‘espaço’ é um elemento fulcral na investigação em Ciências Humanas e uma das áreas priveligiadas pela European Science Foundation para a investigação em Ciências Sociais e Humanas, há, ainda, a necessidade de perceber como é que este espaço digital está a ser desenvolvido, e que narrativas culturais o estão a moldar. Uma vez que o Second Life reflete a importância dos mundos virtuais para a interação online, torna-se fundamental compreender que impacto a virtualização das relações sociais pode ter para a interação interpessoal e para o desenvolvimento de um novo tipo de ‘comunidades imaginadas’. A presente investigação centra-se no Second Life e procura perceber de que forma poderá este novo espaço de interação estar a contribuir para o aparecimento de uma nova dimensão social. Uma dimensão resultante das possibilidades oferecidas por uma plataforma tecnológica apenas disponível através da internet, combinadas com o potencial criativo dos seus utilizadores. Com o intuito de contribuir para um melhor entendimento do potencial sociocultural deste mundo virtual, este estudo tem como base uma investigação empírica desenvolvida a partir de uma metodologia qualitativa específica para o estudo de comunidades online, a netnografia. Os métodos de recolha de dados adotados são: observação participante, auto-netnografia, entrevista e análise de conteúdo dos perfis dos utilizadores entrevistados. Os dados são analisados seguindo uma abordagem indutiva. A principal hipótese deste estudo centra-se na premissa que se o Second Life é um mundo virtual que está a ser coproduzido pela Linden Lab e pelos utilizadores, é provável que o envolvimento dos residentes com a realidade virtual resulte na criação de um sistema de representação re-mediado. Partindo desta hipótese, os objetivos principais desta investigação são confirmar se de facto os mundos virtuais estão a ser usados para representar e re-mediar o espaço social, e perceber que efeito isto tem nos jogadores. Uma das principais conclusões retiradas prende-se com o facto de os utilizadores estarem a tirar partido deste mundo virtual para renegociarem os modelos socioculturais que informam as suas ‘primeiras vidas’. Após a análise da relação que os utilizadores estabelecem com o espaço virtual, com os seus próprios avatares e entre si, concluiu-se que são três as principais narrativas culturais que estão a resultar das experiências vividas pelos residentes deste mundo virtual. As primeiras intrinsecamente relacionadas com a organização geográfica da vida humana – narrativas de espaço; as segundas, com a necessidade de nos compreendermos a nós mesmos, narrativas identitárias; e as terceiras, com o facto de os seres humanos serem na sua essência seres sociais, narrativas resultantes da interação social com outros residentes. A ‘re-mediação’ de narrativas culturais dentro de um ambiente online, anónimo e flexível evidencia a necessidade que os seres humanos têm de reconhecer os espaços sociais que frequentam, de modo a envolverem-se e atribuírem significado às experiências digitais vividas.Over the past decade online games and social platforms became very popular and contributed to the internet development. The massive multiplayer online games have conquered a high number of users. The locus of these games is virtual reality, and the main goal is the recreation of a new world. Second Life is one of these games, a tridimensional social platform which counts with a high number of users – around 31 million registered users. It was developed by Linden Lab and it assembles the main characteristics of a virtual worlds: it is a tridimensional digital setting where users from all over the world represented by avatars interact in real time, and develop diversified social networks. One of its main characteristics is the prevalence of prodused content – 99 per cent of the content existing in-world was created by residents. Players, designated residents, are not only contributing to the space construction, but also to the social development of this virtual world. Apart from this, there are four more characteristics that make this multiuser environment interesting as an object of study: all the avatars existent in-world are playing characters controlled by human beings in real time; the recognition of intellectual property rights; the existence of a micro-currency – the Linden Dollar; and all the players have access to simple building tools, and to the Linden Scripting Language, which are essential to create objects. Second Life is a collaborative and participative space that, despite being a game, offers its users a very different experience from that lived within traditional video games. Because it is a sandbox game players are able to establish a different kind of relationship with the platform, once they can contribute to the different dimensions of the life in-world. Due to its intrinsic characteristics, this virtual world has caught the attention of researchers from several areas that showed interest in understanding the impact this virtual world may have in social interaction, education, economy, law and creative industries. Notwithstanding, considering that ‘space’ is a key element in the Humanities, and one of the privileged areas by the European Science Foundation for the research in Social Sciences and Humanities, it is necessary to better understand how this digital space is being developed, and which cultural narratives are shaping it. Since Second Life reflects the relevance of virtual worlds to online interaction, it is essential to comprehend the impact that the ‘virtualization’ of social relationships may have for interpersonal interaction, and for the emergence of a new type of ‘imagined communities’. The present research is centered on Second Life and looks forward to understand how this new interaction space could be contributing to the emergence of a new social dimension. A dimension resulting from the possibilities offered by a technology platform only available through the internet, combined with the creative potential of its users. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the sociocultural potential of this virtual world, this study is grounded on an empirical research based on a specific qualitative methodology for studying online communities, the netnography. The methods adopted for data collection are: participant observation, auto-netnography, interview, and content analysis of the interviewees’ profiles. The data collected is analyzed through an inductive approach. The main hypothesis framing this research is the premise that if Second Life is a virtual world that is being prodused by its residents, it is probable that users’ involvement with the virtual reality would result in the creation of a remediated system of representation. Based on this hypothesis, the main goals then are to confirm if virtual worlds are indeed representing and remediating social space, and to understand the effect this has on players. One of the main conclusions reached is that the users are taking advantage of the affordances of this virtual world to renegotiate the sociocultural models that frame their first lives. Through the analysis of the relationship users are establishing with the virtual space, with their own avatars, and with each other, it is concluded that there are three main cultural narratives emerging from the in-world experience lived by the residents. The first intrinsically related with the geographical organization of human life – spatial narratives; the second, with the need to make sense of oneself – narratives of identity; and the third, with the fact that humans are social beings in essence – social interaction narratives resulting from the interaction with other residents. The remediation of cultural narratives into an online, anonymous, and flexible environment evinces the need humans have for recognizable social spaces in order to be able to get involved and attribute meaning to the lived digital experiences

Colossal classroom adventure: Developing interactive fiction for English language learners

The purpose of this project is an act of exploratory research to develop a text based interactive adventure for non-native English speakers to hone their extensive reading skills in American English. The history of text based gaming will be used to establish a guide over the potential pitfalls unique to the genre. Then the uses of games in an educational context will be established to show the differences in teacher motivation toward the creation and use of gaming in education. Second Language Acquisition and ESL reading specific research will be used to create a set of guidelines for the text and presentation in the game. Details of the game are presented to detail the plot, educational justification and technical specs. Finally, I will explore how this information could be used to assist teachers in the game creation process