Social gaming: A systematic review

Digital games often constitute a shared activity where people can spend time together, communicate and socialize. Several commercial titles place social interaction at the center of their design. Prior works have investigated the social outcomes of gaming, and factors that impact the experience. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how social gaming has been approached and explored before. In this work, we present a systematic review covering 263 publications, gathered in February 2021, that study gaming experiences involving more than one person, with a focus on the social element that emerges among partakers (players and/or spectators). We contribute with a systematized understanding of (1) how the topic is being defined and approached, (2) what facets (mainly in terms of outcomes and determinants of the experience) are being acknowledged and (3) the methodologies leveraged to examine these. Our analysis, based on mixed deductive and inductive coding, reveals relevant gaps and tendencies, including (1) the emphasis in novel technologies and unconventional games, (2) the apparent negligence of player diversity, and (3) lower ecological validity associated with totally mediated evaluations and a lack of established constructs to assess social outcomes

Malicious User Experience Design Research for Cybersecurity

This paper explores the factors and theory behind the user-centered research that is necessary to create a successful game-like prototype, and user experience, for malicious users in a cybersecurity context. We explore what is known about successful addictive design in the fields of video games and gambling to understand the allure of breaking into a system, and the joy of thwarting the security to reach a goal or a reward of data. Based on the malicious user research, game user research, and using the GameFlow framework, we propose a novel malicious user experience design approac

What characteristics of the gamers' profile should be taken into account in player-centred game design?

In this paper, we introduce the theory of trait Emotional Intelligence ('trait EI') as a personality theory that could assist in exemplifying the gamers' profile and contribute to the design of player-center game experiences. Data from two studies (a game-specific and a game-general one) led to a number of player-centered playability principles that could inform the design of adaptable games and games targeting specific gaming audiences. The gamers' emotional characteristics were found to be of prominent importance to the design of good games

Service quality evaluations in massively multiplayer online role-playing games

This thesis at hand delves into the service quality of video games. Service quality is the foundation of service marketing and service design. Therefore, marketers have for the better part of half a century worked to advance theoretical understanding in the field. The work of numerous researchers has contributed to the current understanding of both service quality measurement and how consumers evaluate service quality. Nevertheless, technological advancements have made service quality management ever more difficult with services more prone to service gaps. This is particularly the case in complex service forms that take place through virtual media. Video games are a good example of this. Whereas not all video games can be categorized as a service, those that take place online through player interactions fulfil the four principle IHIP traits that define services: Intangibility, Heterogeneity, Inseparability, and Perishability. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPG) are a good example of this. MMORPGs are small virtual worlds – with populations, economies, even professions. Therefore, they in many ways simulate the very core constructs of reality. Nevertheless, despite the ever-increasing nature of complex services and growing size of the video game industry, current understanding of the makeup of such services is limited. Subsequently this thesis is of intrinsic value both theoretically and managerially. Based on this need the purpose of this thesis is to further understanding of how consumers evaluate their MMORPG service quality experience by answering three research questions: 1) How do MMORPGs differ from traditional offline and online service? 2) Do expectations play a role in MMORPG service quality evaluations? 3) What are the service quality dimensions that govern the perceived service quality of MMORPGs? This thesis uses a netnographic research method to explore and resolve these questions. The thesis brings forth several results of theoretical and managerial interest. Foremost, MMORPG service quality is predominantly evaluated based on expectations. Furthermore, those evaluations are governed by a total of 10 primary dimensions and 22 corresponding subdimensions. However, five of the primary dimensions are dominant: Game design, Game sociability, Tangibles, Reliability, and Trust. Nevertheless, it is identified that depending on service performance nearly every dimension can be a source of consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction; the determining factor service innovation or underperformance. This thesis delves further into these findings, their nuances, and other important theoretical and managerial implications, some of which were unforeseen

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

A study of team cohesion and player satisfaction in two face-to-face games

In this paper we investigate the link between game rules, team cohesion and players’ satisfaction with their teams within face-to-face team-based games. To measure team cohesion, rules from two games were analysed from the perspective of Social Identity Theory in order to form a hypothesis as to which game would be more likely to lead to more cohesive teams, where team cohesion is measured by the extent to which each player identifies with their team. Player satisfaction was measured by looking at three factors: communication within the team, player outcome versus team outcome, and fairness. Significant differences were found in the team cohesion measure suggesting that, as predicted by Social Identity Theory, team cohesion can be fostered by game rules. Team cohesion also correlated positively with player satisfaction. Taken together, this suggests that for games in which team cohesion is an important part, game designers can incorporate game rules in such as a way as to increase the likelihood of both team cohesion and player satisfaction

New technology in Museums: AR and VR video games are coming

Museums have gone through a modernization process which has seen the adoption of new technologies in what they offer visitors. Within the framework of the new critical museology, these organizations have been transformed into places of encounter and experience, the key tools in this change being socialization and play. Gamification are now intrinsic to collections and are a way of inviting visitors to share new museum experiences through the latest technology such as AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality). In this way, the museum becomes a playground and a space for creativity (Borja-Villel et al., 2014). In this research, we focus on what we consider to be an important link between the three central aspects of museum change: sociability, gamificaction and virtualization; and the growing interest in museums for videogames. Our aim is to reach a better understanding of the AR and VR video games developed for museums and how these technologies can not only motivate visitors’ interest but also improve their learning skills. Our analysis focuses of literature published between 2015 to 2018 and follows the analytic structure established by Connolly et al. (2012) with additional features related to learning experience, platforms, and the use of technologies (VR and AR). The general aim is to map the interest of the research community in the field of museum-developed video games, more specifically those that use augmented and virtual reality

Gamification in Citizen Cyberscience: Projects in Particle Physics and Synthetic Biology

We present two new citizen cyberscience projects that are being developed in the research fields of Particle Physics and Synthetic Biology, and discuss several issues to be considered in relation to the gamification of these projects

Establishing the design knowledge for emerging interaction platforms

While awaiting a variety of innovative interactive products and services to appear in the market in the near future such as interactive tabletops, interactive TVs, public multi-touch walls, and other embedded appliances, this paper calls for preparation for the arrival of such interactive platforms based on their interactivity. We advocate studying, understanding and establishing the foundation for interaction characteristics and affordances and design implications for these platforms which we know will soon emerge and penetrate our everyday lives. We review some of the archetypal interaction platform categories of the future and highlight the current status of the design knowledge-base accumulated to date and the current rate of growth for each of these. We use example designs illustrating design issues and considerations based on the authors’ 12-year experience in pioneering novel applications in various forms and styles

I Told You That to Tell You This: Metagaming and Metacognition in the Hybrid Classroom

This paper theorizes the use of play and gamified methods to foster metacognition, or strategies for learning and learning about learning, in online graduate instruction. In the process, it calls into question the determinism of “serious” games as being the only means of facilitating metacognition. Ultimately, by adopting metagame approaches—that is, approaches based on0 goals and achievements that are external to the game and/or are developed by the players themselves—metacognition can and does occur because students participate in the development of the rewards. Moreover, any metagame feature ultimately becomes a commentary so that an approach based on metagaming offers its own in-built formative feedback