How Fast Can We Play Tetris Greedily With Rectangular Pieces?

Consider a variant of Tetris played on a board of width $w$ and infinite height, where the pieces are axis-aligned rectangles of arbitrary integer dimensions, the pieces can only be moved before letting them drop, and a row does not disappear once it is full. Suppose we want to follow a greedy strategy: let each rectangle fall where it will end up the lowest given the current state of the board. To do so, we want a data structure which can always suggest a greedy move. In other words, we want a data structure which maintains a set of $O(n)$ rectangles, supports queries which return where to drop the rectangle, and updates which insert a rectangle dropped at a certain position and return the height of the highest point in the updated set of rectangles. We show via a reduction to the Multiphase problem [P\u{a}tra\c{s}cu, 2010] that on a board of width $w=\Theta(n)$, if the OMv conjecture [Henzinger et al., 2015] is true, then both operations cannot be supported in time $O(n^{1/2-\epsilon})$ simultaneously. The reduction also implies polynomial bounds from the 3-SUM conjecture and the APSP conjecture. On the other hand, we show that there is a data structure supporting both operations in $O(n^{1/2}\log^{3/2}n)$ time on boards of width $n^{O(1)}$, matching the lower bound up to a $n^{o(1)}$ factor.Comment: Correction of typos and other minor correction

Adventures of Ludom: a Videogame Geneontology

Within the last few decades, the videogame has become an important media, economic, and cultural phenomenon. Along with the phenomenon’s proliferation the aspects that constitute its identity have become more and more challenging to determine, however. The persistent surfacing of novel ludic forms continues to expand the conceptual range of ‘games’ and ‘videogames,’ which has already lead to anxious generalizations within academic as well as popular discourses. Such generalizations make it increasingly difficult to comprehend how the instances of this phenomenon actually work, which in turn generates pragmatic problems: the lack of an applicable identification of the videogame hinders its study, play, and everyday conceptualization. To counteract these problems this dissertation establishes a geneontological research methodology that enables the identification of the videogame in relation to its cultural surroundings. Videogames are theorized as ‘games,’ ‘puzzles,’ ‘stories,’ and ‘aesthetic artifacts’ (or ‘artworks’), which produces a geneontological sequence of the videogame as a singular species of culture, Artefactum ludus ludus, or ludom for short. According to this sequence, the videogame’s position as a ‘game’ in the historicized evolution of culture is mainly metaphorical, while at the same time its artifactuality, dynamic system structure, time-critical strategic input requirements and aporetically rhematic aesthetics allow it to be discovered as a conceptually stable but empirically transient uniexistential phenomenon that currently thrivesbut may soon die out.Videopeli on kasvanut edellisten vuosikymmenten aikana tärkeäksi ilmiöksi niin median, talouden, kuin kulttuurinkin näkökulmasta. Kasvun myötä ilmiön itsensä määrittäminen on kuitenkin muuttunut yhä haastavammaksi: uudet leikin ja pelaamisen muodot venyttävät jatkuvasti ’pelin’ ja ’videopelin’ käsitteitä, mikä on jo nyt johtanut kivuliaisiin yleistyksiin sekä akateemisessa että populaarissa kielenkäytössä. Kyseisten yleistysten seurauksena ne asioiden joukot, joihin ’pelit’ ja ’videopelit’ tänä päivänä viittaavat, ovat hämärtyneet äärimmäisen epäselväksi. Tämä hämärtyminen on tuonut mukanaan lukuisia käytännön ongelmia, jotka nousevat esiin ilmiöitä koskevassa tutkimuksessa, kulutuksessa, kuin myös journalistisessa käsittelyssä. Edesauttaakseen näiden ongelmien ratkaisua luettavanasi oleva väitöskirja esittelee lajiontologisen tutkimusmetodologian, joka mahdollistaa videopelin tunnistamisen suhteessa sitä ympäröiviin ja sitä muistuttaviin kulttuuri-ilmiöihin. Lajiontologista tutkimusmetodologiaa hyödyntäen väitöskirja ottaa tehtäväkseen tarkastella videopelin suhdetta neljään sitä ympäröivään tai muistuttavaan kulttuuri-ilmiöön: ’peleihin’, ’puzzleihin’, ’tarinoihin’, ja ’esteettisiin artefakteihin’ (ns. ’taideteoksiin’). Tarkastelut tuottavat videopeli-ilmiötä selittäviä aspekteja, joiden avulla sille rakennetaan alustava taksonominen identiteetti itsenäisenä kulttuurisena lajina (Artefactum ludus ludus, lyhyesti ludom). Löydetyt aspektit ja niiden mukainen taksonominen identiteetti puoltavat näkemystä siitä, että videopelin historiallinen asema ’pelinä’ on lähinnä metaforinen. Videopelin esineellisyys, dynaaminen systeemirakenne, aika-kriittiset strategiset manipulointivaatimukset sekä (aporeettisesti) remaattinen estetiikka tuntuvat sen sijaan muodostavan vankan pohjan käsitteellisesti vakaalle mutta vain hetkellisesti menestyvälle kulttuurilajityypille, joka parhaillaan kukoistaamutta saattaa pian kuolla pois.Siirretty Doriast

Human–computer interaction tools with gameful design for critical thinking the media ecosystem: a classification framework

In response to the ever-increasing spread of online disinformation and misinformation, several human–computer interaction tools to enhance data literacy have been developed. Among them, many employ elements of gamification to increase user engagement and reach out to a broader audience. However, there are no systematic criteria to analyze their relevance and impact for building fake news resilience, partly due to the lack of a common understanding of data literacy. In this paper we put forward an operationalizable definition of data literacy as a form of multidimensional critical thinking. We then survey 22 existing tools and classify them according to a framework of 10 criteria pointing to their gameful design and educational features. Through a comparative/contrastive analysis informed by a focus group, we provide a principled set of guidelines to develop more efficient human–computer interaction tools to teach how to critically think in the current media ecosystem

Human–computer interaction tools with gameful design for critical thinking the media ecosystem: a classification framework

AbstractIn response to the ever-increasing spread of online disinformation and misinformation, several human–computer interaction tools to enhance data literacy have been developed. Among them, many employ elements of gamification to increase user engagement and reach out to a broader audience. However, there are no systematic criteria to analyze their relevance and impact for building fake news resilience, partly due to the lack of a common understanding of data literacy. In this paper we put forward an operationalizable definition of data literacy as a form of multidimensional critical thinking. We then survey 22 existing tools and classify them according to a framework of 10 criteria pointing to their gameful design and educational features. Through a comparative/contrastive analysis informed by a focus group, we provide a principled set of guidelines to develop more efficient human–computer interaction tools to teach how to critically think in the current media ecosystem.</jats:p

Games and Time

Video games are a medium uniquely immersed in time. While the topic of time and games has been broached by many in the field of game studies, its centrality to both how games function and the experience of playing games remains underexamined. Reading games as literary texts, this holistic study uses queer and social theories to survey the myriad of ways games play with time. I argue games are time machines, each idiosyncratically allows players to experience time differently from traditional linear time. Beyond games with literal time machines, this dissertation examines games which structure themselves around labyrinthine and existential loops. It also considers real-time, or games competitively organized around time and those which change over time, in a sense, aging. Regardless of the subject, this dissertation seeks to illuminate the complexities of games and time, and argues that, despite their many conflicting messages about the topic, they all have something meaningful to say about the human experience of time

On the core elements of the experience of playing video games

This dissertation presents a multi-method approach to study the user experience of playing video games. The motivation is to devise an objective assessment of the concept of user experience. It is proposed that user experience is better understood when it is studied as a two fold phenomenon formed by a process and an outcome. This definition allows the combination of the subjective nature of experience together with the objectivity needed to propose an objective assessment of experience. An experience is personal in the achieved outcome, during the process of forming it there are elements specific to the type of experience common to all individuals. The thesis presents a series of studies to explore and understand the gaming experience as well as to identify the procedural elements of the experience. The outcome of the studies was the formulation of the theoretical framework that we called Core Elements of the Gaming Experience (CEGE), which focuses on the process of the experience. The metaphor of ”puppetry” is used to provide a link to the outcome of the experience. Based on the theorical framework, a questionnaire and model were developed. The model was validated using Structural Equation Modelling, which provided an adequate fit suggesting that the CEGE model is an accurate abstraction of the process of the gaming experience. Lastly, the framework was used to study different gaming experiences under different conditions. The results suggest that the CEGE theoretical framework can be used to assess this type of experience. The contributions of this dissertation are: the methodological approach used to study the user experience of playing video games, a novel approach to understand user experience as a falsifiable concept, a theoretical framework and metaphor to describe the gaming experience, a model that describes the gaming experience, and an instrument that can be used to assess and explore different gaming experiences

Non-determinism in the narrative structure of video games

PhD ThesisAt the present time, computer games represent a finite interactive system. Even in their more experimental forms, the number of possible interactions between player and NPCs (non-player characters) and among NPCs and the game world has a finite number and is led by a deterministic system in which events can therefore be predicted. This implies that the story itself, seen as the series of events that will unfold during gameplay, is a closed system that can be predicted a priori. This study looks beyond this limitation, and identifies the elements needed for the emergence of a non-finite, emergent narrative structure. Two major contributions are offered through this research. The first contribution comes in the form of a clear categorization of the narrative structures embracing all video game production since the inception of the medium. In order to look for ways to generate a non-deterministic narrative in games, it is necessary to first gain a clear understanding of the current narrative structures implemented and how their impact on users’ experiencing of the story. While many studies have observed the storytelling aspect, no attempt has been made to systematically distinguish among the different ways designers decide how stories are told in games. The second contribution is guided by the following research question: Is it possible to incorporate non-determinism into the narrative structure of computer games? The hypothesis offered is that non-determinism can be incorporated by means of nonlinear dynamical systems in general and Cellular Automata in particular

Games and rules: game mechanics for the "Magic Circle"

Why do we play games and why do we play them on computers? The contributors of "Games and Rules" take a closer look at the core of each game and the motivational system that is the game mechanics. Games are control circuits that organize the game world with their (joint) players and establish motivations in a dedicated space, a "Magic Circle", whereas game mechanics are constructs of rules designed for interactions that provide gameplay. Those rules form the base for all the excitement and frustration we experience in games. This anthology contains individual essays by experts and authors with backgrounds in Game Design and Game Studies, who lead the discourse to get to the bottom of game mechanics in video games and the real world - among them Miguel Sicart and Carlo Fabricatore

Games and Rules

Why do we play games and why do we play them on computers? The contributors of »Games and Rules« take a closer look at the core of each game and the motivational system that is the game mechanics. Games are control circuits that organize the game world with their (joint) players and establish motivations in a dedicated space, a »Magic Circle«, whereas game mechanics are constructs of rules designed for interactions that provide gameplay. Those rules form the base for all the excitement and frustration we experience in games. This anthology contains individual essays by authors with backgrounds in Game Design and Game Studies, who lead the discourse to get to the bottom of game mechanics in video games and the real world