Mega - mobile multimodal extended games

Tese de mestrado em Engenharia Informática, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2012As aplicações de entretenimento móvel têm hoje em dia um papel importante e significativo no mercado de software, abrangendo um grupo variado de utilizadores. Tudo isto se deve ao repentino sucesso de dispositivos de interacção inovadora, como o Wiimote da Nintendo, o Move da Sony e o Kinect da Microsoft. Por sua vez estas técnicas de interacção multimodal têm sido exploradas para jogos móveis. A recente geração de dispositivos móveis vem equipada com uma grande variedade de sensores, para além dos óbvios como ecrã táctil e microfone. Existem ainda outros componentes interessantes como bússola digital, acelerómetros, sensores ópticos. Os dispositivos móveis são também utilizados como máquina fotográfica digital, agenda pessoal, assim como para ver videos e ouvir música, e claro, para jogar jogos. Olhar para os novos grupos de utilizadores e para as novas formas de jogar e incluir nos jogos formas de interacção novas, usando os atributos e potencialidades de novas plataformas e novas tecnologias é pois um assunto pungente e deveras desafiante. Com este trabalho pretende-se estudar e propor novas dimensões de jogo e interacção com plataformas móveis, sejam smartphones, sejam tablets, que se adequem às mais distintas comunidades de jogadores. Pretende-se sobretudo explorar modalidades alternativas como as baseadas no tacto e vibração, assim como no áudio, combinadas ou não com outras mais tradicionais de foro visual. Almeja-se ainda explorar jogos em grupo, à distância e co-localizados, encontrando e estudando novas formas de expressão em jogos clássicos e jogos inovadores que envolvam pequenos conjuntos de indivíduos. A ubiquidade inerente aos dispositivos móveis faz ainda com que se tenham que encontrar neste jogos de grupo formas de fluxo de jogo que sustentem saídas e entradas rápidas ou menos rápidas sem que ainda assim se perca o interesse e a motivação de jogar. Este trabalho iniciou-se com uma pesquisa intensiva de trabalho relacionado, sobre a área de jogos móveis e suas multimodalidades, passando consequentemente pela acessibilidade inerente, jogos em grupo e suas formas de comunicação e conexão, e por último dando especial atenção a jogos de puzzle, sendo o tipo de jogo focado neste trabalho. Seguidamente, foi efectuado o levantamento de requisitos e exploradas as opções de jogo e de interacção relativas a jogos de puzzle móveis multimodais. No âmbito deste estudo foram criados três pequenos jogos sobre um conceito comum: jogos de puzzle. A primeira aplicação contém três modalidades diferentes de jogo: uma visual, apresentando um jogo de puzzle de imagens baseado nos tradicionais; uma segunda auditiva, que recria o conceito de jogo através de música, tornando as peças em pequenas parcelas sonoras da música de tamanhos equivalentes; e a terceira háptica, criando deste modo um puzzle com peças de padrões vibratórios diferentes. A segunda aplicação recriou o mesmo conceito de jogo, puzzle, no modo audio, mas retirando toda a informação visual, apresentando simples formas de interacção. A terceira aplicação apresenta uma abordagem sobre os jogos em grupo, permitindo jogar puzzles visuais e de audio em dois modos distintos: cooperativo, onde os jogadores têm de jogar em equipa de forma a conseguir completar o puzzle; e competitiva, onde os jogadores são forçados a ser mais rápidos que o adversário de modo a poderem vencer. Todas estas aplicações permitem ao utilizador definir o tamanho do puzzle e o nível de dificuldade, assim como escolher as imagens e músicas que pretendem resolver em forma de puzzle. Foram conduzidos vários testes de utilizador, nomeadamente um para cada aplicação desenvolvida. Sobre a primeira aplicação vinte e quatro participantes jogaram puzzles visuais e auditivos, distribuídos equitativamente pelas modalidades. Deste modo, cada participante resolveu nove puzzles de imagem ou nove puzzles audio distintos. Neste primeiro estudo procurou descobrir-se as estratégias de resolução dos puzzles, procurando principalmente igualdades e diferenças entre os diferentes modos. Para o segundo estudo foi usada a segunda aplicação desenvolvida, e foram abrangidos novamente vinte e quatro utilizadores, doze dos quais sendo cegos. Cada participante resolveu três puzzles audio diferentes. Relativamente a este estudo, foi proposta uma comparação entre os modos estudados anteriormente, especialmente sobre o modo audio, uma vez que foi usado o mesmo procedimento. Para os utilizadores cegos o objectivo foi provar que seria possível criar um jogo divertido, desafiante e sobretudo acessível a partir de um conceito de jogo clássico. Para o último estudo, vinte e quatro participantes, organizados em pares, jogaram puzzles visuais e de audio em modo cooperativo e competitivo. Cada conjunto de participantes resolveu quatro puzzles, um para cada modo de jogo por cada tipo de puzzle, o que significa dois puzzles visuais, um competitivo e outro cooperativo, e dois puzzles audio, sendo também um cooperativo e outro competitivo. O objectivo mais uma vez foi procurar as estratégias de resolução, permitindo também a comparação com outros modos anteriormente estudados. Todos os jogos foram transformados em dados contendo todas as acções que cada jogador tomou durante a resolução do puzzle. Esses dados foram depois transformados em números específicos de forma a poderem ser analisados e discutidos. Os valores obtidos foram divididos em três grupos principais, as tentativas de colocação de peças, o número de ajudas, e o tempo de conclusão do puzzle. Em relação às tentativas de colocação de peças é possível identificar a ordem correspondente segundo três formas distintas, pela classificação do tipo de peças, pela disposição das peças na fita e pela ordem sequencial do puzzle. Os resultados do estudo mostram que uma mesma estratégia de resolução de puzzles é usada através de todos os modos estudados, os jogadores optam por resolver primeiro as zonas mais relevantes do puzzle, deixando as partes mais abstractas e confundíveis para o final. No entanto, parente novas modalidades de jogo, pequenas percentagens de utilizadores mostraram diferentes estratégias de resolução. Através das opiniões dos utilizadores é também possível afirmar que todas as aplicações desenvolvidas são jogáveis, divertidas e desafiantes. No final foi criado um conjunto de componentes reutilizáveis e um conjunto de parâmetros para a criação de novos jogos. Numa linha de trabalho futuro foram propostos vários objectivos interessantes que podem promover e reaproveitar o trabalho desenvolvido. Deste modo foi criado um jogo de puzzle baseado na primeira aplicação desenvolvida, mantendo os modos visual e audio, de forma a poder integrar no mercado de aplicações móveis, permitindo deste modo, um estudo em larga escala sobre os mesmos conceitos estudados neste trabalho. Foi também pensada a criação de um servidor centralizado, permitindo conter os resultados de todos os jogadores de forma a criar um ranking geral, podendo deste modo incentivar os jogadores a melhorar o seu desempenho, e ajudar a promover o próprio jogo. Outra alternativa passa por melhorar e aperfeiçoar o modo háptico, de forma a criar mais uma modalidade viável sobre o mesmo conceito de jogo, de forma a poder ser também estudada de forma equivalente. O puzzle para invisuais pode também ser melhorado e aperfeiçoado de forma a criar mais desafios através da inclusão dum modo háptio. E por fim, não menos importante, criar novas dimensões de jogo em grupo, permitindo jogar os modos cooperativo e competitivo em simultâneo, tendo por exemplo duas equipas de dois jogadores cada, a cooperar entre si para completar o puzzle, e de certa forma a competir contra a outra equipa para terminar primeiro e com melhores resultados. O objectivo seria, mais uma vez, estudar as estratégias usadas.Mobile entertainment applications have an important and significant role in the software market, covering a diverse group of users. All this is due to the sudden success of innovative interaction devices such as Nintendo’s Wiimote, Sony’s Move and Kinect’s Microsoft. On the other hand, these multimodal interaction techniques have been explored for mobile games. The latest generation of mobile devices is equipped with a wide variety of sensors, in addition to the obvious such as touch screen and microphone. There are other interesting components such as digital compass, accelerometers and optical sensors. Mobile devices are also used as a digital camera, personal organizer, to watch videos and listen to music, and of course, to play games. Looking for the new users groups and for the new ways to play the games and include new forms of interaction, using the attributes and capabilities of new platforms and new technologies is an issue as poignant and very challenging. This work aims to study and propose new dimensions of play and interaction with mobile platforms, whether smartphones or tablets, which suit most distinct communities of players. It is intended primarily to explore alternative modalities such as touch-based and vibratory, as well as audio based, combined or not with traditional visual ones. It also aims at exploring group games, spatially distributed and co-located, finding and studying new forms of expression in classic games and innovative games that involve small sets of individuals. The ubiquity inherent to mobile devices leads us to find input and output flows which support rapid or less rapid entry commands, without losing the interest and motivation to play. In addition to the design and implementation of three or four small game applications intended to create a set of reusable components and a set of guidelines for creating new games

A new ant colony optimization model for complex graph-based problems

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Escuela Politécnica Superior, Departamento de Ingeniería Informática. Fecha de lectura: julio de 2014Nowadays, there is a huge number of problems that due to their complexity have employed heuristic-based algorithms to search for near-to-optimal (or even optimal) solutions. These problems are usually NP-complete, so classical algorithms are not the best candidates to address these problems because they need a large amount of computational resources, or they simply cannot find any solution when the problem grows. Some classical examples of these kind of problems are the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) or the N-Queens problem. It is also possible to find examples in real and industrial domains related to the optimization of complex problems, like planning, scheduling, Vehicle Routing Problems (VRP), WiFi network Design Problem (WiFiDP) or behavioural pattern identification, among others. Regarding to heuristic-based algorithms, two well-known paradigms are Swarm Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation. Both paradigms belongs to a subfield from Artificial Intelligence, named Computational Intelligence that also contains Fuzzy Systems, Artificial Neural Networks and Artificial Immune Systems areas. Swarm Intelligence (SI) algorithms are focused on the collective behaviour of selforganizing systems. These algorithms are characterized by the generation of collective intelligence from non-complex individual behaviour and the communication schemes amongst them. Some examples of SI algorithms are particle swarm optimization, ant colony optimization (ACO), bee colony optimization o bird flocking. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) are based on the foraging behaviour of these insects. In these kind of algorithms, the ants take different decisions during their execution that allows them to build their own solution to the problem. Once any ant has finished its execution, the ant goes back through the followed path and it deposits, in the environment, pheromones that contains information about the built solution. These pheromones will influence the decision of future ants, so there is an indirect communication through the environment called stigmergy. When an ACO algorithm is applied to any of the optimization problems just described, the problem is usually modelled into a graph. Nevertheless, the classical graph-based representation is not the best one for the execution of ACO algorithms because it presents some important pitfalls. The first one is related to the polynomial, or even exponential, growth of the resulting graph. The second pitfall is related to those problems that needs from real variables because these problems cannot be modelled using the classical graph-based representation. On the other hand, Evolutionary Computation (EC) are a set of population-based algorithms based in the Darwinian evolutionary process. In this kind of algorithms there is one (or more) population composed by different individuals that represent a possible solution to the problem. For each iteration, the population evolves by the use of evolutionary procedures which means that better individuals (i.e. better solutions) are generated along the execution of the algorithm. Both kind of algorithms, EC and SI, have been traditionally applied in previous NP-hard problems. Different population-based strategies have been developed, compared and even combined to design hybrid algorithms. This thesis has been focused on the analysis of classical graph-based representations and its application in ACO algorithms into complex problems, and the development of a new ACO model that tries to take a step forward in this kind of algorithms. In this new model, the problem is represented using a reduced graph that affects to the ants behaviour, which becomes more complex. Also, this size reduction generates a fast growth in the number of pheromones created. For this reason, a new metaheuristic (called Oblivion Rate) has been designed to control the number of pheromones stored in the graph. In this thesis different metaheuristics have been designed for the proposed system and their performance have been compared. One of these metaheuristics is the Oblivion Rate, based on an exponential function that takes into account the number of pheromones created in the system. Other Oblivion Rate function is based on a bioinspired swarm algorithm that uses some concepts extracted from the evolutionary algorithms. This bio-inspired swarm algorithm is called Coral Reef Opmization (CRO) algorithm and it is based on the behaviour of the corals in a reef. Finally, to test and validate the proposed model, different domains have been used such as the N-Queens Problem, the Resource-Constraint Project Scheduling Problem, the Path Finding problem in Video Games, or the Behavioural Pattern Identification in users. In some of these domains, the performance of the proposed model has been compared against a classical Genetic Algorithm to provide a comparative study and perform an analytical comparison between both approaches.En la actualidad, existen un gran número de problemas que debido a su complejidad necesitan algoritmos basados en heurísticas para la búsqueda de solucionas subóptimas (o incluso óptimas). Normalmente, estos problemas presentan una complejidad NP-completa, por lo que los algoritmos clásicos de búsqueda de soluciones no son apropiados ya que necesitan una gran cantidad de recursos computacionales, o simplemente, no son capaces de encontrar alguna solución cuando el problema crece. Ejemplos clásicos de este tipo de problemas son el problema del vendedor viajero (o TSP del inglés Travelling Salesman Problem) o el problema de las N-reinas. También se pueden encontrar ejemplos en dominios reales o industriales que generalmente están ligados a temas de optimización de sistemas complejos, como pueden ser problemas de planificación, scheduling, problemas de enrutamiento de vehículos (o VRP del inglés Vehicle Routing Problem), el diseño de redes Wifi abiertas (o WiFiDP del inglés WiFi network Design Problem), o la identificación de patrones de comportamiento, entre otros. En lo referente a los algoritmos basados en heuristicas, dos paradigmas muy conocidos son los algoritmos de enjambre (Swarm Intelligence) y la computación evolutiva (Evolutionary Computation). Ambos paradigmas pertencen al subárea de la Inteligencia Artificial denominada Inteligencia Computacional, que además contiene los sistemas difusos, redes neuronales y sistemas inmunológicos artificiales. Los algoritmos de inteligencia de enjambre, o Swarm Intelligence, se centran en el comportamiento colectivo de sistemas auto-organizativos. Estos algoritmos se caracterizan por la generación de inteligencia colectiva a partir del comportamiento, no muy complejo, de los individuos y los esquemas de comunicación entre ellos. Algunos ejemplos son particle swarm optimization, ant colony optimization (ACO), bee colony optimization o bird flocking. Los algoritmos de colonias de hormigas (o ACO del inglés Ant Colony Optimization) se basan en el comportamiento de estos insectos en el proceso de recolección de comida. En este tipo de algoritmos, las hormigas van tomando decisiones a lo largo de la simulación que les permiten construir su propia solución al problema. Una vez que una hormiga termina su ejecución, deshace el camino andado depositando en el entorno feronomas que contienen información sobre la solución construida. Estas feromonas influirán en las decisiones de futuras hormigas, por lo que produce una comunicación indirecta utilizando el entorno. A este proceso se le llama estigmergia. Cuando un algoritmo de hormigas se aplica a alguno de los problemas de optimización descritos anteriormente, se suele modelar el problema como un grafo sobre el cual se ejecutarán las hormigas. Sin embargo, la representación basada en grafos clásica no parece ser la mejor para la ejecución de algoritmos de hormigas porque presenta algunos problemas importantes. El primer problema está relacionado con el crecimiento polinómico, o incluso expnomencial, del grafo resultante. El segundo problema tiene que ver con los problemas que necesitan de variables reales, o de coma flotante, porque estos problemas, con la representación tradicional basada en grafos, no pueden ser modelados. Por otro lado, los algoritmos evolutivos (o EC del inglés Evolutionary Computation) son un tipo de algoritmos basados en población que están inspirados en el proceso evolutivo propuesto por Darwin. En este tipo de algoritmos, hay una, o varias, poblaciones compuestas por individuos diferentes que representan problems solutiones al problema modelado. Por cada iteración, la población evoluciona mediante el uso de procedimientos evolutivos, lo que significa que mejores individuos (mejores soluciones) son creados a lo largo de la ejecución del algoritmo. Ambos tipos de algorithmos, EC y SI, han sido tradicionalmente aplicados a los problemas NPcompletos descritos anteriormente. Diferentes estrategias basadas en población han sido desarrolladas, comparadas e incluso combinadas para el diseño de algoritmos híbridos. Esta tesis se ha centrado en el análisis de los modelos clásicos de representación basada en grafos de problemas complejos para la posterior ejecución de algoritmos de colonias de hormigas y el desarrollo de un nuevo modelo de hormigas que pretende suponer un avance en este tipo de algoritmos. En este nuevo modelo, los problemas son representados en un grafo más compacto que afecta al comportamiento de las hormigas, el cual se vuelve más complejo. Además, esta reducción en el tamaño del grafo genera un rápido crecimiento en el número de feronomas creadas. Por esta razón, una nueva metaheurística (llamada Oblivion Rate) ha sido diseñada para controlar el número de feromonas almacenadas en el grafo. En esta tesis, varias metaheuristicas han sido diseñadas para el sistema propuesto y sus rendimientos han sido comparados. Una de estas metaheurísticas es la Oblivion Rate basada en una función exponencial que tiene en cuenta el número de feromonas creadas en el sistema. Otra Oblivion Rate está basada en un algoritmo de enjambre bio-inspirado que usa algunos conceptos extraídos de la computación evolutiva. Este algoritmo de enjambre bio-inspirado se llama Optimización de arrecifes de corales (o CRO del inglés Coral Reef Optimization) y está basado en el comportamiento de los corales en el arrecife. Finalmente, para validar y testear el modelo propuesto, se han utilizado diversos dominios de aplicación como son el problema de las N-reinas, problemas de planificación de proyectos con restricciones de recursos, problemas de búsqueda de caminos en entornos de videojuegos y la identificación de patrones de comportamiento de usuarios. En algunos de estos dominios, el rendimiento del modelo propuesto ha sido comparado contra un algoritmo genético clásico para realizar un estudio comparativo, y analítico, entre ambos enfoques

The machine in the ghost: an educational design research study that explores the teaching of computational thinking to Irish second-level students

Computational Thinking is a problem-solving process that draws on concepts fundamental to Computer Science. These concepts can support problem-solving across many disciplines. The Digital Strategy for Schools (2015-2020) describes the Irish Government's intention to give every student in compulsory education the opportunity to learn Computational Thinking. This research is an Educational Design Research study underpinned by a pragmatic approach and concerned with Computational Thinking. It aims to answer the following question: what are the characteristics of a practical, engaging, effective, high quality, and low threshold course for both the learning and teaching of Computational Thinking to Irish post-primary teachers and students? This study also aims to validate whether unplugged activities can be successfully used to teach Computational Thinking. This research study had three phases: preliminary analysis, prototype, and semi- summative. It was conducted in six schools with eleven teachers, four content experts, and over four hundred and forty six students. Data was gathered using various means: interviews, focus groups, teacher diaries, students' questionnaires, and students' artefacts. The analytic approach was mixed; it involved content and thematic analysis as well as descriptive statistics. This study found that the following characteristics: activities, demonstration, application, pre-activation, transparency, theory, exemplification, and reflection (ADAPTTER) gave rise to a practical, engaging, effective, high quality, and low threshold Computational Thinking course. This study validated the use of unplugged activities as a pedagogy for teaching Computational Thinking

New Game Physics - Added Value for Transdisciplinary Teams

This study focused on game physics, an area of computer game design where physics is applied in interactive computer software. The purpose of the research was a fresh analysis of game physics in order to prove that its current usage is limited and requires advancement. The investigations presented in this dissertation establish constructive principles to advance game physics design. The main premise was that transdisciplinary approaches provide significant value. The resulting designs reflected combined goals of game developers, artists and physicists and provide novel ways to incorporate physics into games. The applicability and user impact of such new game physics across several target audiences was thoroughly examined. In order to explore the transdisciplinary nature of the premise, valid evidence was gathered using a broad range of theoretical and practical methodologies. The research established a clear definition of game physics within the context of historical, technological, practical, scientific, and artistic considerations. Game analysis, literature reviews and seminal surveys of game players, game developers and scientists were conducted. A heuristic categorization of game types was defined to create an extensive database of computer games and carry out a statistical analysis of game physics usage. Results were then combined to define core principles for the design of unconventional new game physics elements. Software implementations of several elements were developed to examine the practical feasibility of the proposed principles. This research prototype was exposed to practitioners (artists, game developers and scientists) in field studies, documented on video and subsequently analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the elements on the audiences. The findings from this research demonstrated that standard game physics is a common but limited design element in computer games. It was discovered that the entertainment driven design goals of game developers interfere with the needs of educators and scientists. Game reviews exemplified the exaggerated and incorrect physics present in many commercial computer games. This “pseudo physics” was shown to have potentially undesired effects on game players. Art reviews also indicated that game physics technology remains largely inaccessible to artists. The principal conclusion drawn from this study was that the proposed new game physics advances game design and creates value by expanding the choices available to game developers and designers, enabling artists to create more scientifically robust artworks, and encouraging scientists to consider games as a viable tool for education and research. The practical portion generated tangible evidence that the isolated “silos” of engineering, art and science can be bridged when game physics is designed in a transdisciplinary way. This dissertation recommends that scientific and artistic perspectives should always be considered when game physics is used in computer-based media, because significant value for a broad range of practitioners in succinctly different fields can be achieved. The study has thereby established a state of the art research into game physics, which not only offers other researchers constructive principles for future investigations, but also provides much-needed new material to address the observed discrepancies in game theory and digital media design

Advantages and challenges of unmanned aerial vehicle autonomy in the Postheroic age

Over the past decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized how the U.S. engages elusive militants in low-intensity conflicts by allowing the U.S. to project continuous military power without risking combat casualties. While UAV usage promises additional tactical advantages in future conflicts, little agreement exists regarding a strategic vision for UAV research and development, necessary for the U.S. to allocate limited resources among UAV development programs that address national security objectives. The present research makes the case for a future UAV technology evolutionary path leading to fully autonomous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)/strike UAV systems for the United States Air Force that are capable of sensing their environments through multiple modalities, recognizing patterns, and executing appropriate actions in response to their real-time analyses. The thesis addresses enabling technology inroads stemming from major improvements in our understanding of human neural circuitry that promise to enable innovations in the artificial intelligence needed to achieve autonomous system function. Arguments are based on projected military and economic benefits of autonomous systems and extend the historical model established by the CIA\u27s successful UAV program to unconventional warfare (UW) conflicts that the U.S. Air Force finds itself ill-equipped to handle. Counter-arguments are addressed relating to uncontrolled lethal technology, conflict initiation thresholds, and the vulnerability of overreliance on high-technology systems. In making the case for fully automated UAV technology, research provides a strategic future vision for autonomous UAV usage by highlighting the important interaction of artificial intelligence, “smart” wide-area sensors, and cooperative micro UAVs

Thinking with Games in the British Novel, 1801-1901

Thesis advisor: Maia McAleaveyMy dissertation explores how nineteenth-century novelists imagined rational thinking as a cognitive resource distributed through physical, social, national, and even imperial channels. Scholars studying nineteenth-century discourses of mind frequently position rational thinking as the normalized given against those unconscious and irrational modes of thought most indicative of the period's scientific discoveries. My project argues, in contrast, that writers were just as invested in exploring rational thinking as multivalent procedure, a versatile category of mental activity that could be layered into novelistic representations of thinking by "thinking with games": that is, incorporating forms of thinking as discussed by popular print media. By reading novels alongside historical gaming practices and gaming literatures and incorporating the insights of twenty-first century cognitive theory, I demonstrate that novelists Maria Edgeworth, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, and Rudyard Kipling experimented with models of gaming to make rational thinking less abstract and reveal its action across bodies, objects, and communities. If Victorian mind-sciences uncovered "thinking fast," games prioritized "thinking slow," a distinction described by psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his recent book, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2013). Scenes of games often slow thinking down, allowing the author to expose the complex processes of rational, cognitive performance. Furthermore, such scenes register the expanded perspective of recent cognitive literary studies such as those by Alan Palmer and Lisa Zunshine, which understand thinking, at least in part, as externalized and social. In effect, by reading scenes of thinking along the lines proposed by strategic gaming, I demonstrate how novels imagined social possibilities for internal processing that extend beyond the bounds of any individual's consciousness. Of course, games easily serve as literary tropes or metaphors; but analyzing scenes of gaming alongside games literature underscores how authors incorporated frameworks of teachable, social thinking from gaming into their representations of rational consciousness. For strategy games literature, better play required learning how to read the minds of other players, how to turn their thinking inside out. The nineteenth-century novel's relationship to games is best understood, I suggest, within the landscape of popular games literature published at its side - sometimes literally. An article on "Whistology" appears just after an installment of The Woman in White in Dickens's All the Year Round; the Cornhill Magazine published a paean to "Chess" amid the serialization of George Eliot's Romola. As a genre, strategy manuals developed new techniques for exercising the cognitive abilities of their readers and, often along parallel lines, so do the novels I discuss. Prompting the reader to think like a game player often involved recreating the kinds of dynamic, active thinking taught by games literature through the novel's form. My dissertation explores how authors used such forms to train their readers in habits of memory, deduction, and foresight encouraged by strategy gaming.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: English

Design and Instantiation of an Interactive Multidimensional Ontology for Game Design Elements – a Design and Behavioral Approach

While games and play are commonly perceived as leisure tools, focus on the strategic implementation of isolated gameful elements outside of games has risen in recent years under the term gamification. Given their ease of implementation and impact in competitive games, a small set of game design elements, namely points, badges, and leaderboards, initially dominated research and practice. However, these elements reflect only a small group of components that game designers use to achieve positive outcomes in their systems. Current research has shifted towards focusing on the game design process instead of the isolated implementation of single elements under the term gameful design. But the problem of a tendency toward a monocultural selection of prominent design elements persists in-game and gameful design, preventing the method from reaching its full potential. This dissertation addresses this problem by designing and developing a digital, interactive game design element ontology that scholars and practitioners can use to make more informed and inspired decisions in creating gameful solutions to their problems. The first part of this work is concerned with the collation and development of the digital ontology. First, two datasets were collated from game design and gamification literature (game design elements and playing motivations). Next, four explorative studies were conducted to add user-relevant metadata and connect their items into an ontological structure. The first two studies use card sorting to assess game theory frameworks regarding their suitability as foundational categories for the game design element dataset and to gain an overview of different viewpoints from which categorizations can be derived. The second set of studies builds on an explorative method of matching dataset entries via their descriptive keywords to arrive at a connected graph. The first of these studies connects items of the playing motivations dataset with themselves, while the second connects them with an additional dataset of human needs. The first part closes with the documentation of the design and development of the tool Kubun, reporting on the outcome of its evaluation via iterative expert interviews and a field study. The results suggest that the tool serves its preset goals of affording intuitive browsing for dedicated searches and serendipitous findings. While the first part of this work reports on the top-down development process of the ontology and related navigation tool, the second part presents an in-depth research of specific learning-oriented game design elements to complement the overall research goal through a complementary bottom-up approach. Therein, two studies on learning-oriented game design elements are reported regarding their effect on performance, long-term learning outcome, and knowledge transfer. The studies are conducted with a game dedicated to teaching correct waste sorting. The first study focuses on a reward-based game design element in terms of its motivatory effect on perfect play. The second study evaluates two learning-enhancing game design elements, repeat, and look-up, in terms of their contribution to a long-term learning outcome. The comprehensive insights gained through the in-depth research manifest in the design of a module dedicated to reporting research outcomes in the ontology. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on the studies’ varying limitations and an outlook on pathways for future research

Synthesizing play: exploring the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate game user experience

Digital games are a complex interactive medium providing a multitude of different experiences. The field of games user research (GUR) is dedicated to investigating and optimizing user experience in games. Such inquiries are of both commercial and academic importance, enhancing product quality and our understanding of human behaviour. A common GUR methodology is usertesting, where researchers gain insights from human users interacting with products. However, usertesting is expensive in terms of expert labour, time, and resource costs. To address these concerns, we developed PathOS, a free, open-source tool for game testing with AI agents. PathOS simulates player navigation in games using a basic model of human behaviour. We conducted an evaluation of PathOS with developers, finding that it provides valuable predictions of user behaviour in the iterative design process. Ultimately, we aim to give the game development community a useful and versatile augmentation to their testing processes