242 research outputs found
Procedural representation of marginalized groups: playing disabled, playing queer
Master's thesis in Literacy studiesIn AAA games, minority representation is still scarce and often misrepresentative, but the indie games scene has many examples of inclusion of marginalized groups and minority experiences. How can videogame mechanics be used to better represent the experiences of marginalized groups in AAA videogames? This thesis uses the concepts of procedural representation and character identification to examine rule based play of people with disabilities and people who are transgender in player characters in two free independent videogames. The analysis focuses specifically on player interaction with minority characters to determine how players can identify with them and how processes model experience. Implications for future game development are briefly discussed
Software Usability
This volume delivers a collection of high-quality contributions to help broaden developers’ and non-developers’ minds alike when it comes to considering software usability. It presents novel research and experiences and disseminates new ideas accessible to people who might not be software makers but who are undoubtedly software users
Os videojogos em rede para o cidadão sénior
Mestrado em Comunicação MultimédiaNa atualidade, o envelhecimento da população ativa é uma realidade
omnipresente. Recentemente, o estudo de produtos ou serviços
comercializados para o cidadão sénior começa a despertar o interesse
junto da comunidade científica e empresarial. A mesma tendência
poderá surgir na indústria dos videojogos em que os seniores,
especialmente os reformados, poderão tornar-se nos próximos
consumidores de videojogos. Até ao momento, vários estudos têm-se
debruçado sobre o papel dos videojogos na manutenção ou melhoria
das capacidades cognitivas. No entanto, a ausência de informação
sobre a utilização dos videojogos em rede numa idade mais avançada
parece prevalecer. A componente social dos videojogos em rede neste
público-alvo tem sido descurada bem como o seu potencial na
promoção da inclusão digital e minimização das barreiras sociais. O
objetivo desta investigação é compreender as componentes de design
de videojogos em rede que estimulam o cidadão sénior a jogar,
utilizando o método de investigação social aplicada. Deste modo, dois
grupos etários (G1: 50-64 anos e G2: idade igual ou superior a 65)
com elevada literacia foram envolvidos neste estudo, com a finalidade
de compreender as tendências do futuro cidadão sénior enquanto
jogador. Esta investigação oferece uma nova perspectiva do perfil de
jogador, ao aplicar um questionário a 245 jogadores com idade igual
ou superior a 50, dois focus group e técnicas de análise de conteúdo
aplicadas na contrução da prova de conceito para o game design de
um jogo em rede para esta faixa etária. Os resultados indicam que não
há diferenças significativas entre jogadores de diferentes faixas etárias
relativamente às preferências de jogo, sendo que os jogos de aventura
são preferidos. As capacidades cognitivas que mais gostam de praticar
são a resolução de problemas e a memória, estando relacionadas com
o tipo de jogos que jogam. Além disso, os desafios cognitivos são
valorizados e a colaboração entre jogadores deve ser enfatizada em
relação à competição ou combate. A informação recolhida por esta
investigação permitiu a observação de que um novo perfil de jogador
emerge e que novos desafios aguardam os designers de jogos.We are witnessing an increasingly ageing society. Recently, there has
been a growing interest in studying products or services marketed to older
adults either by the scientific community or by enterprises. In the video
game industry, the elderly, especially retirees, tend to become the next
generation of avid consumers. Many recent studies have focused on the
role of video games in maintaining and improving cognitive capacities.
However, there is a lack of information about the use of networked video
games in later age. No real attention has been paid to the collective
component of video games and their power to promote digital inclusion and
eradicate social barriers. The aim of this research is to understand the main
game design components of networked video games that encourage older
adults to play, using an applied social research methodology. Thus, two
age groups (G1: individuals aged between 50 and 64 years and G2:
individuals aged 65 and over) with higher levels of education have been
involved in this study, aimed at understanding the tendency of the next
generation of older adults as gamers. The study provides insight into a new
video gamer profile by employing a survey questionnaire with 245 gamers
aged 50 and over, two focus groups and content analysis techniques used
to the proof of concept of a networked video game addressed to this
audience. Findings indicate that there were no significant differences
between a younger age group and older adults in their choices of video
games played. Adventure games are preferred and problem-solving and
memory span were the skills that participants liked to practise. Cognitive
challenges are valued and collaboration between players should be
prioritized over competition and combat. These data support the view that a
new older adult’s gamer profile is emerging and it will bring new challenges
for game designers
The effects of one-to-one computing for students with disabilities in an inclusive language arts class
Technology has become increasingly prominent in schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the integration of technology with students with disabilities, particularly the use of one-to-one computing when used in inclusive classrooms. This study took a qualitative approach exploring how one teacher integrated one-to-one computing into her curriculum and how students with disabilities perceived that integration.
The nine week study took place in a rural, Midwest, eighth grade inclusive language arts classroom. The general education language arts teacher and two students who received special education services were participants in the study. Data were collected from teacher interviews, student interviews, transcripts of classroom activities, observational field notes, and document analysis.
The data analysis resulted in 11 themes in response to the three research questions. The results suggested that this teacher used a variety of resources while integrating one-to-one laptops to engage her students. The students specifically described the teacher as a role model on how to use new technological applications for academic purposes such as completing and submitting assignments electronically. The findings from teacher and student data revealed perceived learning benefits and barriers of using one-to-one computing. One significant benefit of one-to-one computing was how it assisted the teacher\u27s integration of 21st century skills in the curriculum. This integration of one-to-one laptops leveled the playing field for students with disabilities by increasing access, promoting social benefits, and practicing the content at their level.
Students in this study experienced learning benefits as their student responsibilities changed. Despite some barriers to one-to-one implementation, students\u27 preference would be to continue to learn with one-to-one laptops rather than going back to traditional methods of receiving instruction.
Several recommendations to increase the integration of technology were suggested. Recommendations included structured professional development such as technology training, differentiated instruction, and constructivist teaching, additional time for peer collaboration, becoming familiar with students\u27 IEPs, and sharing district goals for one-to-one computing. Suggestions for future research consisted of comparing first to third year one-to-one implementation for students with disabilities, differences in technology integration between novice and experienced teachers, and the effects of gaming for students with disabilities
Recommended from our members
A framework and serious game to support those with mild cognitive impairment
This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonCognitive decline is common in the elderly. As a result, a range of cognitive rehabilitation
games have been proposed to supplement or replace traditional rehabilitative training by
offering benefits such as improved engagement. This research project focuses on mild
cognitive impairment (MCI), an initial stage of cognitive decline that does not affect
functioning in daily life, but which may progress towards more serious cognitive
deteriorations, notably dementia. Unfortunately, while a variety of serious game
frameworks and rehabilitative serious games have been proposed, there is a distinct lack
of those which support the distinctive characteristics of MCI patients. Consequently, to
optimise the advantages of serious games for MCI, the research proposes the MCI-GaTE
(MCI-Game Therapy Experience) framework that may be used to develop serious games
as effective cognitive and physical rehabilitation tools. The framework is derived from a
combination of a survey of related research literature in the area, analysis of resident
profiles from a nursing home, and in-depth interviews with occupational therapists (OTs)
who work with MCI patients on a daily basis to help them overcome the disabling effects
so that they can carry out everyday tasks. The conceptual framework comprises four
sectors that may be used to guide game design and development: an MCI player profile
that represents the capabilities of a player with MCI, core gaming elements that support
gameful and playful activities, therapeutic elements that support cognitive and physical
rehabilitation through tasks and scenarios according to the player’s abilities, and
motivational elements to enhance the player’s attitude towards the serious tasks. Together,
they provide tailored support for rehabilitation needs and may also serve as a set of
comprehensive and established criteria by which an MCI serious game may be evaluated.
To demonstrate the use of MCI-GaTE, an immersive and gesture-based serious game, A go!, is designed that exploits the framework to enable MCI-diagnosed players to
undertake a series of tailored therapeutic tasks supported by an assigned OT. To this end,
a goal-directed design approach is employed, whereby personas, scenarios and journey
maps are developed that satisfy the goals of both the MCI player and their OT, and enable
the derivation of functional requirements leading to a visual design. A-go! is realised as a
responsive and interactive high-fidelity prototype that supports gesture recognition and
3D game objects from a first-person perspective to facilitate immersion without the need
for additional worn devices, such as headsets, which would prove impractical for the targeted elderly players. Evaluation with OTs revealed that the immersive game
potentially offers more effective and tailored support to MCI patients than traditional
methods, contributing new possibilities for enhancing MCI rehabilitative training, while
a comparative assessment of MCI-GaTE demonstrated that it provides a comprehensive
approach not currently offered by state-of-the-art rehabilitative frameworks.GRACE Healthcare Ltd. & Hong Kong Caritas in
Evergreen Home and Integrated Home Care Services, TWGHs Fung Yiu King Hospital
HA, Kwai Chung Hospital HA, and TWGHs Jockey Club Rehabilitation Comple
From corporeality to virtual reality: theorizing literacy, bodies, and technology in the emerging media of virtual, augmented, and mixed realities
This dissertation explores the relationships between literacy, technology, and bodies in the emerging media of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). In response to the recent, rapid emergence of new media forms, questions arise as to how and why we should prepare to compose in new digital media. To interrogate the newness accorded to new media composing, I historicize the literacy practices demanded by new media by examining digital texts, such as video games and software applications, alongside analogous “antiquated” media, such as dioramas and museum exhibits. Comparative textual analysis of analogous digital and non-digital VR, AR, and MR texts reveals new media and “antiquated” media utilize common characteristics of dimensionality, layering, and absence/presence, respectively. The establishment of shared traits demonstrates how media operate on a continuum of mutually held textual practices; despite their distinctive forms, new media texts do not represent either a hierarchical or linear progression of maturing development. Such an understanding aids composing in new VR, AR, and MR media by enabling composers to make fuller use of prior knowledge in a rapidly evolving new media environment, a finding significant both for educators and communicators. As these technologies mature, we will continue to compose both traditional and new forms of texts. As such, we need literacy theory that attends to both the traditional and the new and also is comprehensive enough to encompass future acts of composing in media yet to emerge
Human-Computer Interaction
In this book the reader will find a collection of 31 papers presenting different facets of Human Computer Interaction, the result of research projects and experiments as well as new approaches to design user interfaces. The book is organized according to the following main topics in a sequential order: new interaction paradigms, multimodality, usability studies on several interaction mechanisms, human factors, universal design and development methodologies and tools
Proceedings of the 8th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2010)
The proceedings of the conferenc
- …