Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Digital material: tracing new media in everyday life and technology

Three decades of societal and cultural alignment of new media have yielded a host of innovations, trials, and problems, accompanied by versatile popular and academic discourse. New Media Studies crystallized internationally into an established academic discipline, and this begs the question: where do we stand now? Which new questions are emerging now that new media are being taken for granted, and which riddles are still unsolved? Is contemporary digital culture indeed all about 'you', the participating user, or do we still not really understand the digital machinery and how this constitutes us as 'you'? The contributors to the present book, all employed in teaching and researching new media and digital culture, assembled their 'digital material' into an anthology, covering issues ranging from desktop metaphors to Web 2.0 ecosystems, from touch screens to blogging and e-learning, from role-playing games and cybergothic music to wireless dreams. Together the contributions provide a showcase of current research in the field, from what may be called a 'digital-materialist' perspective.Nieuwe media zijn vanaf hun opkomst begeleid door revolutionaire beloften en bedreigingen: hypertekst zou lezers veranderen in auteurs, digitale beelden zouden de waarheid en werkelijkheid ondermijnen, en online communicatie zou alle afstanden overbruggen. 'Cyberspace' werd gevierd dan wel gevreesd als immaterieel en autonoom, losgezongen van onze dagelijkse leefwereld. Na twee decennia 'cyberrevolutie' zijn nieuwe media vanzelfsprekend geworden en blijken zij allesbehalve immaterieel. Vanuit dat perspectief belicht de bundel Digital Material digitale culturen. De bijdragen onderzoeken onder meer computer games, mobiele communicatie, interfacemetaforen, weblogculturen, software ontwikkeling en digitale beeldproductie. Bij elkaar vormen zij een inspirerend theoretisch kader om de hedendaagse betekenis van nieuwe media te doorgronden

Analyzing the Impact of Spatio-Temporal Sensor Resolution on Player Experience in Augmented Reality Games

Along with automating everyday tasks of human life, smartphones have become one of the most popular devices to play video games on due to their interactivity. Smartphones are embedded with various sensors which enhance their ability to adopt new new interaction techniques for video games. These integrated sen- sors, such as motion sensors or location sensors, make the device able to adopt new interaction techniques that enhance usability. However, despite their mobility and embedded sensor capacity, smartphones are limited in processing power and display area compared to desktop computer consoles. When it comes to evaluat- ing Player Experience (PX), players might not have as compelling an experience because the rich graphics environments that a desktop computer can provide are absent on a smartphone. A plausible alternative in this regard can be substituting the virtual game world with a real world game board, perceived through the device camera by rendering the digital artifacts over the camera view. This technology is widely known as Augmented Reality (AR). Smartphone sensors (e.g. GPS, accelerometer, gyro-meter, compass) have enhanced the capability for deploying Augmented Reality technology. AR has been applied to a large number of smartphone games including shooters, casual games, or puzzles. Because AR play environments are viewed through the camera, rendering the digital artifacts consistently and accurately is crucial because the digital characters need to move with respect to sensed orientation, then the accelerometer and gyroscope need to provide su ciently accurate and precise readings to make the game playable. In particular, determining the pose of the camera in space is vital as the appropriate angle to view the rendered digital characters are determined by the pose of the camera. This defines how well the players will be able interact with the digital game characters. Depending in the Quality of Service (QoS) of these sensors, the Player Experience (PX) may vary as the rendering of digital characters are affected by noisy sensors causing a loss of registration. Confronting such problem while developing AR games is di cult in general as it requires creating wide variety of game types, narratives, input modalities as well as user-testing. Moreover, current AR games developers do not have any specific guidelines for developing AR games, and concrete guidelines outlining the tradeoffs between QoS and PX for different genres and interaction techniques are required. My dissertation provides a complete view (a taxonomy) of the spatio-temporal sensor resolution depen- dency of the existing AR games. Four user experiments have been conducted and one experiment is proposed to validate the taxonomy and demonstrate the differential impact of sensor noise on gameplay of different genres of AR games in different aspect of PX. This analysis is performed in the context of a novel instru- mentation technology, which allows the controlled manipulation of QoS on position and orientation sensors. The experimental outcome demonstrated how the QoS of input sensor noise impacts the PX differently while playing AR game of different genre and the key elements creating this differential impact are - the input modality, narrative and game mechanics. Later, concrete guidelines are derived to regulate the sensor QoS as complete set of instructions to develop different genres or AR games

Music computer in teaching the “Listening to Music” course

The “Listening to Music” course is an important link in the music education of a child. The “Listening to Music” course fosters love and interest in music, teaches to understand its language, and develops emotional responsiveness in children. The article considers new opportunities in teaching the “Listening to Music” course, which appeared along with a music computer, and which is more often used in the children's music school and meets the requirements of modern pedagogy. The article describes the capabilities of music and computer programs aimed at developing creative abilities of children. The authors examined new forms of work in the classroom using a music computer. The article proves that using a musical computer opens up broad prospects for employing creative tasks at children's music and art schools.The “Listening to Music” course is an important link in the music education of a child. The “Listening to Music” course fosters love and interest in music, teaches to understand its language, and develops emotional responsiveness in children. The article considers new opportunities in teaching the “Listening to Music” course, which appeared along with a music computer, and which is more often used in the children's music school and meets the requirements of modern pedagogy. The article describes the capabilities of music and computer programs aimed at developing creative abilities of children. The authors examined new forms of work in the classroom using a music computer. The article proves that using a musical computer opens up broad prospects for employing creative tasks at children's music and art schools

Computadora de música en la enseñanza del curso “Escuchando música”

The “Listening to Music” course is an important link in the music education of a child. The “Listening to Music” course fosters love and interest in music, teaches to understand its language, and develops emotional responsiveness in children. The article considers new opportunities in teaching the “Listening to Music” course, which appeared along with a music computer, and which is more often used in the children's music school and meets the requirements of modern pedagogy. The article describes the capabilities of music and computer programs aimed at developing creative abilities of children. The authors examined new forms of work in the classroom using a music computer. The article proves that using a musical computer opens up broad prospects for employing creative tasks at children's music and art schools.El curso “Escuchar música” es un enlace importante en la educación musical de un niño. El curso “Escuchar música” fomenta el amor y el interés por la música, enseña a comprender su lenguaje y desarrolla la capacidad de respuesta emocional en los niños. El artículo considera nuevas oportunidades en la enseñanza del curso “Escuchar música”, que apareció junto con una computadora musical, y que se usa con mayor frecuencia en la escuela de música para niños y cumple con los requisitos de la pedagogía moderna. El artículo describe las capacidades de la música y los programas informáticos destinados a desarrollar las habilidades creativas de los niños. Los autores examinaron nuevas formas de trabajo en el aula utilizando una computadora musical. El artículo demuestra que el uso de una computadora musical abre amplias perspectivas para emplear tareas creativas en las escuelas de música y arte para niños