Assessment in and of serious games: an overview

There is a consensus that serious games have a significant potential as a tool for instruction. However, their effectiveness in terms of learning outcomes is still understudied mainly due to the complexity involved in assessing intangible measures. A systematic approach—based on established principles and guidelines—is necessary to enhance the design of serious games, and many studies lack a rigorous assessment. An important aspect in the evaluation of serious games, like other educational tools, is user performance assessment. This is an important area of exploration because serious games are intended to evaluate the learning progress as well as the outcomes. This also emphasizes the importance of providing appropriate feedback to the player. Moreover, performance assessment enables adaptivity and personalization to meet individual needs in various aspects, such as learning styles, information provision rates, feedback, and so forth. This paper first reviews related literature regarding the educational effectiveness of serious games. It then discusses how to assess the learning impact of serious games and methods for competence and skill assessment. Finally, it suggests two major directions for future research: characterization of the player's activity and better integration of assessment in games

Player Experience and Technical Performance Prospects for Distributed 3D Gaming in Private and Public Settings

\u3cp\u3eDistributed gaming enables access to interactive media from devices based on different platforms. It facilitates users to enjoy video games in various environments without the need for using a single device or operating system. Understanding the potential and limitations of such gaming-on-demand systems is key for their adoption and further growth in public places. This paper presents an in-depth, quantitative study performed with the Games@Large (GaL) distributed-gaming system and its potential users at an Internet café in Genoa, Italy. The approach of the study was multilevel, covering the player experience and user acceptance aspects as well as technical performance peculiarities. Results show that the GaL system has a high potential at Internet cafes, in particular when playing a casual genre game. Furthermore, results provide recommendations for deploying such systems in terms of social setting and technical aspects. The methodology and findings of the GaL system tests can be applied to similar game streaming systems and used as input for theories on social digital game play.\u3c/p\u3

Player experience and technical performance prospects for distributed 3D gaming in private and public settings

Distributed gaming enables access to interactive media from devices based on different platforms. It facilitates users to enjoy video games in various environments without the need for using a single device or operating system. Understanding the potential and limitations of such gaming-on-demand systems is key for their adoption and further growth in public places. This paper presents an in-depth, quantitative study performed with the Games@Large (GaL) distributed-gaming system and its potential users at an Internet café in Genoa, Italy. The approach of the study was multilevel, covering the player experience and user acceptance aspects as well as technical performance peculiarities. Results show that the GaL system has a high potential at Internet cafes, in particular when playing a casual genre game. Furthermore, results provide recommendations for deploying such systems in terms of social setting and technical aspects. The methodology and findings of the GaL system tests can be applied to similar game streaming systems and used as input for theories on social digital game play.</p