Gameful Design in the Development of Asynchronous Online Discussion Activities: A Case Study

This study investigates Gameful Design as a method to improve the development and implementation of Asynchronous Online Discussions in online learning environments. A qualitative methodology, an instrumental case study design, was used to examine the effectiveness of this design method by exploring the experiences of the participants and the meaning they gave to those experiences. Data was collected through observation, discussion transcript analysis, and pre/post-course interviews. Validity was strengthened by triangulation of these sources. The findings showed that gameful design was an effective method to encourage the development of a connected and engaged learning community within an online class and promoted social knowledge construction among the students. Students participated not because they had to get a grade, but because they enjoyed the activity and sharing with their classmates. Implications and recommendations are discussed as well as other uses for gameful design and further research possibilities

Artistry, Aesthetic Experience, and Global Futures in Civilization Game Design: How the ESCAPe Framework as an Ontology Captures an Art Form of the Information Age

Civilization games can depict imaginative and sophisticated perspectives on the future. Yet some scholars have critiqued civilization games for their replication of dominant, limited ideologies. Game designers often learn about design directly or indirectly from frameworks, such as the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework which contains a very idiosyncratic definition of aesthetics. Given that aesthetic thinking can unlock the sociological imagination, the aim of this dissertation was to discover opportunities to expand civilization game design by understanding the aesthetic experience of designers. A qualitative interview study was conducted of 13 game designers who created at least one civilization game based in the future. The interview and analysis had an ontological focus, to better understand how aesthetics fit into the existing puzzle of game design knowledge. The findings showed that designers employ their perspective in game design; this sense of self and perspective is not captured by current ontologies of game design. Furthermore, designers are limited in their ability to explore the boundaries of civilization games by task complexity, emotionality, and reliance on player experience. Resultantly, they may focus intensely on known aspects of game design in order to deliver a product. The dissertation proposes two primary solutions. Firstly, a game design framework that integrates the self into game design and more clearly delineates the game as an artifact. Secondly, cultivate truer senses of vision in game design for those who want to push civilization games and games as a whole, while understanding the practical realities of game design. These implications can be used by educators to reconsider game design program curricula, as well as affirm game designers’ pursuit of their own perspective

Towards a comprehensive methodology for applying enterprise gamification

Gamification as a new concept uses game elements in a novel way to engage users of a non-gaming system and can be used in many domains within an enterprise, to implement the organizational processes with lower costs, higher quality or in a more efficient way. Although there are many researches on gamification but a few studies can be found in the organizational gamification and there are few research works about framework and methodology for designing and implementing organizational gamification in the literature. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive methodology for the enterprise gamification. This research is an attempt to overcome the mentioned gap via presenting a methodology by applying some important issues including organizational, humanity and gamification aspects together to design and implement customized enterprise gamification solutions through reviewing the related literature and experts’ commentaries. The evaluation of the methodology showed that it is an appropriate and perfect way to design gamification solutions in an organization, besides the enterprise needs to provide the necessary conditions for its implementation. This paper forwards an important debate on a comprehensive methodology for applying enterprise gamification, which explains how to properly use gamification in enterprises to increase productivity and better communication with employees, and thus contributes to literature on internal and enterprise gamification

Designing a persuasive game for children's safety awareness

Children encounter many dangers at home and in their surroundings during their daily lives. Safety education before the school age is important for the children to form safe behaviors already early in their live, but a persistent problem for reaching young populations has been the lack of engaging materials. Hence, there is a need for developing engaging, interactive materials, such as games, to help children adapt necessary safety behaviors effectively. The purpose of this study is, through constructive research, to examine 1) how can a persuasive game be designed to increase children's safety awareness in their early childhood, and 2) which good practices and guidelines can be derived from the design process. In collaboration with Tukes, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency and Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, a mobile game was developed with the agenda of increasing children's safety awareness. Action Design Research (ADR) methodology is used to describe the design process, containing four phases: Problem Formulation, Building, Intervention and Evaluation, Reflection and Learning, and Formalization of Learning. As the theoretical background, the concept of procedural rhetoric and the prior research knowledge on children 's user-centered interaction design were adapted. The resulting game was evaluated through playtesting with the co-discovery method and a feedback survey. During the project, a functioning persuasive game was designed through an iteratice process. The reflection and learning upon the design process also resulted in a process model for persuasive game design and set of guidelines to help guide children's persuasive game projects in the future. The study was limited by the fact that the long-term effects of the game intervention on children's safety awareness were not monitored. Future research on the topic should address the measurement of long-term effects of persuasive games, as well as study their design and implementation in different contexts, environments, and user groups

The critical effect : evaluating the effects and use of video game reviews

Game reviews play an important role in both the culture and business of games – the words of a reviewer can have an influential effect on the commercial success of a video game. While reviews are currently used by game developers to aid in important decisions such as project financing and employee bonuses, the effect of game reviews on players is not known. Additionally, the use of game reviews to improve evaluation techniques has received little attention. In this thesis we investigate the effect of game reviews on player experience and perceptions of quality. We show that negative reviews cause a significant effect on how players perceive their in-game experience, and that this effect is a post-play cognitive rationalization of the play experience with the previously-read review text. To address this effect we designed and deployed a new heuristic evaluation technique that specifically uses game reviews to create a fine-grained prioritized list of usability problems based on the frequency, impact, and persistence of each problem. By using our technique we are able to address the most common usability problems identified by game reviews, thus reducing the overall level of negativity found within the review text. Our approach helps to control and eliminate the snowballing effect that can be produced by players reading reviews and subsequently posting their own reviews, and thus improve the commercial success of a game

Intentional Friction in the User Interface of Digital Games

Embora projetar fricção intencionalmente em interfaces do utilizador de jogos possa ser uma estratégia adequada para desafiar as crenças dos jogadores e estimular a reflexão, as práticas convencionais de interface do utilizador são frequentemente influenciadas por um paradigma abrangente de facilidade de uso e prazer. Esta dissertação investiga como designers podem empregar fricção intencional em interfaces do utilizador de jogos digitais para criar experiências significativas e inspirar reflexão nos seus jogadores. Primeiro, revimos a literatura para enquadrar o que constitui elementos de interface no game design, o paradigma de usabilidade e diversão e outras perspetivas que oferecem contexto para o uso da fricção como estratégia. Depois, exploramos instâncias de jogos que usam fricção na interface do utilizador quando apropriado como estratégia para expressar um ponto de vista, desafiar sistemas atuais ou fomentar a reflexão crítica. O ponto de partida para nossas observações são os sete princípios de design de Donald Norman e as heurísticas de usabilidade de Jakob Nielsen. Como resultado, identificamos seis estratégias de fricção intencional distintas. Em seguida, realizamos duas sessões de workshop de co-criação com um total de sete participantes com experiência em interface de utilizador ou design de jogos para identificar estratégias e perspetivas adicionais. As estratégias coletadas foram reunidas numa ferramenta de cartas. Por fim, realizamos uma sessão inicial de validação da ferramenta com quatro participantes com resultados promissores, sugerindo que as estratégias de fricção da ferramenta conseguiram impulsionar a expressividade como um componente importante do processo de discussão e ideação dos participantes. Embora este trabalho não esteja focado em coletar todas as abordagens de design de fricção indiscriminadamente, as estratégias identificadas sugerem técnicas mais subtis do que apenas enquadrar em reverso os princípios para criar um design amigável.  While intentionally designing friction in gaming user interfaces may be a suitable strategy for challenging players' beliefs and prompting reflection, conventional user interface practices are frequently influenced by an overarching paradigm of user-friendliness and enjoyment. This dissertation investigates how designers might employ intentional friction in digital game user interfaces to create meaningful experiences and inspire reflection in its players. First, we review the literature to frame what constitutes interface elements in game design, the user-friendly and enjoyment paradigm, and other perspectives that offer context to using friction as a strategy. Afterward, we explore game instances that use user interface friction when appropriate as a strategy to express a point of view, to challenge current systems, or to foment critical reflection. The starting point for our observations is Donald Norman's seven design principles and Jakob Nielsen's usability heuristics. As a result, we identify six distinct intentional friction strategies. Next, we ran two co-creation workshop sessions with a total of seven participants with user interface or game design backgrounds to identify additional strategies and perspectives. The strategies gathered were collected in a deck-based tool. Finally, we ran an initial tool validation session with four participants with promising results, suggesting that the tool's friction strategies were able to drive expressiveness as an important component of the participant's discussion and ideation process. Although this work is not focused on collecting all friction design approaches indiscriminately, the identified strategies suggest more nuanced techniques than just framing the principles to create a friendly design in reverse

On to Wisteria: Designing an Action-Adventure Role-Playing Game for the Empowerment of the Preteen Female Audience

This thesis document details the design for an original action-adventure role-playing game (AARPG) specifically targeted towards the preteen female audience, ages 10-12, as well as the production of a promotional trailer to communicate the design. This thesis aims to bring this untapped market to an already established video game genre in order to communicate to this young female audience that these games are not “just for boys” by providing a clear example of an empowering and inclusive game that is designed to appeal to their demographic. Given that there are currently no AAA action-adventure RPGs targeted towards this group as well as limited research into the relationship between video games and female youths, a broad net of research is cast in order to design a game that would celebrate this demographic without relying on stereotypes or being too narrow in defining what it means for a girl to be “strong.” Through this work I investigate female gender representation, the current gender biases in the video game medium, and what prevents young females from playing games in order to create a solution that inspires and engages this audience.The complexities of gender development in youths is considered, focusing on how media and other gendered products are marketed towards young audiences and how they can potentially influence their perceived identities. Television shows such as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are considered as examples of popular media aimed at the young female market acclaimed for their strong storytelling, themes, diversity, and female characters. It also examines games like Kingdom Hearts, well-known exemplars from this genre aimed at boys of the same age demographic. After breaking down the core components of the AARPG genre itself, this thesis presents a game design following this structure with original characters, story elements, and gameplay features that would especially appeal to the target market. From this design, it develops key moments in an animatic for a trailer designed to excite and capture the feeling of empowerment the game would hope to achieve for this audience if it were fully realized as a production

Gaming The Comic Book: Turning The Page on How Comics and Videogames Intersect as Interactive, Digital Experiences

Little attention has been given to how digital technologies have impacted the comic medium. Despite the astronomical impact this shift has had on all sorts of traditional media, it is common to believe that digital comics are simply electronic versions of print comics, but the implementation of audio, animation, three-dimensional effects, and interactivity with other kinds of digital comics reveal that they are hardly so simple. Analyzing and classifying them is essential for English studies, comics studies, and even game studies. Digital comics are a hybridized medium that challenge the essence and existing definitions of comics with disparate instances and inclusions of multimedia and interactivity. Digital comics also complicate how the comic medium is remediated with three remediation types (retro remediation, stylistic remediation, and adaptation) that favor or balance out desires for immediacy and hypermediacy between old and new media. Digital comics can also converge with the logic and design of videogames in the digital space, presenting opportunities to question the nature of interactivity between comics and videogames and how these two mediums can be combined with “interactive, digital comics.” This paper creates a refined genre list for digital comics by separating them in terms of how much multimedia and/or interactivity they contain with an extensive analysis of nine digital comics. Their individual incorporations (or lack thereof) of multimedia and/or interactivity unveil innovative possibilities that the digital space affords for the comic medium with new methods of spatial, sequential, and temporal storytelling. In addition, this paper explores how digital comics are socially constructed and viewed as a genre by audiences with nine interviewees that glean further insight into the current perception and future potential of not only digital comics, but also the promising genre of interactive, digital comics

Digital Game-Based Learning: Teacher Training, Perceptions, Benefits, and Barriers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine current teacher training practices, both preservice teacher preparation programs and school district professional development, aligned to digital game-based learning (DGBL). The study surveyed Northern Minnesota teachers in grades P-12 to determine their perceptions related to the benefits of DGBL and the barriers they face to the implementation of DGBL. Respondents (N = 345) rated trainings, resources, and supports which they felt would encourage their use of digital games to deliver educational content and facilitate learning. The results of the study revealed the majority of respondents perceived numerous benefits to DGBL including: (a) the use of digital games as supplemental learning activities (89.48%); (b) to provide instantaneous feedback to learners (86.51%); and (c) to motivate students (85.50%). Respondents ranked the cost of purchasing games or licenses (81.23%) and the cost of equipment (80.35%) as the top two deterrents to the implementation of DGBL. The study showed a lack of teacher training, both in teacher preparation programs (75.00%) and school district professional development (77.52%) aligned to the use of digital games in the classroom. The findings of this study contribute to existing research outlining the lack of teacher training aligned to the integration of digital games into the classroom. This study concludes with recommendations for school administrators including: (a) professional development offerings aligned to DGBL; (b) technology support personnel to provide ongoing support; and (c) time designated specifically for the exploration of digital games and to plan for their use in the classroom

Playing with Virtual Reality: Early Adopters of Commercial Immersive Technology

This dissertation examines early adopters of mass-marketed Virtual Reality (VR), as well as other immersive technologies, and the playful processes by which they incorporate the devices into their lives within New York City. Starting in 2016, relatively inexpensive head-mounted displays (HMDs) began to be manufactured and distributed by leaders in the game and information technology industries. However, even before these releases, developers and content creators were testing the devices through “development kits.” These de facto early adopters, who are distinctly commercially-oriented, acted as a launching point for the dissertation to scrutinize how, why and in what ways digital technologies spread to the wider public. Taking a multimethod approach that combines semi-structured interviews, two years of participant observation, media discourse analysis and autoethnography, the dissertation details a moment in the diffusion of an innovation and how publicity, social forces and industry influence adoption. This includes studying the media ecosystem which promotes and sustains VR, the role of New York City in framing opportunities and barriers for new users, and a description of meetups as important communities where devotees congregate. With Game Studies as a backdrop for analysis, the dissertation posits that the blurry relationship between labor and play held by most enthusiasts sustains the process of VR adoption. Their “playbor” colors not only the rhetoric and the focus of meetups, but also the activities, designs, and, most importantly, the financial and personal expenditures they put forth. Ultimately, play shapes the system of production by which adopters of commercial VR are introduced to the technology and, eventually, weave it into their lives. Situating play at the center of this system highlights that the assimilation of digital media is in part an embodied and irrational experience. It also suggests new models by which future innovations will spread to the public