The effects of graphical fidelity on player experience

Graphical assets in video games have become increasingly complex over the years, but little is known about their effect on player experience (PX). In this paper, we present results of a controlled study with 48 participants comparing how abstract and stylized graphics influence player experience in casual games. Our results show that high-fidelity graphics result in a more positive impression of the game. However, we also show that many effects are only present in the game with a more challenging mechanic. This shows that casual games can be compelling and enjoyable to play despite simplistic graphics, suggesting that small game developers and researchers need not focus on elaborate visuals to engage players. Copyright © 2013 ACM

Developing serious games for cultural heritage: a state-of-the-art review

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

The reality paradox: Authenticity, fidelity, and the real in Battlefield 4

This article examines how the ‘Battlefield’ (EA Games) series of games generates authenticity in its soundtrack both through a meticulous approach to modelling the physical world and through the appropriation of audio characteristics from our, typically mediated, experience of conflict. It goes on to examine how we might reconcile such ‘authentic’ audio with the more ludic features of the soundtrack, required to support gameplay, that are typically presented as inauthentic. The absence of these sounds during narrative-based sequences and the acceptance of them without negative impact on immersion during gameplay implies that these inauthentic sounds appear not to disrupt the immersive qualities of the ‘authentic’ but only when clearly positioned as ego-ludic (heard only by the player, non-spatialized and synthetic in quality) and only within the context of challenge-based sequences of the game

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

Narrative, Design, and Modelling of a Game with High-Fidelity Graphics

Victims of Dead Stories is a single-player, first-person game in a 3D environment with graphicsthattrytoassimilatereality,thattakesadvantageofthecharacteristicsofschizophrenia to develop the story of the main character and the drastic changes that the playable environments will undergo. Thus being a psychological horror game with a great visual focus to tell the narrative through interactions and events. This game would start by introducing the main character to a relatively familiar environment to the player. A house where is divided into three playable sections, the hallway, the living room and lastly, the staircase. Each section will play a significant role in the player’s progression. While the hallway is where the most physical changes to the player’s surroundings will occur, the living room will serve as a progression of the story and the events that occur there. However, it is in the staircase that the main point of this project, the creation of loops, will be discovered. Wheneverthemaincharacterpassesthroughthe last door of the staircase, he will find himself in the starting position of the game. Even so, the environment that surrounds him will change, especially on a visual level. The objective of Victims of Dead Stories is to advance through eleven loops, where the visuals of the environments will be progressively more macabre, starting with an ordinary house, until finally the walls are covered in blood, having visual clues about the narrative that are scattered around the map. This report about Victims of Dead Stories consists of the description of the visual graphic elements, having as a main focus the creation of realistic 3D models and textures, resorting to the use of 3D modelling software- Blender-, image editing software- Photoshop-, and texture creation and editing software- Substance Pantier-. This creation of realistic 3Dmodels and textures aims to increase the player’s immersion in the playable environment. Afterthisinitial description, the developmentprocedurewillbeapproached, showing the final visual result of Victims of Dead Stories. The characteristics that determine what schizophrenia is and which ones were chosen to be implemented in Victims of Dead Stories will also be addressed.Victims of DeadStories é umjogoparaumúnicojogador,naprimeirapessoa, numambiente 3Dcomgráficosquetentamassimilararealidade, queaproveitaascaracterísticas da esquizofrenia para desenvolver a história da personagem principal e as mudanças drásticas que osambientes jogáveis irão sofrer. Sendo assim um jogo de terror psicológico com umgrande foco visual para contar a narrativa através de interações e eventos. Este jogo começaria por introduzir a personagem principal a um ambiente relativamente familiar para o jogador. Uma casa onde é dividida em três secções jogáveis, o corredor, a sala de estar e por último a escadaria. Cada secção desempenhará um papel significativo na progressão do jogador. Enquanto que o corredor é onde se verificarão mais mudanças físicas no ambiente que rodeia o jogador, a sala de estar servirá como uma progressão da história e dos eventos que aí se desenrolam. Contudo, é na escadaria que o ponto principal deste projeto, a criação de loops, será descoberto. Sempre que a personagem principal passar pela última porta das escadas, encontrar-se-á na posição inicial do jogo. Ainda assim, o ambiente que o rodeia irá mudar, especialmente a nível visual. O objetivo de Victims of Dead Stories é avançar através de onze loops, onde o visual dos ambientes será progressivamentemaismacabro,começandoporumacasavulgar,atéfinalmenteasparedes estarem cobertas de sangue, tendo pistas visuais sobre a narrativa estão espalhadas à volta do mapa. Este relatório sobre Victims of Dead Stories consiste na descrição dos elementos visuais gráficos, tendo como foco principal a criação de modelos 3D e texturas realistas, recorrendo ao uso do software de modelaçao 3D- Blender-, ao software de edição de imagesPhotoshop-, e ao software de criação e edição de texturas- Substance Pantier-. Esta criação de modelos 3D etexturas realistas visa aumentar a imersão do jogador no ambiente jogável. Após esta descrição inicial, será abordado o procedimento de desenvolvimento, mostrando o resultado visual final de Victims of Dead Stories. As características que determinam o que é a esquizofrenia e que foram escolhidas para serem implementadas em serão também abordadas

Playing the Second World War: Call of Duty and the Telling of History

Through its interactive representation of the Second World War, the Call of Duty series is emblematic of a contemporary form of historical remembrance. This article analyzes the ways in which the series' cut scenes and game play interrelate and represent history, warfare, and traumatic violence. Using Marita Sturken’s discussion of screen memories as sites of negotiation between differing conceptions of the past, the essay positions Call of Duty as a digital screen memory that actively produces multiple, competing understandings of historical warfare

An engine selection methodology for high fidelity serious games

Serious games represent the state-of-the-art in the convergence of electronic gaming technologies with instructional design principles and pedagogies. Whilst the selection criteria for entertainment game engines are often transparent, due to the range of available platforms and engines an emerging challenge is the choice of platform for serious games, whose selection often has substantially different objectives and technical requirements depending upon context and usage. Additionally, the convergence of training simulations with serious gaming, made possible by increasing hardware rendering capacity, is enabling the creation of high-fidelity serious games which challenge existing design and instructional approaches. This paper highlights some of the differences between the technical requisites of high-fidelity serious and leisure games, and proposes a selection methodology based upon these emergent characteristics. The case study of part of a high-fidelity model of Ancient Rome is used to compare aspects of the four different game engines according to elements defined in the proposed methodology

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming in Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming streams games as video from a server to a client device making it susceptible to network congestion. Adaptive bitrate streaming estimates network capacity and sets encoding parameters to avoid exceeding the bandwidth of the connection. BBR is a congestion control algorithm as an alternative to current loss-based congestion control. We designed and implemented a bitrate adaptation heuristic based on BBR into GamingAnywhere, an open source cloud gaming platform. We conducted a user study and did objective analysis comparing our modified version to the original. Through our results, we found that our adaptive system was less challenging for players and improved retention rates and that there was no statistically significant difference in visual quality from objective testing