A CO-CREATION TOOL IN WALK-IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT: MAKING PROSPECTIVE WORK VISIBLE

The focus of this paper is on user participation in product design process. Ours is a human-centred approach in which users\u27 expertise is acknowledged and which addresses the development of future products, rather than the current situation in users\u27 work. This type of user participation applied to co-creation is possible when the users\u27 prospective work is made visible. This paper presents a tool with which product users can experiment working with the product under design. As the product designers can observe the users\u27 actions with the tool, their understanding of the users\u27 work practice increases and their discussions with the users improve. The tool, VIP2M, is a virtual environment for prototyping a mobile working machine and constructing it in a walk-in virtual environment. We built it following the tradition of design science research and evaluated it by user tests. The study shows that virtual environment is a useful base for constructing appropriate tools for product users\u27 participation in the product design

The motivational landscape of first-person shooter games

Abstract. The purpose of this research was to gain better understanding of the motivations to play video games, particularly first-person shooter games. The aim was therefore to produce a motivational landscape that describes and categorizes the main motivations to play first-person shooter games (FPS). The study tries to expand the understanding of motivations to play. Therefore, qualitative research method was chosen for gaining a better understanding. The chosen research strategy is case study and the cases used in this study are Battlefield 3 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. These two cases represent popular games in FPS-genre. The empirical material was collected by using semi-structured interviews. Total of seven (7) persons were interviewed for this study. All interviewees were Finnish males (ages 22–28) that are experienced gamers. This study expands the motivation research of gaming. From the academic standpoint, the study offers an empirically grounded categorization for analyzing the motivations to play FPS-games: achievement, learning, social interaction, entertainment and escapism. The study gives structure to a complex and elusive subject of motivation, deepens the understanding of the content of the categories and reveals the underlying processes behind it. In addition, the study makes a division between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. From managerial standpoint, the study offers comprehensive and balanced structure for evaluating games in terms of their motivational appeal and may therefore help in game development. Game developers should understand that the game needs to provide enough intrinsic motivation to keep players interested. Extrinsic motivation should be used as something that enhances the gameplay experience without destroying it. In-depth understanding of the player’s motivations to play is a vital part of every game company’s business decision-making practices. Video game companies should consider motivations to play when they design monetization models for their games. From a societal standpoint, the parents of gamers could benefit from this study by understanding more of what is actually happening when their children play FPS-games

Exploring vertical navigation within a virtual environment : a staircase experience

Ankara : The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2012.Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2012.Includes biblioraphical references 104-121.Architectural cues are configured by architects in the initial phase of design process. Local architectural cues within an environment can aid individuals during navigation and influence their spatial orientation. Staircases, as a feature of local architectural cues that provide access to the other floors in a multi-level building can have an impact on vertical navigation. This study focuses on the issue of vertical navigation during virtual navigation by integrating the individual characteristics and the geometric attributes of a staircase pair within two different multi-level desktop virtual environments (VEs). The angle between the cue pairs with respect to the same observation point is altered in order to determine the staircase pair that is more efficient in navigation. Circulation paths, gender differences, navigational abilities and cue pairs are considered to be factors that affect staircase preferences for ascending and descending. For the VE with a 180° difference between the cue pairs, there was a relationship between the ascending and descending staircases. Further analysis indicated that the staircase preference in ascending was either related to the first or last visited rooms on the ground floor. For the VE with a 90° difference between the cue pairs, no relationship was found between the ascending and descending staircases as well as with any other factor. There was no significant relationship between gender and staircase preference except for the descending staircase with 180° difference between the cue pairs and was in favor of females. In addition, there was no significant relationship between the navigational abilities and staircase preferences.Memikoğlu, İpek (Sancaktar)Ph.D