Modifying a Game to Study the Impact of an Hostile Environments on Foraging Behavior

Health and self-regulatio

Academic Games - Mapping the Use of Video Games in Research Contexts

Video games have been used as tools for non-entertainment purposes, including research contexts. This paper defines academic games' as games that are used and developed within academic institutions for the generation, evaluation, or dissemination of knowledge. Broad intentions related to this unique use of games are rarely explicitly discussed. When they are mentioned, they tend to be specific to an individual game's implementation, or the field of study in which it is situated. This article maps the different fundamental purposes that motivate the use of games in research contexts: involvement as stimulus, intervention, incentive, or as modeling platform. A compact review of existing literature is provided, complemented by a discussion of different facets shaping the use of games in research contexts: the flow of information, the dependency between academic effort and game artifact, and the specificity that is required. This discussion is informed by the analysis of various example games from previous work. A research agenda for the future professionalization of academic game development and its discourse concludes the article

Dive Deeper: Empirical Analysis of Game Mechanics and Perceived Value in Serious Games

Validation of serious games tends to focus on evaluating their design as a whole. While this helps to assess whether a particular combination of game mechanics is successful, it provides little insight into how individual mechanics contribute or detract from a serious game's purpose or a player's game experience. This study analyses the effect of game mechanics commonly used in casual games for engagement, measured as a combination of player behaviour and reported game experience. Secondly, it examines the role of a serious game's purpose on those same measures. An experimental study was conducted with 204 participants playing several versions of a serious game to explore these points. The results show that adding additional game mechanics to a core gameplay loop did not lead to participants playing more or longer, nor did it improve their game experience. Players who were aware of the game's purpose, however, perceived the game as more beneficial, scored their game experience higher, and progressed further. The results show that game mechanics on their own do not necessarily improve engagement, while the effect of perceived value deserves further study.System Engineerin

Level Design Patterns That Invoke Curiosity-Driven Exploration: An Empirical Study across Multiple Conditions

Video games frequently feature 'open world' environments, designed to motivate exploration. Level design patterns are implemented to invoke curiosity and to guide player behavior. However, evidence of the efficacy of such patterns has remained theoretical. This study presents an empirical study of how level design patterns impact curiosity-driven exploration in a 3D open-world video game. 254 participants played a game in an empirical study using a between-subjects factorial design, testing 4 variables: presence or absence of patterns, goal or open-ended, nature and alien aesthetic, and assured or unassured compensation. Data collection consisted of in-game metrics and emotion word prompts as well as post-game questionnaires. Results show that design patterns invoke heightened exploration, but this effect is influenced by the presence of an explicit goal or monetary compensation. There appear to be many motivations behind exploratory behavior in games, with patterns raising expectations in players. A disposition for curiosity (i.e. 'trait curiosity') was not found to influence exploration. We interpret and discuss the impact of the conditions, individual patterns, and player motivations.System Engineerin

Shinobi Valley: Studying curiosity for virtual spatial exploration through a video game

Curiosity is a strong motivator for human action, but the circumstances under which one becomes curious are not clear. This paper builds on the assumption that video games can be used as a stimulus for the experimental study of curiosity, and forms a basis in examining the type of curiosity motivated by spatial exploration. A video game was created that incorporates five proposed ‘game design patterns’ that may induce curiosity in players. The game, Shinobi Valley, was tested in a pilot study with 24 participants. Participants responded positively to the game and exhibited exploratory behaviour while playing without specifically being prompted to do so. The presented results suggest which of the patterns are most promising in inducing curiosity, and show that the game is of sufficient quality to be used in larger studies.System Engineerin