Measuring Fun: A Case Study in Adapting to the Evolving Metrics of Player Experience

The gaming industry and the concept of gamification have altered the way many developers and users approach interactive products. As social gaming demographics expand to what was previously considered “casual” audiences, more users expect an enjoyable experience from their digital applications and games. Developers now request more detailed subjective descriptions of satisfaction and the player experience from user-experience (UX) practitioners. Focusing on how fun a product is for users/players requires subjective, situationally dependent metrics rather than traditional UX efficiency metrics. The UX discipline is still constructing a comprehensive ecology of the player experience and how to measure it. This article contributes to that ecology by detailing a case in which our team conducted a usability test on a new video game peripheral. Our client’s primary concern dealt with how fun experienced gamers found the device. As our test progressed, we encountered a number of fun-related participant behaviors that led us to develop new metrics beyond our initial planned metrics. These new metrics helped us and our client better define and discuss enjoyability. Our case, in conjunction with a detailed definition and review of player experience and UX scholarship, shows the importance of adopting metrics contextually specific to the video-game product and player group when measuring fun is the primary goal

Library Buildings And The Building Of A Collaborative Research Collection At The Tri-College Library Consortium

This report is the product of a planning grant awarded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2001 to the Tri-College Library Consortium, which comprises the libraries of Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. The grant proposal, entitled “Library Buildings and the Building of a Collaborative Research Collection at the Tri-Colleges,” set out a research agenda designed to address two central questions. The first question was a challenge: How could the three libraries come to terms with space problems caused by ever-growing collections and increasing demands to accommodate media, teaching, and student study areas in an environment in which library building expansion was a remote possibility? The second question was an opportunity: Could the libraries take advantage of their history of cooperation and the powerful tool of a unified online catalog to create a single research-quality collection out of the combined holdings of three strong liberal arts colleges? Working with a consultant, a seven-member Planning Group representing the three colleges and the consortium gathered data on the collections, convened focus groups of faculty and students, and engaged three publishing industry experts to assess the state of electronic publishing. After analyzing the data, the Planning Group studied alternatives for maximizing collection space and made recommendations for new models and strategies to be pursued by the Tri-Colleges consortium

General model for retroviral capsid pattern recognition by TRIM5 proteins

Permission to archive final published versionRestriction factors are intrinsic cellular defense proteins that have evolved to block microbial infections. Retroviruses such as HIV-1 are restricted by TRIM5 proteins, which recognize the viral capsid shell that surrounds, organizes, and protects the viral genome. TRIM5α uses a SPRY domain to bind capsids with low intrinsic affinity (KD of >1 mM) and therefore requires higher-order assembly into a hexagonal lattice to generate sufficient avidity for productive capsid recognition. TRIMCyp, on the other hand, binds HIV-1 capsids through a cyclophilin A domain, which has a well-defined binding site and higher affinity (KD of ∼10 μM) for isolated capsid subunits. Therefore, it has been argued that TRIMCyp proteins have dispensed with the need for higher-order assembly to function as antiviral factors. Here, we show that, consistent with its high degree of sequence similarity with TRIM5α, the TRIMCyp B-box 2 domain shares the same ability to self-associate and facilitate assembly of a TRIMCyp hexagonal lattice that can wrap about the HIV-1 capsid. We also show that under stringent experimental conditions, TRIMCyp-mediated restriction of HIV-1 is indeed dependent on higher-order assembly. Both forms of TRIM5 therefore use the same mechanism of avidity-driven capsid pattern recognitionYe

Karyopherins regulate nuclear pore complex barrier and transport function

Nucleocytoplasmic transport is sustained by karyopherins (Kaps) and a Ran guanosine triphosphate (RanGTP) gradient that imports nuclear localization signal (NLS)–specific cargoes (NLS-cargoes) into the nucleus. However, how nuclear pore complex (NPC) barrier selectivity, Kap traffic, and NLS-cargo release are systematically linked and simultaneously regulated remains incoherent. In this study, we show that Kap α facilitates Kap β 1 turnover and occupancy at the NPC in a RanGTP-dependent manner that is directly coupled to NLS-cargo release and NPC barrier function. This is underpinned by the binding affinity of Kap β 1 to phenylalanine–glycine nucleoporins (FG Nups), which is comparable with RanGTP·Kap β 1, but stronger for Kap α ·Kap β 1. On this basis, RanGTP is ineffective at releasing standalone Kap β 1 from NPCs. Depleting Kap α ·Kap β 1 by RanGTP further abrogates NPC barrier function, whereas adding back Kap β 1 rescues it while Kap β 1 turnover softens it. Therefore, the FG Nups are necessary but insufficient for NPC barrier function. We conclude that Kaps constitute integral constituents of the NPC whose barrier, transport, and cargo release functionalities establish a continuum under a mechanism of Kap-centric control

MERS-CoV 4b protein interferes with the NF-κB-dependent innate immune response during infection

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel human coronavirus that emerged in 2012, causing severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with a case fatality rate of ~36%. When expressed in isolation, CoV accessory proteins have been shown to interfere with innate antiviral signaling pathways. However, there is limited information on the specific contribution of MERS-CoV accessory protein 4b to the repression of the innate antiviral response in the context of infection. We found that MERS-CoV 4b was required to prevent a robust NF-κB dependent response during infection. In wild-type virus infected cells, 4b localized to the nucleus, while NF-κB was retained in the cytoplasm. In contrast, in the absence of 4b or in the presence of cytoplasmic 4b mutants lacking a nuclear localization signal (NLS), NF-κB was translocated to the nucleus leading to the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This indicates that NF-κB repression required the nuclear import of 4b mediated by a specific NLS. Interestingly, we also found that both in isolation and during infection, 4b interacted with α-karyopherin proteins in an NLS-dependent manner. In particular, 4b had a strong preference for binding karyopherin-α4 (KPNA4), which is known to translocate the NF-κB protein complex into the nucleus. Binding of 4b to KPNA4 during infection inhibited its interaction with NF-κB-p65 subunit. Thereby we propose a model where 4b outcompetes NF-κB for KPNA4 binding and translocation into the nucleus as a mechanism of interference with the NF-κB-mediated innate immune response

Measuring Fun : A Case Study in Adapting to the Evolving Metrics of Player Experience

The gaming industry and the concept of gamification have altered the way many developers and users approach interactive products. As social gaming demographics expand to what was previously considered “casual” audiences, more users expect an enjoyable experience from their digital applications and games. Developers now request more detailed subjective descriptions of satisfaction and the player experience from user-experience (UX) practitioners. Focusing on how fun a product is for users/players requires subjective, situationally dependent metrics rather than traditional UX efficiency metrics. The UX discipline is still constructing a comprehensive ecology of the player experience and how to measure it. This article contributes to that ecology by detailing a case in which our team conducted a usability test on a new video game peripheral. Our client’s primary concern dealt with how fun experienced gamers found the device. As our test progressed, we encountered a number of fun-related participant behaviors that led us to develop new metrics beyond our initial planned metrics. These new metrics helped us and our client better define and discuss enjoyability. Our case, in conjunction with a detailed definition and review of player experience and UX scholarship, shows the importance of adopting metrics contextually specific to the video-game product and player group when measuring fun is the primary goal