The role of game rules in architectural design environments

'Experimenting' and 'observing' are crucial actions in architectural design thinking. They rely heavily on the representation environment used (e.g. sketching, scale models, sketch tools, CAD tools, etc.) and the 'game rules' at play in these environments. In this brief paper, we study the role of this representation environment in the overall architectural design thinking process. From this brief study, we indicate two design and implementation approaches to implement and design with such game rules in virtual design environments

Enabling control of 3D visuals, scenarios and non-linear gameplay in serious game development through model-driven authoring

Due to the absence of high-level authoring environments and support for non-technical domain experts to create custom serious games, a model-driven authoring framework is presented in this paper. Through model-driven authoring, non-technical people can manipulate the 3D visuals of their serious game, model the scenarios of the game, and even easily add non-linear narrative to the game. The different tools and methods have been implemented and are currently used to build a serious game for the Friendly ATTAC project in order to help youngsters who are confronted with cyberbullying. The presented model-driven authoring framework enables non-technical domain experts to produce serious games easily and quickly, at a lower cost, and therefore lowers the barriers that hinder the production of serious games

‘We Reach out but we Also Expect Something in Return’: Social Work Engaging with Roma People in Temporary Container Homes at the Edge of the City

In this article, we critically explore the research findings of a qualitative study of local social policy and work interventions, called ‘the post-mobile project’ in Ghent, Belgium. The project provided temporary housing for families in container units, accompanied by mandatory integration assistance, and was implemented as a potential solution for Romanian Roma families after the dismantlement of two informal settlements in 2020. Our qualitative study explores the underlying ontological assumptions of the social work interventions in this project, and aims to gain insights into the role of contemporary social work practice in Belgium and its impact on advancing or hindering the pursuit of social justice within this Roma community. The study is based on an ethnography as a multi-method approach. Participant observations are complemented by document analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to gain an in-depth understanding of the divergent experiences and opinions of different stakeholders involved in the interventions. The findings reveal different ontological frameworks regarding the way the social problem is defined, the project’s goals and the principles guiding practice, thus exposing tensions between the local policy-makers and the social justice orientation of social work practitioners