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Copyright of Mevzu is the property of Ali Sever and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Higher education (HE) has become a common pathway into game development careers. Previous research with students and educators has shown how game development HE exemplifies a "creative industries" approach that seemingly marries technical and creative skills, professionalism and passion, and individualistic entrepreneurism and interdisciplinary collaboration. However, little research has considered the varied institutional contexts such students and educators find themselves entrenched in. In this article, we argue that game development HE does not simply marry the technical and creative but is instead torn between different disciplinary cultures, ideologies, and aims. Drawing from data on 119 game development HE programs in Australia, we show that while game development HE is consistently positioned as a pathway toward student employability, just what skills and identities are emphasized as crucial for such employability varies pending on the program's institutional context—ultimately showing that combining creativity and technology is neither a straightforward nor neutral process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the development and effectiveness of four board games designed to promote cognitive learning activities and STEM education, focusing on kinematics and energy. We used the Engagement - Purpose - Deign - Prototype - Evaluation process to develop four board games. The study involved 53 senior high school students in Vietnam. We used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the impact of these board games on students' cognitive understanding and motivation in STEM education. Data collection included multiple-choice tests before and post-tests from the previous literature study to measure cognitive gains. We also surveyed students using 5-point Likert scales and open-ended questions to explore their motivation and engagement. Quantitative and qualitative analyses assessed whether board games significantly improved students' motivation and learning outcomes. These results suggest that integrating board games into STEM education can improve student engagement and understanding of STEM learning. In light of the results, we discussed the implications of the Engagement - Purpose - Deign - Prototype - Evaluation process and the effectiveness of four board games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the design and development process of “Super Journey”, a 2D platformer mobile game aimed at enhancing user engagement and satisfaction through innovative game mechanics and design. Utilizing the Agile methodology, the development stages included conceptualization, design, implementation using the Unity game engine, and iterative testing and evaluation based on user feedback. This development process involved crafting a detailed game design document, creating initial sketches and prototypes, and integrating graphical elements, animations, and game mechanics. The game features 3 levels with simple controls, visually appealing pixel art, and progressively challenging levels. A survey conducted with 20 participants revealed high overall satisfaction (4.15 out of 5), with particular praise for level design (4.25) and game mechanics (4.2). Feedback indicated areas for improvement, such as balancing difficulty levels and incorporating more diverse obstacles and enemies. The findings underscore the importance of agile, user-centered design in game development and provide insights for future iterations to further enhance the gaming experience. “Super Journey” exemplifies the effective integration of classic platformer elements with modern innovations, highlighting its potential in the competitive mobile gaming market. The results of this research are expected to serve as a reference and inspiration for other game developers to create superior products by combining innovative technology and thoughtful design.

Purpose: This article seeks to provide a set of heuristics for technical communication, addressing the newfound challenges to game developers as a result of the seemingly permanent shift to hybrid and remote work in this industry. In particular, this piece offers developers tangible ways in which they can facilitate productive and equitable means of technical communications that account for the unique needs of this kind of work that now takes place in almost exclusively remote and hybrid working situations. Method: This piece relies on both survey and interview data collected from nearly 300 members of the Independent Game Developers Association (IGDA) and at various games-based conferences (e.g., the Game Developers Conference) over a period of two years through a partnership grant between York University and the IGDA. Results: The results noted two key findings: First, the majority of game developers do not want to or intend to ever return to a fully physical office setting. Second, the results indicate that the shift to remote work more often negatively impacted female and non-binary developers, most likely due to the additional caregiving responsibilities traditionally emplaced on these groups. Conclusion: Technical communication is a central part of the game development process and has become even more pivotal as developers continue to operate under remote and hybrid working conditions. As such, the heuristics developed from this data focus on addressing the needs of these groups so that the remote and hybrid workplaces can operate as equitably as possible in this new industry model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/purpose – The study delves into the creation and the experience of interactive children’s narratives based on poetry, examining the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a collaborative partner in storytelling for children. The research questions are: 1) What are the experiences of readers, specifically children’s guardians, with interactive narratives based on children’s poetry?; 2) How do children’s guardians experience inter-active stories co-generated in real-time through conversations with artificial intelligence?; 3) Is it feasible to create a satisfying narrative for children from a specific set of images through the use of AI technology?

This article explores and highlights the differences between art styles in video games, and details how the use of them can allow for the expression of creative ideas and communicate messages through games as a medium. This article also investigates existing research and analyses various case studies of games with distinctive art styles. The term "art style" in the context of this article pertains to visual elements such as proportions and shading techniques, as opposed to encompassing sound design or animation. To effectively showcase the influence of art styles on creative expression, I have developed a practical prototype in the form of an art game titled The Maze of Nightmares, which contains features such as the ability to switch between multiple art styles as a creative tool to overcome obstacles. By doing so, the game addresses the topic of significant personal changes and how impactful they can be towards one's life, especially in the context of overcoming obstacles and solving problems. This way, players and audiences can observe differences between art styles in the context of an experience that reinforces the benefits of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The games industry has seen a burst of new interest in the prospect of unionization. The efforts of organizations like Game Workers Unite have attracted much favorable coverage in the enthusiast and trade industry press, increasing awareness amongst videogame audiences of the difficult working conditions facing professional game developers. However, often missing from these discussions is an articulation of what unionization would look like for the significant number of game developers working in precarious conditions in small, often informal teams. The fragmented nature of contemporary gamework presents challenges in aggregating worker power similar to those found in other fields of creative or precarious work and entrepreneurial careers, where contingent work is typically organized around piecemeal, project–based funding arrangements. In this paper we draw from empirical research with Australian game developers to identify a number of barriers to unionization posed by small-scale game production. We also identify how within these same circumstances, novel and alternative forms of solidarity and collective action are beginning to emerge. The article ultimately argues that any successful attempt to unionize videogame workers will need to both account for, and take advantage of, the complex situation of small-scale videogame production in local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of software aligned with Web3 innovations is essential to stimulate discussions on the application of these technologies in the scientific realm. This study presents the development of a 'cryptogame,' a game that integrates blockchain technology to incorporate Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) into its functionalities. The paper explores fundamental Web3 concepts, with references to relevant literature, and details the development process, including the methodologies and models adopted. As a result, a puzzle game was created that utilizes NFTs as playable characters, allowing for the transfer of these assets between digital wallets. Furthermore, the study investigates the application of these concepts in adapting a traditional mobile game for the use of NFTs, demonstrating the necessary changes in user interface and game mechanics to support the integration with digital assets.

This article explores and highlights the differences between art styles in video games, and details how the use of them can allow for the expression of creative ideas and communicate messages through games as a medium. This article also investigates existing research and analyses various case studies of games with distinctive art styles. The term “art style” in the context of this article pertains to visual elements such as proportions and shading techniques, as opposed to encompassing sound design or animation. To effectively showcase the influence of art styles on creative expression, I have developed a practical prototype in the form of an art game titled The Maze of Nightmares, which contains features such as the ability to switch between multiple art styles as a creative tool to overcome obstacles. By doing so, the game addresses the topic of significant personal changes and how impactful they can be towards one’s life, especially in the context of overcoming obstacles and solving problems. This way, players and audiences can observe differences between art styles in the context of an experience that reinforces the benefits of change.

To develop technologies that facilitate the creation and customization of digital educational games, this research aimed to explore the use of a game authoring tool by elementary school teachers and to identify the challenges and skills of this public using the tool. Our findings indicate that most of them had difficulties using it due to a lack of digital literacy and many possible configuration settings. They struggled with the steps they needed to complete in the tutorial and understanding concepts such as events, conditions, and actions. On the other hand, they were able to easily arrange the objects in the scenes. As a result, we present a set of recommendations that can be useful to construct new tools for this audience.

Copyright of Journal of Computer Sciences Institute is the property of Lublin University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is necessary to discuss from various angles how to make the younger generation, who will be responsible for future society, aware of disasters and how to cope with them. Therefore, we designed a project-based learning class, "Media Design Project III · IV", in which students are asked to create a game to raise their awareness of disaster prevention. This class aims to improve disaster awareness, especially tsunami evacuation, and to improve abilities that students will need in the future, i.e., time management and problem-solving, especially after they begin work. It was found that the game can increase tsunami evaluation awareness. Therefore, the projects presented here might become a new method for education, especially disaster education and career education, with games focused on disasters potentially being a new tool for raising awareness about disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Utopian images in XR-games are often ambiguous. How can ambiguity be consciously designed in virtual worlds? What are the design principles for game designers? Ambiguity arises from discontinuity and decontextualization, from the deliberate omission of facts, and from the skillful superimposition of contradictory codes. An ontology of interactive media explains the elusive visual poetry and image perception. The five basic elements of media are presented. The model shows the key correlations of user, content, and technology in image perception. An overview of utopian representation as a cross-media phenomenon places game design in an interdisciplinary context. Six selected computer-generated illustrations show how the above design criteria can be successfully applied to the design of virtual worlds. The ambiguous utopia of an image exists only in a brief, irretrievable moment of our own perception. But this moment is valuable for designing real visions for a better future.

This article proposes to explore the concept of videogames rules by Salen and Zimmerman through the work of Yoko Ono, specifically the event scores or performative instructions published in Grapefruit (2000 [1964]). To do so, the authors have created an interactive experience based on four event scores' rules where gameplay emerges from their direct application. The project is contextualized through those rules and the differences between Ono's work and Fluxus. The return on the creative act reveals an innovative approach outside of the imperatives of "fun," privileging an embracing of errors and incertitude.

This article examines level design processes and challenges at professional game studios. Thematic analysis of data, recorded through field studies and semi-structured interviews, identify four key themes: level design as an interdisciplinary effort; who is the level designer; the role of narrative in level design; and challenges of managing creativity in the level design process. Results indicate that while the role called level designer is often assigned to specific disciplines, the process of level design is usually highly interdisciplinary. Furthermore, this interdisciplinary collaboration requires management to maintain both creativity and efficient pipelines, by distributing ownership and facilitating communication and planning. The level design process seems particularly vulnerable to suboptimal interdisciplinary communication and planning, due to significant reliance on narrative design, game design, art, sound design, and tool development. While this article addresses level design specifically, most observations are comparable to previous findings on game development in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital game industry has embraced servitization – a strategic orientation toward customer centricity in production-based firms – to deeply monetize digital games. Though some note the resource-intensive nature of delivering services and suggest inherent risks in its adoption, extant literature is uncritical. This article draws on labour process theory to critique the impact of servitization on workers at the point of production. We conducted in-depth interviews at a large North American game development studio. The results show the human cost of servitization, generally overshadowed by financial considerations. Specifically, we theorize that servitization increases the indeterminacy of labour and this must be compensated for if servitization is to realize its cost-benefit potential. The result is an intensification of labour through additional control imperatives which make workers accountable to consumers through deterministic success metrics, impact the creative process and direct creative outputs in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a method for capturing photographs of users as input and converting them into 2D character animation sprites using a generative adversarial network-based artificial intelligence network. Traditionally, 2D character animations have been created by manually creating an entire sequence of sprite images, which incurs high development costs. To address this issue, this study proposes a technique that combines motion videos and sample 2D images. In the 2D sprite generation process that uses the proposed technique, a sequence of images is extracted from real-life images captured by the user, and these are combined with character images from within the game. Our research aims to leverage cutting-edge deep learning-based image manipulation techniques, such as the GAN-based motion transfer network (impersonator) and background noise removal (U2-Net), to generate a sequence of animation sprites from a single image. The proposed technique enables the creation of diverse animations and motions just one image. By utilizing these advancements, we focus on enhancing productivity in the game and animation industry through improved efficiency and streamlined production processes. By employing state-of-the-art techniques, our research enables the generation of 2D sprite images with various motions, offering significant potential for boosting productivity and creativity in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utopian images in XR-games are often ambiguous. How can ambiguity be consciously designed in virtual worlds? What are the design principles for game designers? Ambiguity arises from discontinuity and decontextualization, from the deliberate omission of facts, and from the skillful superimposition of contradictory codes. An ontology of interactive media explains the elusive visual poetry and image perception. The five basic elements of media are presented. The model shows the key correlations of user, content, and technology in image perception. An overview of utopian representation as a cross-media phenomenon places game design in an interdisciplinary context. Six selected computer-generated illustrations show how the above design criteria can be successfully applied to the design of virtual worlds. The ambiguous utopia of an image exists only in a brief, irretrievable moment of our own perception. But this moment is valuable for designing real visions for a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After demonstrating the efficacy of adapting visual references (3D renders and photos) to concept art for high-budget game development and film production, this contribution suggests a specific approach for the digital artist to produce the uncanny valley when designing monsters. This article illustrates the importance of embedding visual references into the artwork for time efficiency, correct use of perspective and establishment of believable textures. In particular, the search for realism shows to be advantageous in design uncanny monsters. Visual references can be manipulated in software such as Photoshop to prepare not only the blueprints for the 3D modelling/sculpting stage but also to design the special effects makeup for live-action monsters. This contribution fills a gap between our current understanding of the uncanny valley and the process of designing characters; it suggests an efficient approach to monster-making for entertainment and sheds a light on contemporary concept art practices. This is important for a dual reason: (a) it moves knowledge forward in the field of the uncanny valley's applications to concept art since this has not been investigated in depth in other works; (b) it helps professional concept artists in shaping and controlling the uncanniness of antagonistic characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with Agnes Karolina Bakk and Alexey Izvalov is presented. Topics include talks about the earliest experience with computer games as the story is more something that is very general in terms of gender studies; and considered to study cybernetics as he used to work in the field for a short while.

Trunk control and postural instability remain critical markers of functional status in Parkinson's Disease (PD). As pharmacological and invasive neuro-stimulation interventions provide only limited benefits for trunk and postural control, exercise-based interventions may provide the only effective path to improving functional outcomes for balance in PD. We describe the framework for a virtual reality (VR) graded exercise-based intervention focused on improving trunk mobility and control, including preliminary outcomes on perceptions and motion capabilities of individuals with PD. The study collected whole-body motion capture from 11 PD participants (8M, 3F; H&Y Stage I–III) as they performed tasks within a custom-designed set of VR therapies. Therapies involved static interactions (e.g., matching a cube sequence set to anthropometrically relevant locations to elicit specific trunk motions—Matchality), and more dynamic tasks (e.g., intercepting virtual fish jumping from a lake—Fishality, or a virtual session of dodgeball—Dodgeality). Participants were able to safely complete all tasks while performing trunk excursions requiring functionally relevant ranges of motion, and which altered across VR environment (F(1,10) = 8.319, p = 0.016). Overall, satisfaction with the MoVR therapy suite was high with 96% of responses showing agreement to questions relating to 'immersion,' 'fun,' and elements of player engagement. These results provide early safety, usability, and feasibility outcomes for VR interventions that require specific trunk excursions. Future work should confirm the effectiveness of VR interventions longitudinally on PD-specific trunk outcomes (e.g., trunk rigidity) and global balance/mobility measures associated with improved functional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación is the property of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseno y Comunicacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Game development is a collective process in which a variety of different professionals from different backgrounds collaborate together not only by means of conversational interaction but also collaborative participation, one of which is programming. While collaborative and pair programming solutions exist for text-based programming languages, visual programming has not enjoyed as much attention. These solutions would not only address advanced forms of business communication among team members but could find their use in distance learning, which would have been useful during the pandemic. In our work, we propose a solution for collaborative behavioral animation of NPCs using behavior trees through synchronous and asynchronous modes of collaboration. We conducted a user study with 12 moderately skilled game development university students who were placed in groups of two and engaged in joint fixed behavior tree development tasks using the synchronous and asynchronous modes and auxiliary features of live preview, access and restoration of previous states from behavior tree history, conflict resolution, and instant messaging. Participants also completed a control task where no collaboration was involved and auxiliary features were not available. Feedback form Creativity Support Index, a self-developed questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview were collected. Additionally, task completion times were logged. The results indicate that the two collaborative modes provide expected improvement over the control condition. No significant differences were found between the two collaborative modes. However, the semi-structed interview revealed that the synchronous mode could be useful for quick prototyping, while the asynchronous mode – for most other situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]