Denna undersökning diskuterar virtual reality (VR) spel i förhållande till lärande och underhållning. Gestaltningen kommer ske genom det existerande spelet GROW’em från företaget Okay Games där vi undersökte effekten av virtual reality på lärande i just spel. Målet är att förse spelaren med engagerande uppgifter för att sköta ett växthus tillsammans med lekfulla VR-interaktioner och möjligheten att kunna påverka den egna omgivningen. Syftet är att spelaren ska lära sig om genuin flora och kanske en dag framöver byta ut sin virtuella växt till en riktig planta. Med denna undersökningen vill vi lyfta fram spel och virtual reality som ett verktyg för lärande, där kroppens del i lärandet syftar på hur inlärning sker genom ens handlingar. / This study discusses virtual reality (VR) games in relation to learning and entertainment. The digital portrayal will take place through the existing game GROW’em from the company Okay Games, where we examined how the effect on learning in a virtual reality game. The goal is to provide the player with engaging tasks in order to manage their greenhouse together with playful VR-interactions and the ability to influence their own environment. The purpose is for the player to learn about genuine flora and maybe one day replace their virtual plant with an actual plant. With this study we want to highlight games and virtual reality as a tool for learning, where the body's part in learning refers to how learning takes place through one's actions.

Historically, Surrealism is defined as a literary and artistic movement which developed from Dadaism in the early twentieth century. Many artistic and literary historians assess that the lifespan of Surrealism did not persist beyond the 1960’s – that in fact, after notable surrealist such as René Magritte, Man Ray, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali challenged the limited cultural assumption of rationalism, the pursuit to explore and visualize the subconscious faded from artistic ambition. However, the purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative notion that suggests that digital interactive mediums – such as contemporary games and virtual technologies – have revitalized Surrealism, enabling game developers to build upon the initial philosophies made popular by the avant-garde movement. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study examines the social organization of Gaiscíoch, a large online gaming community that exists within the simulated world of a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). It provides an ethnographic account of an online gaming community that is open to any player without skill or time commitment requirements, but still maintains high status within the game world. This project identifies eight elements that make this inclusive, friendly, and casual community successful in virtual worlds that tend to be dominated by communities that have a competitive, strict, and exclusive approach to online gaming (social interaction, code of values, leadership, rank system, events, community building, population size, gameplay). Lastly, this project briefly inquires about the nature of the border between the virtual and the physical and establishes that gamers can be considered pseudo-border-inhabitants that are in control of the community they place adjacent to them in the cyber world. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The state of queer representation in games is poor, and queer consumers are growing increasingly vocal in their demands for nuanced portrayals. This thesis investigates how queer players perceive the tropes and stereotypes commonly used to portray them in games. By sorting through existing representation and using the most common tropes found, this study created two example characters which were represented both narratively and visually. These characters were then the subject of a study of 29 participants. The comments and opinions of these 29 participants were then analysed to find a largely negative consensus which is chiefly concerned with making portrayals less tragic. From this, this study proceeds to analyse the desires of queer consumers and contextualize them in relation to a world which still actively oppresses them.

O presente trabalho demonstra a infuência dos processos de design no desenvolvimento de games no final dos anos 1970 e início dos anos 1980 e como isso pode ter funcionado como catalisador no processo de evolução da mídia videogame, levando-a da condição de atividade de recreação baseada em habilidades motoras para condição de mídia expressiva capaz de contar histórias. Para isto foi levantado o que seria um processo de design, tanto como metodologia associada a uma prática laboral quanto como estratégia cognitiva, conseguindo assim uma estrutura formal do processo. Dez jogos foram eleitos e analisados extensivamente tanto por seu conteúdo quanto pelos processos usados em seu desenvolvimento, usando-se de pesquisa bibliográfica e também de nove entrevistas com desenvolvedores envolvidos no projeto de games no período do recorte pro posto, para termos um panorama do contexto sociocultural em soma aos processos usados por eles à época. Nessas análises, critérios do processo de design foram utilizados para conseguimos um quadro geral de sua infuência nos games. / The present work demonstrates the influence of design processes in game development in the late 1970s and early 1980s and how this may have functioned as a catalyst in the evolution process of video game media, leading it from the condition of recreational activity based in motor skills for expressive media condition able to tell stories. For this, what was a design process was raised, both as a methodology associated with a work practice and as a cognitive strategy, thus achieving a formal process structure. Ten games were chosen and analyzed extensively both for their content and for the processes used in their development, using bibliographical research and also nine interviews with developers involved in the game design in the period of the proposed cut, in order to have a panorama of the sociocultural context in addition to the processes used by them at the time. In these analyzes, criteria of the design process were used to obtain a general picture of their influence in games.

Les besoins de l'industrie des jeux vidéo sont en constante évolution. Dans le domaine de l'intelligence artificielle, nous identifions dans le chapitre 1, les différents besoins de l'industrie dans ce domaine. Nous pensons que la conception d'une solution d'apprentissage de comportements par imitation qui soit fonctionnelle et efficace permettrait de couvrir la plupart de ces besoins. Dans le chapitre 2, nous montrons que les techniques d'extraction de données peuvent être très utiles pour offrir une telle solution. Cependant, ces techniques ne sont pas suffisantes pour construire automatiquement un comportement complet qui serait utilisable dans les jeux vidéo modernes. Dans le chapitre 3, nous proposons un modèle générique pour apprendre des comportements en imitant des joueurs humains : Orion. Ce modèle est composé de deux parties, un modèle structurel et un modèle comportemental. Le modèle structurel propose un framework généraliste d'exploration de données, fournissant une abstraction des différentes méthodes utilisées dans ce domaine de recherche. Ce framework nous permet de construire un outil d'usage général avec de meilleures possibilités de visualisation que les outils d'extraction de données existants. Le modèle comportemental est conçu pour intégrer des techniques d'exploration de données dans une architecture plus générale et repose sur les Behavior Trees. Dans le chapitre 4, nous illustrons comment nous utilisons notre modèle en mettant en oeuvre le comportement des joueurs dans les jeux Pong et UT3 en utilisant Orion. Dans le chapitre 5, nous identifions les améliorations possibles, à la fois de notre outil d'extraction de données et de notre modèle comportemental. / The video game industry's needs are constantly changing. In the field of artificial intelligence, we identify inchapter 1, the different needs of industry in this area. We believe that the design of a learning behavior through imitation solution that is functional and efficient would cover most of these needs. In chapter 2, we show that data mining techniques can be very useful to provide such a solution. However, for now, these techniques are not sufficient to automatically build a comprehensive behavior that would be usable in modern video games. In chapter 3, we propose a generic model to learn behavior by imitating human players: Orion.This model consists of two parts, a structural model and a behavioral model. The structural model provides a general data mining framework, providing an abstraction of the different methods used in this research. This framework allows us to build a general purpose tool with better possibilities for visualizing than existing data mining tools. The behavioral model is designed to integrate data mining techniques in a more general architecture and is based on the Behavior Trees. In chapter 4, we illustrate how we use our model by implementing the behavior of players in the Pong and Unreal Tournament 3 games using Orion. In chapter 5,we identify possible improvements, both of our data mining framework and our behavioral model.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-02-22T11:44:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Louise de França Monteiro.pdf: 1705029 bytes, checksum: c7d7114790587123018aa01bf1ebb66b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-22T11:44:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Louise de França Monteiro.pdf: 1705029 bytes, checksum: c7d7114790587123018aa01bf1ebb66b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-17 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / One of the most popular forms of entertainment these days is video games, made in different formats and with different contents. A social concern lies about the violent content of the games and the effects that could generate in the players. Even after decades of studies in the area it has not yet been possible to obtain consistent results, leading to two perspectives on the effects of the games: they would be beneficial or harmful. The researches have several methodologies and the study of violent behavior has, in fact, ethical obstacles that make it difficult to measure them. Yet, much of the production of this knowledge relies on cognitive or internalist theoretical bases. The objective of this study was: (a) to identify the methodological characteristics of experimental researches in the Psychology research area that studies the relationship between violence and digital games, in the period from 2011 to 2016; and (b) analyze the methodology of the selected researches, based on the theoretical reference of the Behavior Analysis, in order to indicate contributions to study the relationship between digital games and violence. The sources of information were articles published in two databases: Academic Search Premier and Science Direct. A total of 38 papers were selected, which were analyzed according to external validity and internal validity criteria for experimental research, as well as some of the criteria proposed by Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968) for applied research in Behavior Analysis. Results showed that not all criteria applied to these surveys were completely satisfied. The Analytic criterion was adequately considered, the criteria Generalizable, Conceptual, Behavioral and Technological were partially contemplated. The results of the analyzed research, in turn, show a higher percentage of research that did not find any effects, but there were still a significant number of researches that found harmful and even beneficial effects, indicating that the field is still open to research. Future research may consider collecting articles for longer periods of time and other databases as well as applying the criteria more individually for the articles / Uma das formas mais populares de entretenimento nos dias atuais são os videogames, feitos em diversos formatos e com diversos conteúdos. Uma preocupação social surgiu em relação ao conteúdo violento dos jogos e os efeitos que poderiam gerar nos jogadores. Mesmo após décadas de estudos realizados na área ainda não foi possível obter resultados consistentes, gerando duas perspectivas a respeito dos efeitos dos jogos: seriam benéficos ou danosos. As pesquisas apresentam variadas metodologias e o estudo do comportamento violento apresenta, de fato, empecilhos éticos que dificultam a sua mensuração. Ainda, grande parte da produção desse conhecimento conta com bases teóricas cognitivistas ou internalistas. Este trabalho teve como objetivos: (a) identificar as características metodológicas das pesquisas experimentais da área da Psicologia que estudam a relação entre violência e jogos digitais, no período de 2011 a 2016; e (b) analisar a metodologia das pesquisas selecionadas, a partir do referencial teórico da Análise do Comportamento, de modo a indicar contribuições para estudar a relação jogos digitais e violência. As fontes de informação foram artigos publicados em duas bases de dados: Academic Search Premier e Science Direct. Foram selecionados 38 artigos, lidos na íntegra e que foram analisados segundo critérios de validade externa e validade interna para pesquisas experimentais, além de alguns dos critérios propostos por Baer, Wolf e Risley (1968) para pesquisas aplicadas em Análise do Comportamento. Resultados mostraram que nem todos os critérios aplicados a estas pesquisas foram completamente satisfeitos. O critério Analítico foi adequadamente contemplado, os critérios Generalizável, Conceitual, Comportamental e Tecnológico foram parcialmente contemplados. Os resultados das pesquisas analisadas, por sua vez, mostram um maior percentual de pesquisas que não encontraram quaisquer efeitos, mas ainda houve um número significativo de pesquisas que encontraram efeitos danosos e até benéficos, indicando que o campo ainda está aberto à investigação. Pesquisas futuramente poderão considerar coletar os artigos em um período de tempo maior e outras bases de dados bem como a aplicação dos critérios de forma mais individual para os artigos

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-08-09T14:11:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-08-09T14:11:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T14:11:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-26 / In recent years, the population of elderly people has gained prominence in terms of representative growth. With the aging, a good part of the elderly present a decline in their functions, which reduces the functional capacity and makes the elderly fragile, especially by the reduction of strength that reduces balance and brings risks to maintain the independence of the elderly. The intervention performed in the elderly should be done not only playful but also pleasurable to minimize complications to encourage adherence to interventions. Virtual games have been used for interventions in this public, however they are not produced for this purpose. New games have been created and applied to the elderly to meet their needs. The objective of the present study was to identify the effect of a brief intervention with the use of a virtual game in elderly people. This is a quasi-experimental study carried out at the Cardiology Institute of the Federal District, in Taguatinga-DF, and in the Laboratory of Physical Evaluation and Training of the Catholic University of Brasília, from October to December 2017. The research evaluated the capacity (TUG) and 5-fold sit-up test (TSL5X), measured strength using the isokinetic dynamometer and also assessed fragility by means of the fragility phenotype in a sample composed of elderly individuals who were older than program. The sample was composed at the end by 10 participants who finished the 10 sessions, with a mean age of 83.5 years. There was no difference between the pre and post-intervention moments in the comparative analysis of measures related to functional capacity, TUG, Sit and lift test 5 repetitions and knee extensor strength test (p> 0.05), however, the evaluation of muscle strength of the knee extensors presented a mean variation of 14% increment in the MID and 11% in the SEM in 7 volunteers. There was improvement in the classification of risk of falls where 6 participants obtained a reduction in TUG time. In the sit-up and sit-up test 5 repetitions there was an 8% increase in participants' performance. Regarding the fragility, there was no change in the classification of the fragility phenotype. It is concluded, therefore, that the use of virtual play as an intervention strategy has positive effects on muscular strength and functional capacity in the elderly. / Nos últimos anos a população de idosos longevos tem ganhando destaque quanto ao crescimento representativo. Com o envelhecimento boa parte dos idosos apresentam declínio de suas funções, o que diminui a capacidade funcional e torna o idoso frágil, sobretudo pela diminuição de força que reduz equilíbrio e traz riscos para manutenção da independência do idoso. A intervenção realizada no idoso deve ser feita de maneira não só lúdica como também prazerosa para minimizar as complicações estimular a adesão a intervenções. Jogos virtuais vem sendo utilizados para intervenções nesse público, entretanto não são produzidos com essa finalidade. Novos jogos vêm sendo criados e aplicado em idosos atendendo suas necessidades. O Objetivo do presente estudo foi identificar o efeito de uma intervenção breve com uso de um jogo virtual em idosos longevos. Trata-se um estudo quase-experimental realizada no Instituto de Cardiologia do Distrito Federal, em Taguatinga-DF, e no Laboratório de Avaliação Física e Treinamento da Universidade Católica de Brasília, no período de outubro a dezembro de 2017. A pesquisa avaliou a capacidade funcional, por meio do Timed up and go test (TUG) e teste de sentar e levantar 5 vezes (TSL5X), aferiu força com uso do dinamômetro isocinético e avaliou também fragilidade por meio do fenótipo de fragilidade em uma amostra composta por idoso longevos do programa PROCAD. A amostra foi composta ao final por 10 participantes que finalizaram as 10 sessões, com idade média de 83,5 anos. Não houve diferença entre os momentos pré e pós-intervenção na análise comparativa das medidas relacionadas a capacidade funcional, TUG, Teste de sentar e levantar 5 repetições e teste de força de extensores de joelho (p>0,05), no entanto a avaliação de força muscular dos extensores de joelho apresentou variação média de 14% de incremento no MID e 11% em MIE em 7 voluntários. Houve melhora quanto a classificação de risco de quedas onde 6 participantes obtiveram redução no tempo do TUG. No teste de levantar e sentar 5 repetições houveram 8% de aumento do desempenho dos participantes. Quanto a fragilidade não houve mudança na classificação do fenótipo de fragilidade. Conclui-se, portanto, que o uso de jogo virtual como estratégia de intervenção apresenta efeitos positivos sobre a força muscular e capacidade funcional em idosos.

Many multiplayer games feature teams, and whether they are pitted against each other or against the game itself it seems likely that the way these teams bond will affect the players' experience. What are the factors that influence the experience of being a team member in a game? To what extent can the game designer manipulate the cohesion of the teams by changing the game design? How does the satisfaction of the player with their team relate to their feeling of cohesion? How does cohesion differ between tabletop and online games? These issues become particularly important where the group dynamic is central to the desired outcome of the game e.g. educational games aiming to place the players in specific social situations. Four studies were conducted on four similar simulation games (two tabletop, two online) used for teaching in International Development Studies. These games explore farming in sub-Saharan Africa and require 12-30 players to play in small groups. The group dynamics are important for the learning outcomes. Similar groups of participants (all students of International Development Studies) played one game each. Each group played for 3 hours before completing a questionnaire about their experience and wrapping up with a full-group reflective discussion. Results from the two tabletop games suggested that, as expected, altering the rules of the game manipulated levels of team cohesion. However, the lack of significant result from the two online games suggests that careful design is required to achieve the same outcomes in the online environment. This suggests that seemingly small changes between tabletop and online implementations may impact the game play experience in unanticipated ways. The team cohesion reported by the players was found to correlate strongly with the team member satisfaction levels of the players. The gender composition of the teams was shown to have a large impact on both team cohesion and team member satisfaction: having one or more females in the group significantly increased both measures.

Há milhares de anos, as imagens visuais impactam significantemente o cotidiano do ser humano, caracterizando-se como um ótimo meio de comunicação e expressão. Com os avanços tecnológicos, evidenciam-se transformações significativas da linguagem visual, que se moldam aos novos contextos no qual se encontra. Os videogames, artefatos digitais amplamente difundidos na sociedade que permitem a imersão do usuário em ambientes lúdicos dotados de interatividade, são alvo de projetos estéticos cada vez mais sofisticados. Uma vez que utilizam linguagem predominantemente visual, tem-se como premissa que a imagem desempenha papel fundamental para que estes cumpram sua função adequadamente. Entretanto, as imagens em videogames nem sempre obedecem a um padrão de qualidade, carecendo de estudos e métodos que amparem seu desenvolvimento e compreensão. Com isso, o presente estudo tem como objetivo desenvolver um método para análise da imagem visual em videogames, considerando a ampla gama de funções que a mesma exerce em artefatos dessa natureza. Para isso, a fim de permitir o desenvolvimento do método e garantir sua replicabilidade, foram definidos determinados procedimentos metodológicos, que envolvem: a realização e avaliação de um primeiro modelo do método; desenvolvimento de um segundo modelo; coleta e análise de dados envolvendo sujeitos de pesquisa especialistas na área; e o desenvolvimento de um modelo final. Como resultados, pode-se perceber que a análise de imagens visuais em videogames pode ser realizada a partir de um método sistemático, todavia, foram apontadas inúmeras ressalvas e considerações a respeito de como o método pode tornar-se mais eficiente. / For thousands of years, the visual images significantly affect the daily life of the human being, characterized as a great means of communication and expression. With technological advances, are evident the significant changes in visual language, which are molded to the new contexts in which it is. Video games, digital artifacts widespread in society that allow the user's immersion in playful environments with interactivity. They are subject to increasingly sophisticated aesthetic designs. Once they predominantly use visual language, there is a premise that the image plays a key role for them to fulfill their function properly. However, images in video games does not always follow a standard of quality, lacking studies and methods that help its development and understanding. Thus, this study aims to develop a method for the analysis of visual image in video games, considering the wide range of functions that it carries on such artifacts. For this, in order to allow the development of the method and ensuring their replication, were defined certain methodological procedures that involve: implementation and evaluation of a first model of the method; development of a second model; collection and analysis of data involving research subjects experts in the field; and the development of the final model. As a result, it can be perceived that the analysis of visual images in videogames can be performed from a systematic method, however, were identified numerous considerations about how the method can become more efficient.