Context. Video games usually have visual aids guiding the players in 3D-environments. The designers need to know which visual feature is the most effective in attracting a player's gaze and what features are preferred by players as visual aid. Objectives. This study investigates which feature of the bottom-upvisual attention process attracts the gaze faster. Methods. With the use of the Tobii T60 eye tracking system, a user study with 32 participants was conducted in a controlled environment. An experiment was created where each participant looked at a slideshow consisting of 18 pictures with 8 objects on each picture. One object per picture had a bottom-up visual feature applied that made it stand out as different. Video games often have a goal or a task and to connect the experiment to video games a goal was set. This goal was to find the object with the visual feature applied. The eye tracker measured the gaze while the participant was trying to find the object. A survey to determine which visual feature was preferredby the players was also made. Results. The result showed that colour was the visual feature with the shortest time to attract attention. It was closely followed by intensity,motion and a pulsating highlight. Small size had the longest attraction time. Results also showed that the preferred visual feature for visual aid by the players was intensity and the least preferred was orientation. Conclusions. The results show that visual features with contrast changes in the texture seems to draw attention faster, with colour the fastest, than changes on the object itself. These features were also the most preferred as visual aid by the players with intensity the most preferred. If this study was done on a larger scale within a 3D-environment, this experiment could show promise to help designers in decisions regarding visual aid in video games.

Datorspelsbranschen är en relativt ung bransch, både jämfört med andra delarav mjukvaruindustrin och nöjesbranschen. En av de stora utmaningarnaspelutvecklare står inför är planeringen av den långsiktiga kompetensförsörjningen.Dock saknas sammanställda historiska data och applicerbararesursestimeringsmetoder, vilket gör detta arbete näst intill omöjligt. Det förstadelmålet med den här studien är att samla in historiska data angående strukturenoch storleken på utvecklingsteam som utvecklat AAA-spel (professionelltutvecklade spel med en hög budget) för pc-datorer. Datan samlas in frånkreditlistor hämtade via webbsidan Mobygames.com. Det andra delmålet beståri att utreda huruvida den insamlade datan kan appliceras på modeller förestimering av framtida personalbehov. De två modellerna som används ärtrendanalys samt kvotanalys. Resultatet visar att det går att samla in och byggaupp en historisk databas samt att båda modellerna kan appliceras på databasenmed gott resultat.Trendanalysen visar att storleken på projektteamen de senaste20 åren i stort sett utvecklats linjärt och kvotanalysen att det finns klara ochtydliga relationer mellan olika yrkesgrupper samt relationer mellanprojektteamet och en yrkesgrupp. / The video-game business is relatively young in relation to the software andentertainment industries. One of the major challenges for video-gamedevelopers is long-term human resource planning. Due to missing historicaldata in combination with applicable estimations methods, it is close toimpossible to perform such planning. The first sub-goal of this study is tocollect historical data about the structures and sizes of game development teamsinvolved in developing "Triple-A" games (professionally-developed games witha large budget) for PC. The collection of data is done through the websitemobygames.com. The second sub-goal is to examine whether the collected datacould be applied to an existing model for use in the forecasting of futurestaffing needs. The two models selected for this purpose are the trend analysismodel and the ratio analysis model. The result shows it is possible to build up adatabase with historical data. Trend analysis shows that the size of projectteams over the past 20 years has evolved almost linearly and ratio analysisshows clear relationships between the sizes of different occupational groups.

The use of video games for teaching children different subjects is commonly believed to be a good  approach. In  general  has  learning  theme  for  these  games  focused  on  traditionally subject, such as math or biology. Important as they can be for education, other softer aspects can also be considered important for the children and education. One such aspect is emotions and the role it has on a social level. However, it is not much research showing how to use emotions  in  a  learning  game. In  this  thesis, I  examine  how  children  perceive  and  use emotions as they play a game specially designed for teaching emotions. The game utilises emotions  in  a  new  design  that  let  the  player  interact  with  cartoon  animals  in  different scenarios. I report findings based on a sample of thirty-three (33) preschool children, and six (6) parents who took part in the study. Data was collected using a qualitative method in a two step procedure with observation of play and follow up interviews in the first step, followed by video recordings of play and demonstrations using cuddly pets in the second step. Using an ecological framework for analysis and theory from the field of emotional intelligence, I show that children playing this game can perceive emotions expressed in the game. I also show that it is possible to play this particular game without the need to involve emotions. Children do not learn emotions from playing the game. These results carries important implication for the design of learning games as it illuminates that learning can come from possible sources other than the gameplay. / Det finns en spridd uppfattning att videospel kan fungera som lärandespel för barn. Generelltsätt har denna uppfattning stöd i skolan och det finns därför även en önskan att producera spel som kan användas till att undervisa traditionella kärnämnen, exempelvis matematik eller biologi.  Dessa ämnen är betydelsefulla att bemästra, dock finns även andra mer mjuka aspekter som kan ha en avgörande betydelse för barnets lärande. En sådan aspekt gäller den viktiga betydelse som känslor har i ett socialt sammanhang. I denna uppsats undersöker jag hur barn uppfattar och använder känslor då barnen spelar ett spel som är designat enkom för detta syfte. Spelet utnyttjar en design som låter spelaren interagera med tecknade djur i skilda scenarion. Jag redovisar resultat som baseras på ett urval av trettiotre (33) förskolebarn och sex (6) föräldrar. De material som samlades in bygger på en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod som är uppbyggd i två steg. I steg ett samlades data in genom observationer samt uppföljande intervjuer. I steg två genomfördes sedan observationer följt av demonstrationer då barnen använde gosedjur. Jag visar, genom att applicera ett ekologiskt ramverk samt teori kring emotionell intelligens, att barnen kan uppfatta känslor som manifesteras i ett videospel. Jag visar också att spe- let kan spelas genom en slumpmässig interaktion där barnen inte behöver använda känslor för att föra spelet framåt, och jag konkluderar därför att det är möjligt att barnen inte lär sig känslor som en följd av själva spelandet.

Durant la dernière décennie, la recherche sur les jeux vidéo et leur implication sur les habiletés perceptivo-cognitives a gagné en intérêt. Plusieurs études ont démontré que les jeux vidéo (particulièrement les jeux d’action) possèdent la capacité d’influencer et d’améliorer différentes aptitudes perceptives et cognitives telles que l’attention visuo-spatiale, la vitesse de traitement de l’information, la mémoire visuelle à court terme ainsi que la poursuite d’objets en mouvement. Cependant, plusieurs autres études n’ont pas réussi à reproduire les mêmes résultats. D’un autre côté, un nouveau type d’entraînement perceptivo-cognitif, nommé 3-Dimensional Multiple-Object Tracking (3D-MOT), et qui consiste à traiter des scènes visuelles dynamiques dénuées de contexte, a démontré son implication sur différents types d’attention, la mémoire de travail ainsi que la vitesse de traitement de l’information. L’étude actuelle a examiné quatre groupes de joueurs inexpérimentés qui s’entrainaient durant 10 séances à l’aide d’un exercice perceptivo-cognitif (3D-MOT), ou d’un jeu de haut niveau visuel (jeu vidéo d’action : Call of Duty), de bas niveau visuel (Tetris) ou d’un jeu non-visuel (Sudoku). Des mesures d’électroencéphalographie quantitative et des tests neuropsychologiques effectués avant et après l’entraînement ont démontré que le 3D-MOT, par comparaison aux autres jeux testés, améliorait de façon plus efficace les fonctions reliées à l’attention, la mémoire de travail ainsi que la vitesse de traitement de l’information. Pour la première fois, cette étude démontre que l’entraînement non-contextuel de 3D-MOT améliore les habiletés perceptivo-cognitives plus efficacement que l’entraînement à des jeux de divertissement tels que les jeux vidéo. / In the past decade, research on video games and their implications on cognitive abilities have gained significant interest. Various studies suggest that video games (in particular action video games) have the inherent ability to influence and improve attentional abilities such as visual spatial attention, processing speed, visual short-term memory and multiple-object tracking. However, many other studies have been unable to replicate similar results. On the other hand, a recent cognitive enhancement tool that is visually dynamic and void of context called 3-Dimensional Multiple-Object tracking (3D-MOT), has demonstrated robust effects on cognitive-perceptual abilities such as divided, selective, and sustained attention as well as working memory and information processing speed. The current study examines four groups of non-video game players that train for 10 sessions on the cognitive enhancing technique (3D-MOT) or on one of three different visually stimulating games: highly visually stimulating game (Call of Duty), lowly visually stimulating game (Tetris), or non-visually stimulating puzzle (Sudoku). A battery of cognitive tests and quantitative electroencephalography preformed before and after training, demonstrated that training on 3D-MOT improved cognitive functions related to attention, working memory, and visual information processing compared to video games. For the first time, this study demonstrated that non-contextual training with 3D-MOT improves perceptual-cognitive abilities more efficiently than video game playing.

This work uncovers perceptions of the Czech society concerning cultural and social role of a digital entertainment (computer games and videogames) as a relatively new interactive media form. The author tries to verify validity of a presumption that the digital entertainment is an object of a cultural stigma that was formed by combination of various factors which are closely specified in the work. According to the author, present perception of the digital entertaiment in society is formed by a media panic that repeated itself regularly in the course of history. Amongst other significant determinants one can find certain stereotypical viewes, efforts of a ruling class to sustain status quo and struggle of various social groups over cultural dominance which leads to hierarchization of cultural tastes. Suggested cultural stigmatisation of the digital entertainment probably leads to a social stigmatisation of players, who submit to social pressures and often adapt their behaviour to general tastes. Essential part of the work is formed by a research based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from teachers and gymnasium (high schools) and elementary school students. The research supports a presumption that the negative view on the digital entertainment is subject to specific generational...

De la confrontation problématique d’un projet de jeu vidéo aux conditions plurielles desa création, ce travail de thèse tente de mettre à jour les contraintes et les interrogationsqu’elles suscitent. Le jeu vidéo, contemporain de la société de l’information est un témoinde l’évolution complexe du paradigme postmoderne, né avec la cybernétique. De la genèsedu jeu vidéo au temps présent, les technologies, les façons de jouer et les productions serévèlent significatives de visions du monde opposées. La thèse montre que derrière l’imaged’un divertissement et d’une industrie consensuelle, une résistance peut s’exprimer d’unpoint de vue technique, artistique et politique. A travers l’histoire et le devenir du jeuvidéo peuvent se lire certains enjeux de société en lien avec de nouvelles formes de pouvoir.C’est dans un interstice contre culturel que se développe une oeuvre résistante, nourrie d’unexamen critique préalable. Une création originale se construit progressivement en contreculturedu modèle libéral dominant, dans un mouvement d’opposition à l’action irréfléchie,l’accélération et la dématérialisation... Du point de vue plastique, la thèse interroge le retourdes technologies de réalité virtuelle, et élabore deux nouvelles notions, le véhicule expérientielet le leurre suffisant. Profitant de ce nouveau champ d’investigation de création, la thèseinvite le joueur à laisser l’usage pour le faire. / From the problematic confrontation of a video game project with the multiple conditions ofits creation, the present thesis tries to highlight the constraints and the interrogations whichthey arouse. Contemporary to the information society, the video game is a witness of thecomplex evolution of the postmodern paradigm born from cybernetics. From the genesis ofthe video game to present time, technologies, the ways of playing and the productions revealthe significant oppositions in their visions of the world. The thesis shows that behind theimage of entertainment and of a consensual industry, a form of resistance can express/voiceitself from a technological, artistic and political point of view. Through the history of videogame and its future, one can read some of society’s stakes/challenges linked to new formsof power. It is within a counter cultural interstice, and fed by a prior critical exam, thata resistant work/piece is developed. An original creation is progressively built in reflexivecounter cultural opposition to the mainstream dominant liberal world and its accelerationand dematerialization... From a plastic point of view, the thesis questions the return of thevirtual reality technologies, and elaborates two new notions: the experiential vehicle and thesufficient decoy. Taking advantage of this new field of investigation of creation, the thesisinvites the player to let it be used so as to do so. Keywords: Video games. Counter culture.Experiential vehicle. Counter dematerialization. Sufficient decoy.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2018-06-19T15:24:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Fernandes Barreto de Mendonca.pdf: 1002331 bytes, checksum: 34b20c655bdb1118d7e8f18ac87ee7c0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-19T15:24:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Fernandes Barreto de Mendonca.pdf: 1002331 bytes, checksum: 34b20c655bdb1118d7e8f18ac87ee7c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-17 / Introduction: asthma is a chronic respiratory disease common in childhood, whose outstanding feature persistent inflammation of the Airways. Inflammation is active even in periods of crisis and its chronicity is associated with the action of pro-and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. These changes take these children to a pathophysiologic cycle under active and sedentary influencing on functional capacity and making the control of the disease. Objective: Assessment of the effects of physical activity with active video game in asthmatic children. Method: A cross-sectional study to date. Been evaluated 34 asthmatic children who have undergone anthropometric assessment and tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance electrical, Quality of life questionnaire (PAQLQ), Clinical asthma control (ACQ6), Pulmonary Function Test, evaluation of Respiratory Muscle Strength (FMR), the fraction of Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), evaluation of Peripheral Muscle Strength (1 RM) and Cardiopulmonary stress test (CST). Conclusion: The results obtained by means of physical exercise with active video game (AVG) were similar to the CST. With energy consumption in METS considered intense, we can conclude that the AVG, as well as recreational physical activities can ensure an aerobic effect the body, similar to the exercise carried out on treadmill. / Introdução: A asma é uma doença respiratória crônica comum na infância, que tem por característica marcante a inflamação persistente das vias aéreas. A inflamação mostra-se ativa mesmo nos períodos fora da crise e sua cronicidade associa-se a ação de mecanismos pró e antiinflamatórios. Estas alterações fisiopatológicas levam estas crianças a um cliclo de hipoatividade e sedentarismo influenciando na capacidade funcional e dificultando o controle da doença. Objetivo: “Avaliação dos efeitos da atividade física com jogo de vídeo game ativo em crianças asmáticas”. Método: Foi realizado até o momento um estudo transversal. Foram avaliadas 34 crianças asmáticas que se submeteram à avaliação antropométrica e bioimpedância tetrapolar elétrica, Questionário de Qualidade de Vida (PAQLQ), de Controle Clínico da Asma (ACQ6), Prova de Função Pulmonar, avaliação da Força da Musculatura Respiratória (FMR), Fração exalada de Óxido Nítrico (FeNO), Avaliação da Força Muscular Periférica (1 RM) e Teste de Esforço Cardiopulmonar . Conclusão: Os resultados obtidos por meio do exercício físico com videogame ativo (VGA) foram semelhantes ao TECP. Com consumo energético em METS considerado intenso, podemos concluir que o VGA, além de tratar-se de atividade física lúdica pode garantir um efeito aeróbio ao organismo, semelhante ao exercício realizado em esteira ergométrica.

This thesis examines the ways Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory, 2017) represents mental illness and why the game is considered partly groundbreaking in the subject of mental health representation within video games. This examination is done by taking a brief overview of previous games tackling the same subject matter as well as examining how Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice represents psychosis narratively and mechanically. This is done through the method of player-as-analyst by playing the game all the way through once and viewing a full length playthrough video following the methodology and theory of Diane Carr (2014).  The data gathered during play and viewing of the playthrough is then analyzed. / Denna avhandling undersöker hur Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory, 2017) representerar mental ohälsa och varför spelet uppehålls som delvis banbrytande inom spel som behandlar mental ohälsa. Undersökningen i fråga är gjord via att göra en kort översikt av hur tidigare spel handlat samma ämne och ta en titt på hur Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice representerar psykos i sin mekanik och narrativ. Detta åstadkoms genom metoden Player-as-analyst genom att spela igenom hela spelet en gång och kolla igenom en playthrough video och genom att följa metodologi och teori av Diane Carr (2014). Datan samlad under spelningen och video tittandet sedan analyseras.

This research paper aimed to study how to make a scary horror game and what in turn makes these games scary. This study utilizes an original game called The House specifically designed and created by us. This is done in order to study the effects of implementing level design and navigation patterns and horror game design theories in an original horror game on player behaviour and reaction in relation to these theories. The study was done with the use of 10 participants, who each took part in a 15 minute play session, and were later interviewed using the data gathering method stimulated recall. The result of the study shows that level design had no significant effect on the amount of fear that the participants expressed. The implementation of proven horror game design theories proved successful at contributing to the general horror experience, and combining elements of level design and horror game theories in horror game design proved successful at scaring the participants. / Denna forskningsstudie syftade till att studera hur man skapar och designar ett skrämmande skräckspel och vad som gör ett skräckspel skräckinjagande. Denna studie använder ett originellt spel vid namn The House som var specifikt utformat och skapat av oss. Detta gjordes för att studera effekterna av implementering av nivå design och navigationsmönster samt skräckspelsteorier på spelarens beteende och reaktion i relation till dessa teorier. Studien gjordes med användning av 10 deltagare, som var och en deltog i en 15-minuters spelsession och intervjuades senare med hjälp av datainsamlingsmetoden stimulated recall. Resultatet av studien visar att nivådesign inte hade någon signifikant effekt på mängden rädsla som deltagarna uttryckte. Implementeringen av beprövade teorier om skräckspelsdesign visade sig framgångsrika då de bidrog till den allmänna skräckupplevelsen, och att kombinera element av nivådesign och skräckspelsteorier i skräckspelsdesign visade sig mycket framgångsrika att skrämma deltagarna.

Video game developers have implemented multiple measures to combat piracy throughout history. One of these measures, defined in this study as in-game anti-piracy measures, prevents player progression on unauthorized copies by degrading gameplay or drastically increasing the difficulty.This study conducts a content analysis research on textual data gathered from the world wide web to assess the public perception in regards to this type of anti-piracy measures. The data gathered for this study consists of 425 statements in the form of comments and forum posts that have been coded, divided into themes and then analyzed inductively to generate findings that can be linked to Moshirnia’s (2012) previous research.Even though no clear results occurred that can confirm Moshirnia’s (2012) findings, this study has discovered a potential connection between in-game anti-piracy measures promoting piracy. The findings also suggest that the unique “broke features” might lead to the popularization of games modded to let legitimate users experience them too.