Ce mémoire propose une réflexion sur des modèles permettant de mieux comprendre et concevoir l’expérience esthétique d’un jeu vidéo. Ces modèles traduisent différents idéaux de la place du joueur. Comme on peut le constater à travers une réflexion sur le modèle du cercle magique, jouer est souvent compris comme un acte unilatéral d’entrée en imagination dans un monde étranger au monde actuel – toute sortie marquant la pénalité ou la fin du jeu. De ce point de vue, le designer aurait donc pour rôle de placer et de maintenir le joueur dans le monde virtuel représenté pour qu’il s’y sente immergé et présent. Cela dit, comme en témoignent les critiques qui s’élèvent contre le modèle du cercle magique, d’autres stratégies de mise en place du joueur sont à distinguer et à définir pour faciliter l’analyse et la conception des jeux vidéo. Devant ce modèle, jugé limitatif, ce que nous proposons ici est de recourir à quelques outils méthodologiques et typologiques de l’esthétique de la réception en histoire de l’art pour bâtir un modèle plus englobant, celui de la place du joueur, dont nous testons la validité par l’analyse du jeu vidéo God of War III (2010). / This thesis proposes a consideration of models that allow one to better understand and develop the aesthetic experience of a video game. Such models reflect different ideals of the player’s position. Since we approach it through a reflection on the model of the “magic circle”, play is often understood to be a unilateral act of entering, via the imagination a world foreign to the real world - where any penalty or exit marks the end of the game. Looked at this way, the designer’s role is therefore to place and maintain the player in the virtual world, making him feel immersed and present therein. However, as evidenced by those critics who speak out against the model of the magic circle, other strategies to put the player in place need to be distinguished and defined in order to facilitate the analysis and design of video games. Given this model, deemed to be restrictive, what we propose is to use some typological and methodological tools of reception aesthetics in art history in order to build a more inclusive model of the "player's place", the validity of which is tested by analysing the video game God of War III (2010).

Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N = 104), I conduct a confirmatory factor analysis, which supports a two-factor structure—Destructive and Constructive social behavior, resulting in the SMOG-6. I examine construct validity using measures of dominance and affiliation. Controlling for age, gender, and frequency of game-play, both factors predict dominance. SMOG-Destructive negatively, and SMOG-Constructive positively, predicted affiliation.

Introduction: The theoretical part of the thesis summarizes findings from foreign literature on virtual reality and its use in rehabilitation, as well as the possibility of the benefits of active video games as part of balance training, specifically gaming console Nintendo Wii. The practical part is a pilot study to evaluate the effect of balance training in patients with cerebral palsy using this gaming console. Methods: The study included five patients with cerebral palsy, three in the form of spastic hemiparesis, two in the form of spastic triparesis. Patients were aged 8-18 years. Therapy took place on the Nintendo Wii, selecting five games from cd/dvd Wii Fit Plus. Patients underwent a total of 8 treatments with a frequency of once a week. One therapy lasted 20-30 minutes, according to success in individual games. The effect of therapy was evaluated using the Balance Master, specifically through tests Weight / Bearing squat (weight distribution of the lower limbs), mCTSIB (modified test balance sensory interaction) Limits of Stability (CoG sway to the borders of support base), Rhytmic Weight Shift (fast active transfer of CoG), Walk Across, Tandem walk and Step/Quick Turn (walking with a turn). For statistical evaluation and comparison of the results before and after treatment was used...

This thesis is based on a detailed analysis of various topics related to the question of whether video games can be art. In the first place it analyzes the current academic discussion on this subject and confronts different opinions of both supporters and objectors of the idea, that video games can be a full-fledged art form. The second point of this paper is to analyze the properties, that are inherent to video games, in order to find the reason, why cultural elite considers video games as inferior in relation to traditional forms of art. In addition to features of games like entertainment, competitivness and unproductivity, this part examines the circumstances that have an impact on current game design, like mass popularity and game developers pandering to wide audiance. Due to these circumstances, the majority of video games can be considered kitsch. Following passage through the application of theory of kitsch on specific video game shows and identifies tendencies in game design that cause this condition. Conclusion of the second chapter, however, shows that some video games exhibit characteristics that are generally regarded as positive elements of art works and by that they avoid being branded as kitsch. The last part of this thesis, based on cluster theory of art, identifies and analyzes...

L’approche pluridisciplinaire de cette thèse a pour objet principal la définition et l’évaluation du concept de « cyberérotisme ». L’évocation de cette notion est d’une prégnance telle au sein de la représentation du « corps virtuel » qu’il semble désormais possible de la considérer comme la figure emblématique des rapports au corps qui émergent dans le champ contemporain. Notre méthode, alliant esthétique, études culturelles et psychanalyse, s’établit en trois temps. Il s’agit tout d’abord d’élaborer une base de données afin de mettre en évidence l’appréhension conceptuelle qui va nous permettre de composer une première grille de lecture ; pour ce faire, nous établissons un corpus des films consacrés qui témoignent d’une approche spontanée du sujet, principalement eXistenZ, Demonlover, The Cell et Le Cobaye. Une seconde base de données est constituée à partir de l’observation des jeux vidéo, notamment les jeux pornographiques et hentai, afin de cerner les conditions de l’expérience dans son accomplissement actuel. Enfin, la rémanence des thèmes de la violence, du sadisme, de l’abandon du corps, de son renouvellement ou sa reconfiguration désignent finalement l’angoisse comme l’aspect central de l’expérience. C’est à partir de cette hypothèse de recherche que s’élabore, in fine, la dernière partie de cette thèse. / The main purpose of this multidisciplinary research is to define and assess the concept of “cybereroticism”. This notion is of such significance in the « virtual body » representation that it now seems possible to consider it an emblematic figure of the way the body is implicated in the contemporary field. Our method, combining aesthetics, cultural studies and psychoanalysis, is set up in three steps. First of all, we will provide a database highlighting the conceptual framework, which will allow us to create the initial terms of reference. In order to achieve this, we will provide a corpus of serious movies reflecting a spontaneous approach of this topic, mainly eXistenZ, Demonlover, The Cell and The Lawmmower Man. A second database will be achieved by observing video games, including pornographic and hentai games, in order to identify the conditions of the experience in its current state. Lastly, we will demonstrate how the persistence of the themes of violence and sadism, as well as the abandon of the body, its renewal or its reconfiguration, refer ultimately to anguish as a key aspect of the experience. This research hypothesis will eventually represent the last part of this thesis.

Cette thèse aborde la problématique de la création d’intelligences artificielles (IA) contrôlant la prise de décision haut-niveau dans les jeux de stratégie. Ce type de jeux propose des environnements complexes nécessitant de manipuler de nombreuses ressources en faisant des choix d’actions dépendant d’objectifs à long terme. La conception de ces IA n’est pas simple car il s’agit de fournir une expérience pour le joueur qui soit divertissante et intéressante à jouer. Ainsi, le but n’est pas d’obtenir des comportements d’IA imbattables, mais plutôt de refléter différents traits de personnalités permettant au joueur d’être confronté à des adversaires diversifiés. Leur conception fait intervenir des game designers qui vont définir les différentes stratégies en fonction de l’expérience qu’ils souhaitent créer pour le joueur, et des développeurs qui programment et intègrent ces stratégies au jeu. La collaboration entre eux nécessite de nombreux échanges et itérations de développement pour obtenir un résultat qui correspond aux attentes des designers. L’objectif de cette thèse est de proposer une solution de modélisation de stratégies accessible aux game designers en vue d’améliorer et de simplifier la création de comportements stratégiques. Notre proposition prend la forme d’un moteur stratégique choisissant des objectifs à long terme et vient se placer au dessus d’un module tactique qui gère l’application concrète de ces objectifs. La solution proposée n’impose pas de méthode pour résoudre ces objectifs et laisse libre le fonctionnement du module tactique. Le moteur est couplé à un modèle de stratégie permettant à l’utilisateur d’exprimer des règles permettant au moteur de choisir les objectifs et de leur allouer des ressources. Ces règles permettent d’exprimer le choix d’objectifs en fonction du contexte, mais également d’en choisir plusieurs en parallèle et de leur donner des importances relatives afin d’influencer la répartition des ressources. Pour améliorer l’intelligibilité nous utilisons un modèle graphique inspiré des machines à états finis et des behavior trees. Les stratégies créées à l’aide de notre modèle sont ensuite exécutées par le moteur de stratégie pour produire des directives qui sont données au module tactique. Ces directives se présentent sous la forme d’objectifs stratégiques et de ressources qui leur sont allouées en fonction de leurs besoins et de l’importance relative qui leur a été donnée. Le module stratégique permet donc de rendre accessible la conception du niveau stratégique d’une IA contrôlant un adversaire dans un jeu de stratégie. / This PhD thesis addresses the topic of creating artificial intelligence (AI) to control high-level decision-making in strategy games. This kind of game offers complex environments that require the manipulation of a large number of resources by choosing actions depending on long-term goals. This AI design is not simple because it is about providing to the player a playful and interesting experience. Hence, the aim is not to create unbeatable behaviors, but rather to display several personality traits allowing the player to face diverse opponents. Its creation involves game designers who are responsible of defining several strategies according to the experience they want to provide to the player, and game developers who implement those strategies to put them into the game. The collaboration between them requires many exchanges and development iterations to obtain a result corresponding to game designers’ expectations. The objective of this PhD thesis is to improve and simplify the creation of strategical behaviors by proposing a strategy model intelligible to game designers and that can be interfaced easily with developers’ work. For game designers, a strategy model has been created to allow them to express rules guiding the choice of goals and their allocated resources. These rules make it possible for game designers to express which goal to choose according to the context but also to choose several of them and give them relative importance in order to influence the resource distribution. To improve intelligibility we use a graphical model inspired from finite state machines and behavior trees. Our proposition also includes a strategy engine which executes the strategies created with the model. This execution produces directives that are represented by a list of selected strategical goals and the resources that have been allocated according to the importance and needs of each goal. These directives are intended for a tactical module in charge of their application. The developers are then responsible for the implementation of this tactical module. Our solution enables game designers to directly design the strategical level of an AI and therefore facilitates their cooperation with game developers and simplifies the entire creation process of the AI.

The aim of this essay is to examine how Lara Croft, Bayonetta, Emily Kaldwin and Billie Lurk have been portrayed in their respective games. The questions at issue have examined how these four characters have been portrayed by their appearance on the cover of their games and how they’ve been depicted in gameplay. A comparative study has been used to compare how the design on the characters have been differentiated not only from each other but also from the male characters in each game. The essay has also examined what the sex and gender identity have been of the character’s creators and if they’ve motivated their character designs. An analysis has been made to establish if there has been a male gaze present in the design process and the game and if this has led to the character’s being sexualized. Judith Butler’s performativity theory has been used for this essay along with Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze as well as an intersectional approach according to Kimberlé Crenshaw. Lara Croft, Bayonetta and Emily Kaldwin are shown to break gender codes while still upholding some of them; Billie Lurk is the only one that totally breaks with them and creates a sort of a “new woman”, as she not only breaks the Madonna-and-the-Whore-complex in which each of the other three can be put in. Billie Lurk and Emily Kaldwin are the only female characters which can be seen as not sexualized or steered by the male gaze, but instead they give the gamer an opportunity to live the characters’ stories through them with the first-person-shooter-view. Lara Croft from the games before Tomb Raider (2013) and Bayonetta are clearly sexualized female characters that are controlled by male desire and the male gaze. As these two games are played from a third-person-view it gives the gamer the power to control these women, putting them under the gamer’s will.

Objetivo: Avaliar o uso de dispositivos eletrônicos e televisão (TV) em adolescentes saudáveis de uma escola particular da cidade de São Paulo; avaliar possíveis associações entre a presença de dor e síndromes musculoesqueléticas e o uso de dispositivos eletrônicos e TV. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com adolescentes de uma escola particular da cidade de São Paulo. 299 adolescentes (10 a 19 anos) responderam a um questionário individual, confidencial e autoaplicável, com perguntas sobre o uso isolado e simultâneo de dispositivos eletrônicos (computadores, videogames, celular) e TV; dados demográficos; prática de atividade física e esportiva; disponibilidade, padrão de consumo, tipos de mídia utilizados e sintomas dolorosos do sistema musculoesquelético. Além da aplicação do questionário, foi realizado exame físico específico do aparelho musculoesquelético nos adolescentes que apresentavam queixas álgicas nos últimos três meses, visando à avaliação das seguintes síndromes musculoesqueléticas idiopáticas crônicas e não inflamatórias: fibromialgia juvenil, síndrome de hipermobilidade articular benigna, síndrome miofascial, tendinite, bursite, epicondilite e síndrome de dor regional complexa. Resultados: O índice de Kappa entre o pré-teste e reteste foi de 0,83. Dor musculoesquelética e síndromes musculoesqueléticas foram encontradas em 183/299 (61%) e 60/183 (33%), respectivamente. As medianas de idade [15 (10-18) versus 14 (10-18) anos, p=0,032] e os anos de escolaridade [10 (5-12) vs. 9 (5-12) anos, p=0,010] foram significantemente maiores em adolescentes com dor musculoesquelética em comparação com aqueles sem essa condição. A frequência do gênero feminino foi maior no grupo de adolescentes com dor musculoesquelética comparado ao grupo sem essa condição (59% versus 47% p=0,019), assim como as frequências do uso do telefone celular (93% contra 81%, p=0,003) e do uso simultâneo de pelo menos dois dispositivos eletrônicos (80% vs. 67%, p=0,011) foram significantemente maiores no grupo de adolescentes com dor musculoesquelética. Em relação às comparações entre os grupos com e sem síndromes musculoesqueléticas: a frequência de gênero feminino foi significantemente maior no grupo de estudantes com síndromes musculoesqueléticas (75% versus 25%, p=0,002), e os adolescentes com síndromes musculoesqueléticas apresentaram uma mediana significantemente reduzida de horas de jogos eletrônicos aos finais de semana e feriados [1,5 (0-10) vs. 3 (0-17) horas/dia, p=0,006]. Conclusões: Uma alta prevalência de dor musculoesquelética e síndromes musculoesqueléticas foi observada em estudantes adolescentes de uma escola particular. A dor musculoesquelética foi relatada em idade mais avançada, sobretudo entre as meninas e os alunos que usavam telefone celular e dispositivos eletrônicos simultaneamente. O sexo feminino e o uso reduzido de jogos eletrônicos foram associados à presença de síndromes musculoesqueléticas / Objective: To evaluate television and simultaneous electronic devices use in adolescents with musculoskeletal pain and musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 299 adolescents of a private school. All students completed a self-administered questionnaire, including: demographic data, physical activities, musculoskeletal pain symptoms, and use of simultaneous television/electronic devices (computer, internet, electronic games and cell phone). Seven musculoskeletal pain syndromes were also evaluated: juvenile fibromyalgia, benign joint hypermobility syndrome, myofascial syndrome, tendinitis, bursitis, epicondylitis and complex regional pain syndrome. Results: Inter-rater agreement between pretest and retest was 0.83. Musculoskeletal pain and musculoskeletal pain syndrome were found in 183/299 (61%) and 60/183 (33%), respectively. The median of age [15 (10-18) vs. 14 (10-18) years, p=0.032] and years of education [10 (5-12) vs. 9 (5-12) years, p=0.010] were significantly higher in adolescents with musculoskeletal pain compared to those without this condition. The frequencies of female gender (59% vs. 47%, p=0.019), cell phone use (93% vs. 81%,p=0.003) and simultaneous use of at least two electronic devices (80% vs. 67%,p=0.011) were significantly higher in the former group. Further comparisons between adolescents with and without musculoskeletal pain syndromes revealed that the frequency of female gender was significantly higher in the former group (75% vs. 25%,p=0.002), and with significantly reduced median of weekends/holidays electronic games use [1.5 (0-10) vs. 3 (0-17) hours/day, p=0.006]. Conclusions: A high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain/syndromes were observed in female adolescents. Musculoskeletal pain was mostly reported at median age of 15 years and students were using cell phone and at least two electronic devices simultaneously. Reduced electronic games use was associated with musculoskeletal pain syndromes

A obesidade atinge proporções alarmantes no Brasil e no mundo e é considerada desafio de saúde pública. Essa condição crônica exige preparo adequado dos profissionais de saúde e demanda formas inovadoras para seu enfrentamento. Assim, novas intervenções educativas têm sido propostas, vislumbrando maior aproximação das atividades de educação em saúde ao seu público. Uma dessas abordagens traz o uso de jogos digitais como uma ferramenta adicional em tratamentos e programas de educação em saúde voltados à criança. A partir disso, este estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver e avaliar um serious game como uma estratégia educativa para crianças escolares portadoras de sobrepeso e obesidade. Tratou-se de uma pesquisa metodológica, aplicada e de corte transversal. A pesquisa foi realizada em duas etapas: desenvolvimento e avaliação da versão final do serious game; e inserção e avaliação do serious game em um programa de enfrentamento da obesidade infantil. O desenvolvimento da versão final do jogo foi por meio dos referenciais de Prochaska (2008), Schell (2008) e Novak (2010). A segunda etapa da pesquisa contou com toda a população de crianças pertencente ao -Programa de condicionamento físico com games interativos para crianças obesas e/ou sobrepeso? durante o período de janeiro a julho de 2017. Ao total, 13 crianças e seus respectivos responsáveis aceitaram participar do estudo. Realizou-se a identificação do perfil das crianças participantes do programa por meio de dados antropométricos, de questionários sobre as condições socioeconômicas, hábitos alimentares e de atividade física. A idade dos participantes variou de sete a 11 anos e os IMC variaram de 21,1 a 40,4, revelando escores Z acima do valor +2, referentes à obesidade e obesidade grave. O jogo foi apresentado às crianças ao final das atividades do Programa de condicionamento físico, de maneira individual. A versão final do jogo foi desenvolvida e disponibilizada online de forma gratuita ao público. O DigesTower foi bem recebido pelos participantes, que afirmaram ter imersão, motivação e estímulo para melhoria do seu conhecimento. No geral, as crianças afirmaram que aprenderam com o DigesTower a encarar os alimentos de outra forma e a diferenciar os mais saudáveis dos menos saudáveis, além da importância do exercício físico para a saúde. Espera-se que os resultados forneçam evidências que sustentem a importância do uso de ferramentas inovadoras que auxiliem intervenções educativas no âmbito da obesidade infantil. Ainda, almeja-se que este estudo auxilie futuras pesquisas em que seus objetos de estudo sejam o desenvolvimento de jogos digitais para crianças em geral / Obesity reaches alarming proportions in Brazil and worldwide and is considered a public health challenge. This chronic condition requires adequate preparation of health professionals and demands innovative ways to cope with it. Thus, new educational interventions have been proposed, seeking a closer approximation of health education activities to its public. One such approach involves the use of digital games as an additional tool in child-directed health education and treatment programs. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a serious game as an educational strategy for school children who are overweight and obese. It was a methodological, applied and cross-sectional research. The study was realized in two stages: development and evaluation of the final version of the serious game; and insertion and evaluation of the serious game in a program of coping with childhood obesity. The development of the final version of the game was through the references of Prochaska (2008), Schell (2008) and Novak (2010). The second stage of the research included the entire population of children belonging to the \"Physical fitness program with interactive games for obese and/or overweight children\" during the period from January to July of 2017. In total, 13 children and their respective parents accepted participate in the study. The profile of the children participating in the program was identified through anthropometric data, questionnaires on socioeconomic conditions, eating habits and physical activity. The participants\' ages ranged from seven to 11 years, and BMI ranged from 21.1 to 40.4, showing Z scores above the +2 value, referring to obesity and severe obesity. The game was presented to the children at the end of the activities of the Physical Fitness Program, individually. The final version of the game was developed and made available online for free to the public. DigesTower was well received by the participants, who said they had immersion, motivation and encouragement to improve their knowledge. Overall, the children said that they learned from DigesTower how to look at food differently and differentiate between healthier and less healthy, as well as the importance of physical exercise for health. The results are expected to provide evidence to support the importance of using innovative tools that support educational interventions in the context of childhood obesity. It is also hoped that this study will aid future research in which their objects of study are the development of digital games for children in general

Existem evidências que jogar videogames de ação (AVG) aperfeiçoa habilidades perceptuais, atentivas e cognitivas, como por exemplo, recuperação mais rápida da atenção visual e aprimoramento das dinâmicas temporais da percepção visual. Estudos correlacionais sugerem que estes aprimoramentos temporais se aplicam também ao processamento visual de baixa ordem, contudo evidências mais contundentes são necessárias. Ademais, no campo da multimídia computacional estudos apontam que a resolução temporal na qual o videogame é apresentado na tela, correspondente a taxa de quadros por segundo (QPS), afeta o desempenho e o entretenimento de jogadores. Entretanto ainda não se sabe como aspectos técnicos dos AVG, como a taxa de QPS, influenciam nos aperfeiçoamentos cognitivos citados anteriormente. Para esclarecer tais lacunas, delineou-se um estudo para verificar se AVG jogados em diferentes QPS afetam a recuperação temporal da atenção, medidos pela tarefa de Supressão Atencional (SA), e se há alterações nos limiares da resolução temporal visual, medidas através da frequência crítica de fusão e oscilação da visão (CFF). Trinta e dois (16M, 16F) participantes não jogadores de videogame voluntariaram-se para um experimento longitudinal. Inicialmente os voluntários foram separados em quatro grupos (4M, 4F) e todos eles no primeiro dia foram submetidos a uma tarefa de mensuração de CFF na região visual central e uma tarefa de SA. No dia seguinte e depois nos sete dias conseguintes dois grupos, intitulados experimentais, realizaram um treinamento com videogames de ação, sendo que cada um dos grupos treinou em diferentes resoluções temporais, um a 15 QPS e outro a 120 QPS. Simultaneamente um terceiro grupo, treinou com um videogame controle sem elementos de ação. E o quarto grupo, controle, não teve treinamento. O total de tempo de treinamento foi de 10 horas, distribuído em 8 dias, exceto para o grupo sem treino. No dia posterior ao último dia de treinamento todos os participantes foram submetidos novamente a tarefas de SA e CFF. De modo geral o CFF aumentou para todos os participantes entre pré e pós-teste, particularmente para o grupo sem treino, não houve efeito de grupo. Desempenho no SA melhorou somente no para lag2 (212ms) para participantes que treinaram AVG na taxa de QPS mais baixa. Estes resultados sugerem que treinamento com AVG não aumenta o limiar do CFF na região visual central, se não o oposto, e que o aprimoramento temporal da atenção beneficia-se com um treinamento com AVG em baixa resolução temporal, mas não de alta taxa de QPS, ao menos nas 10 horas iniciais de treino / Action video game play enhances perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills, such as leading to faster recovery of visual attention over time and improvement of temporal dynamics of visual perception. Correlational data suggest that these temporal enhancements extend to low-level vision processes, but stronger evidence is needed. Also, in the multimedia computing field it was pointed out that video game screen frame rate affects players performance and enjoyment, but it is unclear how such technical aspects of the games play a role in cognitive augmentations. To shed more light on these issues, we tested whether action video game play and the frame rate at which they are played affects flicker detection in the central visual field and performance in attentional blink task. Thirty two (16 M, 16F) non-video game players volunteered to a longitudinal experiment. They were randomly split into four groups (4M, 4F). All of the groups performed a critical flicker-fusion frequency task (by method of limits) and attentional blink task at the first day of the experiment. Two experimental groups underwent action video-game training with different screen frame-rate caps each (15 and 120 frames per second, respectively). And one control group trained with a control game and a second control group had no training. The total amount of time in video-game training was 10 hours (75 min per day for consecutive 8 days), except for the no-training group. On the 10th day, all participants performed the flicker-detection and attentional blink tasks (post-test). Generally, critical flicker-fusion thresholds increased at the post-test for all groups, particularly for the non-training group, there were no group effect. Only marginal increased were observed in lag 2 for participant trained in low-frame-rate action video games. Our data suggest that playing video games do not increase flicker sensitivity threshold, it may actually prevent increase. And lower frame rate training produce transfer effects to Attentional Blink task, but not the higher frame rate training, at least in the first 10 hours