This thesis explores how manipulation of the fourth wall can affect players’ Gameplay Experience in digital games, due to the lack of any significant research regarding the matter. In preparation of the study, multiple commercially released digital games with instances of fourth wall manipulation were analysed. This led to the creation of four distinct game design patterns. These patterns were implemented into a game artefact specifically created for the study, which was played by eight participants. After playing, the participants were interviewed about how they experienced the game artefact. The results show that the majority of the patterns had a positive effect on both the participants’ immersion and engagement, which both form part of the Gameplay Experience model. / Denna uppsats undersöker hur manipulering av den fjärde väggen kan påverka spelupplevelsen i digitala spel, då det saknas allmän betydelsefull forskning gällande ämnet. Under förstadiet av denna studie analyserades flertalet kommersiellt lanserade digitala spel som innehöll instanser av fjärde väggen manipuleringar. Detta ledde till skapandet av fyra olika designmönster. Dessa mönster implementerades i en spelartefakt specifikt skapad för studien, vilken spelades av åtta deltagare. Efter att ha spelat blev deltagarna intervjuade om hur de upplevde spelet. Resultaten påvisar att majoriteten av designmönstren hade en positiv inverkan både på deltagarnas immersion och engagemang, vilka båda formar delar av spelupplevelsemodellen.

Que ce soit dans un contexte industriel ou quotidien, les robots deviennent de plus en plus présents dans notre environnement et sont désormais capables d'interagir avec des humains. Dans les milieux industriels, des robots viennent notamment assister les opérateurs des chaînes d'assemblage pour des tâches fatigantes et dangereuses. Robots et opérateurs sont alors amenés à partager le même espace physique (coprésence) et à effectuer des tâches en commun (collaboration). Alors que la sécurité des humains à proximité des robots doit être garantie à tout instant, il convient également de déterminer si le travail collaboratif est accepté par les opérateurs, en termes d'utilisabilité et d'utilité.La première problématique de la thèse consiste à déterminer quelles sont les composantes importantes rentrant en jeu dans l'acceptabilité de la collaboration homme-robot, du point de vue des opérateurs. Différents facteurs peuvent influencer cette acceptabilité : l'apparence des robots et leurs mouvements, la distance de sécurité ou encore le mode d'interaction avec le robot.Afin d'étudier le maximum de facteurs, nous proposons d'utiliser la réalité virtuelle pour mener des tests utilisateurs en environnement virtuel. Nous utilisons des questionnaires pour recueillir les impressions subjectives des opérateurs et des mesures physiologiques pour estimer leur état affectif (stress, effort). La deuxième problématique de la thèse consiste à déterminer si une méthodologie utilisant la réalité virtuelle est pertinente pour cette évaluation : les résultats issus des tests en environnement virtuel rendent-ils bien compte de la situation réelle ?Pour répondre aux problématiques de la thèse, trois cas d'étude ont été mis en place et quatre expérimentations ont été menées. Deux de ces expérimentations ont été reproduites à la fois en environnements réel et virtuel afin d'évaluer la pertinence des résultats issus de la situation virtuelle par rapport à la situation réelle. / Either in the context of the industry or of the everyday life, robots are becoming more and more present in our environment and are nowadays able to interact with humans. In industrial environments, robots now assist operators on the assembly lines for difficult and dangerous tasks. Then, robots and operators need to share the same physical space (copresence) and to manage common tasks (collaboration). On the one side, the safety of humans working near robots has to be guaranteed at all time. On the other hand, it is necessary to determine if such a collaborative work is accepted by the operators, in terms of usability and utility.The first problematic of the thesis consists in determining the important criteria that play a role in the acceptability, from the operators' point of view. Different factors can influence this acceptability: robot appearance, robot movements, safety distance or interaction modes with the robot.In order to study as many factors as possible, we intend to use virtual reality to perform user studies in virtual environments. We are using questionnaires to gather subjective impressions from operators and physiological measures to estimate their affective states (stress, effort). The second problematic of the thesis consists in determining if a methodology using virtual reality is relevant for this evaluation: can the results from studies in virtual environments be reproducible in equivalent physical situations?In order to answer the problematics of the thesis, three use cases have been implemented and four studies have been performed. Two of those studies rely on a physical situation and its virtual reality counterpart in order to evaluate the relevance of the results of the virtual situation compared to the real situation.

Denna uppsats undersöker vad spelare vill uppleva i sitt karaktärsskapande iolika spel. Syftet med arbetet har varit att få bättre förståelse för vad enanvändare vill ha ut av sin karaktär och sitt karaktärskapande.Frågeställningen i arbetet löd: ”Vad är för en designer viktigast att tänka pånär man designar en karaktärsskapande del i ett spel?” Förhoppningen varatt få en djupare förståelse för karaktärsskapandets karaktär för att bättrekunna designa den karaktärsskapande delen i ett spel. Undersökningengenomfördes med en kvalitativ metod för att belysa frågorna djupare. Förstskapades en kvalitativ intervju, och efter intervjuerna skapades tre nyafrågor som lades ut på två internetforum med inriktning mot MMORPGs.De spelare som verkade vara mest intresserade av karaktärsskapande ochprocessen kring karaktärsskapandet, var de spelare som ibland ägnade sig åtrollspelande. De spelare som delvis eller helt ägnade sig åt Player versusPlayer verkade ha svårt att se någon mening med att skapa en identitet ellerett unikt utseende överhuvudtaget. Det viktigaste som framkom iundersökningen var att man måste känna sin publik. Som designer behöverman veta för vilka spelstilar man designar spelet. De faktorer som varviktiga för spelarna, för att kunna fördjupa sig i sina karaktärer, var att deraskaraktärer hade möjligheten att bli unika. / This paper is focused on a better understanding of what computer gameplayers want to get out of their character and the character creation. Thequestion addressed in the paper was: "What is most important for a designerto consider when designing a character-creation part of a game?" The aimwas to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the character creationprocess in order to better design the character creation part of future games.The study has been conducted with a qualitative method to illuminate thequestions in more depth. First, a qualitative interview was made, and afterthe interviews, three new questions were created, which were then postedon two Internet forums focusing on MMORPGs. The players who were themost interested in character creation and the process of this, were theplayers who sometimes engaged in role play. The players who partially orfully engaged in Player versus Player combat, had difficulties seeing anypoint in creating an identity or a unique look at all. The most importantthing that emerged from the investigation was that the designer needs toknow his audience. As a designer, you need to take into account whatplaying styles you design the game for. The important factors for theplayers to immerse themselves in their characters, was that their characterscould be made unique.

La suppression du vecteur gravité lors des vols spatiaux normalement orienté de la tête vers les pieds en position debout agit sur les fluides de l’organisme par la perte du gradient de pression hydrostatique, ce qui aboutit à un syndrome de déconditionnement cardio-vasculaire. Cette absence de gravité perturbe également le système vestibulaire, particulièrement les otolithes qui perdent leur capacité à détecter les inclinaisons de la tête. Nous avons conduit nos études chez l’homme à l’aide du modèle d’immersion sèche durant 3 jours ainsi que du modèle d’alitement anti-orthostatique durant 60 jours.Le but de notre premier travail de recherche est d’étudier l’influence du système otolithique sur la régulation du système cardio-vasculaire au travers du réflexe vestibulo-sympathique. Il a pour cela été utilisé des expérimentations de stimulation galvanique pour évaluer la sensibilité otolithique ainsi que des manœuvres de flexion de cou associées à des mesures cardio-vasculaires conventionnelles et de pléthysmographie. Un accéléromètre a, de plus, été utilisé pour quantifier les phases d’activité et d’inactivité.Le but de notre second travail de recherche est d’étudier l’évolution du baroréflexe carotidien au cours des modèles de stimulation d’impesanteur et d’établir d’éventuelles hypothèses d’interaction avec les afférences otolithiques. Il a pour cela été utilisé des mesures de pression artérielle et de fréquence cardiaque en réponse à des stimulations mécaniques des barorécepteurs carotidiens appliquées de façon directe via la technique du collier de pression.Nos résultats ont confirmé que la manœuvre de flexion du cou est bien une stimulation otolithique avec l’apparition des modifications de réactivité otolitiques seulement en décubitus ventral et non en décubitus latéral. Néanmoins le rôle du réflexe vestibulo-sympathique sur la régulation cardio-vasculaire n’est pas clairement mis en évidence. Par ailleurs, la sensibilité du baroréflexe carotidien au cours de ces protocoles n’est pas modifiée.Notre hypothèse générale d’une modification du contrôle cardio-vasculaire en lien avec la réduction de la stimulation otolithique au cours de protocoles de simulation d’impesanteur n’est pas vérifiée. Il reste à comprendre la signification réelle de la manœuvre du head-down neck flexion et son lien avec l’authentique stimulation otolithique qu’elle provoque. Il est vraisemblable que de multiples systèmes sensoriels interviennent dans la régulation cardio-vasculaire en lien avec la gravité. Le rôle spécifique du système vestibulaire sera vraisemblablement mieux appréhendé dans des situations où sa plasticité est le mieux mise en jeu c’est-à-dire en impesanteur réelle. / The removal of the gravity vector during spaceflight normally directed from the head to the feet in the standing position acts on the body fluids by the loss of the hydrostatic pressure gradient, which results in a cardiovascular deconditioning syndrome. This lack of gravity also disturbs the vestibular system, particularly otoliths that lose their ability to detect head tilts. We conducted our studies in humans using the 3-day dry immersion model and the 60-day anti-orthostatic bed rest model. The aim of our first research work is to study the influence of the otolithic system on the regulation of the cardiovascular system through the vestibulo-sympathetic reflex. For this purpose, galvanic stimulation experiments were used to evaluate otolithic sensitivity as well as neck flexion maneuvers associated with conventional cardiovascular and plethysmography measurements. In addition, an accelerometer has been used to quantify the activity and inactivity phases. The aim of our second research project is to study the evolution of the carotid baroreflex during weightlessness simulation models and to establish possible hypotheses of interaction with otolithic afferents. For this purpose, blood pressure and heart rate measurements were used in response to mechanical stimulations of carotid baroreceptors applied directly via the pressure collar technique. Our results confirmed that the neck flexion maneuver is indeed an otolithic stimulation with the appearance of otolitic changes of reactivity only in ventral decubitus and not in lateral decubitus. Nevertheless, the role of vestibulo-sympathetic reflex on cardiovascular regulation is not clearly demonstrated. Moreover, the sensitivity of the carotid baroreflex during these protocols is not modified. Our general hypothesis of a change in cardiovascular control related to the reduction of otolithic stimulation during weightless simulation protocols is not verified. It remains to understand the real meaning of the head-down neck flexion maneuver and its connection with the authentic otolithic stimulation it causes. It is likely that multiple sensory systems are involved in cardiovascular regulation in relation to gravity. The specific role of the vestibular system is likely to be better understood in situations where its plasticity is best brought into play, that is to say in real weightlessness.

Le présent travail s’intéresse à la nature et aux effets de l’intégration d’une logique de marketing dans les organisations du secteur des arts et de la culture. La recherche conduite ambitionne d’actualiser et de prolonger les connaissances acquises concernant le « conflit » artistes versus managers exposé par Chiapello (1998) tout en l’orientant vers le conflit artistes versus marketers. Inscrit dans une démarche compréhensive, ce travail s’appuie sur la méthode des cas. Une étude qualitative exploratoire constituée de 17 entretiens précède la réalisation de 5 études de cas, menées auprès de la Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), la Bibliothèque publique d’information (Bpi), le Musée national d’art moderne du Centre Pompidou (MNAM), le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) et la Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). La mise en œuvre des études de cas se fonde sur des périodes d’immersion significatives au sein des institutions mentionnées ; durant ces périodes des entretiens semi-directifs et observations ont été collectés et analysés. Par ailleurs, cette recherche a permis de réaliser une analyse comparative France-Canada. Outre le constat sur l’actualité du conflit établi, la thèse propose des pistes à l’écriture d’une intégration efficace du marketing dans les organisations culturelles. / This work examines the nature and effects of integrating marketing logic into arts and culture organizations. The research aims to update and extend the knowledge acquired about the “conflict” between artists and managers exposed by Chiapello (1998) while orienting it towards the conflict between artists and marketers. As part of a comprehensive approach, this work is based on the case method. A qualitative exploratory study consisting of 17 interviews precedes the realization of 5 case studies, conducted at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), the Bibliothèque publique d’information (Bpi), the Musée national d’art moderne Centre Pompidou (MNAM), the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) and the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). The implementation of the case studies is based on significant immersion periods in the institutions mentioned; during these periods semi-structured interviews and observations were collected and analyzed. In addition, this research led to a comparative France-Canada analysis. In addition to the report on the actuality of the conflict established, the thesis proposes ways to write an effective integration of marketing in cultural organizations.

Under de senaste decennierna har datorspel etablerats som ett legitimt forskningsområde. Inom denna forskning har den artificiella intelligensen (AI) varit av stort intresse framförallt i relation till de karaktärer inom spel som kallas för non-playable characters (NPC). Fokus har legat på att göra dessa karaktärer mer trovärdiga och på så sätt göra spel mer engagerande och potentiellt främja immersion. I och med detta bör alla aspekter av NPC:er utforskas för att säkerställa att alla bidragande faktorer har identifierats och kan därefter användas för att ytterligare utveckla dessa. Då social interaktion inom datorspel har tidigare kopplats till en spelares immersion är det viktigt att förstå alla komponenter som uppgör denna. Den mänskliga kommunikationen är grundad i både verbala och icke-verbala uttryck vilket tillsammans skapar den sociala interaktionen. Därför undersöker denna studie de aspekter av en karaktärs beteende som kan kategoriseras som icke-verbala uttryck. Detta utförs med hjälp av en kvalitativ observationsmetod för att identifiera vilka variationer som existerar, hur de uppfattas, samt om de påverkar karaktärers trovärdighet och därefter spelarens känsla av immersion. / In recent decades, computer games have been established as a legitimate area of research. In this research, artificial intelligence (AI) has been of great interest especially in relation to the characters in games called non-playable characters (NPCs). The focus has been on making these characters more believable and thus making games more engaging and potentially more immersive. In doing so, all aspects of NPCs should be explored to ensure that all contributing factors have been identified and can then be used to further develop them. As social interaction in computer games have previously been linked to a player's immersion, it is important to understand all the contributing components. Human communication is based on both verbal and non-verbal behaviors, which together create social interaction. Therefore, this study examines the aspects of NPC behavior that can be categorized as non-verbal expressions. This is achieved using a qualitative observation method to identify what variations exist, how they are perceived, and whether they affect the believability of characters and the player's immersion.

Les simulateurs de conduite permettent d’étudier le comportement humain dans différentes conditions fixées expérimentalement. Un avantage majeur de la simulation est de ne pas exposer le sujet à un risque objectif et que les conditions de test sont "facilement" mises en œuvre et manipulées. Le recours à la simulation pose néanmoins la question de la généralisation et transposition des comportements observés en simulation à la situation réelle de conduite. En effet, il est nécessaire de s’assurer que le simulateur mesure précisément l’objet d’étude sans le modifier ou l’influencer. L’évaluation du degré de validité est donc cruciale dans toute étude sur simulateur qui cherche à susciter des comportements réalistes de conducteurs. Le postulat de notre travail repose donc sur l’idée que la présence est un concept clé pour évaluer la représentativité des comportements de conduite observés en simulation. Toutefois plusieurs difficultés seront à résoudre. Une des plus cruciales repose sur le fait que la présence est difficilement mesurable en temps réel puisque le fait même de chercher à la mesurer peut rompre l’état de présence plus ou moins existant. Ainsi obtenir des indicateurs comportementaux de la présence constitue un véritable enjeu pour caractériser la nature d’un phénomène qui à l’heure actuelle est davantage fantasmé à l’aide de mesures post-expérimentation que concrètement démontré par la mise en évidence de comportements spécifiques reproductibles. / Driving simulators make it possible to study human behavior in different experimentally determined conditions. A major benefit of simulation is that it does not expose the subject to an objective risk and that test conditions are "easily" implemented and manipulated. The use of simulation nevertheless raises the question of the generalization and transposition of the behaviors observed in simulation to the actual driving situation. Indeed, it is necessary to ensure that the simulator accurately measures the object of study without modifying or influencing it. Assessing the degree of validity is therefore crucial in any simulator study that seeks to create realistic driver behaviors. The postulate of our work is therefore based on the idea that presence is a key concept for assessing the representativeness of driving behaviors observed in simulation. However, several difficulties will have to be solved. One of the most crucial is the fact that presence is difficult to measure in real time because the very fact of trying to measure it can break the more or less existing presence state. Thus, to obtain behavioral indicators of presence is a real challenge to characterize the nature of a phenomenon which at present is more fantasized by post-experimental measures than concretely demonstrated by the demonstration of specific reproducible behaviors.

I nuvarande forskning så existerar det ett research gap inom ljudproduktion och ljuddesign för Virtual Reality-applikationer. Det finns en mängd teknisk forskning om uppspelning av spatialiserat ljud för virtual reality med tekniker som binauralt ljud, HRTF (head-related transfer functions) och ambisonics. Allt detta är av högsta grad relevant för denna undersökning och kommer att diskuteras kring samt redogöras för i senare del av artikeln, men kommer inte att ta en central del av undersökningen. Snarare är det avsaknaden av metoder och processer för det kreativa skapandet och implementeringen av ljud för Virtual Reality som intresserar den här undersökningen. Denna artikel tar ett initiativ för att framhäva vikten av en genomtänkt och väl utförd ljuddesign för Virtual Reality- applikationer samt redogöra för tankesätt och metoder som kan appliceras i en audiell designprocess. Detta genom analys utav fenomenen immersion och närvaro. Med denna analys som grund översätts dessa sedan till metoder och nyckelord som främjar att stödja skapandet av applikationers audiella innehåll. Undersökningen har mynnat ut i ett designobjekt som existerar som ett exempel för denna process och redogörs med en grundlig dokumentation. Artikeln avslutas med en jämförande studie där detta designobjekt placeras tillsammans med andra designexempel från marknaden i ett antecknande portfolio. Detta för att undersöka likheter mellan dessa exempel utifrån de nyckelord som kommer att framföras samt redogöras för i artikeln. Förhoppningen är att denna process kan tydliggöra för ljudets roll i att skapa en immersiv upplevelse samt inspirera andra ljuddesigners att applicera dessa metoder i dennes egna designprocess. / In present research there exists a research gap within the field of sound production and sound design for virtual reality-applications. There is a ton of technical research to be found such as the deliverance of spatial audio for virtual reality through techniques like binaural audio, HRTF (head-related transfer functions) and ambisonics. All of these are highly relevant for this research and will be discussed in a later part of the article however they won't take a central part of the research process. It is rather the lack of methods and processes for the creative design and implementation of sound for virtual reality that this research finds interesting. This article takes an initiative to shed light on the importance of a well thought- through and properly executed sound design for Virtual Reality applications and gives an account for the thought process as well as methods that can be applied to an audio design process. This is done through an analysis of the phenomena known as immersion and presence. With the analysis as groundwork, the explanations of these phenomena then get translated to methods and keywords that support the creation of audio content for the given application. This research has formed the basis for a design object that exists as an example for this process and has been thoroughly documented along the way. The article ends with a comparative research study where this design object is placed together with other design examples from the general market in an annotated portfolio. The reason for this is to point out similarities through the lens of keywords that will be presented and explained in this article. This process sets out to clarify the role sound has in the creation of an immersive experience as well as to inspire other sound designers to apply these methods in their own design processes.

This study involved surveying 649 families in Livingston Union School District in Livingston, California, to ascertain parents' motivating factors which led them to enroll their children in a dual-language program at school and to see if there are different motivating factors for English-speaking parents and Spanish-speaking parents. A dual-language program involves integrating students who speak two different languages into a class or program where students learn in both languages. The survey return rate was 41.2%. Of the 268 respondents, 52.9% indicated that they spoke to their children at home in Spanish, 41.4% indicated that they spoke to their children at home in English, 2.6% spoke to their children in Punjabi, 0.3% said they spoke to their children in Urdu, and 2.6% of the respondents declined to answer this question. When asked what motivated the parent to enroll their child in a dual-langauge program, the responses from Spanish-dominant parents were as follows: 90.11% of the respondents enrolled the child in the program because they wanted their child to be able to speak, read, and write in two languages, 67.10% enrolled because they wanted their child to be successful in a global economy, 62% said they enrolled because they wanted their child to be more successful in school, 59.60% said they wanted their child to be comfortable relating to different people and cultures, 57.70% said they wanted their child to be able to relate to his/her heritage, 36.30% enrolled their child because they wanted the child to be with teachers that spoke their language. Approximately 11% wrote in other reasons for enrolling their child in a dual-language program. English-speaking parents chose their reasons for enrolling their child in a dual-language program in almost the same order as the Spanish-speaking parents. However, there are significant differences in the percentage of parents that chose those answers. For example, though the desire to see their child speak, read, and write in two languages was the top choice of both sets of parents, 94.5% of the English-speaking parents chose this answer while only 86.60% of Spanish-speaking parents chose this as their top answer. In addition, there was a significant difference between the two sets of parents when analyzing the choice of wanting their child to be comfortable relating to different people and cultures (English-speaking at 54.90% and Spanish-speaking at 63.3%) and the choice of wanting their child to be with teachers that spoke the same language (English-speaking at 25.20% and Spanish-speaking at 45%). The study ends with recommendation for practice and recommendations for further studies.

Denna undersökning belyser varför beröring är ett viktigt sinne för att stärka VR-upplevelser. Genom att använda beröring som metod för att utforska fysiska egenskaper har vi skapat endigital gestaltning som demonstrerar hur denna unika förmåga kan användas. Denna undersökning har bidragit till skapandet av ett nytt verktyg för framtida utveckling av VR-upplevelser, vilket har öppnat upp möjligheter att använda beröring som huvudmekanik. Genom att kombinera haptisk feedback och visualisering av händer och omgivning kan vi utforska och interagera med VR-spel på ett nytt och spännande sätt. / This study highlights why the sense of touch is important for enhancing VR experiences. By using touch as a method to explore physical properties, we have created a digital representation that demonstrates how this unique ability can be utilized. This study has contributed to the development of a new developer tool for future VR experience design, which has opened up possibilities for incorporating the sense of touch as a main mechanic. By combining haptic feedback and visualization of hands and the environment, we can explore and interact with VR games in a new and exciting way.