Yes / Mixed reality (MR) is a powerful interactive technology for new types of user experience. We present a semantic‐based interactive MR framework that is beyond current geometry‐based approaches, offering a step change in generating high‐level context‐aware interactions. Our key insight is that by building semantic understanding in MR, we can develop a system that not only greatly enhances user experience through object‐specific behaviours, but also it paves the way for solving complex interaction design challenges. In this paper, our proposed framework generates semantic properties of the real‐world environment through a dense scene reconstruction and deep image understanding scheme. We demonstrate our approach by developing a material‐aware prototype system for context‐aware physical interactions between the real and virtual objects. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation results show that the framework delivers accurate and consistent semantic information in an interactive MR environment, providing effective real‐time semantic‐level interactions.

There are several studies on the video game industry in Iran, and most of them are primarily focused on state-funded organizations which produce politically motivated games to push the geopolitical and domestic goals of the government. However, there is a lot more to the Iranian video game industry, one of which is the dichotomic nature of the private enterprises and their contrast with the mentioned state-funded products. To contextualize, we require the expression of concrete historical and cultural elements while exploring this dichotomic nature alongside many other paradoxical factors that shape the modern video game industry in Iran. The purpose of this paper is to, for the first time, shed light on the history and the current state of the video game industry in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I’ve used an ethnographic approach in my paper by doing numerous interviews to get a clear picture of cultural narratives and cultural responses that correspond and result in creating art. This digital ethnography could be of help to many to seek knowledge on the mentioned topics.

Japanese games have received extensive attention in academic and non-academic research. However, there has been a noticeable lack of study on Japanese adult games, despite their significant presence within the industry. Given the growing popularity of adult games in the Western market in recent years and the increasing incorporation of gender and sex studies in gaming research, it is crucial to investigate this overlooked aspect of gaming.This thesis aims to conduct a comparative study of Japanese adult games, recognizing their unique significance and contrasting presence with the Western gaming landscape, where adult games have not gained the same level of prominence as in Japan. The research will explore the underlying reasons for this disparity and employ an ethnographic approach, incorporating interviews and surveys, to uncover the cultural, economic, and societal factors that have contributed to the existence of this anomaly.

Distressingly, at the end of the 2008-2009 school year, 53% of fifth-grade students scored the equivalence of a D or lower on Florida's standardized science assessment (NCLB School District and State Public Accountability Report, 2009). One possible way to adapt methods of science education that is becoming more popular is through the use of computer games, as numerous studies have shown positive correlations between the use of computer games and increased learning gains in science. This thesis not only discusses previous researc concerning computer games as tools for science education but it also provides a description and the results of an original study. The purpose of the study found within this thesis was to examine how effectively 40 fourth-grade students could acquire knowledge from a text-free, physics-inspired computer game and then subsequently transfer any acquired knowledge to a text-containing, paper-and-pencil assessment without any scaffolding. Through the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative research data, this study revealed that students' assessment scores increased from pretest to posttest by an average of 12% for all students and by an average of 22.43% for the students who scored in the lowest one-third. Concerning only the assessment questions that were completely text-based, students' scores increased by an average of 14.6% for all students and by an average of 32.73% for the students who scored in the lowest one-third. Thus, in the researcher's opinion, there was enough transference to justify the use of the wordless, physics-based computer game as an effective and engaging educational tool among the 40 fourth-grade students who participated in this study: especially among those students who struggled with science.

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This licentiate thesis describes the development of the Swedish computer and video game industry. The main focus is on the Swedish game development industry. Little research on the industry has been done and the purpose is to define the companies involved and to create an initial overview of the development of the industry. This overview will later be used as a platform for the doctorial thesis. Games are a growing culture form and today a lot of people are playing different types of computer and video games. Internationally the industry has expanded and some of the successful games have generated spectacular revenues. In Sweden the industry has received attention from different actors like universities, government bodies and media. There are today educations that are focused on game development and there are programs which allocates grants towards game companies. The rapid development in the computers technology has had a great impact on the game industry, which is dependent on hardware development to create games. The first computer games were made for some of the very first computers in the 1940´s and 1950´s. In the 1970´s a market for games was created when arcade machines and somewhat later home consoles were introduced. The industry has grown and includes today some of the largest companies in the world. The Swedish industry follows the international pattern but developed a bit later and the first Swedish game companies were founded in the late 1980´s. The industry has expanded, especially between 1998 and 2002. In 2005 the number of people employed in the industry had increased to over 600. During the period under study the industry seems to have had a constant problem with making a profit. Especially in 2002 and 2003 the industry has had economic problems and some of the lager companies were bankrupt.

This study has investigated what affects players' experience of different methods of narrative delivery in computer games. Different methods for narrative delivery are discussed as well as findings on similarities between these methods. The players experience of methods for narrative delivery was studied, as well as research on affect and how affect impacts the experience of methods for narrative delivery in computer games. The analysis resulted in: sound, unexpected event, game character behavior, action and excitement, interaction, comedy, many events at once, backstory as well as visual elements, that are nine factors that affect a player's experience of different methods for narrative delivery in computer games. A model for sorting and structuring the factors was then discussed in the discussion chapter. The nine factors identified in the analysis have strong links to affect-inducing elements previously identified by De Byl (2015), Freeman (2004) and Hudlicka (2008). These elements are: Events in the game, Game interaction, Game sound, Game characters. Using these, game designers can utilize traditional narrative techniques, as well as game-specific techniques, to create stories that make players experience affect. A connection was also identified which shows that the number of factors that affect the affective experience varies depending on which narrative delivery method is used. / Denna uppsats har undersökt vad som påverkar spelares upplevelse av olika metoder för att förmedla narrativ i datorspel. Olika metoder för att förmedla narrativ tas upp och fynd kring likheter mellan olika metoder diskuteras. Upplevelsen av metoderna för att förmedla narrativ studerades samt forskning om affekt och vad affekt har för betydelse för upplevelsen av metoder för att förmedla narrativ i datorspel. Ur analysen framkom: ljud, oväntad händelse, spelkaraktärers beteende, action och spänning, interaktion, komedi, många händelser samtidigt, spelkaraktärers bakgrundsberättelse samt visuella element, som nio faktorer som påverkar en spelares upplevelse av olika metoder för att förmedla narrativ i datorspel. En modell för att sortera och strukturera faktorerna diskuterades sedan fram i diskussionskapitlet. De nio faktorer som identifierats i analysen har starka kopplingar till de affektskapande element som tidigare identifierats av De Byl (2015), Freeman (2004) och Hudlicka (2008). Det som överensstämmer med tidigare forskning är att genom: Händelser i spelet, Spelinteraktion, Spelets ljud, Spelets karaktärer, kan speldesigners med hjälp av traditionella berättartekniker, samt spelspecifika tekniker, skapa berättelser som får spelare att uppleva affekt. Ett samband identifierades också som visar att mängden faktorer som påverkar den affektiva upplevelsen varierar beroende på vilken narrativ förmedlingsmetod som används.

This dissertation is an exploration of the practice of social digital gaming, using a mixed methods approach with complementary data and analytical methods. The main themes are the prevalence and meaning of gamers’ experiences of social gaming and the underlying structures limiting or assisting social gaming, both material and social. Applying an everyday perspective, focus is on gamers’ day-to-day practices and experiences. Studies I and II enquire into relational aspects of social gaming based on interviews and survey data. Study III investigates the relationship between game design and gamer agency and its importance for social interaction with strangers, using in-game participant observation. Lastly in Study IV, building on interviews, female gamers come to the fore as their gender construction in an online game is examined with the aim of understanding the connection between online and offline. The main result concerns how social gaming takes place in various social relations. How gaming comes to be―what it means―is dependent on the relations between gamers, be they family members, real life friends, Internet friends or strangers. In these interactions, gender and sexual identity are realized; in the relations between gamers, physical proximate or online. Finally, virtuality is shown to be a social accomplishment of the people engaging in games rather than a property of the games themselves. Focus on the relational unveils how gaming comes to be in the process of interaction, a process at the same time dependent on underlying structures, i.e. games as designed platforms with certain affordances for social behaviour. We are able, thus, to reconcile the social constructivist position that (social) gaming is created in the relations between gamers engaging in games with the more formalist approach that games are rule based structures. Games create a foundation for interaction that can further develop into the creation/maintenance of relationships and identity. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education