Esta tese trata a respeito de uma abordagem criativa específica em mídias digitais: o emprego expressivo da autoria procedural (isto é, da criação ou manipulação de algoritmos). Esta abordagem, denominada aqui como expressividade procedural, difere fundamentalmente do emprego do computador unicamente para emular formas e linguagens tradicionais. Nossa investigação inclui estudos práticos realizados no contexto do projeto Playing Beowulf (University College London), no qual trabalhei como parte da equipe de pesquisa e desenvolvimento do MissionMaker, um aplicativo educacional para criação de narrativas e jogos digitais. Esperamos com esta tese contribuir na compreensão sobre o uso expressivo da autoria procedural em mídias digitais, e no seu papel fundamental na realização da expressividade própria deste meio. / This thesis is about a specific creative approach in digital media: the expressive use of procedural authorship (i.e., the creation or manipulation of algorithms). This approach, which we call procedural expressiveness, distinguishes itself in a fundamental manner from the use of computers solely to emulate traditional forms and languages. Our investigation includes practical studies conducted in the context of the Playing Beowulf project (University College London), where I worked as part of the research and development team of MissionMaker, an educational software for creating digital narratives and games. With this thesis we hope to contribute in understanding the expressive use of procedural authorship in digital media, and its fundamental role in achieving the unique expressiveness of this medium.

This research project is about symbolism and semiotics (the science of signs) in digital-games. There’s firstly introductory information about what symbolism and semiotics are and the different aspects of them that is needed to fully understand the subject. These are things such as the two parts of a sign, signifier and signifier as well as the three modes of signs, symbolic, iconic and indexical. Then there’s information about how this is all put together in a digital game, that a game isn’t playable without some form of signs and that besides making the game playable it is used to enhance the characters, story and experience for the player. How this is used in a more practical way is mentioned further to the end with the different approaches of working with symbolism in games. There’s either being subtle or making symbolism the main focus of the game. Through all this there’s also the importance of considering your audience and if they will understand your signs that is talked about.

This report investigates digital games with focus on differences and similarities between children’s point of view when it comes to games focusing on learning compared to those focusing on entertainment. The approached group was children, 7 years old. The study contains investigations and analysis of how these children used games in both school and home environment. The most used theory “8 theories of fun” by Marc LeBlanc (2004) raises the most important parts making a game fun. The method used was group interviews in a primary school. 12 children were interviewed to observe their attitudes to games. Our findings indicate that these children don´t reflect much upon why they play a certain game, mostly important is that playing is considered fun. Furthermore, another important observation was that these children in general perceived learning games as less fun. We found more differences than similarities in the childrens opinions regarding edutainment games compared to entertaining games. / Denna C-uppsats behandlar digitala spel och undersöker skillnader och likheter angående barns åsikter om inlärningsspel och underhållningsspel. Målgrupp för studien var barn i sju års ålder och vi har undersökt deras användning av spel både i hem- och skolmiljö. Den teori som kanske varit viktigast i uppsatsen, 8 theories of fun, är författad av Marc LeBlanc m.fl (2004) och tar upp vilka delar som samspelar för att göra ett spel roligt. Vår metod bestod av att utföra gruppintervjuer då vi intervjuade tolv barn inom målgruppen för att se vilka attityder som gått att uppvisa. De resultat vi fått av studien är bland annat att de barn vi undersökt inte reflekterar speciellt mycket över vad de spelar för spel. Samt att den kanske viktigaste delen i ett spel är att det upplevs som roligt. Studien uppvisade fler olikheter än likheter i jämförelsen mellan underhållningsspel och inlärningsspel. Respondenternas generella åsikt var att underhållningsspel upplevs roligare är inlärningsspel.

[pt] A renderização de pele humana é um tópico de pesquisa fundamental para a indústria de entretenimento digital. Obter resultados realistas é bastante desafiador, ainda mais quando o objetivo do uso se destina a aplicações em tempo real. Nessa dissertação são estudadas e implementadas duas técnicas para simular o comportamento da luz através da pele humana. Ambas são baseadas em modelos físicos e empíricos e utilizam o espaço da textura na GPU para reproduzir a iluminação difusa e espalhamento transluminoso (subsurface scattering) em tempo real. Essa dissertação compara estas duas técnicas e dá orientações para a implementação de um módulo de renderização de pele humana em motores de jogos 3D. / [en] Skin rendering is a fundamental research topic for the digital entertainment industry. Realistic results are very challenge to obtain, especially for real time applications. In this dissertation, two skin rendering techniques are studied and developed to simulate light behavior through human skin. Both techniques are based on physic and empiric models and use texture space in GPU to reproduce diffuse illumination and subsurface scattering in real time. This dissertation compares these two techniques and gives guidelines for the implementation of a skin rendering module in 3D game engines.

This dissertation analyzes gender in the commercial production of digital games. The purpose is to develop a detailed understanding of gender as it plays out among individuals who develop creative content and in the ideological constitution of the workplace, and to examine the ways in which these individuals participate in and make sense of the production of digital cultural products. The broad line of questioning attempts to provide detail and depth to how gender is organized, symbolized, and identified during the production a commercial game. The digital game industry and culture have constructed a strong fortress of androcentric ideas, practices, and experiences, and excluding women from digital media production by making entry into the social space unattractive preserves men's dominance of the field. To research the practices at play in the design of digital games, I conducted a case study using participant observation of the production of a digital game at a U.S. game development studio combined with primary document collection and in-depth interviews of workers who produce the game play, technical and artistic elements used in the creation of games in a team-based organization of labor. My analysis of the game studio worksite and culture revealed entrenched rituals, practices, and discourses of masculinity that produce and are reproduced by digital game workers. The organization of work in terms of space, organizational function and teamwork form decentralized layers of a network that are tightly controlled by the commercial production cycle. Each layer creates boundaries of inclusion and exclusion along multiple lines, including gender. Additionally, I examined how family socialization, the sexual division of labor in computer work and education, and passion for games idealize masculinity in the habitus of game workers. The habitus also structures working practices that are infused with masculinity based on technical proficiency. These working practices reproduce the gender dynamic of the social and symbolic space of the field. The studio's culture also constitutes a masculine symbolic space through inter-related discourses of masculine aesthetics, hegemonic masculinity, and science and technology. Implications for making the field of digital games more diverse and open are discussed.

This thesis investigates user motivations for creating content that may or may not be added to the game Fortnite: Battle Royale, as well as the user's thoughts about the intellectual property of the content. The thesis also examines the relationship and communication between the Fortnite players and developers, according to the users. The sample was collected from the forum r/FortNiteBR on the social media platform Reddit, where users who were engaged in creating suggestions and concepts for the game were contacted and interviewed. The discussion and analysis distinguishes positive attitudes amongst the users in regards to the empowerment and engagement the participation provides, but also showcases a disappointment amongst the users when it comes to the communication between them and the developers. The data collected display an inconsistency from Epic in terms of which users receive credit or agreements for their suggestions, something that some users have reacted upon. This thesis suggests that aspects such as the crediting of players and the communication between players and developers needs to be improved in order to for the game company to maintain a good relationship with the players.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how digitalgaming experience affects how motivated studentsbecome by gamification and whether there is anydifference in motivation that is experienced whetherplaying or not in leisure.There was no clear connection on the motivation withinthe different game groups of the result. The resultshowed that some elements motivated more than othersand those that motivated the groups most were points,levels and quests

This qualitative study aims to evaluate digital games as a learning tool, by reviewing the experiences of a number of teachers. The thesis investigates what aspects of digital games create prospects for learning, and what concepts need further improvement. Thus, the study distinguishes the effects of different approaches to game development, to benefit the actual end-users of the gaming systems: students as well as teachers. In a broader perspective, the results of the thesis illuminate a fraction of the digitalization process in the Swedish school system. Using a semi-structured interview methodology, interviewee responses from eight teachers working with children aged 7-12, were filtered through a modified version of Vicente’s (1999) theoretical framework Cognitive Work Analysis. Using the framework, some aspects within the games that the interviewees used were identified as normative, encapsulating unnecessary challenges for teachers. Such games were found to be limited, as well as limiting in its use, and tended to put emphasis on the more playful elements of the game sessions, rather than on learning. Other aspects were identified as descriptive, meaning they were based on current work practices, but failed to utilize the full, unexplored potential within the learning setting of the game. Both the normative and descriptive aspects of games were found to a higher extent in the category of educational games, rather than in serious games. In the game concepts where the more desirable formative approach could be identified, the aspects in question were inserted into a work domain analysis matrix, to decompose the cognitive main goals into smaller fractions and game components. Conclusions made from the analysis included the importance of AI and data collection, as well as the ability for teachers to adapt the games to their needs. Moreover, formatively developed digital games seem to contribute to a way of teaching that meets more individual needs. The cognitive work analysis proved to be a fitting tool when evaluating digital games used for learning. Modifications made to the framework included the delimitation to, and addition of cognitive values to, the work domain, as well as the exclusion of the last level of the workdomain matrix.

With the success of technology, computers and digital games have become a new, more advanced, medium for storytelling. What sets digital games apart from more traditional forms is that the player must engage and interact with a game world and the characters on a whole new level. Immersion is a term that is described as the experience of feeling deeply engaged within another reality. So how does a player become immersed in the game? In order to enable the necessary interactions between the player and the game, a user interface is required. User interface elements can be designed in a variety of ways. Some elements are part of the game’s geometric world and its narrative, so-called diegetic elements. Then there is the opposite, nondiegetic elements, which have no connection to the game story at all and only fulfill the purpose of conveying information to the player. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how the user interface affects the players’ immersion. The study consisted of a theoretical literary section and two empirical investigations in the field of user tests and online surveys. What was investigated in this thesis was how non-diegetic user interface elements affect immersion as well as whether immersion increases by integrating the user interface into the gaming world. Determining a statistical significance difference in immersion seems difficult. But with the help of interviews and online surveys, the player’s preferences have shown that minimizing non-diegetic elements can increase immersion and that integrating the user interface into the game world is a very good and preferred solution for conveying the necessary information to the player. However, the data collected indicate that failure to convey the necessary information can lead to the opposite, reduced immersion.

Matematik har ofta stämpeln av att vara ett svårt och tråkigt ämne och därför är det viktigt att undersöka vilka möjligheter det finns att motivera elever till lärande inom matematik. Barn idag har växt upp i ett samhälle där digitaliseringen tidigt är en naturlig del av deras vardag. Denna systematiska litteraturstudie har därför syftat till att undersöka hur olika digitala spel påverkar elevers motivation gentemot matematikämnet. Insamlingen av material skedde i da-tabasen ERIC (EBSCO). Resultatet visade på att spelens olika speltyper och karaktärsdrag kan påverka elevers motivation. Spel med lärokontext och formativ feedback främjade inre mål medan “idle”-spel främst motiverade genom yttre mål som belöningar. Bakgrundsfaktorer och elevernas kognitiva nivå likväl de kontexter spelen hade när de användes i undervisningen kunde även påverka inställningen till olika spel. / Mathematics often has the stigma of being a difficult and a boring subject and therefore it is important to investigate what opportunities there are to motivate students to learn mathemat-ics. Children today have grown up in a society where digitalization is a natural part of their everyday lives from an early age. This systematic literature study has therefore aimed to inves-tigate how different digital games can affect students’ motivation toward the subject of mathematics. The data was collected from the database ERIC (EBSCO). The result of the study showed that the games’ game structure and characteristics can have an effect on the students’ motivation. Games which gave players a context for learning and formative feedback encour-aged intrinsic goals meanwhile idle-games mainly motivated players through extrinsic goals such as rewards. Students' background, cognitive abilities and the context in which the games were used also showed to influence the approach students had towards the games.