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.

Denna studie undersöker om datorspels designmönster kan användas för digitala brädspel. Den befintliga forskningen om användarupplevelsen är bred för datorspel, men forskningen om den digitala brädspelupplevelsen och dess designmönster är liten i jämförelse. Såsom forskning saknas, så saknas det verktyg och hjälpmedel för att skapa digitala brädspel. För att ta itu med detta problem använder den här studien verktygen Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) för att mäta spelanvändarupplevelsen samt så används Björk och Holopainen (2006) designmönstermall för att forska om speldesignmönster för datorspel kan användas för det digitala strategibrädspelet Root av Dire Wolf Digital (2020). För att kunna finna om dessa speldesignmönster kan användas i digitala strategibrädspel, så har det genomförts spelsessioner samt intervjuer baserade och anpassade på faktorer inom GUESS. Därefter, följdes Björk och Holopainens (2006) speldesignmönstermall, för att analysera och organisera den insamlade datan för att finna motsvarande speldesignmönster i det valda digitala brädspelet. Genom att diskutera de funna speldesignmönstren, fann vi att GUESS var ej ett lämpligt verktyg för att mäta spelupplevelsen för digitaliserade brädspel. Trots att GUESS inte lämpar sig för digitala brädspel så kan sammanställningen av de listade designmönster användas som en referens för framtida speldesigners beslutfattande i skapandet av digitala brädspel för att bidra till en bättre spelanvändarupplevelse. Med syfte att hjälpa framtida speldesigners i skapandet av bättre design för digitala brädspel, förväntas det att den framtida forskningen kan fylla i luckor inom området samt utveckla nya verktyg, dedikerade till mätningen av digitala brädspelsupplevelsen. / This study explores if game design patterns can be used for digital board games. The existing research on user experience is broad for computer games, whereas the research on digital board games and their design patterns are small in comparison. Just as there is a lack of research, there is a lack of tools and aids to create digital board games. To address this issue, this study uses Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) as a tool to measure the user experience and Björk and Holopainen (2006) design pattern template to research if this game design patterns can be used for the digital strategy board game Root from Dire Wolf Digital (2020). To find if these design patterns can be used in digital strategy board games, play tests and adapted interviews based on factors from GUESS have been made. Then, Björk and Holopainen’s (2006) template for game design patterns has been followed to analyze and organize the collected data, to find the corresponding game design patterns in the digital board game. After discussing the found game design patterns, we found that GUESS was not a suitable tool to measure the gaming experience of digitized board games. Besides this, the compilation of the listed design patterns we found that they could be used as a reference for future decision-making for game designers in the creation of digital board games, to contribute to a better game user experience. With the aim to assist future game designers in the creation of better designs for digital board games, it is expected that the future research can fill the gaps in this field, as well as develop new tools dedicated to the measurement of the digital board game experience.

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The research in this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Twitch’s current advertising option, which includes mid-roll, pre-roll, and sponsored streams. It will focus on usefulness of content, brand credibility, purchase intent, and streamer credibility. Twitch has seen a surge in growth and attention in recent years, with an average of 31 million daily visitors and 1.3 trillion minutes watched globally in 2021 alone (Twitch Sales, 2022). However, despite Twitch’s growing popularity as an entertainment and entrepreneurship platform, little research has been conducted on the impact of its advertising options on brand perception. This study seeks to address this gap in literature by examining the effect of mid-roll, pre-roll, and sponsored streams on Twitch’s unique community-driven audience. To achieve this, the study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. First, a pre-survey was administered to participants to gather data on demographics, video game usage, and experience with Twitch.tv. Participants were then shown a 5-minute video containing different types of Twitch ads. After viewing the video, participants completed a post-survey to measure perception of their purchase intent and brand credibility. Overall, the study aims to provide valuable insights for marketers and advertisers looking to leverage the growing popularity of Twitch as an advertising platform.

Activity-based workplaces are offices where the employees share workplaces and choose where to work based on their current activity. The aim is to make the work more efficient, but studies have shown that activity-based workplaces are not being used as intended. This can create different types of friction for employees, and produce negative energy, decreasing the employee satisfaction and efficiency in the workplace. Gamification is a term which is growing in the field of enterprise and organisations, and is being used as a tool to motivate people and direct their activity. According to the theoretical approach Human Work Interaction Design, it is important to examine how technical solutions can be designed to facilitate the employees in different work domains. Therefore, an interesting research problem is to examine how gamification can be used in an activity-based workplace. The research question in this study is which game design elements can be included in an IT-based system to reduce friction in an activity-based workplace. Through interviews at two different companies with activity-based workplaces, this paper shows that the use of resources, a lack of understanding of the concept ABW, the physical environment as well as a different type of social interaction are the major causes of friction. Three game design elements which affect employees intrinsic motivation and therefore have a long-term impact have been chosen. The suggestion is to implement a performance graph, a narrative and social connection elements to reduce friction in activity-based workplaces. These game design elements direct employees use of the workplace, and therefore increase their efficiency and satisfaction. / Aktivitets-baserade kontor är kontor där de anställda delar arbetsplatser och väljer arbetsplats beroende på vilken aktivitet de ska utföra. Målet är att göra arbetet mer effektivt, men studier visar på att aktivitets-baserade kontor inte används som de är tänkta. Detta skapar olika typer av friktion för de anställda samt producerar negativ energi, vilket minskar de anställdas tillfredsställelse och effektivitet på arbetsplatsen. Spelifiering är ett begrepp som blivit känt inom företag och organisationer och används för att motivera människor och rikta deras aktiviteter. Enligt den teoretiska inriktningen Människa Arbete Interaktionsdesign är det viktigt att undersöka hur tekniska lösningar kan designas för att underlätta för de anställda i olika arbetsdomäner. Ett intressant forskningsområde är därför att undersöka hur spelifiering kan användas i ett aktivitets-baserat kontor. Frågeställningen i den här studien är vilka spelelement som kan implementeras i ett IT-baserat system för att minska friktion i ett aktivitets-baserat kontor. Genom intervjuer på två företag som arbetar i aktivitets-baserat kontor visar denna studie att användningen av resurser, en saknad av förståelse för konceptet aktivitets-baserat kontor, den fysiska miljön samt den sociala interaktionen är de huvudsakliga orsakerna till friktion. Tre spelelement som påverkar de anställdas intrinsiska motivation har valts ut. Förslaget är att implementera en prestationsgraf, en berättarröst samt sociala förbindelser för att minska friktion i ett aktivitets-baserat kontor. Spelelementen ska påverka de anställdas användning av kontoret och därigenom öka deras effektivitet och tillfredsställelse på arbetsplatsen.

Projektet utgår ifrån en frågeställning om hur skolbyggnaden i sig kan stimulera till lärande och nyfikenhet. Det finns flera sätt som detta kan utföras på, men det här projektet fokuserar på hur detta kan utföras genom utformning av rumsligheter. Inspirationen kommer huvudsakligen ifrån spelmiljödesign och från arkitekten Herman Hertzberger och hans bok "Space and Learning". Byggnaden består av ett program för en mellan- och högstadieskola, som är distribuerat på ett sätt som gör det utmanande att orientera sig. Rummen är utplacerade som kuber med helt eller delvis massiva väggar. De binds samman av en glasfasad, och mellanrummet som skapas blir en yta av öppen aktivitet och där intressanta rumsligheter skapas.  En annan metod för att stimulera och väcka nyfikenhet är att skapa siktlinjer. De är horisontella: genom glaspartier i väggarna, och vertikala: genom öppningar i bjälklaget.  Tanken är att eleverna allt eftersom de utforskar och lär känna sin skola också lär sig hitta, inte bara till sina klassrum eller toaletterna, utan också till spännande vrår och rumsligheter som skapas i mellanrummen. Det blir en kontrast mellan rummen; där aktiviteten är styrd av lärare och läroplanen, och ytorna i mellan där aktiviteten inte är styrd utan skapas av eleverna själva. / This project is grounded in a question about how a school building in itself can stimulate learning and curiousity. There are many ways of which this can be executed, but this project focuses on spatial design. Inspiration comes mostly from environmental design in games and from the architect Herman Hertzberger and his book "Space and Learning". The building consists of a program for middle school and junior high school, and is distributed in a way that makes orientation intentionally hard. The rooms are placed as cubes with massive or partly massive walls. They are connected by a glass facade, and the space between becomes place for interesting spatialities.  Another method for creating stimulation and curiousity is sightlines. They are horizontal: in the shape of glass walls, and vertical: by openings in the floor structure. The idea is that the students, by exploring and getting to know their school, also learns to find not only their classrooms or lavatories, but also those nooks and crannies that is formed in the in between space. There becomes a contrast between the rooms: where the activities are ruled by teachers and the curriculum, and the in between spaces: where the activity is free and formed by the students themselves.

The thesis takes a research through design approach to identify the potential of a storytelling board game concept to raise awareness about societal challenges. Knowledge of existing serious game examples illustrating the social issues, designing a board game prototype iteratively, and evaluating with co-creation sessions helped to comprehend the potential of the subject. The thesis, with an iterative process, focuses on one case study, designing a board game called “Can you survive?”. The game uses storytelling to relay stories about refugees’ hardships caused by language and communication barriers to its players. The research process was supported by several co-creation workshops, including game playing and focus group sessions, to advance the board game in terms of making it more impactful and evolving the rules while gathering insights about the game and the players’ thoughts about the game topic. As a result of the research process, the final version of the board game was designed. The study demonstrates that a board game using narrative elements can be a cooperative tool to communicate societal issues with the goal of raising awareness. The results show the players agree that the game drives them to understand the challenges based on the subject and develop different points of view. Even if the case study focuses only on the experience of the ups and downs of the language barrier refugees deal with, it may also be applicable to some other social issues. The study also shows that co-creation sessions to test the prototype with the target groups brought unconsidered perspectives that advance the game mechanics and help to make it more impactful. Having a limited amount of research and design about storytelling game concepts illustrating the serious topics by using board games, this thesis offers that serious game design researchers should consider the storytelling board games aimed at raising attention on societal issues since it helps players to engage, motivate and create empathy. Moreover, it stresses the possibility of serious game design concepts to be used to promote awareness of social problems, not only for training or education purposes.

This dissertation investigates the question, "How can the procedural rhetoric of three whole-body educational games improve the understanding of self-regulated learning with digital technology?" It explores three whole-body educational games (WBEGs) using a quantitative study, a case study, and analyses of their procedural rhetoric to better understand the roles these types of games can have in teaching digital literacy and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. The three WBEGs, Waves, Color Mixer, and Light and Mirrors, are each intended to teach science concepts to players. These games are similarly structured in that they all invite players to immerse themselves in the game by standing on the "screen" (the games project images on the floor). The WBEGs differ from traditional console video games because they receive input from players via motion-sensing technology, requiring players to make large movements with their bodies to influence elements within the game. This study explains SRL as a complex combination of internal (mental) behavior, external (observable) behavior, and interpersonal (social) behavior, identifying within three WBEGs the presence of elements supporting the SRL behaviors of goal setting, strategy planning, collaboration, progress monitoring, feedback, and reflection. These findings inform the understanding of SRL by revealing that each game includes a different combination of SRL-supporting elements that encourage the use of SRL skills in different ways. SRL scaffolding features are those elements within a WBEG that guide players to use certain SRL strategies, helping and supporting their efforts much like construction scaffolding supports a building as it is being erected. This dissertation also utilizes analyses of procedural rhetoric to investigate the techniques reinforced by the underlying structure of these three WBEGs in an effort to further the understanding of digital literacy in education and sociocultural contexts. All three WBEGs appear to emphasize player agency and collaboration. Waves and Light and Mirrors encourage player strategy, while Color Mixer rewards speed and rote knowledge. These reinforced techniques perpetuate the underlying cultural values of accuracy, collaboration, problem-solving, autonomy, and scaffolding. This study discusses these values in the contexts of education and society.

In the last few years educational computer games have gained attention as a tool for facilitating learning in different sectors of society including but not limited to military, health, and education. However, advances in computer game technology continue to outpace research on its effectiveness. Few empirical studies have investigated the effects of educational games in the context of formal K-12 settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a series of mathematics computer games on mathematics achievement and motivation of high school students. In addition, the role of prior mathematics knowledge, computer skill, and English language skill of the participants on their mathematics achievement and motivation when they played the games were investigated. A total of 193 students and 10 teachers from an urban high school in the southeast of the United States of the America participated in this study. The teachers were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Students' mathematics achievement was measured using school district benchmark exams and a game performance test generated by the developers of the mathematics games. A mathematics motivation questionnaire based on Keller's (1987a) ARCS model of motivational design measured students' mathematics motivation. Multivariate Analysis of Co-Variance (MANCOVA) was conducted to analyze the data. In addition, interviews were conducted to cross validate the results of the quantitative data. The MANCOVA results indicated significant improvement of the mathematics achievement of the experimental versus control group. No significant improvement was found in the motivation of the experimental versus control group. However, a significant improvement was found on the motivation scores of the students who played the games in their school lab and classrooms compared to the ones who played the games only in the school labs. In addition, the findings indicated that prior mathematics knowledge, computer skill and English language skill did not play significant roles in achievement and motivation of the experimental group. Teachers' interviews revealed that these individual differences had indeed played significant roles in game-playing at the beginning of using the games, but the impacts gradually diminished as the students gained the required game-playing skills. The overall results indicated that the mathematics games used in this study were effective teaching and learning tools to improve the mathematics skills of the students. Using the games in mathematics education was suggested by the teachers as an appropriate alternative way of teaching, as one of the teachers stated: "This is definitely the way that we have to go to teach mathematics in the future." Mathematics games should be integrated with classroom activities if teachers want to increase mathematics class motivation. Teachers' helps and supports are vital in using the games effectively in a population with different prior mathematics knowledge, computer skills, and English language skills.

Water is essential to life, but it is becoming inadequate, even in Europe. In central, western, and a few parts of northern and northeastern Europe, water availability is facing challenges due to the impacts of climate change. These impacts further cause strains on water abstractions needed for agriculture, industries, energy, and public water supply, as well as causing extreme weather conditions like droughts during the summer. One possibility is to reduce these issues by raising awareness among individuals of their direct and indirect water consumption. However, this study implies that people cannot visualize their water consumption due to not possessing or conveniently accessing their water meter. Thus, this thesis explores the implementation of gamification and its features using a prototype to observe if this can create motivation to educate individuals in reducing their water consumption. This study uses research through design approach centered around the mid-fidelity mobile application prototype, named SAVR, developed in the iterative design process. The iterative process consists of three phases where the participants are involved in evaluating the prototype containing gamification features. The results suggest that specific game features such as points, progress and feedback successfully engaged participants in using the prototype, consequently changing their attitude, and stimulating some awareness raised on their water consumption. Overall, this opens a scope for municipalities to adopt a gamified mobile application to communicate the importance of sustainable water use as well as educating the citizens of the awareness in a playful way.