This thesis examines the motives of play amongst girl gamers aged nine to seventeen. It focuses on the players of the game Star Stable Online also referred to as a ‘pink’ game. It is an empirical study, using a mixed method design. The study is split into two parts and the results from part two were used to support the results from part one. In the first part of the study, quantitative data was collected through an online survey using a closed card sorting method. The survey was complemented with open and closed questions, which also gave the form a qualitative element. The second part of the study was purely qualitative, consisting of an artwork study where the method resembles arts-based elicitation. The girls were requested to send in artwork depicting the thing they love the most in the game or something they would love to have. The images were then put through thematic analysis and the outcome was compared with the data collected in the survey. The results showed that girls chose to play Star Stable Online due to their interest in horses as well as to immerse themselves in its story and narrative.

abstract: This study purposed to determine the effect of an endogenously designed instructional game on conceptual understanding of the associative and distributive properties of multiplication. Additional this study sought to investigate if performance on measures of conceptual understanding taken prior to and after game play could serve as predictors of game performance. Three versions of an instructional game, Shipping Express, were designed for the purposes of this study. The endogenous version of Shipping Express integrated the associative and distributive properties of multiplication within the mechanics, while the exogenous version had the instructional content separate from game play. A total of 111 fourth and fifth graders were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (endogenous, exogenous, and control) and completed pre and posttest measures of conceptual understanding of the associative and distributive properties of multiplication, along with a questionnaire. The results revealed several significant results: 1) there was a significant difference between participants' change in scores on the measure of conceptual understanding of the associative property of multiplication, based on the version of Shipping Express they played. Participants who played the endogenous version of Shipping Express had on average higher gains in scores on the measure of conceptual understanding of the associative property of multiplication than those who played the other versions of Shipping Express; 2) performance on the measures of conceptual understanding of the distributive property collected prior to game play were related to performance within the endogenous game environment; and 3) participants who played the control version of Shipping Express were on average more likely to have a negative attitude towards continuing game play on their own compared to the other versions of the game. No significant differences were found in regards to changes in scores on the measure of conceptual understanding of the distributive property based on the version of Shipping Express played, post hoc pairwise comparisons, and changes on scores on question types within the conceptual understanding of the associative and distributive property of multiplication measures. The findings from this study provide some support for a move towards the design and development of endogenous instructional games. Additional implications for the learning through digital game play and future research directions are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Technology 2012

Com a disseminação das tecnologias interativas, a crescente produção e o consumo de jogos digitais mudou a forma como as pessoas se divertem, se relacionam e adquirem conhecimentos. Reconhecidos como um dos principais produtos da indústria criativa, os jogos têm a capacidade, não só de entreter, mas de educar e ensinar de uma forma envolvente e prazerosa. O principal desafio, no entanto, encontra-se na construção desses jogos. Os títulos produzidos pela indústria do entretenimento não tem a preocupação de proporcionar qualquer tipo de aprendizado, enquanto que aqueles voltados ao ensino carecem de um formato mais atraente e sedutor. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa busca analisar esse paradigma, identificando as potencialidades e deficiências de ambos os perfis de games, e apontar diretrizes de projeto para o design e produção de jogos, que possam aliar o foco instrucional ao formato sedutor. / With interactive technologies dissemination, the growing of videogames production and consuming changed the way of interpersonal relationships and they acquisition of knowledge. Recognized as one of main products from creative industry, videogames have the power of educate and teach in an immersive and pleasurable way. The main challenge, however, resides in the construction of these games. The top titles produced by entertainment industry don’t care about any kind of learning. In other hand, learning videogames, lack an attractive a seductive shape. In this context, the current research seeks to analyze this paradigm, identifying the potentialities and deficiencies of both kinds of games, determining project guidelines for videogames design and production, allying the educational focus to the seductive format.

This research project explores how we can apply Emerging Design Landscapes such as Critical Design and Collective Creativity, in combination with traditional fields of visual communication to address societal challenges in cooperation with society. In particular, this paper aims to question the visual representation of nuclear warfare, and how we could utilize Peircean Semiotics to better understand set representation. The design outcome is a critical board game that at its core aims to create a discussion around the visual representation of nuclear warfare today and act as a learning platform that would help its user better understand the practice of semiosis.

Esta dissertação se inscreve em estudos das tecnologias da informação e comunicação e suas relações com os campos da educação e da saúde. O estudo toma por objeto os movimentos de um grupo de pesquisa na constituição de um jogo locativo a ser utilizado no Jardim Botânico de Porto Alegre. Foram cartografadas as controvérsias e os impasses que se apresentaram no desafio de desenvolver um jogo locativo articulando um espaço virtual com o espaço concreto do Jardim Botânico. Para este jogo foi utilizada a plataforma ARIS, uma ferramenta para produção de jogos locativos para serem usados exclusivamente em dispositivos móveis. O conceito de política cognitiva é desenvolvido no texto de forma a contribuir com a análise da cartografia a partir de um entendimento produtivo das teorias sobre cognição. Com este estudo busca-se contribuir para pensar o design de jogos e o seu estudo com objetivos voltados à aprendizagem, através de uma análise das políticas cognitivas envolvidas nos processos de produção e da forma com que se atualizam em controvérsias. Percebemos que o encontro entre as propostas político-teóricas e as possibilidades técnicas de produção do jogo gera diferentes controvérsias que demonstram que a construção de jogos, assim como a aplicação de teorias sobre aprendizagem são negociadas em um coletivo de humanos e não-humanos. Verificamos que os jogos desenvolvidos a partir de uma determinada forma ou determinada teoria possibilitam e produzem relações específicas e as ferramentas utilizadas para a sua produção têm esta mesma agência. / This dissertation is part of the studies about information and communication technologies and their relationship to the fields of education and health. The study takes as its object the movements of a research group in the development of a locative game to be used in the Botanical Garden of Porto Alegre. We mapped the controversies and dilemmas that were presented in the challenge of developing a locative game combining a virtual space with the concrete space of the Botanic Garden. For this game the ARIS platform was used, it is a tool for production of locative games to be used exclusively on mobile devices. The concept of cognitive politics is developed in the text in order to contribute to the analysis of the cartography from a productive understanding of theories of cognition. With this study we seek to contribute to thinking game design and its study with goals focused on learning, through an analysis of the cognitive politics involved in the design process and the way they are performed in controversies. We noticed that the encounter between the political-theoretical proposals and the technical possibilities of game production generates different controversies, that demonstrate that building games as well as the application of theories of learning are negotiated in a collective of humans and non-humans. We found that games developed in a particular form or based on a particular theory allow and produce specific relationships and the tools used to produce them have this same agency.

Submitted by NICHOLAS BRUGGNER GRASSI null (nicobgrassi@gmail.com) on 2016-03-26T22:57:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 A GAMIFICACAO COMO RECURSO ESTRATEGICO PARA INTERATIVIDADE ENTRE MIDIAS DIGITAIS E USUARIOS.pdf: 3137460 bytes, checksum: 28fb1144550bd5e0c0cdad725235b38b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-03-28T17:09:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 grassi_nb_me_bauru.pdf: 3137460 bytes, checksum: 28fb1144550bd5e0c0cdad725235b38b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-28T17:09:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 grassi_nb_me_bauru.pdf: 3137460 bytes, checksum: 28fb1144550bd5e0c0cdad725235b38b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-18 / A rápida ascensão da tecnologia e a transição para as mídias digitais trazem consigo certas dificuldades de adaptação. Essa “corrida digital” pode criar produtos com design confuso e que muitas vezes não agradam seu público-alvo. Nesse contexto, novas estratégias estão surgindo com o intuito de auxiliar essas mídias a serem mais colaborativas, interativas, intuitivas e divertidas. Um dos recursos que tem ganhado destaque é a gamificação, que propõe o uso de elementos de jogos em contextos não jogos. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a relevância da gamificação como estratégia para facilitar a interatividade entre os usuários e as mídias digitais, observando aplicações e fazendo uma pesquisa exploratória para identificar se os usuários de mídias digitais podem se beneficiar com o uso da gamificação. Para isso são apresentados os conceitos desse método: como aplicar, quando aplicar, além de sua história e origem nas mídias digitais e educação. Por último, este trabalho estuda alguns casos para identificar as técnicas de game design utilizadas com o intuito de facilitar a aplicação da gamificação nas mídias digitais, para que designers, professores ou qualquer desenvolvedor que opte pela gamificação como estratégia, entenda como aplicá-la de forma eficiente. / The fast rise of technology and the transition to digital media brings with it several adaptation difficulties. This "digital rush" generally creates products with confusing design which usually do not please the general public. So, new strategies are emerging in order to assist these media to be more collaborative, interactive, intuitive and fun. One of the features that have gained prominence is gamification, which suggests the use of game elements in non-gaming circumstances. This work aims to analyze the relevance of gamification as a strategy to facilitate interactivity between users and digital media, noting applications and making an exploratory study to identify whether users of digital media can take advantage of gamification or not. Therefore, the general concepts of this method are: how to apply, when to apply, as well as its history and origin in digital media and education. Finally, this paper studies some cases to identify game design techniques used in order to facilitate the application of gamification in digital media so that designers , teachers or any developer who opt for gamification as a strategy, understand how to apply it efficiently.

abstract: Game design and product design are natural partners. They use similar tools. They reach the same users. They even share the same goal: to provide great user experiences. This thesis asks, "Can game design build better product learning experiences, and if so, how?" It examines the learning situations created by and necessary for product design. It examines the principles of game learning. Then it looks for opportunities to apply game learning principles to product learning situations. The goal is to create engaging and successful product learning experiences, without turning products into games. This study uses an auto-ethnographic evaluation of a gameplay session as well as participant observation and interviews with gamers to gather qualitative data. That data is sorted with an A(x4) framework and used to create user experience profiles. The final outcome is a toolkit that identifies areas where game design could improve the design of product user experiences, especially for product learning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Design 2016

Submitted by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2017-06-27T23:28:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Angelo Marcos Machado Publio.pdf: 3646281 bytes, checksum: 13a72cc6f7ed8d4aecce20d70759b376 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2017-07-05T22:26:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Angelo Marcos Machado Publio.pdf: 3646281 bytes, checksum: 13a72cc6f7ed8d4aecce20d70759b376 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2017-07-07T18:30:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Angelo Marcos Machado Publio.pdf: 3646281 bytes, checksum: 13a72cc6f7ed8d4aecce20d70759b376 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-07T18:32:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Angelo Marcos Machado Publio.pdf: 3646281 bytes, checksum: 13a72cc6f7ed8d4aecce20d70759b376 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-20 / Men have a close relationship with games and are known to have, each, their particular ways of playing (observer, competitive, entertaining etc.), which can establish different types of players. While analog games are held in predetermined places and times, in the virtual world they reach a geographic scope and can be played in both synchronous and asynchronous forms, acquiring a strong presence in everyday life and being even practiced between so-called “serious activities”. The presence of games in our daily life is driven by gadgets and screens always connected to the Internet, which contributes to the systems and applications to adopt game elements in contexts considered inapt for play – the gamefication. While games are considered free activities, these gamefied systems can be practiced with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Thus, gamefication may also be understood as a precondition for application in websites. This project reports a theoretical discussion and the proposal of defining the Play-Driven Design model, which allows content websites to propitiate meaningful experiences and engagement of their personas. / Os homens têm uma relação estreita com os jogos e são conhecidos por ter suas maneiras específicas de jogar (observadora, competitiva, divertida etc.), o que pode definir diferentes tipos de jogadores. Enquanto os jogos analógicos são realizados em locais e horários predeterminados, no mundo virtual eles alcançam uma amplitude geográfica e podem ser jogados tanto em formas síncronas como assíncronas, conquistando forte presença na vida cotidiana e sendo, inclusive, praticados entre as chamadas "atividades sérias". A assiduidade de jogos em nossa vida diária é impulsionada por gadgets e telas sempre conectadas à Internet, o que contribui para que os sistemas e aplicações adotem elementos de jogo em contextos considerados não jogáveis – a gamificação. Enquanto os jogos são considerados atividades livres, estes sistemas gamificados podem ser praticados por motivações tanto intrínsecas quanto extrínsecas. Assim, a gamificação pode também ser entendida como uma condição prévia para a aplicação em websites. O presente projeto relata uma discussão teórica e a proposta de definir o modelo Play-Driven Design, o qual possibilita que websites de conteúdo propiciem experiências significativas e o engajamento de suas personas.

Com a disseminação das tecnologias interativas, a crescente produção e o consumo de jogos digitais mudou a forma como as pessoas se divertem, se relacionam e adquirem conhecimentos. Reconhecidos como um dos principais produtos da indústria criativa, os jogos têm a capacidade, não só de entreter, mas de educar e ensinar de uma forma envolvente e prazerosa. O principal desafio, no entanto, encontra-se na construção desses jogos. Os títulos produzidos pela indústria do entretenimento não tem a preocupação de proporcionar qualquer tipo de aprendizado, enquanto que aqueles voltados ao ensino carecem de um formato mais atraente e sedutor. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa busca analisar esse paradigma, identificando as potencialidades e deficiências de ambos os perfis de games, e apontar diretrizes de projeto para o design e produção de jogos, que possam aliar o foco instrucional ao formato sedutor. / With interactive technologies dissemination, the growing of videogames production and consuming changed the way of interpersonal relationships and they acquisition of knowledge. Recognized as one of main products from creative industry, videogames have the power of educate and teach in an immersive and pleasurable way. The main challenge, however, resides in the construction of these games. The top titles produced by entertainment industry don’t care about any kind of learning. In other hand, learning videogames, lack an attractive a seductive shape. In this context, the current research seeks to analyze this paradigm, identifying the potentialities and deficiencies of both kinds of games, determining project guidelines for videogames design and production, allying the educational focus to the seductive format.

Esta dissertação se inscreve em estudos das tecnologias da informação e comunicação e suas relações com os campos da educação e da saúde. O estudo toma por objeto os movimentos de um grupo de pesquisa na constituição de um jogo locativo a ser utilizado no Jardim Botânico de Porto Alegre. Foram cartografadas as controvérsias e os impasses que se apresentaram no desafio de desenvolver um jogo locativo articulando um espaço virtual com o espaço concreto do Jardim Botânico. Para este jogo foi utilizada a plataforma ARIS, uma ferramenta para produção de jogos locativos para serem usados exclusivamente em dispositivos móveis. O conceito de política cognitiva é desenvolvido no texto de forma a contribuir com a análise da cartografia a partir de um entendimento produtivo das teorias sobre cognição. Com este estudo busca-se contribuir para pensar o design de jogos e o seu estudo com objetivos voltados à aprendizagem, através de uma análise das políticas cognitivas envolvidas nos processos de produção e da forma com que se atualizam em controvérsias. Percebemos que o encontro entre as propostas político-teóricas e as possibilidades técnicas de produção do jogo gera diferentes controvérsias que demonstram que a construção de jogos, assim como a aplicação de teorias sobre aprendizagem são negociadas em um coletivo de humanos e não-humanos. Verificamos que os jogos desenvolvidos a partir de uma determinada forma ou determinada teoria possibilitam e produzem relações específicas e as ferramentas utilizadas para a sua produção têm esta mesma agência. / This dissertation is part of the studies about information and communication technologies and their relationship to the fields of education and health. The study takes as its object the movements of a research group in the development of a locative game to be used in the Botanical Garden of Porto Alegre. We mapped the controversies and dilemmas that were presented in the challenge of developing a locative game combining a virtual space with the concrete space of the Botanic Garden. For this game the ARIS platform was used, it is a tool for production of locative games to be used exclusively on mobile devices. The concept of cognitive politics is developed in the text in order to contribute to the analysis of the cartography from a productive understanding of theories of cognition. With this study we seek to contribute to thinking game design and its study with goals focused on learning, through an analysis of the cognitive politics involved in the design process and the way they are performed in controversies. We noticed that the encounter between the political-theoretical proposals and the technical possibilities of game production generates different controversies, that demonstrate that building games as well as the application of theories of learning are negotiated in a collective of humans and non-humans. We found that games developed in a particular form or based on a particular theory allow and produce specific relationships and the tools used to produce them have this same agency.