Digital gambling is the fastest growing form of gambling in the world (Reilly & Smith, 2013a). Technological advancements continually increase access to gambling, which has led to increased social acceptance and uptake (Dragicevic & Tsogas, 2014) with Roulette being among the most popular games played both online and on Electronic Gaming Machines. In response, gambling stakeholders have drawn on the structural characteristics of gambling platforms to develop and improve Responsible Gambling (RG) devices for casual gamblers. Many RG data-tracking systems employ intuitive ‘traffic-light’ metaphors that enable gamblers to monitor their gambling (e.g. Wood & Griffiths, 2008), though uptake of voluntary RG devices is low (Schellinck & Schrans, 2011), leading to calls for mandatory RG systems. Another area that has received considerable RG research focus involves the use of pop-up messages (Auer & Griffiths, 2014). Studies have examined various message content, such as correcting erroneous beliefs, encouraging self-appraisal, gambling cessation, and the provision of personalised feedback. To date, findings have been inconsistent but promising. A shift towards the use of personalised information has become the preferred RG strategy, though message content and timing/frequency requires improvement (Griffiths, 2014). Moreover, warning messages are unable to provide continuous feedback to gamblers. In response to this, and calls for a ‘risk meter’ to improve monitoring of gambling behaviours (Wiebe & Philander, 2013), this thesis tested the impact of a risk meter alongside improved pop-up warning messages as RG devices for within-session roulette gambling. The thesis aimed to establish the optimal application of these devices for facilitating safer gambling behaviours. In support of the aims of RG research to evaluate the impact of devices on gambling attitudes and behaviours, the Elaboration Likelihood Model was identified as a suitable framework to test the proposed RG devices (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Both the interactive risk meter and pop-up messages were developed based on existing methods and recommendations in the RG literature, and examined via a series of laboratory-based roulette simulation experiments. Overall, results found the risk meter to be most effective when used as an interactive probability meter. Self-appraisal/Informative pop-up warnings were examined alongside expenditure-specific and hyrbid warnings. Findings showed that hybrid messages containing both types of information to be most effective, with optimal display points at 75%, 50%, 25% and 10% of remaining gambling credit. The final study tested both optimised devices (probability meter and hybrid messages). Results showed that using both RG devices in combination was most effective in facilitating reduced gambling risk and early within-session gambling cessation. Findings support the use of personalised, interactive RG devices using accurate context-specific information for the facilitation of safer gambling. The ELM was shown to be an effective model for testing RG devices, though findings suggested only temporary shifts in attitude change and a lack of impact on future gambling intentions. Overall, support for the implementation of RG devices that facilitate positive, temporary behaviour change that do not negatively impact on broader gambling attitudes or gambling enjoyment. Implications for theory, implementation, and RG frameworks are discussed, alongside recommendations for future research.

Adult online gaming is a fast-growing global entertainment industry, and many gamers spend more time playing games and less time engaging in work or other activities, which negatively affects their lives and relationships. This quantitative study addressed how psychological needs and gaming motivation predicted gaming behavior, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction using a mediational model. The theoretical foundation was self-determination theory, which addresses how personal choices are influenced by internal factors, especially psychological needs and motivation. An online survey was used to collect self-reported data from a convenience sample of 935 adult gaming participants using the Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale, the Gaming Motivation Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and a short demographic questionnaire. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated gaming motivation was a significant mediator of life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. However, gaming motivation was not a significant mediator of gaming behavior. Findings of this study indicate that for online gamers, quality of life (life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction) is enhanced when gaming motivation is high, suggesting that joy of gaming can positively influence other aspects of life, when psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are positive as well.

Cross-media games are evolving as a new exciting platform for gaming where different devices are used to create a type of game play were a variant of devices, such as mobile phones and laptops are used. This thesis investigates the possibility of merging cross-media games into the domain of Mobile Learning to create a type of mobile learning game where collaboration becomes a vital part of the game play and style enhances collaboration between the users. By studying cross-media games, key features are captured and converted into requirements that are realised in a prototype that enables cross-media gaming with the intention of creating an environment in which learning could be supported. The development process of the prototype is described and evaluated in the thesis. The result presents a categorization of the key features for cross-media gaming and a prototype of a cross-media game. The thesis investigates which are the key technical features for creating cross-medial games for learning that can be identified for supporting the development process? The results presents a categorization of identified features along with potential future work based on the thesis. It is shown that features related to data sharing are highly prioritized and that certain features are absolutely required to enable cross-media gaming whilst others have less priority.

The aim of this degree thesis is to see what research says about the use of computer and video games to support upper elementary pupils’ development in English reading comprehension in Swedish schools. Other goals are to see how online and offline gaming can be integrated in the Swedish schools and what attitudes teachers have towards gaming. The method used is a systematic literature review and the purpose is to analyze chosen articles and to find relevant content that answers the research questions. Five articles were chosen from different databases and were systematically analyzed in this thesis. The results show that online gaming as support for education can be rewarding for some upper elementary pupils in English learning. However, in English reading comprehension there is not much research found which means that more research needs to be made within this area. Moreover, involving online gaming in English language learning seems to be a challenge for teachers mostly because of their lack of knowledge about the subject, even though they are positive to gaming. The lack of knowledge about the subject could be altered with more education and courses in the area.

In the recent years, cloud services are dominating the internet world. Streaming video content is drastically increased. This trend created a way for the cloud gaming industry. Gaming Anywhere is one such an open source cloud gaming system designed specifically for gaming users to experience high-quality gaming while eliminating the burden of upgrading hardware or software whenever the gaming system becomes outdated. Gaming Anywhere client can stream the desired game from a remote server with high-quality resolution and fps. Gaming Anywhere launches almost all type of games as per the request of the client. In this paper, the performance of a Gaming Anywhere server is evaluated in a virtual windows environment. Performance is categorically divided into two types. One is server metrics and the other is power consumption. Server metrics deals with CPU utilization, GPU utilization and multi-player capability. Power consumption deals with the CPU power usage of a virtual machine. The main aim of this paper is to conduct measurement studies on Gaming Anywhere server in two virtual implementation kits, VMware and VirtualBox, using monitoring tools. The analysis of the outcome is evaluated against the Gaming Anywhere physical server.

abstract: This research is focused on competitive female video gamers. This study focuses on a specific group of competitive female gamers who participate in an all female online community group or clan known as the PMSclan. The purpose of the study is to analyze the highly competitive female video gaming clan members of the PMSclan in order to understand how resistance is displayed in a female centered video gaming community and how that affects the identity of the individual gamers through Shaw's (2001) theory of resistance. This study employs qualitative research design and uses content analysis of publicly available clan doctrines and member blogs through the PMSclan website. Findings indicate that collective acts of resistance lead to individual acts of resistance which can be seen through self-expression, self-determination, and empowerment. These acts of resistance have a positive impact on female gamers with outcomes of strength and power which can be displayed in a typically masculine society. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Recreation and Tourism Studies 2013

The last ten years, online multiplayer games have become very popular. During the same time period mobile terminals and cellular networks have undergone a tremendous technical evolution. Therefore it is natural to wonder why we have not seen an online mobile multiplayer gaming revolution yet. The answer to this question is of great value for companies selling mobile systems. This answer is important in order to understand how to fill up today’s empty networks with traffic and what kind of traffic these games will generate. This thesis is a continuation of Mattias Åkervik’s thesis. It gives the reader an understanding of what kind of wireless technologies are on the market today and how they perform. Given this performance background, some suitable games were chosen to examine how they perform over a particular cellular network and to determine the perceived gaming quality that a user experience. The thesis also examines the particular packet traffic characteristics generated by these games to gain a better understanding of how to better adapt cellular networks towards gaming. Finally the market will be analyzed. Not only how large this potential market is, but to examine if there are some market issues preventing the revolution in network cellular on-line multiplayer games. / De senaste tio åren har multiplayer gaming blivit väldigt populärt. Under samma tidsperiod har cellulära terminaler och de mobile nätverken genomgått en stor teknisk evolution. Därför kan man undra varför inte mobile multiplayer gaming har slagit igenom än. Svaret på denna fåga är värdefullt för föreatag som säljer mobila system, men även mobiloperatörerna, dådet kan ge en hint hur man bättre kan fylla ut dagens tomma 3G system med trafik. Detta examensarbete är en fortsättning på Mattias Åkerviks arbete. Det ger läsaren en förståelse i dagens trådlösa teknologier och vad de kan prestera. Med detta i bagaget kommer ett antal spel undersökas och hur deras spelupplevelse influeras av begräsningarna som de mobila nätverken har. Arbetet kommer också att behandla vilken trafik dessa spel genererar, då detta kan ge en bättre förståelse i hur man kan anpassa nätverken i ett gamingsyfte. Slutligen kommer marknaden att analyseras. Inte bara det potentiella värdet av gamingmarknaden, men även om det finns några marknadsstrukturella orsaker som bromsar utvecklingen av mobila multiplayer spel.

The professional scene of Esports got its humble start in the 1990’s, when the first tournaments for various games were hosted (McLeod, Xue & Newman, 2022). The number of professional players has increased dramatically until today. How the market for these professional players works as a labour market in today's society is relatively unknown. However, what is known is that this labour market stands out in regard to the small number of female workers it houses (Ratan et al., 2021). This is especially true for the game “League of Legends”, which has a particularly small number of women, even by Esports-standards1. With the purpose of finding the origin of this fact, I have conducted a survey measuring the skill of the players as well as their tendencies towards sexism. The survey results showed that sexism does increase with skill. This measured sexism is on average higher among better players. This could indicate that sexism is acting as a barrier for women to enter the professional scene and that this could be one of the causes of why there is a lack of female players in League of Legends.

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Vad är det som gör att en miljon människor lägger tid på att streama datorspel? Live streaming har funnits sedan 1920-talet, då i form av musik i hissar. På 1990-talet började hemdatorer utvecklas hårdvarumässigt tillräckligt för att kunna streama film och ljud. Med en kvalitativ enkät publicerad på nätet undersöker vi i den här uppsatsen varför en miljon personer idag väljer att streama när de spelar dator eller tv spel. Resultat vi kommer fram till är ett antal kategorier med olika motiveringar till varför en person väljer att dela med sig av sina spelupplevelser till andra.