Den här rapporten är ett resultat av ett examensarbete som är utfört på institutionen för teknik- och naturvetenskap vid Linköpings universitet inom civilingenjörsutbildningen medieteknik i Norrköping. Rapporten är på teknisk kandidatnivå. Examensarbetet utfördes på det uppmärksammade spelföretaget Proactive Gaming i Norrköping där uppdraget var att skapa ett webbaserat spel med modern teknik till papperstillverkaren Holmen. Holmen ville använda sig av spelet i marknadsföringssyfte för deras nya papper Holmen View. Rapporten tar upp hur det webbaserade spelet utformas rent tekniskt med HTML5, Canvas-element och KineticJS. Inspiration till spellogiken hämtades från X-COM: Enemy Unkown, Civilization-serien, Tiny Towers och Game Dev Story. Spelet är ett realtidsstrategispel inom spelifiering och handlar om att användaren är chef över ett tidningsförlag och ska försöka tjäna pengar genom att sälja sin tidning till så många läsare som möjligt genom en balans mellan att investera i journalister, forskning och de anställdas gladhet. Under utvecklingen av spelet så användes utvecklingsmetodiker som vattenfallsmetoden och agila metodiker. Ett mindre användbarhetstest gjordes för att försäkra sig om produktens kvalité. Slutprodukten blev ett roligt spel som Holmen kan visa upp på mässor för att skapa intresse för företaget och pappersindustrin.

In this study we examine how much latency is required in an RTS-game (Real-Time Strategy) before the player quits the game. In the study latency is simulated in the games Age of Mythology and Starcraft: Brood War with the program WANem, and then the testplayers are asked “Do you want to quit because of latency?”. This data is then gathered and compiled into graphs to show the results. These results show that the limit for when players want to quit differs between the two games and that there are two factors that play into this. These factors are mainly the games mechanic, how the game is played, and how the game itself handles the latency. The results show that the limit for when players want to quit in Age of Mythology lies around 1000 ms, while in Starcraft: Brood War the limit is around 600 ms. / I denna studie undersöks det hur hög latency som krävs i ett RTS-spel (RealtidsStrategi) innan spelaren avslutar spelet. I studien simuleras latency i spelen Age of Mythology och Starcraft: Brood War med hjälp av programmet WANem, därefter får testpersonerna följande fråga ställda till sig: “Vill du sluta spela på grund av latency?”, denna data samlas sedan in och kompileras till grafer för att kunna visa resultaten. Resultaten som studien får fram är att gränsen skiljer sig mellan spelen och att det finns två faktorer som bidrar till detta, faktorerna är Spelets mekanik och Hur spelet hanterar latency. De siffror som studien har fått fram är att gränsen i Age of Mythology ligger på cirka 1000 ms medan gränsen i Starcraft: Brood War ligger på cirka 600 ms.

Spotify wants to explore the possibilities of social gaming within their desktop client. Thanks to their Spotify Apps API it is possible to build applications that integrate with the Spotify library while using modern web technologies. This thesis work consists of exploring what is possible using the Spotify App API and the most modern web technologies available. The main theme and goal of the Spotify App is to engage users in a social context. Creating a quiz application, which users can play along with using their smartphones, does this. This is targeted towards people being in the same room, sharing the experience. There is also a focus on usability and both group discussions and think-aloud interviews have been conducted regarding the development and design of the product.

Counter-Strike has established itself as one of the most popular computer gaming phenomenon the last decade with a major online community and loyal fan base. Within the world of e-sports it has also become one of the most lucrative games to compete in. In order to keep up with the competition it has always been important to use the best hardware available for the task. This thesis is about these tools that gamers use to play - gaming gear - and how pro gamers train to increase their chances of winning. We investigate various factors that might be important in their choice of gaming gear when they play, and how they train to use these artifacts more efficiently to get maximum performance. We have interviewed eight pro gamers about their thoughts on gaming gear, and the results show that aim and the choice of mice are the most important ingredients to a successful round. / Counter-Strike har etablerat sig som ett av det mest populära datorspelsfenomenet det senaste decenniet med en stor onlinecommunity och lojal fanbase. Inom e-sportvärlden har det också blivit bland det mest lukrativa spelet att tävla i. För att kunna hålla jämna steg med konkurrensen har det som spelare alltid vart viktigt att använda bästa möjliga hårdvara. Denna uppsats handlar om dessa verktyg spelare använder – gaming gear – och hur pro gamers tränar för att öka deras vinstchanser. Vi undersöker faktorer som kan vara viktiga för deras val av gaming gear, och hur de tränar för att använda dessa artefakter bättre. Vi har intervjuat åtta pro gamers om deras tankar kring detta, och resultaten visar att aim och deras val av möss är det viktigaste för en lyckad runda.

Cloud computing is a set of technologies that provide efficient and effective usage of information technology resources. The application of cloud computing in games is a new market that is currently growing. Applying cloud computing to games results in a new gaming platform for the users, referred to as cloud gaming. This new platform has a set of different features that affect the user acceptance of this new platform. Problem There is a lack of understanding on how the users perceive cloud gaming. Investigat-ing the factors that affect the users' acceptance of cloud gaming is crucial in deter-mining the future of this new platform. A lack of awareness regarding these factors may lead to the users‟ rejecting the new technology.

Denna undersökning syftar till att studera förhållandet mellan ljud, bild och spelare i en TV- och datorspelssituation. Med hjälp av fokusgruppdiskussioner berörs frågor på det audiovisuella området, där deltagarna är aktiva spelare som har tillryggalagt ett mycket stort antal speltimmar som de bygger sina kunskaper på. Här framkommer att ljud och musik fyller viktiga funktioner för spelarens möjlighet att interagera och leva sig in i spelet och att varje spel har en unik ljud- eller musikmiljö som spelarna tycks förhålla sig till på olika sätt beroende på varför man spelar och om man spelar ensam eller tillsammans med andra, det vill säga singelplayer eller multiplayer. Informanternas kunskaper utgör styrkan i denna undersökning men det vore önskvärt att utöka studien med fler fokusgruppdiskussioner samt djupintervjuer med utvalda informanter för att fördjupa materialet. Som förslag på vidare forskning vore det intressant att studera användandet av virtuella headsets där en stereoskopisk 3D bild skapas som spårar huvudets rörelser, för att undersöka om detta kan ha en inverkan på hur vi uppfattar ljudet i ett spel.

Movement-based games are becoming more frequent in everyday lives. With easier access to webcams built into laptops and web-based games, a game which utilises both concepts can become a good option for everyday gaming.This study evaluates a movement-based game written in JavaScript using phaser.io which uses a webcam for control and HTML5 technique for capture. The main questions in the study are what observations can be done and are there any problems when developing a game with webcam-based motion-detection in regards to factors like flow, feedback and positioning. This study tries to answer these questions by building upon an existing game and implementing new functions and feedback and then observing how these effect the game-play. The results of the study showed that it is important to consider good feedback and how to position oneself when playing such a game and that more testing should be done to gain further knowledge about these two. But also that many of the implementations done made the person achieve flow while playing. Further work should be beneficial also to make the game even better while keeping it easy to play.

This study explored the relationship between people who play massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) and their avatars, as well as the impact on players’ self-esteem and perceived social capital in the real world. To examine these influences of online video gameplay, this research investigated gamers who play the popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft (WoW). This study employed an online survey made available on Reddit, a widely-used news, entertainment, and social-networking website, in which all the content is user-generated. The research questionnaire was intended to reveal the bond between MMORPG players and their avatars; the study examined how this relationship could influence MMORPG players’ confidence in themselves and advance their network of relationships in the real world. The strength of the WoW players’ identification with their avatar did have some impact on their self-esteem in the real world; however, there was no significant relationship between avatar self-identification and perceived social capital in the real world. Additionally, this research did reveal a substantial correlation between self-esteem and perceived social capital in the real world.

This study sought to determine if time spent engaging in online gaming, interpersonal communication skills, and introvert personality traits are predictors of an individual’s likelihood of experiencing symptoms of social anxiety. A sample of 128 participants (82 males and 46 females) completed measures of demographics, interpersonal communication skills, problematic online gaming, social anxiety, and introversion. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. There were significant correlations among social anxiety and interpersonal communication skills, problematic online gaming, and introversion. There was no significant correlation among social anxiety and time spent playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), a specific form of online video game. It was also found that interpersonal communication skills, problematic online gaming, and introversion were all significant predictors of social anxiety. However, time spent playing MMORPGs was not a significant predictor of social anxiety.

The understanding and conceptualization of cities and its constituent systems such as transportation and healthcare as open and complex is shifting the debates around the technical and communicative rationales of planning. Viewing cities in a holistic manner presents methodological challenges, where our understanding of complexity is applied in a tangible fashion to planning processes. Bridging the two rationales in the tools and methodologies of planning is necessary for the emergence of a 'non-linear rationality' of planning, one that accounts for and is premised upon complexity. Simulations representing complex systems provide evidence and support for planning, and have the potential to serve as an interface between the more abstract and political decision making and the material city systems. Moving beyond current planning methods, this thesis explores the role of simulations in planning. Recognizing the need for holistic representations, the thesis integrates multiple disparate simulations into a holistic whole achieving complex representations of systems. These representations are then applied and studied in an interactive environment to address planning problems in different contexts. The thesis contributes an approach towards the development of complex representations of systems; improvements on participatory methods to integrate computational simulations; a nuanced understanding of the relative value of simulation constructs; technologies and frameworks that facilitate the easy development of integrated simulations that can support participatory planning processes. The thesis develops contributions through experiments which involved problems and stakeholders from real world systems. The approach towards development of integrated simulations is realized in an open source framework. The framework creates computationally efficient, scalable and interactive simulations of complex systems, which used in a participatory manner delivers tangible plans and designs. / <p>QC 20170602</p>