Non-Player Character (NPC) believability is a game aspect that can be exploited to increase a game's replayability, but little research has been conducted on the topic. One method for enhancing a NPC's believability is to integrate human-like behaviours into their design, so that they react to players in a realistic and interesting way. A large part of human behaviour can be explained by their emotions; therefore it was selected as the inspiration for the GLaDOS system. Two psychological theories of emotion, Lazarus's cognitive appraisal and Plutchik's psycho-evolutionary synthesis, guided the design of the GLaDOS system, although several components are not unique to these theories. An implementation of the design was created as a "mod" for the popular CRPG "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" to test its feasibility within the context of a commercial game. This task required an additional psychological model, PAD space, to map appraisal values to emotion codes and intensities. Feasibility testing was done via a user study to determine if the GLaDOS system increases player engagement when compared to the original game. While the objective analysis found that there were no significant differences between the two versions, subjective participant responses expressed a strong affinity for the GLaDOS system. Since player engagement is inherently subjective, it is encouraging to see positive responses from participants. This indicates that the GLaDOS system, and NPC believability in general, is one aspect of video games that has the potential to increase a game's replayability and should be investigated further. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Realistic video game characters are a desirable game component to increase a game's value. Even if the game's ending does not change, realistic character behaviours encourage players to replay a game multiple times to see what happens along the way. This is closer to tabletop games where players know the game's outcome, but still play because no two sessions are alike. Despite its advantages, few developments have been made towards realistic game characters. An easily recognizable factor of human decision-making and behaviour is emotion and integrating emotion into character design is one way to improve their realism. The GLaDOS system is a proof-of-concept product that incorporates psychological models of emotion into its design. To test its impact on player engagement, the system was implemented as an extension for the popular computer game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim". Preliminary test results are promising and show that further development could prove fruitful.

In this thesis I analyse the reward systems of cooperative and competitive Multiplayer games – the games I have chosen were built for a Single-player campaign with Multiplayer as additional content. My main focus is on the Multiplayer and the reward systems of that game mode. The reward systems are important to consider when designing a game for fans of Multiplayer games, as a faulty reward system might hinder the aspect which makes Multiplayer games special – to be playing together and go for the same goals with other people whether it is of a competitive or cooperative nature.The games I research are as recent as they were first released in 2012. These games are Kid Icarus: Uprising and Resident Evil: Revelations – the latter receiving a port to the HD consoles in 2013. The games were primary made for a single-player experience and therefore may not be fully implemented to support social needs of a Multiplayer game.To do my research I have played and tested the reward systems of the games myself and analysed how they may influence player behaviour and what effects that may have on the Multiplayer experience.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.

No description available.

The aim of this study was to investigate how timing training by Interactive Metronome ® (IM) affects motor timing and rhythmicity in soccer players. Twenty-four female soccer players (age 19 ± 2.8) participated, and were randomly assigned to either a control or an IM training group. All participants took part in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session before the start of the training period, to find out what brain areas are activated during different tempos. The fMRI outcomes indicate that some of the active areas are the inferior parietal cortex (BA 40), frontal/SMA and precentral cortex and postcentral (BA 6) and inferior frontal cortex (BA 45). Pre- and post-measurements of motor timing deviation and variability was made. The result shows that after four week of IM training a significant improvement of motor timing was found for the IM group in comparison to the control group. The findings indicate that timing training can improve timing ability in healthy sport perpetrators.

This paper explores the value of attending college to Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players in terms of future success in the NBA. Future success is measured by both salary and minutes played per game. A dataset of 660 athletes from the 2006 through 2016 drafts was collected from Basketball-Reference. An empirical model is estimated using this data in order to identify the determinant factors in a player’s success in the NBA. It is found that college is not a determinant of success in the NBA.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

The project to design a CD transport (CD player) in conjunction with Perreaux Industries came about from the need for a source component in their Silhouette series of products. This project describes the design a high quality CD player, at a low price, to compliment Perreaux's Silhouette series. A CD drive is selected over a proprietary optical pickup due to the former's low cost and the standardisation of the interface. The control circuitry includes a micro controller and discrete logic to provide the correct data and clock signals to the SPDIF transmitter and DAC circuits. These two circuits provided a high quality analogue output, and facilitate an upgrade path by connecting the SPDIF output to an external DAC. After three board iterations, a final production ready revision was achieved. The design includes a high quality toroidal transformer, low jitter crystal oscillator, and a very high quality SPDIF pulse transformer output. The design also allows a remote input to control the player, and an optional digital cable via an RJ45 connector to provide synchronisation with a future design of the SXD2 DAC module, or to transmit SPDIF to a remote location. The specifications of the final design were higher than expectations. The digital output boasts equal or superior performance to competitive products in the same price range, with the analogue output attaining exceptionally high performance.

<p>Player Piano, published in 1952, primarily deals with the theme of men, or masculinities, made redundant by technological advance. This theme has in more recent years been highlighted by, for instance, Men's Liberation groups. The machinery introduced in the Industrial Revolution has, in Vonnegut's future, been refined to the point that manpower has been replaced with mechpower, where those deemed unfit for “academic” studies either must serve twenty-five years in the military or working with the "Reeks and Wrecks", the Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps. This structure is enforced and maintained by a totalitarian state. However, Vonnegut’s state is slightly different from the popular image of ‘Big Brother’, i.e. an impersonal, near-omniscient and inhuman government. It is highly human, meaning that Vonnegut examines the men behind the machinery on a more personal level, thus making possible an examination of their motives and ideas.</p><p>I argue that the hegemonic masculinity, or the masculinity of the patriarchy, provides both motivation and justification for the men who are constructing the totalitarian state of Player Piano. I will furthermore look at the effects, on both society and the individual, of a hegemonic masculinity.</p>

Player Piano, published in 1952, primarily deals with the theme of men, or masculinities, made redundant by technological advance. This theme has in more recent years been highlighted by, for instance, Men's Liberation groups. The machinery introduced in the Industrial Revolution has, in Vonnegut's future, been refined to the point that manpower has been replaced with mechpower, where those deemed unfit for “academic” studies either must serve twenty-five years in the military or working with the "Reeks and Wrecks", the Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps. This structure is enforced and maintained by a totalitarian state. However, Vonnegut’s state is slightly different from the popular image of ‘Big Brother’, i.e. an impersonal, near-omniscient and inhuman government. It is highly human, meaning that Vonnegut examines the men behind the machinery on a more personal level, thus making possible an examination of their motives and ideas. I argue that the hegemonic masculinity, or the masculinity of the patriarchy, provides both motivation and justification for the men who are constructing the totalitarian state of Player Piano. I will furthermore look at the effects, on both society and the individual, of a hegemonic masculinity.