Title: Identification of brain areas in anticipation during tennis Objectives: The main aim of diploma theses is identification of brain areas responsible for anticipation and making decision during watching tennis rallies at tennis players by functional magnetic resonance. Methods: The research group consists of 10-12 competitive tennis players aged 18-28. The research takes place at the hospital in Motol. Before the examination itself, the probands are instructed on the course and conditions of testing. Testing consists of examining the brain to see if the proband is healthy, testing anticipation with a video of tennis rallies followed by a resting state phase to evaluate regional interactions. The video consists of 6 blocks separated by a static image lasting 20 s. Each block contains 6 videos with tennis rallies. Each video lasts exactly 6 s, including 300 ms to stop the tennis rallies. The tennis rallies are stopped when the ball is over the tennis net or on the player's racket. The task of the proband is to monitor the tennis rallies and after stopping to determine whether the subsequent stroke will fly to the left or right side of the tennis court, or to the center. The target data are formed from functional magnetic resonance images, probands' responses to individual rallies, and response...

Our research is about schadenfreude, deriving pleasure from others suffering, and its presencein the online game League of Legends. Along with its presence we measured different waysplayers can enjoy it, as well as how much the players enjoyed it. What we found was that anoverwhelming majority enjoys it in one way or another. The study was conducted through anonline survey numbering 116 people, all who play League of Legends daily. We hope that thisresearch will open up possibilities for game designers and developers to cater mechanics thatevoke schadenfreude in a positive way where toxicity does not emerge as a result.

The feature to “pet” animals in digital games is highly requested by players in online discourse, but there is a lack of research on its utility from a game design perspective. This thesis aims to gain a preliminary understanding of the effects of optional, sociable animal interaction to further inform game design decisions. Using a qualitative mixed methods research design, the possible impacts of sociable virtual animal interactions on the player experience are investigated. Five game-literate participants were observed during gameplay, which included an interactable virtual dog, and interviewed in-depth on their subjective experiences. The findings suggest that the interaction can be moderately beneficial to the player experience, but that it was also found lacking. The feature can offer a break from goal-oriented gameplay and improve players’ sense of agency. It may enhance the emotional value if the player feels a connection to the virtual animal. More life-like behavior and greater gameplay value might enable this connection, thereby making the interaction more desirable and beneficial to the player experience.

Within professional football, their business today is run like corporations and in their balance sheets, the post intangible assets are growing from year to year. Since the end of the 1990s the economy for football clubs has grown rapidly when it concerns their income growth but also when it relates to their growth in income related to sales of football players. Through the influence of international accounting regulations have the football clubs the option to capitalize on transfer fees as intangible assets. To capitalize transfer fees as intangible assets when acquiring a football player means that the transfer fee is recorded as an asset in the balance sheet and is then written off after the length of the contract. The purpose of this study is to examine how the football clubs in Allsvenskan accounts for transfer fees and which influence the two different accounting methods, capitalizing or expensing, have on their result and equity. The football club’s equity is in focus in this review depending on the rules of the Swedish Football Association which claims that positive economic equity is required to receive a license. The study will examine football clubs that are part of the 2021 season of Allsvenskan and football clubs that have been participating in Allsvenskan during the last five years. This essay intends to contribute to the discussion on the choice of accounting method by studying a more economically results-oriented approach than what previously been researched and written about in essays. To examine the choice of accounting method was proven to be quite uncomplex in those cases where an annual account was readily present. However, the other part of the study was more complex, where we created our own analytical model to calculate the differences between capitalizing and expensing transfer fees as an accounting method. All information is assembled from the football club’s official annual reports. The study shows that most football clubs participating in Allsvenskan choose to capitalize on transfer fees and consequently account for them as intangible assets in their balance sheet. The study shows with its case, studies that during a 5-year period there is a difference in both result and equity between the two accounting methods. If one examines specific years in these cases the study shows that the economic outcome is quite different between the two accounting methods. / Inom den professionella fotbollen drivs verksamheter som företag och i deras balansräkningar blir posten immateriella tillgångar allt större år för år. Sedan slutet av 90- talet har fotbollens ekonomi blivit mer omfattande när det gäller intäkter för klubbar men även i sambandet - försäljning av fotbollsspelare. Med påverkan av internationella regelverk men även av interna regelverk har klubbarna möjligheten att aktivera övergångssumman som en immateriell tillgång. Att aktivera en övergångssumma som en immateriell tillgång vid ett spelarförvärv innebär att den tas upp som en tillgång i balansräkningen och sedan skrivs av planenligt under kontraktslängden.  Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur klubbarna i Allsvenskan redovisar sina spelarförvärv samt vilken påverkan val av redovisningsmetod, aktivering eller kostnadsföring, har på klubbarnas ekonomi i form av resultat och eget kapital.Det egna kapitalet ligger i fokus med tanke på de krav som Svenska Fotbollsförbundet ställer på sina elitklubbar. Studien kommer undersöka deltagande klubbar 2021 och samtidigt även klubbar som har deltagit i Allsvenskan under en femårsperiod.  Att undersöka redovisningsmetoden visade sig vara enkelt i de fall det gick att få tag på årsredovisningar. Däremot så var den andra delen av studien mer komplex, där vi skapade en egen analytisk modell för att beräkna skillnader mellan aktivering och kostnadsföring som redovisningsmetod. All data om klubbarna är inhämtad från deras egna årsredovisningar.  Studien visar på att majoriteten av de allsvenska klubbarna väljer att aktivera sina spelarförvärv och således redovisa dem som immateriella tillgångar i balansräkningen. Studien visar med hjälp av fall på att det under en femårsperiod finns en viss skillnad ekonomiskt emellan dessa redovisningsmetoder. Går man in på specifika år i dessa fall visar studien på att det kan skilja en hel del i ekonomisk påverkan emellan redovisningsmetoderna.

This study introduces a comprehensive taxonomy for categorizing participants in Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). The taxonomy emerges from a meticulous analysis of player motivations and behaviors within a self-designed ARG project. By scrutinizing game website logs, chat group interactions, and employing a player motivation questionnaire, this mixed-method exploration sheds light on player behaviors and motivations, based on dimensions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Through this inquiry, distinct player typologies within ARGs are unveiled, unveiling behavioral intricacies and motivational drivers. This research contributes to a nuanced comprehension of the unique realm of ARGs, offering insights valuable to both designers and scholars. By enhancing our understanding of ARG dynamics, this study provides a foundational resource for future design endeavors and scholarly pursuits in the realm of alternate reality gaming.

A quitting game is an undiscounted sequential stochastic game, with finitely many players. At any stage each player has only two possible actions, continue and quit. The game ends as soon as at least one player chooses to quit. The players then receive a payoff, which depends only on the set of players that did choose to quit. If the game never ends, the payoff to each player is zero. In this thesis we give a detailed introduction to quitting games. We examine the existing results for the existence of equilibria and improve an important result from Solan and Vieille stated in their article “Quitting Games” (2001). Since there is no software for the analysis of quitting games, or for stochastic games with more than two players, we provide algorithms and programs for symmetric quitting games, for a reduction by dominance and for the detection of a pure, instant and stationary epsilon-equilibrium.

This thesis explores the distribution of Hexad player types present within game development students currently studying at the University of Skövde. The study isgrounded in self-determination theory and previous player typology studies. Data was gathered through a survey distributed through email and posters to the students at the university. A total of 78 participants were recruited for the survey through that method. The data gathered was analyzed and some differences were made evident between different disciplines. Additionally, the participants' motivations for playing games were explored where trends pointing towards students analyzing games for personal interest was found. However, this would have to be further explored to conclude fully.

This thesis project focuses on the creation and usage of external light effects to accommodate the needs of competitive gamers. Prior to the creation of these light effects, the function of audio in films and games was analyzed by examining the works of Michel Chion, who is the leading scholar in studying audio-vision: the relationship between the screen and sound. Subsequently, the possible application of these theories onto the lighting domain was discussed, showing the similarities and usefulness of these two different modalities. The goal of the thesis project was to improve the gamers’ perceived and objective performance in first-person shooter games. A counterbalanced within-group study was conducted; each participant played the game Doom 3 for 25 minutes with and without light effects. Four functional and informative light effects were created to accommodate the in-game content in an attempt to improve their performance. The players were given identical instructions on how to play the game. Four Philips Hue Go lights were placed in a rectangular shape around the participant with the TV in front. An additional Philips Hue LED strip was placed behind the TV. After each session, a standardized Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) was used to collect data on the players’ perceived performance. In-game logs were collected to determine how the players fared in combat. A linear checkpoint system was created to judge how far the participants progressed. The GEQ data showed that the light effects improved the players perceived performance. However, the results from the in-game logs and player progression are inconclusive and not statistically significant. The identified potential reasons were the low sample size (n=14), too little practice time, potential differences in player skill and physical light positioning. / Detta examensarbete fokuserar på skapandet och användandet av externa ljuseffekter  för att ackommodera tävlingsinriktade gamers behov. Inför skapandet av dessa  ljuseffekter genomfördes en utforskning av ljudets funktion i film och spel genom att  analysera Michel Chions verk inom audio-vision (eng); det vill säga förhållandet mellan  bild och ljud. Fortsättningsvis diskuterades huruvida dessa teorier kunde appliceras på  domänen ljus, genom att visa på användbarheten samt de likheter som dessa två olika  modaliteter har.    Målet för examensarbetet var att förbättra gamers upplevda och objektiva prestation i  förstapersonsskjutare (eng: First Person Shooter / FPS). En motviktad användarstudie  (within-group) genomfördes. Fyra funktionella och informativa ljuseffekter skapades för  att ackommodera spelets innehåll i ett försök att förbättra spelarnas prestation. Varje  deltagare spelade FPS-spelet ​Doom 3​ i 25 minuter med och utan ljuseffekter. Spelarna fick  identiska instruktioner om spelets grunder. Fyra Philips Hue Go-lampor var utplacerade  rektangulärt runt spelaren med TVn längst fram i mitten. En ytterligare Philips Hue LED  strip var placerad bakom TVn.    Efter varje session användes ett standardiserat Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) för  att insamla data av spelarnas upplevda prestation. Data loggades även inifrån spelet för  att uppmäta hur spelarna presterade i strid. Ett linjärt kontrollstationssystem upprättades  för att avgöra hur långt in i spelet deltagarna nådde.    Datan från GEQ-enkäterna visade att ljuseffekterna förbättrade spelarnas upplevda  prestation. Datan från spelloggarna och kontrollstationssystemet gav ett ofullständigt  resultat och var statistiskt insignifikant. De identifierade potentiella anledningarna var det  låga antalet deltagare (n=14), för lite övningstid, skillnader i spelarfärdighet och fysisk  ljuspositionering.

Video games can both be described as a form of art and as digital products. Video games therefore allow for rich interactions and are regarded as more emotional than software and more interactive than films. Due to the nature of video games, the term user experience (UX) which is commonly used for traditional digital products could be argued to be insufficient. Instead, player experience (PX) should be used when describing players’ rich experiences with video games. This case study aims to use the video game Coridden to examine what players experience when playing a co-op action RPG game. Also, this study aims to examine what the intended player experiences are for Coridden from the game developers’ point of view. Lastly, by examining both the perceived and intended player experiences, this study examines how the experiences can be aligned and how they can be used as guidelines during the design and development process. This was done by using a theoretical framework consisting of the difference between usability, user experience and player experience, the social aspect of playing, and how player experiences can be used as design guidelines. Players playtested Coridden and participated in focus groups using product reaction cards to express their experiences. A focus group with product reaction cards were also used for the developersof the game. Using a thematic and a document analysis, along with the results from the product reaction cards, the study highlighted that players and developers had several perceived and intended player experiences. Further discussion highlighted that some of the players’ and developers’ perceived and intended experiences align, which could be used as future guidelines in the design and development process of Coridden.

Video games have become the largest portion of the entertainment industry and everyday life of millions of players around the world. Considering games as cultural artifacts, it seems imperative to study both games and players to understand underlying psychological and behavioral implications of interacting with this medium, especially since video games are rich domains for occurrence of rich affective experiences annotated by and measurable via in-game behavior. This thesis is a presentation of a series of studies that attempt to model player perception and behavior as well as their psychosocial attributes in order to make sense of interrelations of these factors and implications the findings have for game designers and researchers. In separate studies including survey and in-game telemetry data of millions of players, we delve into reliable measures of player psychological need satisfaction, motivation and generational cohort and cross reference them with in-game behavioral patterns by presenting systemic frameworks for classification and regression. We introduce a measurement of perceived need satisfaction and discuss generational effects in playtime and motivation, present a robust prediction model for ordinally processed motivations and review classification techniques when it comes to playstyles derived from player choices. Additionally, social aspects of play, such as social influence and contagion as well as disruptive behavior, is discussed along with advanced statistical models to detect and explain them. / <p>Note: The papers are not included in the fulltext online</p><p>Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete I (manuskript).</p><p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper I (manuscript).</p>