Workplace diversity is an increasingly important topic for all companies who wish to stay in business. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to evaluate the needs and usage of a serious game in the form of an educational tool when teaching employees at a multinational business about equality, diversity, and inclusion topics. The study also involves an evaluation of the development of soft skills through an artificial environment offered through a team-based game experience. This was done by conducting a quasi-quantitative with a pre-test/post-test design, inspired by the work of Parker and Du Plooy (2021). The data gathered was analysed, where the results suggested that there is a growing need for serious games as an educational tool in the modern workplace, and if executed correctly, they can be of use for training soft skills regarding equality, diversity and inclusion matters in the employees. Notable connections between earlier research and this thesis’s findings arealsopresented and analysed.

This research proposes to investigate the contribution that innovative development projects involving digital games can make to the field of entertainment-education (EE), which has been considered as a communication strategy falling under the media for development approach in the broader field of communication for development (Manyozo, 2012). Studies have shown that EE scholarship and practice is largely rooted in theories of individual behaviour change, but also that new theoretical perspectives deriving from participatory and empowering, as well as cultural approaches to communication are emerging in the field. The prevalence of innovation and of the application of EE principles to new mediums like digital games has also been brought to light (Obregon & Tufte, 2014). Digital games as a vehicle for EE have been analysed through the concept of serious games, or games with a utilitarian purpose, and from a behaviour change perspective (Wang & Singhal, 2009). The present research project aimed at reflecting on serious games and EE from a new perspective through the notion of innovation, and was conducted by means of exploratory and comparative qualitative case study. Findings show that innovation is closely associated with the notions of co-creation and participation. By focusing on a participatory approach to game design, innovative development projects involving digital games fit predominantly in emergent theories in EE, and combine elements of multiple approaches to communication for development, not principally the media for development approach.

Serious games are games whose primary aspirations go beyond pure entertainment. With a distinct learning agenda, they encourage learning through interaction with real-world issues. This research of this thesis was aimed at evaluating serious games as an effective educational tool to teach young adults about prevention measures that could mitigate the spread of CO- VID-19.The design process combines game research methods with qualitative and quantitative means to evaluate people’s attitudes and knowledge gain towards the problem domain. The result of this design process, is Stay at Home, a serious game containing different microgames that teach the target group about guidelines and recommended prevention and hygiene measu- res against the virus. Playtesting the game revealed a small gain and slight change in player’s attitudes. The game requires further adjustments to enhance playability and player engage- ment, but offers a promising approach to educate an age-group through a highly interactive medium. / Serious games are games whose primary aspirations go beyond pure entertainment. With a distinct learning agenda, they encourage learning through interaction with real-world issues. This research of this thesis was aimed at evaluating serious games as an effective educational tool to teach young adults about prevention measures that could mitigate the spread of CO- VID-19.The design process combines game research methods with qualitative and quantitative means to evaluate people’s attitudes and knowledge gain towards the problem domain. The result of this design process, is Stay at Home, a serious game containing different microgames that teach the target group about guidelines and recommended prevention and hygiene measu- res against the virus. Playtesting the game revealed a small gain and slight change in player’s attitudes. The game requires further adjustments to enhance playability and player engage- ment, but offers a promising approach to educate an age-group through a highly interactive medium.

The purpose of this project is to examine how collaboration in groups of children change from a face-to-face emergent environment to a computer mediated emergent environment. To examine this, a methodology was devised in order to track individual group members‟ contributions to exercises performed by the group. Groups of five children built structures out of LEGOs and in the game Minecraft, and through the devised tracking method, data from the different exercises were juxtaposed with each other and compared in order to determine how the collaborative patterns within the groups varied depending on what exercise they were partaking in. The results of this research is that the computer based emergent system was experienced as more engaging and immersive, and that it fostered continuous discovery and problem solving throughout the game session, which wasn‟t the case in the LEGO exercise.

Cette thèse en informatique se situe dans le domaine des jeux sérieux destinés à l'apprentissage et s'intéresse à leur conception et aux outils auteurs d'adaptation. Les jeux sérieux sont des Environnements Informatiques Pour l'Apprentissage Humain dont la conception nécessite la collaboration d'experts variés parmi lesquels les enseignants. Pour faciliter la conception multi-expertise initiale des jeux sérieux métissant motivation et apprentissage, nous proposons un cadre conceptuel, les 6 facettes de la conception des jeux sérieux, qui aide les parties prenantes à collaborer à chaque étape de conception. Les 6 facettes sont enrichies par la bibliothèque de patrons de conception que nous proposons, et qui construit un vocabulaire favorisant la conception participative.Pour permettre la co-conception des jeux sérieux dans l'usage par les enseignants, nous avons prolongé l'approche de la conception participative à celle du meta-design. Nous proposons un modèle et un outil auteur permettant aux enseignants d'adapter les jeux sérieux à leurs contextes spécifiques d'enseignement. MoPPLiq est un modèle à la fois formel et graphique qui représente la scénarisation des jeux sérieux à étapes, de façon à la rendre compréhensible et manipulable. APPLiq est un outil auteur permettant de manipuler des modèles MoPPLiq, en maintenant leur cohérence grâce à une vérification et une compensation automatique de la planification. Nos outils conceptuels (6 facettes et patrons de conception) et logiciels (MoPPLiq et APPLiq) ont été mis à l'épreuve lors de travaux de conception de jeux sérieux avec des partenaires publics et privés et avec des jeux sérieux utilisés par des enseignants. / This thesis in computer science is in the field of Serious Games (SGs) for learning, and focuses on designand authoring tools for adaptation.SGs are Technology Enhanced Learning systems whose design requires collaboration of different types ofexperts among which teachers.To help the initial multi-expertise design of the SGs that mix fun and learning, we propose a conceptualframework named the 6 Facets of the Design of SGs, which helps stakeholders to collaborate at everystage of design. The 6 Facets are enhanced by the design pattern (Dps) library we offer, which builds avocabulary promoting participatory design.To enable teachers to co-design SGs during the use stage, we extend the participatory design approach tometa-design. We propose a model and an authoring tool that help teachers to adapt SGs to their specificteaching contexts.MoPPLiq is a model, both formal and visual, representing the several stages of an SG. It is meant to beexplicit and adaptable by teachers. APPLiq is an authoring tool meant to adapt instances of MoPPLiqmodels, and automatically check and compensate their inconsistencies.Our conceptual tools (6 Facets and DPs) and software tools (MoPPLiq and APPLiq) were tested whiledesigning SGs with public and private partners and with SGs used by teachers.

This paper describes the development of a proof-of-concept application, which can be used to train people in the field of programmable logic controller (PLC) and robot programming. This concept leads to a better understanding, what kind of infrastructure and software packages can be combined, to not only have a visual representation of an industrial like scenario, but also the possibility to use commonly established programming environments such as TIA Portal, to set up a PLC program. In addi-tion, it provides insights on how OPC UA can be used and is suitable for controlling a typical six-axis industrial robot with the help of a PLC.

This thesis aims to explore the theory, implementation, and critical aspects of gamification and extended reality employed within the cultural sector. More specifically the impact of gamification and virtualization on the information dissemination by the institutions and what it means for the visitor as well as the challenges that arise with the use of such technologies and potential points of criticism. The role of digitalization of memory institutions will be examined, with a focus on gamification/virtualization from both the museum’s professionals’ experiences and the visitors’ perspectives as well as the utilization of gamification and virtualization for the preservation of cultural heritage. The relevant data will be extracted using semi-structured interviews and conducting a literature study for five modes of virtualization and gamification. The thesis will conclude by summarizing the contribution of gamification and extended reality and highlight the benefits and challenges arising from the implementation of such elements. The main findings showcase that gamification and virtualization are not just generic additions to museum exhibitions, they signify the crossing towards a new type of learning while experiencing culture more critically and shifting the focus not only towards the visitor but also to a new type of visitor.

This paper has been a part of developing the serious game Kunna, a web-based game with exercises targeting children diagnosed with dyslexia. This game currently consists of five different exercises aiming to practice reading and writing without a therapist or neuropsychologist present. As Kunna can be used anywhere, tools are needed to understand each individual's capacities and difficulties. Hence, this paper aims to present how a serious game and a support vector machine were used to identify children that performed poorly in Kunna’s exercises. Though, due to the current corona pandemic, Kunna could only be tested on children not diagnosed with dyslexia. Therefore, this paper should be seen as a proof of concept. As an initial step, several variables were identified to measure the performance of dyslectic children. Secondly, the variables were implemented into Kunna and tested on 16 Spanish-speaking children. The results were analyzed to identify how poor performance could be recognized using the identified variables. As a final step, the data was divided into two groups for each exercise, of which one group contained participants who appear to perform poorly. These were participants with clearly outlying values in the number of errors and duration. Thus, to train and evaluate if a Support Vector Machine (SVM) can separate the two groups and thereby identify the participants who performed poorly. From the discussion followed that the SVM is not the most efficient choice for this aim. Instead, it is suggested that future work should consider multiclassification algorithms. / Den här uppsatsen har varit en del i utvecklingen av det seriösa spelet Kunna, ett webbaserat spel för barn diagnostiserade med dyslexi. Spelet består av fem olika övningar som syftar till att öva och utveckla barnens läs- och skrivförmåga. Då Kunna kan användas var som helst behövs verktyg för att förstå varje individs kapaciteter och svårigheter. Därför syftar den här uppsatsen till att presentera hur ett seriöst spel och stödvektormaskiner (eng. support vector machine) kan användas för att identifiera de användare som inte uppnådde prestationskraven. På grund av den uppblossande coronapandemin kunde dock Kunna enbart testas på barn som inte var diagnostiserade med dyslexi och därför bör den här uppsatsen ses som en pilotstudie. Inledningsvis identifierades flera variabler för att mäta prestandan hos barn med dyslexi. Därefter implementerades variablerna i Kunna och testades på 16 spansktalande barn där resultaten analyserades i syfte att identifiera samband kopplade till svaga prestationer. Slutligen delades deltagarnas data upp i två grupper, varav en grupp innehöll deltagare med klart högre värden i tid och antal fel. Uppdelningen gjordes för att träna och utvärdera om en stödvektormaskin kan separera de två grupperna och därav identifiera de deltagare som inte uppnådde prestationskraven. De slutliga resultaten indikerar dock att en stödvektormaskin inte är det effektivaste valet för detta ändamål. Istället föreslås att framtida arbeten bör överväga multiklassificeringsalgoritmer.

The aims of this study are threefold. First, the study aims to understand the main reasons that stop 18-24-year-olds from communicating condom use and safer sex. Based on findings supported by empirical studies in the literature and interviews with sexual health researchers in Canada, this study describes how a collaborative serious game integrates the principles of serious games with practices of safer sexual communication and negotiation. Finally, it includes an analysis of how 18- to 24-year-olds report practicing safer sexual communication and negotiation skills through participation in the collaborative serious game and what insights (a) 18-24-year-old participants and (b) sexual health experts share about the game that can inform future design iterations of this game. Forty participants aged 18-24 played the game and reported enhanced communication and language skills, raised awareness and reduced stigma around safer sex communication and condom use. The potential of the game in enhancing the participants' language skills (i.e., learning the language such as words, phrases, expressions) of communication and negotiation showed the highest frequency. Language skills and communications skills together comprised 28.5% of the overall feedback. The second most frequent theme was about the efficiency of the game in normalizing conversations around sex and condom use and removing the awkwardness around such topics. The game seemed to allow participants to practice dialogue and scenarios that extend beyond what they experienced in formal sex education in school. Participants also provided a range of recommendations for the next iteration of the game. To design the serious game, I followed a process of Design-Based Research (DBR) (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012) model and followed the four phases of DBR proposed by Reeves (2006). The study's findings aid other researchers in the field and offer insights to enhance sexual health education. With the increasing STIs in Canada, COVID-19's impact, and young people's reliance on online resources for answers, this research is timely. Moreover, the study contributes to the scarce research on collaborative serious games to improve 18-24-year-olds' sexual communication and negotiation skills. Limitations and implications of the design and of the game, as experienced by participants are discussed.

Cybersecurity is an important aspect within organizations as threats are many and often not fully understood, which requires individuals employed within organizations to be educated. Training implementations to increase cybersecurity knowledge and awareness are varied in their methodology of teaching. This study has employed a qualitative systematic literature review of academic articles from five databases to investigate how games are utilized as a training tool to increase cybersecurity awareness in organizations. A thematic analysis was applied to the collected bibliography to extract the design mediums of the games and the subject areas that were trained, the target audience, and reported results were also analyzed. The analysis found that the games followed a collection of similar design themes, which were collected and categorized into three distinct categories consisting of card & board games, challenge games, and simulation games. By cross-analysis of the distinct categories and cybersecurity subjects trained, gathered results indicate that through different game design mediums different cybersecurity topics are favored, conclusions were then drawn on how games are applied in cybersecurity training within organizational environments. / Cybersäkerhet är en viktig aspekt inom organisationer och hoten som existerar är många och ofta inte helt förstådda. Vilket skapar behovet att utbilda individer inom organisationer om cybersäkerhet. Utbildningsimplementationer kommer i många former och varierar i sin metodik i att lära ut. Denna studie har brukat en kvalitativ systematisk litteraturstudie av akademiska artiklar inom fem databaser för att undersöka hur spel används som träningsverktyg för att utöka cybersäkerhetskompetens inom organisationer. En tematisk analys applicerades på den samlade bibliografin för att extrahera spelens designstrategier och vilka områden av cybersäkerhet som blir utlärda samt målgrupp och resultat. Analysen visade att spel följde en samling av liknande teman av design som kategoriserades i tre distinkta kategorier bestående utav kort & brädspel, utmaningsspel och simulationsspel. Genomkorsanalys av de distinkta kategorierna och område av cybersäkerhet som tränades indikerade samlade resultat att skilda designstrategier föredrar utlärning av olika cybersäkerhetsområden. Slutsatser formulerades av dessa resultat som ger väg till hur spel appliceras för cybersäkerhetsträning inom organisatoriska miljöer.