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Den här uppsatsen handlar om hur pussel och skr äck kan kombineras i ett och sammadigitala spel. Hur man som utvecklare kan f å en j ämn balans mellan skr äcken och pusslensom presenteras f ör spelaren i spelet. Den typ av skr äck som den h ar uppsatsen har fokuspå är genren 'Survival-Horror' och anv änder sig av den typ av skr äck som i digital spelkategoriserats som 'Survival-Horror'-spel.Den här uppsatsen visar en analys av 'Survival-Horror', samlar information om pusseloch skr äck f or att utforma en hypotes hur dessa kan kombineras. F ör att kontrolleraom hypotesen st ämmer utf ördes en intervju innan pussel- och skr äckmomenten implementeradesi ett digitalt spel. Efter implementationerna genomf ördes det speltester i tv åomg ångar f ör att analysera resultatet mellan de tv å omg ångarna.

This Bachelor's thesis explores the impact of a fast-forwarding mechanic on player experience within Liberty Land, an in-house developed casual farming game. The research question is: How do changes in the passage of time, facilitated by the time-altering mechanic in our developed game, Liberty Land, impact the player's experience? The authors researched the question through the creation of their game and then playtesting with two distinct groups. The authors used game-feel (Swink, 2009) and the MDA framework (Hunicke et al., 2004) to do the research.  Group A experienced the game with the time-accelerating mechanic, while Group B acted as the control group and did not have access to the mechanic. Players would then answer a survey that corresponded with which group they had. After the playtests, the authors reviewed the data and analyzed the results. Group A had the time-altering mechanic and did report finding it helpful in reducing waiting times. They believed it aided game progression, even though core balancing issues made some actively use the mechanic less than expected. The group found it enjoyable and easy to use, although some did express concerns about potential stress from optimizing time usage. The insights from Group B, who experienced the game without the time-altering mechanic, underscore the importance of game content and loop variations for immersion and engagement. The emotional responses from both groups analyzed through the MDA framework revealed notable themes of sensation, discovery, and submission. The study also identified challenges such as low survey participation rates, ongoing refinement in the game loop, and the state of the game. While there is evidence of a positive impact on the player’s experience, the heavy limitations and problems make the research largely inconclusive as a whole.

Japanese video games have existed for decades now; however, the early games often lacked cultural elements and were thus easy to localize in other countries. As video games gained popularity and became more advanced, more of Japanese cultural elements started appearing in the games, which brought rise to translation problems. The localizers had to face the issue of whether to preserve or delete foreign culture elements within the game when these games were released in the West. As game localization of (Japanese) cultural elements is under-researched, this paper focuses solely on cultural terms. It attempts to see whether there is a change of translation techniques and if there is a shift regarding foreignization and domestication from the first game to the latest release within the game series Fatal Frame. The games were played in both their original form (Japanese) and the English localization in order to gather data which consists of cultural terms that appear in-game. Their translation was then analyzed to see if they were deemed to be foreignized or domesticated, followed by a comparison to see if there was a shift in the 22-year gap between the first and latest release. The result indicates that both games used the adaptation and equivalence (paraphrasing) techniques to a similar extent. The latest release preferred using the omission technique compared to the first, while the first game favored equivalence in conjunction with the borrowing technique. However, against expectation, the first game is considered more foreignized compared to the latest release, which goes against the trend seen in other mediums where translations are becoming more foreignized in modern times. This was also the result of a previous study within this area.

Mémoire en jeu vidéo / Un survol des théories sur le point de vue et sur l’ocularisation au cinéma permet de constater que les recherches ont été bien menées dans ce champ d’étude. Or, le même bilan ne peut pas être fait en jeu vidéo. Le point de vue vidéoludique n’a pas été analysé et théorisé avec la même exhaustivité et le même approfondissement. Beaucoup de lacunes sont encore visibles et le but de ce mémoire est justement d’en cibler quelques-unes et de les combler. Cette recherche se penche ainsi sur les points de vue en jeu vidéo et plus précisément, sur ceux que l’on retrouve à l’intérieur des phases interactives (les cinématiques sont par exemple exclues) dans les oeuvres tridimensionnelles. Une typologie de l’ocularisation vidéoludique, c’est-à-dire une nouvelle catégorisation des différents types de visualisation, est présentée, décortiquée et exemplifiée tout au long de ce mémoire. Celle-ci est plus approfondie que celles déjà développées par le passé, car elle prend en compte une plus grande variété de caractéristiques : l’ancrage, le positionnement, la mobilité et le contrôle offert au joueur. Aussi, elle détaille l’impact des différents points de vue sur l’expérience de l’utilisateur en privilégiant deux axes : l’esthétique et la fonctionnalité. À terme, ce mémoire permet d’instaurer une théorie de l’ocularisation plus aboutie dans les études vidéoludiques. / An overview of the theories on the point of view and on the ocularization in cinema shows that the researches were well conducted in this field of study. However, the same report cannot be done in video game. The notion of point of view has not been analyzed and theorized with the same exhaustiveness and deepening. Many gaps are still visible and the purpose of this thesis is to target some of them and to fill them. This research thus examines the points of view in video games and more specifically, those that are found within the interactive phases (cutscenes are for example excluded) in three-dimensional games. A typology of ocularization, that is to say a new categorization of the different types of visualization, is presented, analyzed and exemplified throughout this thesis. This one goes into deeper details than those already developed in the past, because it takes into account a greater variety of characteristics: anchor, positioning, mobility and control available to the player. Also, it details the impact of the various points of view on the user’s experience by focusing on two axes: aesthetic and functionality. Ultimately, this thesis allows establishing a more elaborate theory on ocularization in video game studies.

This thesis explores the diverse and intricate ways the psychological horror game genre can characterise a narrative by blurring the boundaries of reality and imagination in favour of storytelling. By utilising the Freudian uncanny, four video game fictions are dissected and analysed to perceive whether horror needs a narrative to be engaging and pleasurable. A discussion will also be made if video game fictions should be considered in the literary field or its own, and how it compares to written fiction in terms of interactivity, engagement, and immersion.

This thesis investigates the use of scaffolding techniques in video game design to increase player engagement and satisfy psychological needs as defined by self-determination theory (SDT). It focuses on how games use scaffolding mechanisms to improve player autonomy, competence, and relatedness—the three fundamental needs proposed by SDT as ways to promote intrinsic motivation. The study also examines self-scaffolding strategies employed by players, exploring how they independently leverage game features to meet their psychological needs. Through case studies on games including Hearthstone, Magic: the Gathering Arena, and Path of Exile, the research analyzes the application of scaffolding and self-scaffolding using formal analysis of game tutorials and systems, as well as discourse analysis of player and specialist discussions about these aspects. The findings indicate that Hearthstone's tutorial, which effectively uses scaffolding, is well received by players, while the scaffolding in Magic: the Gathering Arena is not as effective. Path of Exile's complex skill tree promotes self-scaffolding, highlighting the importance of self-directed learning in intricate game environments. The study concludes that effective scaffolding design is essential for onboarding players, but tutorials should be skippable to accommodate experienced players. At the same time, games should provide sufficient structure to guide player learning while allowing freedom for exploration, innovation, and self-directed learning.