本研究所針對的並非是家用電玩的內容本身，而針對的是那些家用電玩的熱衷者如何進行打電玩這樣一種行動。因此本研究試圖就打電動此行動本身進行實證性研究。以個人的行動出發，在研究對象上所側重的是那些對電玩投入大量的時間與精力的玩家。對於這些長時間專注於電玩上的人，是否清楚自身行動選擇的意義，在這當中的行動背後的意義為何。 / 但在研究中發現，對於這些遊戲熱衷者而言，當他們投注在當中的時間越來越多時，電玩對他們來說已不再是閒暇時所進行的活動，而是作為他們日常生活中慣習的一部份，成為他們每日的例行事項。另一方面，在這些電玩熱衷者的行動中可以明顯的發現到工具理性式的思維，把電玩當作是可以計算的對象一般不斷的進行計算。可以發現，這樣例行的義務與理性的計算使得這些人在玩電玩時，愈加的脫離了遊戲原本的意義。於是在這種工具理性式的思維背後，所顯現出來的就是在當中的慾望壓抑的過程。而重點在於說，當他們進行遊戲的過程時，這樣的工具理性作為一種手段，就是以慾望壓抑的展現作為他的趨力。

This study aims to explain the incentives and travel patterns for people who have consumed popculture tourism. Pop-culture refers to popular products such as video-games, comic-books, literature, film and t.v-shows. Pop-culture tourism refers to destinations and attractions based on popular culture products such as conventions, events, exhibitions, theme parks and destinations. This study takes on a qualitative approach in order to do so. The results were then analyzed through four different theories; Bourdieu’s theory on different capitals, his theory on habitus, his theory on fields and Lundberg & Lexhagen’s figure: Pop-culture Tourism: A Research Model. The results showed that the respondents social upbringing and (social) media consumption plays a central role in order for individuals to consume and partake in pop-culture tourism. Results did also show that cultural capital and social capitals was prominent for individuals who consume and partake in popculture tourism. / Denna studie har som syfte att belysa individers motiv och val att besöka pop-kultursrelaterade attraktioner och destinationer. Pop-kultur i denna uppsats syftar till populära produkter såsom tvspel, serietidningar, litteratur, film och tv-serier. Pop-kultursturism syftar till destinationer och attraktioner som är baserade på de sistnämnda vilket kan vara konventioner, event, utställningar, temaparker eller destinationer. Till denna studie har en kvalitativ ansats tillämpats för att besvara uppsatsens syfte och frågeställningar genom att utföra semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuerna analyserades sedan genom fyra olika teorier; Bourdieu’s teorier om kapital, fält och habitus samt Lundberg och Lexhagens modell “Pop-culture Tourism: A Research model”. Resultaten visade att exponering av pop-kultur i respondenternas uppväxt, sociala umgängen och (sociala) mediekonsumtion spelade en central roll i konsumtionen och deltagandet av pop-kultursturism. Resultaten visade även att kulturellt kapital (ett intresse av en viss pop-kulturell produkt) och socialt kapital (individens habitus) var betydande för individer som deltar i pop-kultursturism.

Le jeu vidéo est une activité de loisir particulièrement répandue auprès des adolescents. Néanmoins, pour certains, une conduite addictive peut se mettre en place, remplissant une fonction précise et nécessaire à l'équilibre du sujet. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est d'amorcer la construction d'un modèle explicatif de ce processus addictif. L'opérationnalisation de cette recherche repose sur une méthodologie quantitative permettant de mesurer le poids et l'implication de variables psychopathologiques, cognitivo-émotionnelles et de personnalité dans la mise en place de cette conduite addictive. Le monde virtuel et l'avatar sont les deux constituants majeurs de tout jeu vidéo. Ils permettent au sujet de mettre en scène et médiatiser son Soi Emotionnel. Le processus addictif résulte d'une cristallisation de cette dynamique, ne permettant pas au sujet de se réapproprier son expérience émotionnelle. Par ailleurs, ce travail a permis de mettre en avant l'existence d'une utilisation addictive des jeux vidéo en ligne et hors ligne. Ces deux formats se différencient dans la mise en scène d'aspects du Soi Identitaire qu'ils impliquent. Pour finir, ce travail nous amène à questionner la frontière entre une utilisation régulière et addictive/pathogène des jeux vidéo. / Video games cover preferential activity of adolescents. But for some, the practice becomes an addictive behavior, playing an important role in psychological functioning of adolescents. The global aim is to establish a comprehensive model of this addictive process. This research is based on a quantitative methodology in order to assess the weight and the involvement of psychopathological, emotional and personality variables in this addictive process. Avatar and virtual world are the two essential components of any video game. They allow subject to mediatize and enact his Emotional Self. The addiction process is the result of crystallization of this dynamic which does not allow the subject to reappropriate his emotional experience. Furthermore, the research puts the light on two different types of addictive processes with on line or outline video games. These two formats differ in the enacting of aspects of the Self Identity they imply. Finally, this work leads us to question the boundary between regular and addictive / pathogen use of video games.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Engineering and the built environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, August 2016 / There has been much interest in using the Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect cameras for visual servo control applications. It is a relatively cheap device with expected shortcomings. This work contributes to the practical considerations of using the Kinect for visual servo control applications. A comprehensive characterisation of the Kinect is synthesised from existing literature and results from a nonlinear calibration procedure. The Kinect reduces computational overhead on image processing stages, such as pose estimation or depth estimation. It is limited by its 0.8m to 3.5m practical depth range and quadratic depth resolution of 1.8mm to 35mm, respectively. Since the Kinect uses an infra-red (IR) projector, a class one laser, it should not be used outdoors, due to IR saturation, and objects belonging to classes of non- IR-friendly surfaces should be avoided, due to IR refraction, absorption, or specular reflection. Problems of task stability due to invalid depth measurements in Kinect depth maps and practical depth range limitations can be reduced by using depth map preprocessing and activating classical visual servoing techniques when Kinect-based approaches are near task failure. / MT2017

<p> Video game studies pertaining to representations of gender, race, culture, and sexuality are commonly discussed in relation to the characters, narrative, or gameplay mechanics. Video game environments are often left out of these discussions as most publications focus on how the environment was created and environmental storytelling. In this pilot study the researcher had participants analyze and discuss three futuristic, dystopian environments that contained alternative ways of representing gender, race, culture, and sexuality. The environments did not have gameplay or character interactions so that the player could focus on the environment. Results indicated that futuristic dystopian environments do not need to rely on stereotypes and harmful depictions to evoke core themes, even if they relate to violence, sex, oppression, or addiction. However, a lack of representation or a “neutral” take on representating gender, race, sexuality, and culture results in world that feels bland, isolated, and unnatural. Additionally, while participants disagreed on certain representations or noticed different aspects of the environments, the researcher found that focusing on “playtesting” just the environment can reveal how certain values, themes, and representations arise out of prop repetition, prop juxtaposition, and even how the player moves physically through the space.</p><p></p>

Det finns ett antal berättarmetoder inom datorspel. De vanligaste formerna som används är linjärt och förgrenat berättande, men det finns en metod som inte används i samma utsträckning, kallad emergent berättande. Detta är en typ av berättande där spelaren själv baserat på samspelet mellan spelets system kan forma sitt egna narrativ. Det är dock inte helt definierat vad emergent berättande innebär. Denna studie använder sig av en artefakt för att utforska emergent berättande med hjälp av system kallade Drama Managers som syftar till att kontrollera händelseförloppet i ett spel så det bildar ett narrativ. Syftet med studien var att utforska om en förenklad Drama Manager kunde åstadkomma ett emergent narrativ eller om den enbart skulle producera ett förgrenat narrativ. Artefakten prövades på personer insatta inom ämnena spel och narrativ och de intervjuades om deras uppfattningar av artefakten. Slutsatsen är att element av emergens kunde identifieras, men inte till den grad att artefakten upplevdes innehålla ett emergent narrativ. Kunskapen ifrån studien skulle kunna hjälpa till att definiera skillnaden mellan emergenta narrativ och förgrenade narrativ. / There are a few storytelling methods for video games. The most common forms are linear and branching narratives, but there is one method not used to the same extent, known as emergent narrative. This study uses and artifact to explore emergent narrative using systems known as Drama Managers that aim to control the sequence of events in a game to create a narrative. The purpose of the study was to explore if a simplified drama manager could produce emergent narratives. The conclusion is that elements of emergence could be identified, but the artifact could not be considered to contain an emergent narrative. This knowledge could be used to help define the difference between emergent and branching narratives.

Educational video games – especially for the PC market – do not seem to perform as well commercially as games from other genres. We argue that there is room for independent – ’indie’ – developers to break into the marketplace, by identifying certain niches and innovating on the genre. This would generate commercial value for such actors and knowledge value for the players. Design decisions of high importance made during development of an educational video game demo at the small Swedish company Toleap Consulting AB were analysed in the pursuit of contributing to effective indie development of such games. Three main problems that arose during development were identified, and three design decisions where implemented to combat these respective problems; (1) Interpreted educational game pattern utilising XML, (2) Function-based game views and (3) Community created assets, open source, and no costly dependencies. In our case, the formulated design decisions effectively solved our problems, and we argue that they generalise. If a developer creating a similar game (educational video game) in a similar situation (independent development with limited resources) encounters one or more of these problems, the suggested design decisions may help the developer solve the problems, in turn making more educational video games available on the market, generating the aforementioned commercial and knowledge values.

Emotion is a large part of the experience when playing video-games, and sound design can strongly influence the emotional response in players. This study is about the effect reverb, which is part of the sound design, can have on a players perceived emotion. An experiment was conducted, where twenty subjects got to play a video-game level which included two churches. These were identical both visually and audibly, except for the frequency content in the reverb in each church. Results show that the subjects perceived different emotions depending on what reverb they heard.

O mercado de videogames brasileiro e internacional apresenta forte crescimento e oportunidades de geração de emprego e renda. Este trabalho propõe um modelo de análise para a indústria de videogames brasileira que permita, tanto aos dirigentes do setor como ao governo, analisar políticas e ações que contribuam para o desenvolvimento da indústria de jogos eletrônicos no Brasil. Partindo do conceito de Economia Criativa, foram encontrados aspectos que impactam diretamente o desenvolvimento das indústrias criativas e os resultados que são esperados deste desenvolvimento. Numa pesquisa exploratória, sete destes aspectos (Tecnologia, Demanda, Governo, Propriedade Intelectual, Capital Humano, Empreendedorismo Criativo e Clusters Criativos) foram selecionados para o modelo como variáveis latentes e três foram as resultantes propostas (Faturamento, Emprego e Exportação). O resultado mostra que estas sete macrovariáveis do modelo e seus subitens são importantes para a indústria criativa de videogames e têm impactos diferenciados. A criação de um Índice permitiu identificar as variáveis prioritárias e sugerir políticas, com resultados esperados de curto e longo prazo. Tais resultados abrem portas para estudos comprobatórios, como a utilização de variáveis que possam operacionalizar modelos quantitativos de análise, assim como servem para que os dirigentes do setor possam entender melhor a necessidade de coordenação, ação conjunta e políticas de apoio ao crescimento de emprego, renda e exportações do setor. / The growth of the video game market in Brazil and globally is growing strongly and creating employment and income opportunities. This thesis presents an analytical model for the Brazilian video game industry allowing both industry leaders and the government to analyze policies to develop the local video game industry. Based on Creative Economy concepts, an exploratory survey identified seven of these aspects (Technology, Demand, Government, Intellectual Property, Human Capital, Creative Entrepreneurship and Creative Clusters) were selected for the model as latent variables and three were studied as resulting (dependent) variables (Revenue, Employment and Exports). The results shows that the seven variables of the model and its items are considered important for the creative videogame industry and have different impacts on it. An indicator allowed us to separate the variables according to perceived importance and suggest priority policies, with their expected short and long term results. These results open doors for empirical studies of variables that can operationalize quantitative models, as well as serving industry policymakers to better understand the need for coordination and supporting government policies to promote industry competitiveness, job creation and exports.

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar as relações entre a representação da História e os jogos eletrônicos (Videogames) através da análise dos jogos da série, produzidos entre 2007 e 2015, Assassins Creed. A série representou múltiplos tempos históricos em narrativas, jogabilidades e espaços virtuais que reconstituíram cenários do passado para exploração e interação de um jogador que controla o avatar de um Assassino. Nossa investigação pretende compreender este produto, ainda pouco estudado nas ciências humanas, em sua especificidade, estabelecendo sua posição dentro da Indústria Cultural em seus suportes materiais e distintos gêneros e em relação a outros jogos. Utilizamos um dos episódios em específico, Assassins Creed III (2012), para nos aprofundarmos sobre o desenvolvimento da narrativa de acontecimentos, a elaboração do espaço, a interatividade proposta, para então compreender como as várias temporalidades são sistematizadas em uma estrutura narrativa e lúdica no conjunto da série, que expressa uma determinada visão sobre o multiculturalismo e a História. / The goal of this work is to investigate relations between the representation of History and electronic games (Videogames) by analyzing the game series Assassins Creed (between 2007 and 2015), which has representations of multiple historic times in narratives, gameplays and virtual spaces that reconstitute sceneries of the past for a player to explore and interact controlling the character of an Assassin. Our investigation intends to understand this product, which has been very little studied in the Humanities, within its specificity, and to pinpoint its position within the Culture Industry with its material supports and many genres as well as in relation to other games. One specific episode of the game, Assassins Creed III (2012), has been used for in-depth analysis of the narrative development of events, the creation of space and the proposed interactivity, so as to understand how the many temporalities are systemized in a ludic and narrative structure throughout the whole series, which expresses a specific view on multiculturalism and History itself.