This is an exploratory research study aimed toward steadying attendance across a semester of higher education video game development labs with attention to cooperation as a co-factor. Following the observation of unusually strong attendance in a highly cooperative game development lab class which aligns with these theories, this paper seeks to explore whether subfactors of positive social interdependence are co-factors with lab attendance. Sparked by previous case data, this exploratory study examines data from the Fall 2019 iteration of the introductory video game development course, defining and measuring potential co-factor variables during an individual-focused half of the course supplemented with group activity, and a fully group-focused half of the semester, with future interest in investigating a correlation between attendance and positive interdependence. Empirical studies of both the performance impact of attendance, and the financial reliance of residential higher education institutions on student attendance and retention suggest that understanding how to operationalize students’ motivation to attend class is epistemically and fiscally valuable. Studies of positive interdependence raise interest as a co-factor contextually through high commitment, joint efficacy, and mutual benefit, strongly overlapping with empirical antecedents of higher education retention and seminal social psychological frameworks. Therefore, the author began an intended extensive analysis of consecutive semesters. All students enrolled in the Fall 2019 introductory game development course (n=56 for students with matched data sets, 59 retained participant students total) were engaged in cooperatively-designed lectures and lab activities, with the first half of the semester’s lighter collaborative activity and independent assigned work to be compared to the second half’s full-time group project work. Between these designed halves, two null hypotheses were assessed: 1) lab attendance in the first half of the semester is equivalent to the second half, and 2) subfactors of positive interdependence in the first half of the semester are equivalent to the second half. Attendance proportions and surveyed positive interdependence measures for the Fall 2019 semester were analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Attendance, and a majority of positive interdependence subfactors were not significantly different across halves of the semester, suggesting that collaboration had evened results across the whole, but not all effects reached their target results. The Classroom Life Instrument was used to formally measure the presence of a positive interdependent context before and after group project work.

Lean software development is an approach that focuses on identifying and removing unnecessary processes that occur within a pipeline that add no value to the end product. It adapts ideas from lean manufacturing and the Toyota production system for use within the software space, and is ideal for streamlining pipelines. In this paper, the development pipeline of a two-dimensional in-game map is analyzed through the lens of the first principle of lean software development, ’eliminate waste’. Lean waste is identified and measured in order to identify problem areas within the pipeline that can be improved upon in order to streamline the pipeline and highlight issues. Additionally, value stream mapping is used to aid in the visualization of the pipeline and waste identification. The integration of in-game maps within video games serves as an integral component for navigation and gameplay enhancement, assisting the player with identifying their location and marking crucial locations. As the map functions as a relatively contained element of the gameplay, the development of video game maps parallels a small-scale version of the overall game development pipeline. The map development pipeline can be summarized with the following seven subtasks; add features to the prototype tool, export heightmap and watermask, generate map using the prototype tool, render map in game, connect map to UI, export road information, and add roads to map. Throughout development, three types of lean waste were identified: waiting, defects, and motion. Of these, defects proved to be the most significant, accounting for 48% of development time, while motion and waiting consumed 9% and 7% of pipeline time, respectively. The suggested solutions to decrease waste in this pipeline involve testing and improving important tools frequently, writing better and more coherent documentations, as well as removing documents of poor quality. / Lean software development är en metod som fokuserar på att identifiera och ta bort onödiga processer som sker inom en pipeline som inte tillför något värde till slutprodukten. Metoden anpassar ideer från lean manufacturing och Toyotas produktionssystem för användning inom mjukvaruområdet och är idealisk för att effektivisera pipelines. I detta arbete undersöks utvecklingsprocessen av en tvådimensionell karta i ett datorspel och analyseras baserat på den första principen av lean software development, ‘eliminera avfall’, och används för att effektivisera processen. Value stream mapping används för att visualisera utvecklingsprocessen och ta fram problem som kan uppstå. Integrationen av kartor inom datorspel utgör en väsentlig komponent för navigation och en bättre spelupplevelse, vilket hjälper spelaren att identifiera sin position och markera viktiga platser. Då kartan fungerar som ett relativt avgränsat element av spelupplevelsen, betyder det att utvecklingen av spelkartan kan ses som en parallell av en mindre skala till hela spelets utvecklingsprocess. Utvecklingsprocessen för kartan kan sammanfattas med dess sju deluppgifter; lägg till funktioner i prototyp verktyget, exportera höjd- och vattenkartan, generera kartan med prototyp verktyget, rendera kartan i spelet, anslut kartan till användargränssnittet, exportera väginformation, och lägg till vägar på kartan. Under utvecklingen identifierades tre typer av lean avfall: väntetid, defekter och rörelse. Av dessa visade det sig att defekter tog upp mest tid, med 48% av utvecklingstiden, medan rörelse och väntetid krävde 9% respektive 7% av utvecklingstiden. De föreslagna lösningarna för att minska på avfall i denna pipeline innefattar att testa och förbättra viktiga verktyg frekvent, skriva bättre och mer sammanhängande dokumentation, samt att ta bort dokument av dålig kvalitet.