Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130).

Taking Utagawa Yoshikazu's woodblock printed game board Monster Yarns as my case study, I will analyze how existing imagery and game play work together to create an interesting and engaging game. I will analyze the visual aspect of this work in great detail, discussing how the work is created from complex and disparate parts. I will then present a mechanical analysis of game play and player interaction with the print to fully address how this work functions as a game. While some elements of game play are problematic, I propose that the highly visual nature of Monster Yarns counteracts these issues to create an enjoyable game.

This study explores the processes, considerations, and pitfalls of manual drafting and playtesting for board game designers. The board game manual is perhaps one of the most important items in a board game box, yet it is often neglected in game design books and other media. Through interviews with twelve board game designers and editors, this study compiles the best practices and classic pitfalls that designers encounter while writing these high-stakes documents. Observations in this study are geared toward the technical writing community, who can stand to benefit from learning more about the playful nature of game documentation and the affective data gathering processes that these designers undertake as they test their games and rulebooks. In an effort to make this data more accessible to board game designers, a Manual on Writing Manuals is included as an appendix to this study.

This thesis investigates a possibility of using phone-based Augmented Reality in a board game-setting in order to support immersion for experienced board game players. Using a user-centered design approach with workshops, interviews and play sessions to understand the qualities and applicability of phone-based Augmented Reality in combination with a board game, the research contributes with an advisory conclusion for future designers developing a board game including phone-based Augmented Reality components.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The thesis deals with the theme of modern board games and the interactions of a small social group. The thesis is divided into two parts, theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part provides an introduction to the theory of play as such with a more detailed understanding of two play concepts. I also deal with the definition of board games and the differences between classical and modern board games. I devote more space to the modern board games with emphasis on three aspects, namely the social dimension of the play, the existence of the board as a meaningful game space and specific game material. The theory also includes the introduction of a method Interaction Process Analysis of F. Bales and a selected typology of group roles that are both used in the empirical part of the thesis. In the practical part is presented a research of qualitative methodology consisting of observation of three game groups during the part of a concrete modern board game (Dead of Winter). An audio record was taken from each observed game. The collected data was then encoded and processed according to the method of the Interaction Process Analysis and subjected to further analysis. The output of the work is mainly the characteristics of player interactions, the description of their group roles as well as the so-called...

(česky) The thesis introduces traditional Korean game of paduk, it concerns at its rules, history and nowadays situation with all the players organizations and developement of paduk in Korea and internationally as well. Paduk rules are explained in the first part which follows by the list of the most important and necessary technical and theoretical terms. The next part describes basic strategy and flow of the game, visual demonstrations are included. In the part of Korean historical developement the thesis describes the import to Korean Peninsula and its development in all the historical parts of Korean history from the Three kingdoms to the modern age. There is a special attention on the transformation of the game in the Colonial period (1910 - 1945). During this time the traditional Korean version of the game was left and forgotten, or forced to be forgotten and players have been playing the modern version since then. The modern paduk is shown with foundations of paduk organizations, story of famous masters and the characteristic of Korean paduk in the international field. The focus is also on the almost unknown situation of paduk in DPRK and how it stands in the its society. The conclusion summarizes the basic characteristic of distinctive aspects of Korean paduk (especially in the...

Os jogos de mesa são atividades que promovem a valorização do idoso na sociedade através da intensificação das relações sociais; proporcionam também estímulos físicos, mentais e psíquicos, contribuindo para minimizar ou retardar os efeitos negativos do processo natural do envelhecimento (senescência). O design, como campo do conhecimento que estuda os objetos e suas relações com o homem, cumpre um papel fundamental na pesquisa e na atuação para projeto e produção de jogos adequados aos idosos considerando aspectos sintáticos, semânticos e pragmáticos. Este estudo analisa o dominó devido à preferência dos idosos por este jogo tradicional, já incorporado culturalmente as atividades de lazer deste grupo de usuários, sendo praticado regularmente tanto por mulheres quanto por homens em locais públicos e privados. Foram selecionados para análise os exemplares do jogo dominó disponíveis na cidade de São Paulo, com o intuito de avaliar sua adequação a este grupo de usuários. O respaldo teórico para a análise teve como referência os aspectos de design relacionados à forma (pressupostos da Gestalt), à cor e à ergonomia, englobando principalmente o desenhos, as dimensões e o manuseio das peças analisadas, além de considerar as necessidades específicas dos idosos, devido aos declínios decorrentes da senescência. As analises destacam alguns aspectos fundamentais do dominó, que subsidiaram a formulação de parâmetros a serem considerados no projeto e na produção de outros jogos voltados ao público idoso. / Board games are a type of active leisure that promote the valuation of the elderly in society through the intensification of social relationships; they also promote physic, mental and psychic stimulus helping to reduce or retard the negative effects of the natural act of aging. The knowledge of design studies the objects and it`s relations with men and performs an essential hole in research, acting in the project and the production of game boards appropriated to the elderly considering syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects, contributing to guarantee the realization of quality leisure activities. This study analyses the domino, considering the preference of the elderly for this traditional game which is already culturally incorporated to leisure activities of this group of people and has been practiced regularly for men and women in public and private institutions. Several domino set types available in San Paulo city were selected for the analysis with the purpose of evaluating it`s adjustment to this group of people. The doctrinaire base for the analysis had as a reference the aspects of design related to the form (Gestalt issues), the colors, and ergonomics, involving mostly the drawing, the dimension and the handling of the pieces, besides considering also the specific necessities of the elderly, in due to the natural act of aging. The analysis highlight some fundamental aspects of domino, that provided the formulation of parameters to be considered in the project and production of other games designed for the elderly.

Abstract is available to download.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Educational psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.