Univ., Diplomarbeit--Frankfurt (Main)

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from PDF file main screen (viewed on Oct. 2, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

<p>Vad är grejen med dataspel? Det är en fritidssyssla, något som unga killar sysslar med istället för att vara ute i friska luften skulle nog många svara. Det stämmer för en hel del men det har också börjat växa upp en tävlingskultur med proffs, sponsorer och internationella tävlingar. Det kallas för e-sport och är på stark frammarsch, och idag kan ungdomarna som sitter kvar hemma ses som e-sportens amatörer.</p>

Vad är grejen med dataspel? Det är en fritidssyssla, något som unga killar sysslar med istället för att vara ute i friska luften skulle nog många svara. Det stämmer för en hel del men det har också börjat växa upp en tävlingskultur med proffs, sponsorer och internationella tävlingar. Det kallas för e-sport och är på stark frammarsch, och idag kan ungdomarna som sitter kvar hemma ses som e-sportens amatörer.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive stands as one, if not the most popular competitive video game of all time. In fact, tens of millions are awarded at Esports tournaments – a testament to the game’s popularity. As such, game designers should seek to understand exactly why the Counter-Strike series is so popular. One critical element to any game like Counter-Strike is the level design. This study attempts to provide an analysis of competitive level design by looking at the differences between a highly popular Counter-Strike level, Dust2, and one that is considerably less popular, Cobblestone.  Level design has already been scrutinized heavily by game designers throughout the years, and this also applies to Counter-Strike. The trend has mainly been to analyze levels from a high-level perspective, however. We hope that our study will contribute to the existing knowledge from an exceedingly low-level perspective. The study relies on data acquired from the massive Counter-Strike statistics database HLTV.org which primarily consist of 2 heat-maps that display hotspots for “killer locations” on the levels’ Bombsites. These heat-maps have since been subjected to two formal analyses and a subsequent comparative analysis. The study found that the occurrence of several indicators of flawed level design are present in Cobblestone. These flaws contrast with the level design principles and guidelines laid out by experienced designers. As such, the study concludes that these flaws are the primary contributing factors to the drop in popularity for Cobblestone. However, the study also acknowledges the need for an expanded study comprising the entire levels and involving other types of data

The rise of competitive e-sports and its increasing popularity with several million players worldwide across various games has sparked an interest in the cognitive abilities associated with it. This study aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between competitive play and an increase in cognitive ability, as measured by performance in cognitive tasks. The research question focuses on whether or not players who dedicate a significant amount of time playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) to compete on a higher level will perform better in cognitive tasks than non-competitive players. In this differential study with a between-group design, a total of 24 participants participated, with 12 in each group. Data for cognitive abilities were measured by performance across a battery of cognitive tests consisting of the Iowa Gambling Task, Inhibition of Return, Multitasking, and the Tower of Hanoi, with the latter acting as a control for general cognitive ability. All data were gathered online. Results show that competitive players performed significantly better in the multitasking task than their non-competitive counterparts. Furthermore, there seems to be no significant difference overall in general cognitive ability or for the other tasks. This finding suggests that the competitive environment of CSGO may be effective for increased performance in some cognitive tasks like multitasking. However, this might not be true regarding other cognitive abilities such as decision-making.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:17:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_capa_resumo_indice_victoremm.pdf: 122687 bytes, checksum: 26318df16cecbdfe740cba1f87184dff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-05-09 / The present inquiry presents a proposal of analyzes of the interactive structures in games carried through in digital environments and its possible reuse in new communication processes in cooperation with the computer sciences and the hypermedia. It currently analyzes the processes of authoring of games of the historical, conceptual point of view and the perspectives of interdisciplinary concept gifts inside of the research carried through in the academy in that it says respect the matrices of the language and thought. The referencial model multi-player (Counter-Strike) studied involves strategies of complex reuses and interactive. The research identified as basic elements of the process the work in qualified teams, either in the planning, same development and in the conduction of the practical ones of use to the user level. The used concept of team is of interdisciplinary concept, what it becomes the interesting research for the contexts of the entertainment and education. The reuses concept if becomes operative when it is developed by the current inquiries on the interactive, which is presented from the research in semiotics and hypermedia, leaving the open possibility of its extension for the area of the education. / A presente investigação de mestrado apresenta uma proposta de análise das estruturas interativas em jogos realizados em ambientes digitais, e sua possível reutilização em novos processos comunicacionais em cooperação com as ciências da computação e a hipermídia. Analisa os processos de autoria de games do ponto de vista histórico, conceitual e as perspectivas interdisciplinares presentes atualmente, dentro das pesquisas realizadas na academia, no que diz respeito às matrizes da linguagem e pensamento. O modelo referencial multi-jogador (Counter-Strike) estudado envolve estratégias de reutilização e interatividade complexas. A pesquisa identificou como elementos fundamentais do processo o trabalho em equipes qualificadas, seja no planejamento, desenvolvimento e mesmo na condução das práticas de utilização ao nível de usuário. O conceito de equipe utilizado é o de interdisciplinaridade, o que torna a pesquisa interessante para os contextos do entretenimento e educação. O conceito de reutilização se torna operativo quando é incrementado pelas investigações atuais sobre a interatividade, a qual é apresentada a partir das pesquisas em semiótica e hipermídia, deixando a possibilidade aberta de sua extensão para a área da educação.

This study examines emotional interaction within virtual competitive group activity. The participants are 5 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players who belong to the same team. The study is an observational study in a naturalistic setting that utilizes an inductive- deductive approach. The study uses a methodology developed specifically for video-based research as well as Ethnomethodological conversation analysis (EMCA). The data consists of video and audio recorded on the participants’ computers during a match. The results illustrate how players utilize emotional interactions in different ways during a virtual competitive group activity. The interpretations of the data were based on two theories: The Emotions as temporal interpersonal system (TIES) model and the Emotions as social information (EASI) model. Using the TIES model, instances of co-regulation and co-dysregulation in the participants’ interactions during the match are explored. Using the EASI model, the participants’ use of emotions as information was examined. Our interpretations indicate that players use emotions in their interactions during a virtual competitive group activity and partake in interactions where the emotional content escalates and de-escalates. We suggest that these findings should be taken into consideration when developing training programmes for esports athletes and that further research on emotional interactions within competitive virtual context is possible. / Den här studien utforskar kooperativ emotionell interaktion inom virtuell tävlingsinriktad gruppaktivitet. Deltagarna är 5 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) spelare som tillhör samma team. Studien är en observationell studie i en naturalistisk miljö. Studien använder sig av ett induktiv-deduktivt förhållningssätt. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av en metodologi utvecklad speciellt för analys av video samt en kombination av etnometodologi och samtalsanalys (EMCA). Materialet bestod av ljud och videoinspelningar under en match. Resultatet illustrerar hur spelarna på olika sätt använder sig av emotionella interaktioner under en virtuell tävlingsinriktad gruppaktivitet. Tolkningarna av data gjordes utifrån två teorier: Emotioner som temporalt interpersonellt emotionssystem (TIES) och Emotioner som social information (EASI). Med hjälp av TIES-modellen utforskar studien exempel på samreglering (co-regulation) och samdysreglering (co-dysregulation) i deltagarnas interaktioner under matchen. Med hjälp av EASI-modellen, utforskades deltagarnas användning av emotioner som information. Våra tolkningar tyder på att spelare använder sig av emotioner i sina interaktioner under en virtuell tävlingsinriktad gruppaktivitet och deltar i interaktioner där det emotionella innehållet eskalerar och de-eskalerar. Vi föreslår att hänsyn borde tas till dessa resultat i utvecklingen av träningsprogram för atleter inom esport samt att vidare forskning kring emotionella interaktioner inom virtuell tävlingsinriktad kontext är möjlig.

Följande studie hanterar ämnet eSport. Med hjälp av uses &amp; gratifications theory kommer eSportpublik studeras och analyseras, med syftet att förstå vilka motivationer som leder till att man vill titta på eSport. Studien kommer med hjälp av kvalitativ metod, det vill säga intervjuer och observationer, med tillämpande mini enkäter i observationerna studera publiken som tittar på eSport. Uses &amp; gratifications är en teori som ofta tillämpas vid kvalitativ metod då de gratifikationer man analyserar är enkelt tillämpbara i intervjufrågor. Studien kom fram till att de viktigaste gratifikationerna för eSportpublik var underhållning samt tidsfördriv. Viktigt är det att notera att dessa faktorer var uppmuntrande för tolkning, där informanter har gett olika definitioner av samma faktorer, samt ger flera förklaringar på samma ord. Det är utifrån denna syn som arbetet har analyserats och ge ett definitivt svar på frågan varför publiken tittar på eSport. / The following essay studies the subject of eSport. The concept audience will be analysed with help of the uses &amp; gratifications theory to create an understanding about the audience in eSport. The study will also with the help of qualitative methods, to be specific interviews and observations, with an applied mini- survey in the observations study the audiences of eSport. Uses &amp; gratifications is a theory that a lot of the time is applicable in qualitative methods because the gratifications that are analyzed very often are easily applicable when writing questions for interviews. The result was that the most important gratifications for the audience of eSport was entertainment and killing time. It’s also important to note that these factors were encouraged for interpretation, and given multiple explanations regarding the same word. It’s based on this view that the study has been analyzed and given a definitive answer on the question why the audience watches eSport.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how anonymous online players treat each other in the game environment in Counter Strike (CS GO), where the way they communicate can affect other people's gaming experience through cheating or "griefing". We have also sought to examine how issues of anonymity affected player's experiences. Data was collected through the use of qualitative methods, such as semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations. Ten respondents participated in the interviews, five women and five men who had played Counter Strike for at least two years. The questions which they were asked related to attitudes, communication, gaming experience, trust, behavior, cheaters and griefers inCounter Strike. The results were analyzed with the help of previous research and theory related to the problem of our study. The results showed that the anonymous players responded to each other positively or negatively depending on various factors such as performance, gender, experience, communication and trust. Positive attitudes gave a positive gaming experience that increased the teamwork and changed the anonymity to friendship, while negative attitudes gave negative gameplay experience that made players lose the desire to play for awhile, because they had high expectations of others. In order to improve Counter Strike for anonymous players, we recommend that the game company improves its security, by blocking cheaters and griefers faster than they do at present, by changing blocking of a cheater from only a blocked account to a whole computersystem, and by making the game more expensive. We also recommend applying region or country functions when they people play anonymously to avoid linguistic misunderstandings and to ease communication by ensuring that players from the same country play with eachother and speak a common language. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur anonyma online-spelare bemöter varandra i spelmiljön som omger Counter Strike (CS GO), där det kan uppstå ett visst kommunikativt beteende som kan påverka andras spelupplevelse, såsom att fuska eller "griefa". Vi ville även undersöka hur man kan lösa de svårigheter som anonyma spelare upplevde när de spelade med varandra. Undersökningen använder kvalitativa metoder där data insamlades med hjälpav semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna som deltog i intervjuerna var totalt tio personer, fem tjejer och fem killar som hade spelat Counter Strike i minst två år. Frågorna som ställdes berörde bemötande, kommunikation, spelupplevelse, tillit, beteende, fuskare och griefers i Counter strike. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av relevant tidigare forskning och teori. Resultaten visar att anonyma spelare bemötte varandra positivt eller negativt beroende på olika faktorer, såsom prestation, kön, erfarenhet, kommunikation och tillit. Positiv bemötandegav en positiv spelupplevelse som ökade lagsamarbetet och ändrade anonymitet till vänskap, medan negativ bemötande gav negativ spelupplevelse som gjorde att man tappade lust att spela ett tag, eftersom man hade höga förväntningar på andra. För att kunna förbättra Counter Strike för anonyma spelare rekommenderar vi att spelutvecklarna förbättrar sitt säkerhetssystem, genom att blockera fuskare och griefers snabbare än vanligt, förändra blockeringen av fuskare till att omfatta både konto och datorsystem, samt göra spelet dyrare. Vi rekommenderar även att tillämpa en region- eller landfunktion när man ska spela med fyra andra anonyma, för att förhindra språkmissförstånd samt underlätta kommunikation med varandra när man hamnar med spelare från samma land och talar ett gemensamt språk.