Children today encounter the English language on a wide scale, even outside the school walls. As they are exposed to various forms of English language input, they inevitably pick up a certain level of proficiency, which they can later use on their own. This study aims to more precisely research through which mediums English learners in primary school worldwide tend to encounter English the most, as well as how engaging in English activities outside the classroom might affect their English proficiency. By studying prior research on the subject through content analysis, it was found that, while there are some regional differences in terms of prevalence, children mainly encounter English through television, music, and computer games. It was also found that many children who had never before received any English training still possessed a level of English proficiency. These findings shed light on the importance of input for language acquisition as well as how children’s extramural interests can be of importance in the classroom setting.

In the wake of motion capture and visual animation one aspect seems to be lacking. A realistic representation of the dynamic and unpredictable human visual perception. A human examines her surroundings in a unpredictable, saliency based and top-down task oriented manner. In the field of computer science, interaction design and the industry of game development, great leaps have been taken when it comes to capture motion of bodies. Motion capture helps developers and film makers to portray realistic humans in virtual environments. Where motion has come far, eyes and perception has not. As of yet a virtual representation of human visual perception, has not been mimicked as close as body motion. This thesis will examine perceived realism in virtual agents, with a focus on eye motion. In this study a virtual agent has been given eye movements of human beings and been compared to an agent based on current virtual agents in games. This is the first step towards synthesizing more than just human motion in virtual agents. It will provide future research with the data and tools needed to produce an algorithm based on the gathered data. Prior context research includes a study of current games. Two participant experiments have been be conducted, both has recorded eye positional data for analysis. The first experiment helps build the second as it compares virtual agents using a Likert scale for a subjective rating of realism. The results offers some very interesting data, indeed data that lie at the core of the study as well as data for further studies. While statistical analyses of Likert scales might be considered ambiguous this study has done so and reached a conclusion. A virtual agent enhanced with eye-motion based on human eye movements does portray a more realistic human like behaviour. / Arbetet undersöker uppfattad realism av virtuella karaktärer som använder mänskliga ögonrörelser. Med hjälp av en Tobii Eye-tracker har personers ögonrörelser spelats in medan de tittat på en virtuell karaktär. Därefter har den informationen använts till att skapa en virtuell karaktär med mänskliga ögonrörelser. En jämförelse mellan dessa har sedan gjorts för att bedöma vad som uppfattas mest realistiskt. Resultaten kan inte statistik säkerställas, även om datan ger indikationer på att det är en skillnad. / Programme: Master of Science Programme in Design, Interaction and Game Technologies/Masterprogram i design, interaktion och spelteknologier Phone nr: +46735305836

This thesis explores the possibilities of employing a dynamic difficulty adjustment system in a role playing video game. The purpose is to aid developers in designing games that can detect and lead players into their own flow zone. We have developed theories and ways on how a system could do this, and then proceeded to make our own prototype to see if the theories would work. We then applied this to a game prototype to explore how this affects other game design choices. Results show that role playing games can adopt the system in different ways, that are all personal and individual to each game, but that the system in the end always should provide aid in game balance, and ultimately, leading the players towards their flow zone. It also resulted in some serious issues and loopholes that would require much attention if it is to be deployed in a commercial product. / Denna uppsatsen utforskar möjligheterna av att använda ett dynamiskt svårighetsgradssystem i digitala rollspel. Syftet med arbetet är att ge utvecklare stöd med att designa spel som kan finna och hjälpa till att leda sina spelare till deras respektive flow-zon. Vi har utvecklat teorier och tillvägagångssätt för hur ett system skulle kunna göra detta och sedan fortsatt med att göra en egen prototyp för att vidare utforska hur det påverkar andra val i speldesign. Resultaten visar att rollspel kan anpassa sig efter systemet på ett antal olika sätt, där alla olika sätt är unika till spelet i fråga, men att systemet alltid ger stöd i spelbalansering och i slutändan leder spelaren till dess flow-zon. Det resulterade också i ett antal allvarliga problem som kräver mycket uppmärksamhet innan systemet kan användas för kommersiellt bruk.

Varumärkesplacering i digitala spel i samband med belöning och bestraffning harundersökts i denna studie. Resultat från tidigare studier på varumärkesplacering i spelanvändes i utformningen av undersökningen. Tidigare undersökningar av belöningoch bestraffning och dess inverkan på minnet studerades också. Detta kan vara förstagången som varumärkesplacering i digitala spel undersöks i samband med interaktivbelöning och bestraffning.Två versioner av spelet Supertuxkart skapades för undersökningen; den ena medbelönings- och bestraffningsåterkoppling och den andra utan. Deltagare från Kina ochSverige medverkade i experimentet.Undersökningen visade att varumärken med belöning eller bestraffning har tydligaeffekter på deltagarnas memorering av varumärken. Detta verkar gälla oberoende avdeltagarnas kulturella bakgrund, genus eller erfarenhet av digitala spel. Resultatetvisade även att bestraffning inte nödvändigtvis leder till en negativ inställning hosdeltagarna i samband med varumärkesplacering. Vidare studier behövs för att bättreförstå inställningsförändring i detta sammanhang.

This diploma thesis analyses the construction of the Near-Eastern conflict, it's actors and the problematic of the "Self -- Others" relationship in digital games. This Near-Eastern conflict can be viewed as a constructed, thought object or representation with blurred space-time boudnaries, which is not necessarily identical with "material reality". Despite it not being identical, the constructed object does nevertheless contribute to the creation of identities of the material reality's participants, and as such influences their behaviour and the behaviour towards them. In the field of international relations, this constructed identity can have important implications.

Denna studie undersöker hur spelupplevelsen i ett "management"-spel förändras om virtuella karaktärer agerar verklighetstroget i sina handlingar och val samt hur en spelutvecklare kan hålla nere påverkan på spelets prestanda och samtidigt bibehålla trovärdigheten hos spelets virtuella karaktärer. Resultat från tidigare forskning om AI-LOD har använts som grund i utvecklingen av en prototyp av ett "management"-spel som sedan testats av åtta deltagare följt av individuella intervjuer gällande deras upplevelser av och reflektioner kring spelet. Studien presenterar förslag på tillvägagångssätt för att använda AI-LOD effektivt samt hur användarnas upplevelser har påverkats positivt och negativt av de designval som gjorts. / This study investigates how the player experience is affected in "management" games when the virtual characters' behaviors are pivoted towards realism. The study also investigates the usage of AI-LOD as a method to reduce the impact on performance by these virtual characters without sacrificing authenticity of their behavior. Results and findings from previous research in this particular field are used as a foundation in the development of a prototype of a "management" game. This prototype has been tested by eight participants followed by individual interviews on their experiences and thoughts on the game. The study presents suggestions on how to use AI-LOD effectively and how player experience has been affected both positively and negatively by design choices made during the development of this prototype.

The aim of this study was to identify if digital games could be used as a method to study Cosmopolitan Democracy. Using a mixed methods approach, players of the Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) community were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning the importance of age, gender and nationality of other players, in order to see if their values aligned with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy. The questionnaire also investigated the use of the Auto-Translate feature in FFXIV to examine its usefulness as a lingua franca to bridge gaps in language equality. Furthermore a literature review on the use of digital games in education and ideologies was conducted. The results showed that the values of the FFXIV community do align with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy, that Auto-Translate successfully acts as a lingua franca, and that games have a history of teaching players about differing ideologies. The conclusions advocated the creation of a game based on Cosmopolitan Democracy, allowing for players to experience the democratic model and for researchers to gather data on its functionality.

Barn med Spinal muskelatrofi lever ett liv med begränsad rörlighet. Deras vardag innehåller att mycket träning med syfte att kunna leva ett bättre liv. I vår digitala värld finns det idag många digitala spel som syftar till träning, exempelvis Nintendo Wii-spel och det populära spelet Just Dance. Utan att vi tänker på det, tränar vi kroppen medan vi utför spelets olika moment. Men hur kan barn bibehålla motivation och hur kan immersion uppstå för att barn ska glömma rum och tid när dem tränar? Vi har i vår studie samarbetat med företaget Nordic Forest Games, som på uppdrag av ett läkemedelsföretag, utvecklar ett mobilspel för barn med Spinal muskelatrofi. Vi har undersökt vilka egenskaper ett digitalt spel bör ha för att inte upplevs som enbart träning. I studien deltar två fysioteraputer och fyra föräldrar med syfte att beskriva sina upplevelser kring deras barns vardag och hur träning och motivation upplevs. Vid analys av data har teorin Hedonic Motivation System Adoption Model (HMSAM) tillämpats för att kunna ringa in vilka olika områden som är central hos barnen för att uppleva immersion och motivation. Resultatet i studien är inte generaliserbart på grund av dels det låga antalet deltagare i studien och dels med tanke på att Spinal muskelatrofi är en ovanlig sjukdom av stor variation och mycket individuell. Utan att kunna dra någon generell slutsats har vi kunnat urskilja delar som är intressanta att studera vidare när det gäller tävlingsmoment och inkludering. Av företaget fick vi även tillgång till en prototyp av spelet. För att utvärdera prototypen gjordes en heuristisk utvärdering i enlighet med att finna användbarhetsproblem genom att se på prototypen genom Nielsens tio heuristiska riktlinjer. Med dessa två kvalitativa metoder har studien antagit en kvalitativ ansats där resultaten sedan kopplats samman med teorin HMSAM. / Children with spinal muscular atrophy live a life of limited mobility. Their everyday life includes a lot of exercise with the goal of being able to live a better life. In our digital world today, there are many digital games aimed at training, such as Nintendo Wii games and the popular game Just Dance. Without thinking about it, we train the body while performing the various steps of the game. But how can children maintain motivation and how can immersion occur for children to forget space and time when they exercise? In our study, we collaborated with the company Nordic Forest Games, which on behalf of a pharmaceutical company, develops a mobile game for children with spinal muscular atrophy. We have investigated what qualities a digital game should have in order not to be perceived as just training. Two physiotherapists and four parents participate in the study with the aim of describing their experiences of their children's everyday life and how exercise and motivation are experienced. When analyzing data, the Hedonic Motivation System Adoption Model (HMSAM) theory has been applied in order to be able to delineate which different areas are central to children in order to experience immersion and motivation. The result of the study is not generalizable due partly to the low number of participants in the study and partly given that Spinal muscular atrophy is an unusual disease of great variety and very individual. Without being able to draw any general conclusions, we have been able to distinguish parts that are interesting to study further in terms of competition elements and inclusion. The company also gave us access to a prototype of the game. To evaluate the prototype, an heuristic evaluation was made in accordance with finding usability problems by looking at the prototype through Nielsen's ten heuristic guidelines. With these two qualitative methods, the study has adopted a qualitative approach where the results are then linked to the theory HMSAM.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine if users of digital music games may acquire skills from the games that may be of use in learning to play a real instrument, that is a non-digitally simulated instrument like an acoustic piano. We have used Gee’s theory regarding a possible interconnection between different semiotic domains, and how this connection may enable a transfer of skills between related domains. In this thesis we examine possible skill transfer between the domains “digital games” and “non-digital instruments”. To examine our question formulation we chose to conduct a pilot study from which we collected both quantitative and qualitative data. The study was conducted on two groups of children, 6-9 years old, and consisted of the children accepting a musical challenge. The children in one of the groups got access to a digital piano application during a preparatory week, whilst the children in the second group lived their lives as usual. The results, and the time it took for the children to perform the assignment, was documented by the parents of the children in a questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire was then analyzed and used to draw conclusions regarding the possible effect of the piano application on the children. The analysis of the collected data showed that all children that had used the application passed the challenge. The analysis also showed that the child that had the fastest passing time on the challenge had used the application, and that the group of children that had used the application showed a faster average time for passing the challenge than the children who had not used the application. Even though some indicative patterns did emerge through our analysis of the collected data no definitive conclusions could be drawn regarding transfer of skills between the semiotic domains “digital games” and “non-digital instruments”. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka huruvida utövare av digitala musikspel kan tillgodogöra sig kunskaper från spel som är till nytta vid senare inlärning av ett riktigt, det vill säga fysiskt och icke digitalt simulerat instrument som exempelvis ett piano. Vi utgick från Gees teori om att olika semiotiska domäner kan vara kopplade till varandra på ett sätt som möjliggör överföring av kunskap mellan olika närbesläktade domäner. I vårt fall mellan domänerna ”digitala spel” och ”fysiska, icke-digitala musikinstrument”. För att utforska vår frågeställning valde vi att utföra en pilotstudie där vi samlade in och analyserade både kvantitativ och kvalitativ data. Studien bestod av att två grupper av barn, i åldrarna 6-9 år, fick en musikalisk utmaning. Barnen i den ena gruppen fick under en förberedande vecka tillgång till en digital pianoapplikation, medan barnen i den andra gruppen levde sina liv som vanligt. Resultatet, och tiden det tog för barnen att utföra utmaningen dokumenterades av barnens föräldrar i en enkät, och datan från enkäten användes sedan för att dra slutsatser kring den eventuella effekten av pianoapplikationen. Analysen av datan som samlades in via enkäten visade att alla barn som använt sig av applikationen klarade utmaningen. Analysen visade även att barnet som klarade utmaningen snabbast hade använt sig av applikationen och att den grupp med barn som använt applikationen hade en lägre genomsnittstid på utmaningen än barnen som ej använt applikationen. Trots att vissa antydande mönster kunde utläsas genom analys av vår enkätdata så kunde inga tydliga slutsatser dras kring möjligheten för kunskapsöverföring mellan de semiotiska domänerna ”digitala spel” och ”fysiska, icke-digitala musikinstrument”.

Abstract. Autonomous agents, also known as AI agents, are staples in modern video games. They take a lot of roles, everything from being quest-givers in roleplaying games, to opposing forces in action- and shooter games. Crafting an AI that is not only easy to create, but also retains humanlike and believable behavior, has always represented a challenge to the development industry, and has in several cases ended up with open world games using AI systems that limit the AI agents to simple moving patterns. In this thesis, a form of AI systems more commonly used in simulation games such as The Sims video game series, are taken and implemented in an environment that could possibly be seen in an open world game. After the implementation, a set of tests were performed on a group of testers which resulted in the insight that a majority of the testers, when asked to compare their experience to other games, found this implementation to feel more lifelike and realistic.