Consumer grade Virtual Reality (VR)-headsets are on the rise, and with them comes an increasing number of digital games which support VR. How players perceive the gameplay and how well they perform at the games tasks can be key factors to designing new games. This master’s thesis aims to evaluate if a user can performa game task, specifically a target practice, in less time and/or more accurately when using a VR-headset as opposed to a computer screen and mouse. To gather statistics and measure the differences, an experiment was conducted using a test application developed alongside this report. The experiment recorded accuracy scores and time taken in tests performed by 35 test participants using both a VR-headset and computer screen. The resulting data sets are presented in the results chapter of this report. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov Normality Test and Student’s paired samples t-test was performed on the data to establish its statistical significance. After analysis, the results are reviewed, discussed and conclusions are made. This study concludes that when performing the experiment, the use of a VR-headset decreased the users accuracy and to a lesser extent also increased the time the user took to hit all targets. An argument was made that the longer previous experience with computer screen and mouse of most users gave this method an unfair advantage. With equally long training, VR use might score similar results. / Kommersiella VR-headset är en växande marknad, och med dem kommer allt fler digitala spel med stöd för VR. Hur spelare uppfattar spelmekaniken och hur väl de presterar i spelets uppgifter kan vara nyckelfaktorer för att designa nya spel. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att utvärdera om en användare kan utföra en speluppgift, specifikt prickskytte av måltavlor, snabbare och/eller mer noggrant när ett VR-headset används än jämför med datorskärm och mus. För att samla statistik och mäta skillnader, utfördes ett experiment med en testapplikation utvecklad jämsides med denna uppsats. Experimentet mätte hur noggrant och hur lång tid det tog 35 testpersoner att utföra testet, när de använde både VR och datorskärm. Den resulterande datan presenteras i resultatskapitlet i denna uppsats. Ett Kolmogorov-Smirnov normalitetstest och Student’s paired samples t-test utfördes på datan för att avgöra dess statistiska signifikans. Efter analysen gicks resultaten igenom, diskuterades och slutsatser drogs. Denna studie avgjorde att när experimentet genomfördes med VR-headset sänktes användarens pricksäkerhet och tiden det tog att träffa alla måltavlor ökade något. Ett argument fördes för att den långa föregående erfarenheten många har när det gäller datorskärm och mus gav metoden en orättvis fördel. Med lika lång träning i båda metoderna bör VR-metoden potentiellt kunna gelikvärdiga resultat.

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In light of the growing concern about the psychological impact of computer, console and handheld electronic games (digital games), this research explores the thoughts and thinking strategies of game players (gamers) during gameplay. It attempts to achieve this goal by means of using a form of verbal analysis based on the 'think out loud' method of Protocol Analysis. The recordings of gamers engaged in the 'think out loud' exercise during gameplay at a gaming networking session were transcribed and analyzed. These gamers participated in two different genres of games. The fist was a First-Person Shooter (FPS) and the second a Real Time Strategy (RTS). The content of the different transcripts were categorized using cognitive models and theories. From this process a nine category classification framework was developed. By dividing identified thought segments into these different categories, a quantitative frequency analysis was possible. This supplemented the overall qualitative exploration of gamers’ thoughts and thinking strategies. The results of this study indicate that different genres of games stimulate different concentrations of different types of thoughts. Overall these concentrations numerically classify gaming as an activity in terms of perception, cognition, emotion, and self immersion. It also indicated that each genre has its own unique influence and that each player is uniquely engaged. Besides providing insight into gamers’ thoughts and thinking strategies, this study also provides evidence that an adapted form of verbal analysis is suitable in exploring a visually absorbing activity such as gaming. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

This master thesis researches parallel digital world design in computer games in the setting of An Ended World. The main focus of the research is the touchpoints between two or more worlds and how the inputs from a designer can influence the type of experience received by the player.The overall research takes inspiration from both game and interaction design and follows a very user-centric approach with numerous play sessions and a workshop. The final outcome is presented in the form of attributes and a prototype built as a modification for an existing game.

Interest in the use of digital games in education has been increasing over the past few decades. Advocates argue that digital games are powerful learning tools with the potential to support increased motivational, cognitive, behavioural, affective, physiological and social outcomes. However, empirical evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. Research has focused primarily on measuring the effect of games on learning in researcher-controlled experiments, whilst relatively less attention has been paid to the role of teachers. The thesis addresses the research gap by investigating how teachers in Swedish compulsory and upper secondary schools use digital games on their own initiative and how they develop their competencies. It also considers the challenges they face. Data from in-depth qualitative interviews and a mixed method survey are used to investigate the research questions. Both the data collection and analysis have been informed by activity theory. This is also used to problematise the adaptation of digital games as teaching and learning tools. In addition, the analysis explores teachers´ self-reported activities in relation to their disposition towards digital games. The findings show that a diversity of digital games and gamification tools have found a foothold in Swedish classrooms. The participating teachers are interested in introducing and further developing digital game-based approaches, though there are limitations in their use of gaming resources and the extent to which they can leverage these to achieve educational outcomes. The research identifies and discusses four general categories of teachers: non-game users, sceptics, curious adopters and advanced adopters. Results indicate that the more positive disposition of game-using teachers tends to be related to a higher level of pedagogical integration, a greater variety of game use, and a wider range of educational outcomes, as well as an interest in professional development. Digital game-based learning is often understood as the use of gamification tools in the form of quizzes, whereas complex games and longer gameplay are less typical. Whilst most teachers agree on the motivational benefits of digital games, not as many perceive them as effective in teaching new knowledge and cognitive skills. The introduction of digital games is hampered by the lack of access to relevant and good-quality products, financial resources, preparation time and adequate technology, as well as contextualised and flexible forms of professional development. These challenges hint at deeper issues with preexisting education structures. Future research should have a twofold focus: the development of adequate game resources that can support collaborative forms of learning and higher-level skills, and flexible and contextualised competence-development solutions for teachers which are relevant to their needs. The thesis contributes to the current literature by mapping the landscape of digital game-based learning in Swedish compulsory and upper secondary schools. It provides a nuanced understanding of the perspectives of teachers on digital game use and the opportunities and challenges presented by digital game-based learning.

With this survey paper we have contrasted and summarized research on digital games and language learning in order to investigate whether digital games can be used to instil communicative competence in students. In addition, we have examined what kinds of considerations that need to be made by teachers when applying digital games in educational settings. In order to acquire an indication of whether games were being used as a language-learning tool in schools today, we conducted a small pilot study in the region of Skåne. In this pilot study, we asked 10 language teachers whether they had ever used videogames in their language teaching. The pilot study suggested that digital games were not being used as a teaching aid. However, the research examined in this survey paper suggests that videogames can be used to instil dimensions of communicative competence. Research also suggested that digital games only inherently supported one or two dimensions of communicative competence. With regard to this, we argued that all four dimensions of communicative competence can be supported through the use of different pedagogical strategies in combination with other approaches. Furthermore, research suggested that there are necessary precautions for teachers to consider before implementing digital games in teaching (e.g. having sufficient knowledge of the games to be used in order to be able to scaffold them according to students’ needs). Since the research explored in this paper suggest that videogames can be used to instil communicative competence in students, we argued that digital games might be an overlooked asset in language learning.

The purpose of this paper was to review research within the field of digital games and language learning to explore whether gaming can facilitate communicative competence and foster motivation for language learning. To answer my questions I conducted a research synthesis, compiling a variety of research over the last decade to answer my questions as effectively as possible. Results showed that digital games do in fact facilitate language development and induce motivation. Research also showed that different games provide different opportunities and activities, resulting in some games fostering language competence more than others. For instance, World of Warcraft provided social situations where conversations were erratic, spontaneous, contextual and driven by small events in the game, while The Sims focused more on strategic and creative activities. Additionally, research suggested that digital games motivated learners to develop their L2 language in hope of achieving more goals together within a variety games and game types.

This thesis addresses a game design matter with an interaction design perspective, arguing that both are strongly related and can learn from each other. It explores the topic of designing mechanics for asymmetric cooperation in hybrid social co-located games. Co-located social games are games played in a same space, and hybrid games merge analog and digital features. When dealing with asymmetric cooperation mechanics, players work together towards the same goal but with different mechanics (different ability to act or to access to information). Cooperation is more and more popular in the game field and, among with other benefices, asymmetry can strengthen it by making the performances of the players fully complementary. In hybrid games, this kind of mechanics could make people bridge the gap between physical and digital materials through cooperation, by combining actions or sharing information. Following a theoretical investigation on the matter, this paper presents several experiments of asymmetric cooperation mechanics involving digital aspects thanks to a smartphone, and sparking strong social interactions. A discussion is drawn upon them to share the resulting observations on hybrid asymmetric cooperation and on the process of prototyping game mechanics.

Digital games incorporate systems that allow players to customise and develop their controllable in-game representative (avatar) over the course of a game. Avatar customisation systems represent a point at which the goals and values of players interface with the intentions of the game developer forming a dynamic and complex relationship between system and user. With the proliferation of customisable avatars through digital games and the ongoing monetisation of customisation options through digital content delivery platforms it is important to understand the relationship between player and avatar in order to provide a better user experience and to develop an understanding of the cultural impact of the avatar. Previous research on avatar customisation has focused on the users of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games, leaving single-player avatar experiences. These past studies have also typically focused on one particular aspect of avatar customisation and those that have looked at all factors involved in avatar customisation have done so with a very small sample. This research has aimed to address this gap in the literature by focusing primarily on avatar customisation features in single-player games, aiming to investigate the relationship between player and customisation systems from the perspective of the players of digital games. To fulfill the research aims and objectives, the qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis was adopted. Thirty participants were recruited using snowball and purposive sampling (the criteria being that participants had played games featuring customisable avatars) and accounts of their experiences were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Through this research, strategies of avatar customisation were explored in order to demonstrate how people use such systems. The shortcomings in game mechanics and user interfaces were highlighted so that future games can improve the avatar customisation experience.

In this study, we will explore how a restricted user interface affects the player experience in survival horror games. To test this, we created a digital survival horror game. The restricted user interface in the prototype resides in the player controller who has access to five different user interface elements. These elements are health, revolver, flashlight, compass and a watch. The results showed that the restriction and making the user interface diegetic did affect the player experience. This was presented through dividing the participant's experiences with the prototype in four categories: Challenge, Analytical, Safety and Control. Participant’s enjoyed the added challenge from the restricted user interface which also helped promote the horror experience. As a drawback, a restricted user interface resulted in participants having a harder time learning the game and understanding certain game mechanics and elements. / I denna studie så kommer vi undersöka hur ett begränsat användargränssnitt påverkar spelupplevelsen i överlevnadsskräckspel. För att testa detta så skapade vi ett digitalt överlevnadsskräckspel. Det begränsade användargränssnittet i prototypen befinner sig på den spelbara karaktären som har tillgång till fem olika användargränssnitts element. Dessa element är hälsa, revolver, ficklampa, kompass och klocka. Resultaten visar att begränsningen och genom att göra användargränssnittet diegetisk påverkade spelupplevelsen. Detta var presenterat genom att dela upp deltagarens erfarenheter med prototypen i fyra olika kategorier: utmaning, analytisk, säkerhet och kontroll. Deltagare gillade ökningen i utmaning från det begränsade gränssnittet som även hjälpte stärkte skräckupplevelsen. En nackdel med ett begränsat gränssnitt var att deltagare hade det svårare att lära sig spelet samt förstå vissa spelmekaniker och spelement.