Syftet med detta arbetet är undersöka hur speldesign kan användas som resurs för design av musikundervisning. I bakgrunden presenteras vad lärare, eleven och undervisningssituationen kan göra för att påverka elevers studieresultat. Därefter presenteras spel och speldesign med dess olika designgrenar och termer. Det vetenskapliga perspektivet som används är designteorin av Selander och Kress. Metoden var att först presentera speldesign och dess grenar följt av exempel på paralleller mellan speldesign och skolvärlden inför fyra stycken musiklärarstudenter. Efter presentationen fördes en gruppdiskussion kring ämnet speldesign som resurs för musikundervisning. Resultatet visar att deltagarna har användning av speldesign som resurs samtidigt som vissa av dem skulle vilja använda ett annat språk än det från speldesign. Deltagarna uttryckte med varierande entusiasm att detta sättet att se på skolan kan vara gynnsamt för både elever och lärare. I slutet av uppsatsen diskuteras innebörden av resultatet och dess potentiella inflytande på skolvärlden. Där presenteras för och nackdelar med att använda termer från speldesign i praktiken samt exempel på hur skolan kan utvecklas för att implementera koncept från speldesign i praktiken. / The purpose of this essay is to examine how game design can be used as a resource for designing music education. The background consists of previous research of what determines the pupils study results and thereafter game design and its branches and terms. The scientific perspective used is the design theory by Selander and Kress (2017). The method used was to first present game design and its branches followed by examples of parallels between game design and school in front of four music teacher students. After the presentation a discussion was held by the participants about game design as a resource for music education. The result shows that the participants have use for game design as a resource as, at the same time, they would like to use a different language than that from game design. The participant expressed with varying enthusiasm that this way of viewing school can be beneficial for both pupils and teachers. The end of the essay presents a discussion about the implications of the result and its potential influence on school. Pros and cons about using terms from game design in practice are discussed and examples on how school could evolve to implement concepts from game design in practice.

(in English): In videogames we frequently come across religions created by game designers for the sole purpose of game development. In these cases religious rituals, symbols and other elements invented for certain needs of videogames are implemented into game design. Those fictional religions differentiate from each other in how they are manifested in narrative structures, audiovisual elements and most importantly in videogame mechanics. This diploma thesis uses formal analysis in order to find out what role do fictional religions play in the context of ten chosen videogames. Game theoretics believe that integration of religion into various layers of game design can create more immersive game experience and richer game world. The analysis confirms and expands upon their findings about the function of religions in world building, ingame architecture and related mechanics. It discovers repetitive motifs like healing, defense, resource production and even punishments which can affect a player's character as a result of interaction with fictional religions.

Under de senaste tjugo åren har videospelsindustrin blomstrat och med det har det skett en ökning i antalet artiklar publicerade inom ämnet. Utvecklingen har följts av intresset för rörelsebaserade spel, där målet är att den som spelar ska utföra fysisk aktivitet samtidigt som denne har roligt. För att kunna fånga underhållning i kombination med fysisk aktivitet bör det undersökas hur spelare upplever spel. Studien ämnar studera användningen och upplevelsen hos deltagare som spelar det rörelsebaserade spelet Piddinrun. Utifrån deltagarnas utsagor och tidigare forskning inom speldesign utforskas det om spelet kan utvecklas till att främja fysisk aktivitet och reducera stillasittande hos befolkningen. Bakgrunden berättar om syftet och utseendet för det aktuella spelet i studien, Piddinrun. Spelet är designat för att en spelare ska utföra benböj, samtidigt som den spelar. Bakgrunden tar även upp vikten av fysisk aktivitet i vardagen samt bakomliggande teorier om vad som engagerar och motiverar människor. Teoridelen berör olika typer av rörelsebaserade spel, spel i rehabiliteringssyfte och spelteori. Deltagarna i studien var 13 studenter som rekryterades via bekvämlighetsurval och snöbollsmetod. De spelades in både auditivt och visuellt, i studierum eller i hemmet. Deltagarna fick svara på frågor om träningsvanor, utforska och spela spelet. De fick även estimera och utvärdera upplevd ansträngning. Utvärdering av deltagarnas upplevelse gällande engagemang testades utifrån en enkät. Användartestet avslutades med kompletterande frågor om upplevelsen. Resultatet visar att spelet engagerade deltagarna men endast under en kortare stund. Spelet rapporterades vara ansträngande och framkallade även tecken på ansträngning hos deltagarna. Deltagarna önskade utveckling och avancemang i spelet. De rapporterade även att estetiken kunde förbättras. Spelmekanismen uppfattades som väl designad för benböj. Spelet måste innehålla utveckling för att fortsätta engagera användaren men samtidigt göras mindre ansträngande för att möjliggöra längre spelande. Förändringarna skulle kunna bidra till att människor blir mer motiverade till att spela spelet. De kan därmed förbättra sin hälsa och minska sitt stillasittande.

This is a study of how game design has influenced my artistic process as a music producer fora video game called Sang: The Desert Blade. The artistic practice is used to explore a conceptin game design called ludonarrative. The experiences gathered from this exploration arepresented with examples of music that have been created and implemented for the gameduring this study. The music examples are contextualized together with video documentationfrom my creative process and video recordings of the game. The study concludes that videogame music is directly interconnected with game design and its aesthetics is directly affectedby the degree to which a music producer is included in the development team. The study alsoshows how unpredictability is a fundamental part of game design and suggests how it can beexplored in future artistic research of video game music. / Det här är en studie om hur speldesign har påverkat min konstnärliga process sommusikproducent för ett dataspel som heter Sang: The Desert Blade. Den konstnärligapraktiken används för att undersöka ett koncept inom speldesign som kallas ludonarrativ.Erfarenheterna från undersökningen presenteras genom musikexempel som har skapats ochimplementerats i spelet under studien. Musikexemplen kontextualiseras tillsammans medvideodokumentation från min kreativa process och med videoinspelningar från spelet. Studiendrar slutsatsen att dataspelsmusik är direkt sammanlänkad med speldesign och dess estetik ärdirekt påverkad av den grad som en musikproducent involveras i spelets utvecklingsteam.Studien visar också hur oförutsägbarhet är en fundamental del av speldesign och föreslår hurdet kan undersökas i framtida konstnärlig forskning av dataspelsmusik.

Recent years have seen a significant growth in what designers and players call asymmetric virtual reality (AVR) games. This dissertation creates a framework that defines the relevant characteristics of AVR as a genre and describes five common genres of AVR games, including David(s) and Goliath, Hide and Seek, Perspective Puzzle, Order Simulation, and Lifeline. The core features of each subgenre are expounded. These subgenres are then evaluated using design workshops to observe novice game designs use these subgenres in their game design process. An analysis of the workshops found that the AVR subgenre framework may benefit novice game designers in finding inspiration from patterns in existing AVR games, planning asymmetric mechanics in AVR games between VR and non-VR players, and concepting new and unexplored ideas within the AVR genre. Finally, the discussion section outlines similarities and differences in the subgenres, limitations in this research, and provides guidance for future directions for this research.

Many games are set in 3D worlds and have shifting camera viewpoints. In this study, we attempt to create and evaluate a Proof-of-Concept Worldspace Heatmap System that accounts for the shifting camera views in 3D game worlds, in an attempt to improve user testing processes. We test the system by conducting a stimulated recall user study, in which we examine the areas in a game that drew the attention of the participants, with the help of heatmaps placed in the game world. Our results include observations of several behavior patterns and participant evaluations of the Worldspace Heatmap System. We observed multiple indications in the data we gathered, that such a system can be useful for obtaining player behavior insights and for enhancing user testing processes, especially if some of the limitations are overcome.

Frequently in MMORPGs, players will encounter something known to players as farming or grinding. Grinding is a controversial matter in the gaming community, as many do not enjoy it and see it as a sign of lazy and poor game design. However, it is a difficult topic to argue as whatever is a grind, differs for each person. To elevate the discussion about grinds in the gaming community, this paper aims to give a definition of grinds and answer how they are perceived by players and designers alike. Grinds are argued to be dull, tedious and monotonous, but they are ever prevalent in games today.  To find what differentiates between a satisfying or waste of time grinding, this paper also aims to discover what makes a grind enjoyable, and when they are appropriate.  The results of this paper are built upon previous works and media on game design and grinds. Interviews were held with players that grind to get a deeper understanding of what drives players to grind. The results define grinds as the act of doing something repeatedly for one's own gain. Seven sub-grinds that are found in different games were defined, each with varying characteristics. Grinds are not inherently bad, despite the negative connotations. They are like any other aspect of a game, they can be executed well or poorly. The developers' responsibility is to design a well-balanced grind that does not hinder players from doing what they like and deliver a satisfying experience.

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This research focuses on the connection between voice-based interactions and harassment in online games, from the point of interaction design. It points out severe faults in privacy afforded by voice-based communication and explores beyond this medium to design a communication system that relies only on non-verbal communication (NVC). Such system was co-created with the players supporting the idea that inclusion starts even in the early design stages. Through the playtesting of the NVC system the research shows the many ways in which the type of communication impacts the game and how players experience cooperation, cohabitation, and inclusion in online games. However, to achieve this, this research had to create a framework and mapping methods that focus on the players and their communicative intention. Hence, the “levels of multiplayer communication” is proposed as a tool to analyze and a method to design for communication in games, and it stands as a knowledge contribution along with the information acquired through its use.

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.