Esta dissertação documenta a exploração do desenvolvimento de games 3D com base em minha experiência pessoal nessa atividade, entre 1994 e 2006, estabelecendo um diálogo com os trabalhos teóricos de autores de áreas correlatas. São descrições sistematizadas de técnicas e conceitos em grande parte ignorados em publicações atuais que tratam desse tema, e que decorrem de experimentação e de descobertas efetuadas durante o processo de criação e desenvolvimento de games em meio digital. / This dissertation documents the 3D game development exploration based on my personal experience in this activity, between 1994 and 2006, establishing a dialog with works of authors from correlated areas. It comprises systemized descriptions on techniques and concepts mainly overlooked in current publications devoted to the theme, and built on experimentation and discoveries achieved during the process of creation and development of games in the digital medium.

One of the many challenges of game development is creating an effective tutorial. Although tutorials can be designed to instruct in numerous different ways, little is known about how they differ in terms of effectiveness. To examine the effectiveness of the three different tutorial types, a first-person puzzle game with three versions was developed. For the purpose of an observational analysis, four participants per version (n = 12) had their gameplay recorded and were then interviewed after their gameplay session concluded. The results show that text instructions were more effective than using NPCs as examples to show the game mechanics. The lack of a tutorial made the participants vary in their understanding of the game’s mechanics, some of which failed completely to learn an important game mechanic. A broad variation like this can make it difficult for developers to balance the later challenges in the game. / En av de många utmaningarna av spelutveckling är att skapa en effektiv tutorial. Även om en tutorial kan bli designad att instruera på flertalet olika sätt, saknas det kunskap om hur de skiljer sig i deras effektivitet. För att undersöka effektiviteten av tre olika typer av tutorials, utvecklades ett pusslespel i förstapersonsperspektiv med tre versioner. För syftet av en observationsanalys spelades spelsessionerna av fyra deltagare per version (n = 12) in, och deltagarna intervjuades direkt efteråt. Resultatet visar att textinstruktioner var mer effektivt än att använda NPCer som exempel för att visa spelmekanikerna. Saknaden av en tutorial gjorde att deltagarna varierade i deras förståelse av spelets mekaniker, varav några misslyckades helt att lära sig en viktig spelmekanik. En sådan bred variation kan göra det svårt för utvecklare att balansera de senare utmaningarna i spelet.

För att studera könsfördelningen inom den svenska datorspelsbranschens användes datahämtad från LinkedIn över kön och arbetsroller, det indikerades tydligt att kvinnor varunderrepresenterade i Sveriges spelbransch, särskilt inom produktion, tech, och iledarskapsroller. En kvalitativ analys fann att isomorfa krafter sannolikt påverkarföretagen i branschen att likna varandra i könsfördelning och att kvinnor i branschentroligtvis upplever låg passform i yrkesidentiteter och lider negativa effekter avminoritetsstatus inom yrkeskategorier. Att öka andelen kvinnor framkom som en vägför jämställdhetsarbete men verkade vara associerat med en risk för ett stigma avinkompetens. Männen var i position att påverka vilka som passar som dagens ochmorgondagens spelutvecklare. För att uppnå en arbetsmiljö som är vänlig för allaanställda oavsett könstillhörighet kan yrkesidentiteter konstrueras om, därefter kanarbete med att öka andelen kvinnor startas med en sänkt risk för bakslag. / To study the gender distribution within Sweden’s video game industry, data on genderand occupation was collected from LinkedIn. It was clearly indicated that women wereunderrepresented, especially within production, tech, and leadership. A qualitativeanalysis found that isomorphic forces were likely to be influencing the genderdistribution across the industry and that women in the industry are likely to experiencea bad fit in occupational identities and suffer negative effects of being in the minorityin occupational categories. Increasing the proportion of women emerged as a path forgender equality work, but it was also associated with a stigma of incompetence. Menseemed to be in positions to influence who will fit as today's and tomorrow's gamedevelopers. To achieve a work environment that is good to all employees, regardless ofgender, occupational identities could be redesigned, after that the proportion of womenin the industry can be raised with a lowered risk for setbacks.

A new hybrid Video Game Difficulty Balancing method which stands in between the two traditional methods (Static and Dynamic) has been suggested in this project aiming to discreetly estimate the player’s difficulty preference and make the respective in-game adjustment. This method has been based on the hypothesis that the user’s difficulty preferences can be to some extent predicted by some of their in-game actions. A casual mobile game containing a User Testing part has been developed for this purpose and played by 56 participants. The extracted results offer some insights on various gamers’ demographic groups behaviors and some indications that the intended prediction is feasible.

After a setback due to the dotcom-bubble at the beginning of the 21st century, the tech sector is today again a redhot place for pursuing a career. Much of this popularity can be accredited to the image that companies of this sector enjoy as workplaces with great opportunities for creativity, self- fulfilment and self-expression. Also, strong cultures and generous benefits add to the image of the dream-job. This study aimed to question this image by exploring experiences and attitudes of employees working within the mobile game development industry, a sub- industry of the tech sector. In order to achieve this, a successful mobile game development studio was studied at close range through observations and interviews with 25 individuals of various roles within game development. On this material, the theoretical frameworks of employee engagement and work motivation were applied to assess how personally and emotionally engaging work is within this context. Findings both confirm and nuance the public image of mobile game development as a place to work. This study finds support that the environment and atmosphere surrounding the work in large lives up to the public image of the industry; culture is strong and drives personal and emotional involvement in work and the good of the company. Within the work tasks themselves however, the free-spirited, ad-hoc creativity and opportunities for self-fulfilment promised in the public image seem delimited by a set of organizational circumstances, among them strategic decisions on company-level. Work demands alignment with directions chosen by the company, that by some are perceived as limiting to creativity, self-fulfilment and excitement. In this, the study identifies a risk in a possible discrepancy between expectations on work and the actual experience of it. Finally, the study finds signs that  the strength  in  atmosphere  and  culture can  outweigh  these perceived  limitations  in  creative space and demands of alignment, and so adds to research asserting the potential and value in a strong culture.

The game industry is modern and as such in constant evolution, therefore it needs information on how to better its work practices either it be on a professional level or at a training level. This thesis focuses on game education, specifically on the game students partaking in such education and developing a game as part of a game-based development course. The study investigated what kinds of pressure might be afflicting game students at Uppsala University during their game production courses and what are the effects of such pressures on the work/life balance of the concerned game students. To conduct the data collection, a survey with close and open-ended questions was used to gather information on focused topics but also get the opinion of the respondents on the matter. As a result of the research, it was possible to learn that the game students are pushing themselves to adopt overworking tendencies during their game production course. This behavior would be motivated by the different pressures affecting them during their game production course like the pressure to produce high-quality work. The conclusion reached is that the pressures affecting game students during their game production courses are related to the lack of healthy work habits of game students when working independently on their game productions. The pressures have impacts on the work/life balance of the affected students who often end up sacrificing their well-being in favor of work. This decision can have the opposite effect as work/life balance conflicts can hinder a game student's chances of academic success. To address this issue this thesis recommends game schools to support game students who are working independently by leading them to adopt healthy work habits and helping them to cope with the pressures of their environment.

Studien undersöker de faktorer som ligger bakom spelutvecklingsföretagens val vid etablering i de centrala delarna av Malmö. Analys har gjorts på hur spelutvecklingsföretagen resonerar kring deras beslut samt vilka faktorer de grundar sin lokalisering på. Enligt tidigare studier är det vanligt att kontorssektorn lokaliserar sig centralt då företaget kan dra nytta av de agglomerationsfördelar som generellt skapas genom kluster. Vid en nyttomaximerad verksamhet blir betalningsviljan högre på dessa platser. Andra studier har däremot visat att spelutvecklingsföretag har möjligheten att placera sig utanför städerna eftersom de inte har samma karaktärsdrag som den karakteristiska kontorssektorn. Den här studien är avgränsad inom spelutvecklingsindustrin i Malmö, vilket inte inkluderar online gambling. Malmö är en välkänd spelhubb världen över och det sker många internationella rekryteringar. Staden erbjuder bra kommunikationer både regionalt men också internationellt då Köpenhamns flygplats bara ligger 20 minuter från Malmös centralstation. Det empiriska materialet är insamlat via semistrukturerade intervjuer gjorda med representanter från både Massive Entertainment och Avalanche Studios. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ ansats men också textanalys då vi granskat spelutvecklingsföretagens internethemsidor. Grunden för studien har byggts upp med hjälp av teoretiskt material. Resultatet av studien visar att spelföretag beaktar medarbetarnas närhet till arbetsplatsen som en av de viktigaste faktorerna vid placering av deras kontor. Det är viktigt att kontorsplaceringen förenklar gång- och cykelavstånd till och från de stora kommunikationspunkterna. En annan orsak till att både Massive och Avalanche etablerade sig i Malmö var att man ville vara en del i stadens gemenskap. De flesta spelutvecklingsföretagen i Malmö är beroende av varandra därför att de delar samma typ av arbetskraft, kompetens och genom närhet till varandra underlättas stora sammankomster och samarbeten. / The study examines the underlying factors behind game development companies choices when establishing in the central parts of Malmö. The analysis has been based on how game development companies reason about their decision as well as which factors they found their localisation on. According to previous studies it is common that the office sector often choose to localise centrally because the company can benefit from the agglomeration economies that are generally created through clusters. By having a utility maximized business the willingness-to-pay increases in these places. However previous studies have shown that game development companies have the opportunity to locate outside of the cities since they do not have the same characteristics as the common office sector.This study is limited to the game development industry in Malmo, which do not include online gambling. Malmo is a well-known gaming hub worldwide and there is frequent international recruitment. The city offers good communications both regionally and internationally, since Copenhagen Airport is only 20 minutes away from Malmo centralstation.The empirical material is gathered through semi-structured interviews made with representatives from both Massive Entertainment and Avalanche Studios. The study is founded on a qualitative approach but also text analysis by examining game development companies websites. The foundation of the study has been based on theoretical material. The results of the study show that the game development companies take their employees commute into consideration as one of the most important factors for the placement of their office. It is of importance that the office placement simplifies with easy access to and from the workplace by foot and cycling as well as the main commuting routes. Another reason why both Massive and Avalanche established themselves in Malmo was because they wanted to be part of the city's community. Most game development companies in Malmo are dependent on each other because they are sharing the same type of workforce and competence, and through proximity to each other, large gatherings and collaborations are facilitated.

The video game industry has gone through a dramatic change over the last few decades, yetseveral reports show that there are currently many challenges that developers face in their dailywork. A major challenge includes difficulties of getting projects to close within set time andresource restraints. This is something that indicates a connection to the management methodsbeing used, among which Agile management is a popular framework that many turn to. Thisthesis searches for connections between challenges in video game development and the usage ofagile methods like Scrum and Kanban. For this, a qualitative research strategy was used in orderto look into the experiences of video game developers. Five semi-structured interviews with atotal of eleven respondents were conducted. As a complement, a quantitative web-based surveywas made where 23 people participated. The results of this study show that challengespreviously defined within the video game industry, including feature creep, crunch periods anda stressful work pace can also be identified in the industry in southern Sweden to some extent.Underlying patterns indicate the industrial culture as an explanation for an incorrectimplementation of agile methods, which could eventually lead to issues surrounding riskmanagement in projects.

Det finns många positiva aspekter med spel i undervisningen, bland annat kan det bidra till ökadmotivation och engagemang. Men det finns också många hinder, det kan krävas mycket tid av läraren föratt sätta sig in i och lära sig hantera ett specifikt spel och det kan vara svårt att anpassa ett spel tillläroplanen, vilket i sin tur kan göra undervisningen långsammare och ineffektiv. Denna studie syftar tillatt undersöka om huruvida läxläsning kan utföras med hjälp av digitala spel på ett effektivt och roligt sätt.Rapporten beskriver ett spel där läraren kan anpassa innehållet efter läroplanen. Spelet innebär atteleverna gör läxorna genom att spela spelet och lärare kan automatiskt ta del av elevernas resultat ochanpassa undervisningen därefter. Resultatet visade att konceptet uppskattades både av de deltagandeeleverna samt läraren. Den inledande prototypen fokuserar enbart på matematik. / There are many positive things about using games in education, for instance it can improve bothmotivation and commitment. But there are also a lot of obstacles, it might require the teacher to spend alot of time to engage with a game and learn a specific game and it might be hard to customize the game’scontent according to the curriculum which could make the tuition slow and ineffective. This study’spurpose is to investigate whether the homework can be performed while playing digital games in aefficient and fun way. The report describes a game where the teacher can customize the content accordingto the curriculum. The idea is to make it possible for students to do their homework while playing thisgame and the teachers will automatically be able to receive the results and customize the tuition accordingto it. The initial prototype will focus on the subject math.

From the perspective of educators, games are viewed as a medium in which the younger generation both thrive and excel. Students navigate game environments with ease and regularly solve problems, engage in advanced collaborative efforts, and communicate complex concepts and strategies to one another during their private gaming sessions at home. Games invite the player to form an understanding of intricate systems and mechanics based on participation and experimentation rather than mere observation, and on these merits games are often prophesized as a medium that will significantly change the face of education as we know it. However, while teacher interest in using games is increasing, wide-spread and successful examples of games being implemented in formal educational contexts (e.g. schools and university courses) remain rare. This thesis aims to examine why this is the case and identifies some of the more prevalent obstacles educators and developers both face when embarking on learning game projects as users and creators. In order to examine the situation from both of these perspectives, the research takes a mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature studies coupled with several studies with both educators and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate attitudes and experiences, and more direct researcher participation and case studies were used to examine the processes of implementing and developing learning games as they were carried out. The studied cases and literature have revealed obstacles that indicate that “traditional” entertainment game development is incommensurable with learning game development, and that the use of games in formal educational settings introduces heavy demands on the recipient organization’s infrastructure, culture, and working processes. The conclusion of this research is that learning games embody a unique mixture of utility and game experience, and the formal context which they are to be used in significantly influence the process of developing and using them. Learning games can’t be understood if they’re solely seen as a teaching utility or solely as a game experience and to make them viable both educators and developers need to change their internal processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other. There are also several obstacles that are outside individual institutions and developers’ control, for example the practicalities of the economic constraints that both developers and educators work under that put the sustainability of pursuing learning games for formal education as a business into question. However, the continuous incremental improvements on the infrastructure of educational institutions (e.g. availability of technology and teachers’ familiarity with technology) can likely alleviate many of the obstacles currently inhibiting the impact learning games can potentially have in formal education. / Scandinavian Game Developers