This is a small scale research conducted by a Game Design student about attraction to a game concept of violent nature. A survey was executed and launched on social media such as Facebook to gain many participants in a short period of time. They were asked how attracted they were to the graphics of the concept and also if and how much money they would pay for a game like it. One of the most important parts of this research is that the participators are of a mixed group when it comes to age and gender, but also location, since these things tend to control our environment which in turn can shape a person and their morals. The results are presented in simple graphs and discussed together with results from similar research regarding violent games and how they affect the players and in turn society. Despite the violent contents of the graphics used in the survey, the most popular rating indicates that many participants are attracted to it and that they would consider paying for such a game.

Denna rapport har undersökt om game metrics genom heat maps kan användas för att hitta en choke point i en bana gjord till spelet Team Fortress 2. Game metrics och kvantitativa  metoder  erbjuder  ett  objektivt  och  nästan  automatiserat  alternativ  till kvalitativa metoder när det kommer till balansering. En bana har konstruerats med en choke point och har speltestats för att generera en heat map. För att undersöka om det går att hitta en choke point med hjälp av en heat map så har en enkät gjorts där respondenter   bads   hitta   choke   pointen   med   hjälp   av   den   heat   mapen   som genererades från speltestningen av banan. Alla respondenter lyckades hitta mitten av choke  pointen  med  hjälp  av  heat  mapen.  I  framtiden  skulle  arbetet  kunna  utökas genom  att  undersöka  om  användandet  av  bottar  eventuellt  skulle  helt  kunna automatisera  balanseringsprocessen.  Det  skulle  också  gå  att  undersöka  hur  olika klasser rör sig i en bana.

This study is a response to the growing demand for more critical examinations of the video game as a communicative as well as interactive medium of mass culture. It reflects the game in regard to its potentials and abilities conveying a message to its audience and sets it into a broader discourse of mass communication. The analysis focuses on opinion forming games and their agendas whilst scrutinizing the methods through which certain messages are delivered to the player. The study is primarily based on qualitative research and analyzes the mechanisms of manipulation through examples with an emphasis on the mechanics and rules of the game, its visual aesthetics, its narrative structure and the emotional dimensions of the gameplay. The analysis illustrates that games are effectively used to render the image of war and to frame the enemy in a stereotypical manner in order to match certain political interests. They also function as a recruitment tool for the military as well as for political and ethnic fractions. In addition the study demonstrates the positive potentials of the medium by referring to serious games which offer complex perspectives and profound knowledge about certain topics and encourage the player to aim for creative and constructive solutions in order to finish the game successfully. The results of the study demonstrate that video games can no longer be categorized as a subculture of entertainment for young men. With the growing acceptance of the medium as a part of mass culture its influence especially on young people had been taken into account by certain groups which made use of the video game to convey their messages to an audience. The analysis shows the inner complexity of the medium and gives examples for attempts to use its potentials by concluding that these efforts are far from being utilized fully. In this regard the study offers impulses for further research which should fill the void and explore the possibilities games provide and how we can make good use of them.

This project is a study on the effect on motivation when adding positive reinforcements, in the form of audiovisual rewards, to an e-learning application. Two e-learning applications (designed to teach Japanese Kanji) were created; one experimental version with audiovisual rewards (to act as positive reinforcements) and one control version without. Two groups of test subjects were gathered, one using the control version, the other using the experimental version. Using questionnaires their experiences and progress were measured, compared and analyzed. The study indicated that the experimental group learned slightly more than the control group, but that there were no difference in overall motivation between the groups.

<p>This project is a study on the effect on motivation when adding positive reinforcements, in the form of audiovisual rewards, to an e-learning application. Two e-learning applications (designed to teach Japanese Kanji) were created; one <em>experimental</em> version with audiovisual rewards (to act as positive reinforcements) and one <em>control</em> version without. Two groups of test subjects were gathered, one using the control version, the other using the experimental version. Using questionnaires their experiences and progress were measured, compared and analyzed. The study indicated that the experimental group learned slightly more than the control group, but that there were no difference in overall motivation between the groups.</p>

En ny spelgenre har ökat i popularitet de senaste fem åren. En spelgenre som faller utanför den klassiska definitionen av spel. En spelgenre vid namn ”Idle Games”. Föreliggande studie handlar om vilka element i dessa spel som får spelaren att fortsätta spela och hur elementen kan analyseras med hjälp av MDA och AARRR ramverken. Data har samlats in från tre populära Idle Games vid namn Cookie Clicker, Clicker Heroes och AdVenture Capatalist. En enkät har också skickats till spelarna av dessa spel för att få en uppfattning om varför spelen är populära. Resultaten har sedan analyserats med olika speldesignteorier för att undersöka vilka spelmekaniker som skapar lusten att spela och varför dessa spel är populära. / A new game genre has seen increased popularity during the last five years. A game genre that falls outside the classic definition of games. A game genre with the name of “Idle Games”. This study is all about which elements in these games create the drive for the player to continue playing and how the elements can be analyzed with the help of MDA and AARRR frameworks. Data have been collected from three popular idle games with the names of Cookie clicker, Clicker Heros and AdVenture Capatalist. A survey has also been sent to the players of these games in order to get better knowledge of why these games are popular. The result has then been analyzed with different design theories in order to examine which game mechanics create the feel to play and why.

Objectives. In this thesis I have, together with game developer and publisher Paradox Interactive, designed and implemented a level editor tool for use in their game Magicka 2. With this tool users can create, edit and share custom Challenge levels in the game. I have also done a more in-depth scientific study of usability in such level editor tools, especially pertaining to the disparity between various controller input schemes and platforms. Methods. I have performed a literary study of articles and books relevant to the field of game design, user interface design, general usability, controller input schemes and any other topic I found relevant. I have paired this with a study of similar level editor tools and their user interfaces and features in other console and PC games. This knowledge, together with feedback from both expert and non-expert testing, has then been analyzed and used to design and implement both the user interface and the features of the level editor. Results. Results of the literary study, level editor tool study and testing are presented together with their impact on the design of the user interface and all implemented features. The results of each iteration of the Challenge Creator are presented as well. Lastly, all results are analyzed and a set of design heuristics for creating a similar level editor tool is presented. Conclusions. I conclude that creating a platform independent level editor tool with high usability is very much possible, but that designing such a tool becomes far more difficult with each new platform and controller input scheme supported. I also conclude that additional features and further increase in tool complexity loses significant impact if the core user interface is lacking in usability. I also conclude that more time and testing will be needed to further empirically validate the design heuristics. Lastly, I conclude that additional iterations will be required upon the Challenge Creator to improve its usability in light of already known and established design flaws.

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Game companies are always looking for more ways to increase consumers and their revenue as well as how consumers purchase games. Several business models have been introduced that this thesis will look at, free-to-play, adding downloadable content to existing games, freemium and premium games. This thesis attempts to provide answers to what business models there are available for game developers and how that would influence the development of the single-player games to lower the point of entry for the consumers.  It will focus on narrative single-player games and will use the business models to try and answer the question. A survey was handed out that investigated the respondent’s reaction to changes for BioShock Infinite developer by Irrational Games. The models were presented and compared to how the respondents reacted to the questions. Together with how companies are releasing games now this thesis came to the conclusion that in order to lower the entry point, the games need to be split and released episodically, together with increased downloadable content that added further playability to the game.

What makes us like or dislike certain games? Is there relation between our tastes in games and our personalities and can it be measured? This dissertation examines gamer personalities and game attributes with the help of the Five-Factor Model, also called The Big Five. It treats an experiment on how to apply the Five-Factor Model to games and their players and what it may be used for. By interviewing gamers, recording their favored and unfavored games, letting the gamers take a Big Five personality test and then juxtapose their personalities with their games' attributes, those questions may be answered.