[pt] A renderização de pele humana é um tópico de pesquisa fundamental para a indústria de entretenimento digital. Obter resultados realistas é bastante desafiador, ainda mais quando o objetivo do uso se destina a aplicações em tempo real. Nessa dissertação são estudadas e implementadas duas técnicas para simular o comportamento da luz através da pele humana. Ambas são baseadas em modelos físicos e empíricos e utilizam o espaço da textura na GPU para reproduzir a iluminação difusa e espalhamento transluminoso (subsurface scattering) em tempo real. Essa dissertação compara estas duas técnicas e dá orientações para a implementação de um módulo de renderização de pele humana em motores de jogos 3D. / [en] Skin rendering is a fundamental research topic for the digital entertainment industry. Realistic results are very challenge to obtain, especially for real time applications. In this dissertation, two skin rendering techniques are studied and developed to simulate light behavior through human skin. Both techniques are based on physic and empiric models and use texture space in GPU to reproduce diffuse illumination and subsurface scattering in real time. This dissertation compares these two techniques and gives guidelines for the implementation of a skin rendering module in 3D game engines.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how digitalgaming experience affects how motivated studentsbecome by gamification and whether there is anydifference in motivation that is experienced whetherplaying or not in leisure.There was no clear connection on the motivation withinthe different game groups of the result. The resultshowed that some elements motivated more than othersand those that motivated the groups most were points,levels and quests

With the success of technology, computers and digital games have become a new, more advanced, medium for storytelling. What sets digital games apart from more traditional forms is that the player must engage and interact with a game world and the characters on a whole new level. Immersion is a term that is described as the experience of feeling deeply engaged within another reality. So how does a player become immersed in the game? In order to enable the necessary interactions between the player and the game, a user interface is required. User interface elements can be designed in a variety of ways. Some elements are part of the game’s geometric world and its narrative, so-called diegetic elements. Then there is the opposite, nondiegetic elements, which have no connection to the game story at all and only fulfill the purpose of conveying information to the player. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how the user interface affects the players’ immersion. The study consisted of a theoretical literary section and two empirical investigations in the field of user tests and online surveys. What was investigated in this thesis was how non-diegetic user interface elements affect immersion as well as whether immersion increases by integrating the user interface into the gaming world. Determining a statistical significance difference in immersion seems difficult. But with the help of interviews and online surveys, the player’s preferences have shown that minimizing non-diegetic elements can increase immersion and that integrating the user interface into the game world is a very good and preferred solution for conveying the necessary information to the player. However, the data collected indicate that failure to convey the necessary information can lead to the opposite, reduced immersion.

Matematik har ofta stämpeln av att vara ett svårt och tråkigt ämne och därför är det viktigt att undersöka vilka möjligheter det finns att motivera elever till lärande inom matematik. Barn idag har växt upp i ett samhälle där digitaliseringen tidigt är en naturlig del av deras vardag. Denna systematiska litteraturstudie har därför syftat till att undersöka hur olika digitala spel påverkar elevers motivation gentemot matematikämnet. Insamlingen av material skedde i da-tabasen ERIC (EBSCO). Resultatet visade på att spelens olika speltyper och karaktärsdrag kan påverka elevers motivation. Spel med lärokontext och formativ feedback främjade inre mål medan “idle”-spel främst motiverade genom yttre mål som belöningar. Bakgrundsfaktorer och elevernas kognitiva nivå likväl de kontexter spelen hade när de användes i undervisningen kunde även påverka inställningen till olika spel. / Mathematics often has the stigma of being a difficult and a boring subject and therefore it is important to investigate what opportunities there are to motivate students to learn mathemat-ics. Children today have grown up in a society where digitalization is a natural part of their everyday lives from an early age. This systematic literature study has therefore aimed to inves-tigate how different digital games can affect students’ motivation toward the subject of mathematics. The data was collected from the database ERIC (EBSCO). The result of the study showed that the games’ game structure and characteristics can have an effect on the students’ motivation. Games which gave players a context for learning and formative feedback encour-aged intrinsic goals meanwhile idle-games mainly motivated players through extrinsic goals such as rewards. Students' background, cognitive abilities and the context in which the games were used also showed to influence the approach students had towards the games.

Denna studie har som mål att utforska de attityder som pedagoger har till lärandet genom digitala spel i användningen inom skolverksamheten. Det studien mer specifikt kommer att undersöka “Hur förhåller sig pedagoger till användningen av digitala spel i skolverksamheten”. Vi har använt semistrukturerade intervjuer för att samla in vårt empiriska material. Ett sociokulturellt perspektiv användes för att analysera det empiriska materialet som hade samlats in.  Slutsatsen av denna studie är att pedagoger har en positiv inställning till lärandet genom digitala spel samt att lärandet och utvecklingen av kunskaper sker i koppling till skolämnen men även till den personliga utvecklingen hos barnen via kommunikationen som sker mellan varandra. Dessutom understryks det att pedagoger måste utveckla sin egen kunskap och sitt engagemang för användning av digitala spel för att framgångsrikt kunna hantera en pedagogisk användning genom spel, för att eleverna ska få möjlighet att lära sig genom sina intressen. / This essay aims to explore the understanding of leisure-time teachers attitudes about using digital games in leisure-time activities. What the essay more particularly will investigate is “How do educators relate to the use of digital games in schools’ leisure-time activities?”. We have used semi-structured interviews to gather our empirical material. Sociocultural perspective was used to analyze the empirical material collected. The findings of the essay shows that educators have a positive attitude towards learning through digital games, that the learning and development of the educational and the personal areas of the children evolve. Furthermore, it is underlined that educators must develop their own knowledge and commitment towards the use of digital games to be able to successfully manage an educational use of games that is in the interest of the children that are learning.

The focus of this study was to conduct a meta-analytic investigation to combine the results obtained in independent studies aimed at determining the effectiveness of using digital games, as opposed to traditional methods, as a strategy for improving students' performance in high school mathematics. The major question of this study is: "Does the research on the use of games in high school mathematics support the use of games as a teaching strategy for improving student achievement?" To answer this question, meta-analysis was employed. Meta-analysis synthesizes and analyzes the quantitative data collected in independent and multiple empirical studies carried out on similar topics, situations, and hypotheses in order to reach a general judgment regarding the results of these studies. To determine which studies to use, specific criteria including articles published in refereed journals, thesis, and dissertation studies with experimental and control groups, research with effect size, sample size, standard deviation, and means. Based on these criteria, it was decided to include six experimental studies in the meta-analysis. The result showed that there was no significant differences between the use of digital games and traditional methods to teach mathematics in high school. The weighting factor of the two variables, standard deviation and number of participants, may account for the lack of support for gaming over traditional method of instruction.

The use of digital games in mathematics is something that has found its place in many classrooms over the years. Previous research regarding digital games’ effect on students’ results and motivation has not included a teacher’s perspective. This qualitative study has therefore collected the data through semi-structured interviews and has interviewed five teachers about their intention and beliefs behind using digital games in teaching mathematics and how their intentions and beliefs may affect the choices they make. The result of the study was that teachers used digital games as to make students motivated to practice mathematics  as well as to individulize the mathematical content to the students. The teachers also viewed students as “digital natives” and related this view to their own self-image and this belief appeared to be a major factor when the teachers’ made choices. / Digitala spel i matematikundervisning är något som tagit plats i många klassrum de senaste åren. Den forskning som bedrivits om digitala spels påverkan gällande elevers resultat och motivation har däremot saknat ett lärarperspektiv gällande användningen av digitala spel. Denna kvalitativa studie har därför med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer undersökt fem lärares syften och uppfattningar gällande digitala spel i matematikundervisning och vilka bakomliggande faktorer som kan ha kommit att påverka deras val. Resultatet visade att lärarna använde spel i syfte att låta eleverna färdighetsträna på ett motiverande sätt samt att kunna individanpassa undervisningen för eleverna. Lärarnas syn på eleverna som “digital natives” i relation till sin självbild var det som tycktes påverka deras val i störst utsträckning.

In Sweden, 50% of all teenagers between the ages 12-18 spend at least three hours a day, spending their time on anything from digital games to YouTube and homework research. Given the popularity of such activities, it is worthwhile investigating to what degree any one of them might be used to help facilitate English second language learning. Research show that digital games use lead to an enhanced vocabulary comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking comprehension, lowered anxiety level and enhanced willingness to communicate for L2 English learners. In the current study we used a qualitative teacher interviews and a quantitative student questionnaires to determine to what extent Swedish elementary school teachers and students in the southern part of Sweden perceive extramural multiplayer online games as being effective for facilitating L2 learning motivation and vocabulary acquisition, as well as their strategies for implementing digital gaming. The major conclusions of this study from both a teacher and student perception is that the motivation is enhanced in students who are frequent gamers, also enhancing their motivation in the classroom to learn English. Additionally, teachers found a wider vocabulary and knowledge of synonyms in students who frequently play games.

This research proposes to investigate the contribution that innovative development projects involving digital games can make to the field of entertainment-education (EE), which has been considered as a communication strategy falling under the media for development approach in the broader field of communication for development (Manyozo, 2012). Studies have shown that EE scholarship and practice is largely rooted in theories of individual behaviour change, but also that new theoretical perspectives deriving from participatory and empowering, as well as cultural approaches to communication are emerging in the field. The prevalence of innovation and of the application of EE principles to new mediums like digital games has also been brought to light (Obregon & Tufte, 2014). Digital games as a vehicle for EE have been analysed through the concept of serious games, or games with a utilitarian purpose, and from a behaviour change perspective (Wang & Singhal, 2009). The present research project aimed at reflecting on serious games and EE from a new perspective through the notion of innovation, and was conducted by means of exploratory and comparative qualitative case study. Findings show that innovation is closely associated with the notions of co-creation and participation. By focusing on a participatory approach to game design, innovative development projects involving digital games fit predominantly in emergent theories in EE, and combine elements of multiple approaches to communication for development, not principally the media for development approach.

Fans of Warhammer games are really dedicated, loud, and loyal. But what is it about all these digital games that are made by all kinds of different developers, that make them rate so highly again and again? The characteristics of these games most likely have something in common and by interviewing said fans about how they feel about the games might be a key to making successful games. Lore, fluff, and over-the-top characters is, according to the results, some of the things that truly tie Warhammer games together.