Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Morag, Nadav ; Strindberg, Anders. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Risk, Rational Deterrence Theory, Subjective Expected Utility, Prospect Utility Theory, Japan, USSR, Pearl Harbor, Cuban Missile Crisis, North Korea, Iran, Game Theory, Strategic Environment, Capabilities, Strategic Culture. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-178). Also available in print.

Literature and teaching books about how to make art for games have been accessible but thearea lacked covering of genre-specific game art. Game genres require different solutions forthe art in order to aid playability of the final product. My game project, called DOMAINS was made with an outside team. The project together withmy first art guide about the cinematic platformer genre provided materials for the writing ofthe next game art guide. The old art guide was used as a template for the new guide, whichfocused on the strategy game genre. This report contains the description of the process of making my second art guide, and thewhole The Strategy Game Art Guide itself. It reviews both the successful and less successful implements in the game and will walk thereader through how the prior decisions were made and the consequences. It targets beginnersin the game development world.

Detta examensarbete, som skrivits inom området media vid Konstfack ägnas åt tonårskillars sociala lärande i strategispelet League of Legends. Jag har undersökt hur ungdomarna kommunicerar med varandra och vilka olika metoder de använder för att inskaffa kunskap som är nödvändigt för att utvecklas som League of Legendsspelare. Jag har utgått från kvalitativa intervjuer med tre femtonåriga killar och etnografiskt orienterade videodokumentationer som bas för min undersökning. Socialsemiotisk teori med ett multimodalt perspektiv används. Begrepp som jag använder mig av för att förstå och analysera min empiri är lärande och design. Analysen av intervjuer och videodokumentationerna vägleds av mina frågor kring hur ungdomarna lär sig av varandra och vilka resurser de skapar tillsammans. Resultatet visar att det sker en ständig läroprocess som styrs av ungdomarnas intresse och deras strävan efter att bli bättre League of Legends spelare och social tillhörighet. Samarbete kring hur strategiska val diskuteras mellan ungdomarna och formar dem att bli multikonstnärer som behärskar skrift, tal och gester. Min undersökning via videodokumentationerna blev mitt dubbla perspektiv, det jag inte kunde finna via skrift och intervjuer såg jag via filminspelningen. Jag har jag valt att klippa ihop en film om mitt sökande på svar kring hur ungdomarna kommunicerar. Denna film visas som min gestaltande del på Konstfacks vårutställning 2014.

This dissertation consists of two essays in which I study the impact of two interdependent consumer behaviors, fairness concerns and exclusivity seeking, on a companys marketing strategies and profits specifically in a context where it tries to expand its clientele with the objective of generating repeat purchases, for example by running deals on daily deal platforms. In the first essay, I examine the impact of customers fairness concerns on the profitability of a company running promotions on daily deal platforms. With the prevalence of social media and the internet, information about such targeted promotions can become available to all consumers including those who did not have access to the platform and paid a full-price. Conducting a laboratory experiment, I demonstrate that knowledge about targeted promotions often leads to post-promotional fairness concerns among these consumers resulting in an increased tendency to switch providers. Incorporating the results of the experiment in a two-period game-theoretic model I analyze the impact of customers post-promotional fairness concerns on the profits of quality differentiated companies who compete by running targeted promotions. I find that the low quality provider always suffers from consumers sensitivity to unfairness. Contrary, I show that the high quality provider can counterintuitively benefit from consumers fairness concerns as long as its quality advantage is not too large. Furthermore, I analyze how profits are impacted when information about the targeted deals leaks to non-targeted customers who would have bought at the regular price. I find that, counterintuitively, competing firms profits increase with leakage. In the second essay of this dissertation, I start with the observation that many platform members are new customers and are uncertain about the quality of the companys product or service until they consume it. In such a context, I examine a high quality sellers optimal signaling strategy in a market where consumers prefer to purchase a scarce product due to desire for exclusivity or to receive a service in a non-crowded environment due to better experience and service delivery. Utilizing a repeat purchase signaling model I show that, consistent with prior literature, the high quality firm signals its quality by making its product scarce as well as charging a high price when consumers desire for exclusivity is high and cost of quality is great. Contrary, I also find conditions under which the high quality firm counterintuitively makes its product widely available and prices it low to signal its quality. The model may in part explain how high quality sellers market their products or services on daily deal websites.

Darbas skirtas sukurti kuriamam kosminiam žingsniniam strateginiam žaidimui reikalingas grafinio varikliuko statinės dalies aukšto lygio objektų atvaizdavimo funkcijas, kurios bus naudojamos žaidimo vartotojo sąsajos vaizdo langų realizavimui. Buvo išanalizuotas „3D Orion“ žaidimo modelis ir suprojektuota grafinio varikliuko statinė dalis su jos realizacijai skirtais funkcijų prototipais. Funkcijų prototipai suskirstyti į atskiras klases ir realizuoti. / The purpose of this work is to create a high level objects visualization interface functions for turn-based space strategy game graphic user interface viewports. The analysis of “3D Orion” game model was made and designed graphic engines static part, with functions prototypes for its realization. Functions prototypes specified to different classes and developed.

Darbas skirtas sukurti žaidimo variklio pasaulio modelį palaikantį modulį. Darbo metu buvo atlikta žaidimo pasaulio modelio poreikių analizė ir suprojektuotas pasaulio modelį palaikantis modulis. Pagal šį projektą buvo sukurtas pasaulio modelį palaikantis įrankis bei jo efektyvumą kontroliuojantis pagalbinis įrankis. Sukurtas įrankis leidžia realizuoti ne vieną kosminio žingsninio strateginio žaidimo pasaulio modelį, turintį kiek įmanoma mažiau apribojimų. / The purpose of this work is to create a module that supports the world concept, for the game engine. In the course of this work requirements for different world models were analyzed and the appropriate module design project was created. Using this project, a module for supporting different world concepts and a tool that increases its efficiency were created. Developed tool allows you to create more than one space turn-based strategy game world model, with minimal restrictions.

This thesis deals with game development on the Xbox 360 platform and implementation of a starter kit for this platform. After introduction of the Xbox 360 as a modern and very powerful gaming console, the XNA technology that makes development of games for console possible for the first time in history not only for professionals but also for amateurs, is introduced. The next part mentions existing starter kits for 3D XNA games, existing tools widely used to analyze implemented solution with focus on performance and tools commonly used for game content creation. The main part of thesis is dedicated to design, implementation and testing of a real time strategy starter kit prototype, with emphasis on efficiency, understandability and usability by XNA community members in mind.

Games have been a field of interest for researchin artificial intelligence for decades. As of now, it is over 5years ago an AI for the strategy game Go, AlphaGo, beat worldchampion Lee Sedol 4-1, which was considered to be an enormousmilestone for AI. Our goal is to make an AI that can play theclassic strategy board game Stratego at a competent level. Thisis achieved by making the AI learn by repeatedly playing againstitself to figure out what strategy to use in various situations byusing CFR - counterfactual regret minimization. According toour experiments, we were able to accomplish our goal in makinga Stratego AI that could play at a sophisticated level for a smallerversion of the game. We concluded that it was able to play betterthan an amateur human player. / Spel har varit ett intresseområde inomutvecklingen av artificiell intelligens i årtionden. Det är redanfem år sedan AlphaGo slog världsmästaren Lee Sedol i Go 2016,vilket betraktas vara ett stort steg för utvecklingen av AI. Vårtmål är att skapa en AI som kan spela strategispelet Stratego på en kompetent nivå. Detta kommer att implementeras genom att AI:n spelar mot sig själv en stor mängd gånger och uppdaterarsin strategi baserat på konceptet CFR counterfactual regretminimization. Enligt våra experiment lyckades vi med vårt mål i att skapa en kompetent Stratego AI för en mindre version avStratego. Vår uppfattning är att den spelar bättre än en människapå amatörnivå. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2021, KTH, Stockholm

<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is already a fundamental component of computer games. In this context is emotions a growing part in simulating real life. The proposed emotional state module, provides a way for the game agents to select an action in real-time virtual environments. The modules function has been tested with the open-source strategy game ORTS. This thesis proposes a new approach for the design of an interacting network, similar to a spreading activation system, of emotional states that keeps track of emotion intensities changing and interacting over time. The network of emotions can represent any number of persisting states, such as moods, emotions and drives. Any emotional signal can affect every state positively or negatively. The states' response to emotional signals are influenced by the other states represented in the network. The network is contained within an emotional state module. This interactions between emotions are not the focus of much research, neither is the representation model. The focus tend to be on the mechanisms eliciting emotions and on how to express the emotions.</p>

In this study, an overview is presented regarding how the mechanics in a resource-based game, specifically Crusader Kings II (Paradox Development Studio 2012), might affect the player's connection to the characters in the game. The study introduces conventions prevalent in grand strategy games, roleplaying games as well as literature theory. Participants of the study played two different versions of a mod for Crusader Kings II (2012), and were interviewed, to find indications for how different players related to characters in the game, what mechanics they valued, and their view on the characters themselves. The conclusions that are reached in the study indicated that there are mechanics in the game that influence the player’s connection to the characters, but that it is, to a certain degree, up to the player as to what extent they are used or employed.