Game Design and Development: Using Computer Games As Creative And Challenging Assignments

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Cheryl Seals ◽  
◽  
Jacqueline Hundley ◽  
Lacey Strange Montgomery ◽  
◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Silke Balzert ◽  
Lucia Pannese ◽  
Marie-Therese Walter ◽  
Peter Loos

The intention of this book chapter is to give an overview about Serious Games from a scientific as well as from a business related point of view. As a first step, several existing definitions of Serious Games are examined, and the differences and similarities of these games and common computer games are presented. In the next step, some goals of Serious Games and their dependency on the application scenario and/or the kind of business in which the game is used are analyzed. Afterwards, the focus switches to Serious Games developed for an economic context. The specific goals of such games are presented, and the influence of these goals on design and development requirements is discussed. Furthermore, how the application scenario influences Serious Game design is examined. Last but not least, some use cases are presented in order to demonstrate the possibilities of Serious Games for training and learning purposes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Jaccard ◽  
Laurent Suppan ◽  
Félicia Bielser

BACKGROUND Multidisciplinary collaboration is essential to the successful development of serious games, albeit difficult to achieve. The co.LAB serious game design framework was created to support collaboration within serious game multidisciplinary design teams. Its use has not yet been validated in a naturalistic context. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to perform a first assessment of the impact of the co.LAB framework on collaboration within multidisciplinary teams during serious game design and development. METHODS This was a mixed-methods study based on two serious game design projects in which the co.LAB framework was used. The first phase was qualitative and carried out using a general inductive approach. To this end, all members of the first serious game project team who used the co.LAB framework were invited to take part in a focus group session (N=6). Results inferred from qualitative data were then used to define a quantitative instrument (questionnaire) which was designed according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys. Members of both project teams (N=11) were then asked to answer the questionnaire. Quantitative results were reported as median [Q1;Q3] and appropriate non-parametric tests used to assess for between group differences. Finally, results gathered through the qualitative and quantitative phases were integrated. RESULTS In both phases, the participation rate was 100%. Verbatim transcripts were classified into 4 high level themes: influence on collaborative dimensions; impact on project course, monitoring and efficiency; qualitative perceptions of the framework; and influence of team composition on the use of the framework. Accordingly, the web-based questionnaire was then developed according to Burhardt's seven dimensions of collaboration. In both projects, the co.LAB framework had a positive impact on most dimensions of collaboration during the multidisciplinary design and development of serious games. When all collaborative dimensions were aggregated, the overall impact of the framework was rated on a scale from "-42" to "+42" (very negative to very positive). The overall score was 23 [20;27], with no significant difference between groups (P=.58). Most respondents also believed that all serious game design teams should include a member possessing a significant expertise in serious game design frameworks to guide the development process. CONCLUSIONS The co.LAB framework has a positive impact on collaboration within serious game development teams. However, expert guidance seems necessary to maximize development efficiency. Whether such guidance can be provided by means of a collaborative web platform remains to be determined.


2018 ◽  
pp. 256-277
Author(s):  
Elena Novak ◽  
Tristan E. Johnson

Considerable resources have been invested in examining the game design principles that best foster learning. One way to understand what constitutes a well-designed instructional game is to examine the relationship between gaming characteristics and actual learning. This report discusses the lessons learned from the design and development process of instructional simulations that are enhanced by competition and storyline gaming characteristics and developed as instructional interventions for a study on the effects of gaming characteristics on learning effectiveness and engagement. The goal of the instructional simulations was to engage college students in learning the statistics concepts of standard deviation and the empirical rule. A pilot study followed by a small-scale experimental study were conducted to improve the value and effectiveness of these designed simulations. Based on these findings, specific practical implications are offered for designing actual learning environments that are enhanced by competition and storyline gaming elements.


Author(s):  
Miguel Sicart

In this chapter the authors define ethical gameplay as a consequence of game design choices. The authors propose an analytical model that defines ethical gameplay as an experience that stems from a particular set of game design decisions. These decisions have in common a design method, called ethical cognitive dissonance, based on the conscious creative clash between different models of agency in a game. This chapter outlines this method and its application in different commercial computer games.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
André F. S. Barbosa ◽  
Pedro N. M. Pereira ◽  
João A. F. F. Dias ◽  
Frutuoso G. M. Silva

The development of a serious game requires perfect knowledge of the learning domain to obtain the desired results. But it is also true that this may not be enough to develop a successful serious game. First of all, the player has to feel that he is playing a game where the learning is only a consequence of the playing actions. Otherwise, the game is viewed as boring and not as a fun activity and engaging. For example, the player can catch some items in the scenario and then separate them according to its type (i.e., recycle them). Thus, the main action for player is catching the items in the scenario where the recycle action is a second action, which is viewed as a consequence of the first action. Sometimes, the game design relies on a detailed approach based on the ideas of the developers because some educational content are difficult to integrate in the games, while maintaining the fun factor in the first place. In this paper we propose a new methodology of design and development of serious games that facilitates the integration of educational contents in the games. Furthermore, we present a serious game, called “Clean World”, created using this new methodology.


2011 ◽  
Vol 480-481 ◽  
pp. 956-961
Author(s):  
Chai Gang ◽  
Xiao Yu Huang

This paper studies the application of computer games in the popularization of forestry science knowledge and proposes a method of 3D game development based on Virtools platform, which creates 3D models in 3ds max and Maya, and then realizes the game functions in Virtools. This paper designs and develops a 3D game for the popularization of forestry science, gets a better balance between knowledge and game play, and enhances the users' interaction experience by adding the gamepad, which has great reference and practicability value. Computer games will play an increasingly important role in the popularization of forestry science.


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