scholarly journals Talk It Out: Promoting Verbal Communication Through Virtual Reality Games

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Bodnar
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Research Through Design ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Specific Teaching ◽  
Future Work

<p>Verbal communication skills have been shown to be important for both social and professional settings. However, a need for greater communication skills has been identified for graduated students entering the workplace, specifically task-based verbal communication (Daniels, 2001). In light of these findings new communication teaching techniques need to be explored to better prepare our students for effectively communicating information in their future work environment.  This thesis researched the potential for virtual reality video games to promote verbal communication skills in students. The motivation behind using virtual reality video games to teach these skills is based on the theory (Richard Van Eck, 2006) that video games have the potential to enhance the learning outcome of students. Initial research also shows that virtual reality experiences further immerse the player in the educational setting improving their engagement with the game's content (Thornhill-Miller & Dupont, 2016).  The thesis researched how virtual reality games can teach verbal communication skills firstly by analysing past works, completing an in- depth literature review and multiple case studies. Secondly, by using research through design methods in the creation of a prototype game that incorporates both communication and game teaching mechanics researched in the first stage. Finally, user tests were conducted on the prototype game to analyse how effective it was at promoting verbal communication skills in students. The paper’s outcome was that virtual reality games can be effective at promoting verbal communication skills and have tested specific teaching techniques and video game mechanics that can be used to effectively promote these skills.</p>

scholarly journals Talk It Out: Promoting Verbal Communication Through Virtual Reality Games

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Bodnar
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Research Through Design ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Specific Teaching ◽  
Future Work

<p>Verbal communication skills have been shown to be important for both social and professional settings. However, a need for greater communication skills has been identified for graduated students entering the workplace, specifically task-based verbal communication (Daniels, 2001). In light of these findings new communication teaching techniques need to be explored to better prepare our students for effectively communicating information in their future work environment.  This thesis researched the potential for virtual reality video games to promote verbal communication skills in students. The motivation behind using virtual reality video games to teach these skills is based on the theory (Richard Van Eck, 2006) that video games have the potential to enhance the learning outcome of students. Initial research also shows that virtual reality experiences further immerse the player in the educational setting improving their engagement with the game's content (Thornhill-Miller & Dupont, 2016).  The thesis researched how virtual reality games can teach verbal communication skills firstly by analysing past works, completing an in- depth literature review and multiple case studies. Secondly, by using research through design methods in the creation of a prototype game that incorporates both communication and game teaching mechanics researched in the first stage. Finally, user tests were conducted on the prototype game to analyse how effective it was at promoting verbal communication skills in students. The paper’s outcome was that virtual reality games can be effective at promoting verbal communication skills and have tested specific teaching techniques and video game mechanics that can be used to effectively promote these skills.</p>

Reducing Outgroup Bias through Intergroup Contact with Non-Playable Video Game Characters in VR

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priska Breves
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Black People ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Racially Diverse ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Explicit Bias ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
The Impact

Video games are one of the most popular media forms in today's society, but are often criticized for various reasons. For instance, mainstream video games do not incorporate enough racially diverse game characters or are often connected to adolescents’ levels of aggression and have thus been the focus of many debates. While the negative consequences of video games have been analyzed by many academic studies, research on the prosocial effects of video games is scarce. To address this research gap and support the ongoing call for more diverse video game characters, this study used a 3 × 1 between-subjects design ( N = 86) to test the impact of racially diverse non-playable characters (NPCs). The parasocial contact hypothesis was used as the theoretical foundation, incorporating virtual reality technology as an intensifier of effects. The results showed that helping a Black NPC did not reduce implicit bias, but reduced explicit bias towards Black people. This improvement was stronger when the video game was played using virtual reality technology than when using a traditional two-dimensional gaming device.

scholarly journals Autonomy and nomadic Relativism of Digital Identity

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Yumartov
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Significant Feature ◽  
Digital Identity ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Artificial Society ◽  
Artificial Environment ◽  
Game Designer ◽  
Digital Spaces

The article examines identity in such digital spaces as video games and virtual reality. These digital spaces are defined as interactive artificial environment, autonomous from reality, with its own ontology, scenario, narrative and mythological context. Video games have an immersive experience that is enhanced in virtual reality due to the ability to integrate into the embodiment of the game&apos;s model.  The type of digital identity that is defined by the video game designer in accordance with narrative and artistic goals is what we call a character. The opposite type is an avatar, it reflects strategies of self-presentation of an individual (user). Digital identity interests us primarily because of the ability to be independent (autonomous) from human physiology and from social categories that are attributed to the user in the real world. Digital identity can be constructed by the individuals in accordance with their preferences, which makes it possible to solve many gender, racial, and age problems. The possibility to integrate into an avatar embodiment and interact with in-game items it reinforces the distance from real embodiment. Moreover, in multiplayer games with the civil roleplay, it can exist in an artificial society and have introspective meaning for another members of the society. Another significant feature of digital identity is the relativism. Digital identity can be relativistic due to the which allow one to have different identities in different games or change the appearance of an avatar in one game during a play time. Autonomy and relativism can be the strategy for the implementation of projects of nomadic identity by Rosi Braidotti and Donna Haraway, in which subject is not sticked to any constants, but constantly defines and redefines oneself through performative acts.

scholarly journals Virtual Reality Games and the Role of Body Involvement in Enhancing Positive Emotions and Decreasing Anxiety: Within-Subjects Pilot Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Pallavicini ◽  
Alessandro Pepe
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Traditional Concept ◽  
High Body ◽  
Within Subjects

BACKGROUND In the last few years, the introduction of immersive technologies, especially virtual reality, into the gaming market has dramatically altered the traditional concept of video games. Given the unique features of virtual reality in terms of interaction and its ability to completely immerse the individual into the game, this technology should increase the propensity for video games to effectively elicit positive emotions and decrease negative emotions and anxiety in the players. However, to date, few studies have investigated the ability of virtual reality games to induce positive emotions, and the possible effect of this new type of video game in diminishing negative emotions and anxiety has not yet been tested. Furthermore, given the critical role of body movement in individuals’ well-being and in emotional responses to video games, it seems critical to investigate how body involvement can be exploited to modulate the psychological benefits of virtual reality games in terms of enhancing players’ positive emotions and decreasing negative emotions and anxiety. OBJECTIVE This within-subjects study aimed to explore the ability of commercial virtual reality games to induce positive emotions and diminish negative emotions and state anxiety of the players, investigating the effects of the level of body involvement requested by the game (ie, high vs low). METHODS A total of 36 young adults played a low body-involvement (ie, <i>Fruit Ninja VR</i>) and a high body-involvement (ie, <i>Audioshield</i>) video game in virtual reality. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form-Y1 (STAI-Y1) were used to assess positive and negative emotions and state anxiety. RESULTS Results of the generalized linear model (GLM) for repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a statistically significant increase in the intensity of happiness (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) and surprise (<i>P</i>=.003) and, in parallel, a significant decrease in fear (<i>P</i>=.01) and sadness (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) reported by the users. Regarding the ability to improve anxiety in the players, the results showed a significant decrease in perceived state anxiety after game play, assessed with both the STAI-Y1 (<i>P</i>=.003) and the VAS-anxiety (<i>P</i>=.002). Finally, the results of the GLM MANOVA showed a greater efficacy of the high body-involvement game (ie, <i>Audioshield</i>) compared to the low body-involvement game (ie, <i>Fruit Ninja VR</i>), both for eliciting positive emotions (happiness, <i>P</i>&lt;.001; and surprise, <i>P</i>=.01) and in reducing negative emotions (fear, <i>P</i>=.05; and sadness, <i>P</i>=.05) and state anxiety, as measured by the STAI-Y1 (<i>P</i>=.05). CONCLUSIONS The two main principal findings of this study are as follows: (1) virtual reality video games appear to be effective tools to elicit positive emotions and to decrease negative emotions and state anxiety in individuals and (2) the level of body involvement of the virtual video game has an important effect in determining the ability of the game to improve positive emotions and decrease negative emotions and state anxiety of the players.

scholarly journals KinFit: A Factual Aerobic Sport Game with Stimulation Support

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
AbdelGhani Karkar ◽  
Somaya AlMaadeed ◽  
Rehab Salem ◽  
Mariam AbdelHady ◽  
Sara Abou-Aggour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
User Studies ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Health Awareness ◽  
Realistic Scenes

Overweight and obesity is a situation where a person has stacked too much fat that might affect negatively his/her health. Many people skip doing exercises due to several facts related to the encouragement, health-awareness, and time ar-rangement. Diverse aerobic video games have been proposed to help users in do-ing exercises. However, we observe some limitations in existing games. For in-stance, they don’t give correct scores while wearing Arabic traditional suits, they don’t consider showing immersive realistic scenes, and they don’t stimulate users to do exercises and keeping them encouraged to play more. We propose in this paper an aerobic video game that displays real scenes of aerobic coaches and keeps the user notified about doing exercises. It is a kind of serious games that allows users to learn aerobic movements and practice with aerobic coaches. It contains several exercises in which each can be played on normal screen or in fully immersive virtual reality (VR). While the user is playing, he/she can see the playing score with the estimated amount of burned calories. It stores the time when the user plays to remind him/her about doing exercises again. The profound user studies demonstrated the usability and effectiveness of the proposed game.

Homo Aestheticus' Search for Violence

2021 ◽  
pp. 567-591
Author(s):  
Neslihan Yayla
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Interdisciplinary Concept ◽  
Scientific Fields ◽  
Aesthetic Preferences

Homo-Aestheticus is a term that describes human art aesthetics and evolution under its effect. When we look at the artworks that came to our date million years ago, the similarities we encounter are the signs that our aesthetic preferences, understanding of beauty, and our tastes are a legacy from our ancestors. Aesthetic is not only an understanding adopted by our cultures; it has been with us for centuries. Similarly, violence appears as a concept that has been part of humanity for ages. It is an interdisciplinary concept that is center of attention of scientific fields particularly social sciences, art, sociology, psychology. As a result of digital developments, virtual reality, anonymous identities and together with the fantasy of the virtual world emerging with uncontrolled digital media eases presentation of the violence in digital medias. In video games, violence is presented to the player in an aesthetic way. This study aims to reveal how the aesthetics of violence in video game are received by the players and fill the gap in the literature.

Video game–induced tourism: a new frontier for destination marketers

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis-Etienne Dubois ◽  
Chris Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Travel Motivation ◽  
New Frontier ◽  
Online Comments ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

Purpose This paper aims to expand the media-related tourism literature in a new domain of application by highlighting a connection between the world of video games and tourism. Design/methodology/approach Through deductive content analysis, this study looks at 137 online comments posted on popular gaming and travel websites that connect two popular video games (Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Unity) and travel motivation. Findings Results establish that video games share similar travel motivation elements with film and should be considered as a driver of tourism. It argues that destinations should consider video games as a platform for motivating tourists before they consider investing in virtual reality. It outlines opportunities for destinations interested in video game-induced tourism and calls for more research and case studies that link video games with destinations. Originality/value This is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first paper to investigate this connection. As such, it outlines untapped opportunities for destinations interested in video game-induced tourism and opens up a new line of research within media-related tourism literature.

scholarly journals Voice Communication Usage Among Video Game Players and Its Effects on Users Perceived Anonymity

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1 (39)) ◽  
pp. 93-101
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Online Games ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Voice Communication ◽  
Main Form ◽  
Game Players

Video games are becoming the main form of leisure consump- tion. The most popular video games today are online games that are based on communication between game participants. As a result, verbal commu- nication that allows players to have discussions without being distracted from the game has now become one of the preferred methods of commu- nication. This form of communication, although beneficial for video game players, also brings into question possible social effects. In the present study we analyze such an effect, namely the effect of verbal communication on the perceived anonymity of the players who use it. Applying correlational analyzes on a sample of 102 video game enthusiasts, relationships between the use of voice communication and the perceived anonymity of users were identified. Higher use of voice communication negatively affects the score of perceived anonymity.

scholarly journals Game Transfer Phenomena and Problematic Interactive Media Use: Dispositional and Media Habit Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari ◽  
Jayne Gackenbach
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Gaming Disorder ◽  
Future Work

The study of the effects of interactive media has mainly focused on dysregulated behaviors, the conceptualization of which is supported by the paradigms of addiction. Research into Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) examines the interplay between video game features, events while playing, and the manipulation of hardware, which can lead to sensory-perceptual and cognitive intrusions (e.g., hallucinations and recurrent thoughts) and self-agency transient changes (e.g., automatic behaviors) related to video games. GTP can influence the interpretation of stimuli and everyday interactions and, in contrast to gaming disorder, are relatively common and not necessarily negative. However, some players have reported feeling distress due to their GTP. This study focuses on how dispositional and interactive media habit factors are related to GTP and two forms of problematic interactive media [problematic video game playing (PVG) and problematic social media use (PSMU)]. A sample of 343 university students who played video games completed an online survey (58.7% male, 19–25 years old). Not all who had experienced GTP were identified as exhibiting PVG or PSMU, but all of those in the PVG group had experienced GTP. Overall, the profiles of the groups, including GTP (91.4%), PVG (28.5%), and PSMU (24.8%), were in accordance with previous findings. Those in the GTP and the PVG groups were characterized by being male, being highly engaged in the game (either while playing or via game-related activities), and showed preferences for game-related activities. However, while those in the GTP group were significantly more likely to be fantasy-prone, those with PVG were the ones who played most per day. Those in the PSMU group were characterized by being female and/or extroverted, frequently using social/sharing platforms, and seldom playing video games. A hierarchical binary logistic regression revealed that males were more likely to experience GTP. Increases in PVG, fantasy proneness, and neuroticism increased the odds of GTP. Future work can benefit from considering the role of GTP in gaming disorder, since intrusive thoughts, cognitive biases, and poor impulse control are pivotal in the initiation and maintenance of dysfunctional playing behaviors.

scholarly journals The Improvement of Non-Verbal Communication Skills of Five Females with Profound and Multiple Disabilities Using Song-Choices in Music Therapy

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-young Lee ◽  
Katrina McFerran
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Preference Assessment ◽  
Multiple Disabilities ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Choice Making ◽  
Multiple Case

Facilitating the expression of preferences and choices of non-verbal adults who have profound and multiple disabilities is important yet challenging. The present research project aimed to examine whether consistent opportunities for expressing song-choices within music therapy resulted in an improvement in communication abilities of five females with profound and multiple disabilities. A multiple case study design was used. Each participant attended weekly thirty-minute sessions comprising three song-preference assessment sessions followed by ten song-choice intervention sessions. Affective responses to songs in the song-preference assessment were analyzed to identify each participant’s preferred songs. Four song-choice opportunities consisting of a pair of preferred and less-preferred songs were offered during the intervention sessions, and intentional choice-making behaviors were facilitated. The descriptive video-analysis of the sessions shows that the participants were able to indicate consistent preferences for songs, make intentional choices of songs, and improve communication skills throughout the ten intervention sessions. Two participants developed clear choice-making skills, such as selecting a preferred song-card from two options and alternating eye-gaze between a song-card and the researcher. The other three participants demonstrated idiosyncratic but clear intentional behaviors using body movements, facial expressions, and vocalizations to indicate choices of preferred songs. Inter-rater reliability was calculated. These results suggest that some adults with profound and multiple disabilities are capable of improving non-verbal communication skills when appropriate interventions and strategies are provided and also highlight the potential of music therapy to promote communication development of these individuals.

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