Evaluating Video Game Design and Interactivity

2010 ◽  
pp. 177-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Sharritt
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Game Player ◽  
Video Game Design ◽  
Video Game Player ◽  
Role Specialization ◽  
Game Interface

An emergent, bottom-up construction of video game interaction is presented, drawing from influences in ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967), grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), and activity theory (Cole & Engeström, 1993; Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006; Vygotsky, 1978). Following, a qualitative case study highlights the use of affordances, or potentials for action, during video game player interaction among peers and the game interface. Relationships among affordances and levels of activity are presented, which broaden the concept of affordances to include motivations. Additionally, activity theory will complement analysis by introducing the mediational triangle (Cole & Engeström, 1993), providing a guide with which to analyze game player interactions and motives. The mediational triangle sheds light on the motivated activity itself, the tools available to complete the activity, and peer relationships (such as role specialization and rules of interaction) to evaluate game designs and their ability to fulfill serious purposes with meaningful outcomes.

Girl game designers

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1373-1388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Technological Literacy ◽  
Race Differences ◽  
Video Game Design ◽  
Design Workshop

Educational programs designed to bridge the digital divide for girls often aim to increase girls’ technological literacy. However, little research has examined what aspects of technological literacy are highlighted in these programs. In this article, I provide a case study of a video game design workshop hosted by a girls’ advocacy organization. Through observations, interviews, and analysis of program materials, I look at how the organization conceptualizes technological literacy as contributing to gender equality. I compare this conceptualization to how technological literacy was taught in the classroom. Finally, I draw on situated learning theory to help explain how girls responded to the class. In the end, both the organization’s limited notion of how technological literacy could increase gender equality as well as gender and race differences between the teachers and the girls influenced girls’ participation in the workshop.

The Haunting Aesthetics of Tacoma

2019 ◽  
pp. 155541201989440
Author(s):  
Ashley P. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Video Game Design ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

Video games are well suited to exploring questions of philosophical intent through their construction and design. Exploring the layered and complex forms of video game design and aesthetics is a growing area of gaming studies that is pointing toward these larger and important questions, even changing the way gaming studies is being approached by scholars. This article examines the relationship between video games’ design and aesthetics and Derrida’s conceptual framework of hauntology. Using Mannon and Temkin’s definition of glitch aesthetics, I conduct a close visual analysis of Tacoma as a case study in how Derrida’s hauntology is present within video games. Tacoma’s aesthetic choices bring to light how video games play with Western understandings of presence, life, and death.

scholarly journals Don’t Give Up: A Case Study on Girls and Video Game Design

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Minnigerode ◽  
Rebecca Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Stem Careers ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Video Game Design

This case study examines the experience of two sixth grade girls who participated in a game-design class in a class taken by all students at their school. Questions were: How do the experiences observed demonstrate engagement with a story drawn from the participants’ own lives?; and: How does the experience observed reflect experiences leading to competency, perseverance and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) self-efficacy and the development of interest in STEM careers? Findings were that the students were highly engaged with the chosen topic and demonstrated growth in the attribute of perseverance and self-efficacy in STEM skills.

A Video Game for Brazilian T1D Children about Knowledge of Disease and Self-care: A Methodological Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 193229682110175
Author(s):  
Valéria de Cássia Sparapani ◽  
Sidney Fels ◽  
Noreen Kamal ◽  
Rebecca Ortiz La Banca ◽  
Lucila Castanheira Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Health Behavior ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Methodological Study ◽  
Video Game Design ◽  
Management Behaviors

Background: Video games are interactive technologies able to support children in health promotion, behavior changes, and chronic disease self-management. The use of health behavior change determinants in video game design can increase its effectiveness. This study describes the process of designing a video game for Brazilian children with T1D clarifying the use of health behavior change determinants that may influence self-management behaviors. Methods: This was a methodological study based on health behavior change theories and the user-centered design approach. The results of a qualitative study conducted with children aged 7 to 12 years identified learning needs about knowledge on diabetes and self-care tasks which contribute to inappropriate behaviors. A Behavioral Diagnosis presented health behavior change determinants, capable of influencing children’s learning needs and behaviors, that were considered to design The Heroes of Diabetes—the power of knowledge. Results: The results presented the process of designing 4 mini games with its description and theory foundation to reach children’s lack of understanding about T1D, insulin’s role, SMBG requirements, food groups and physical activity’s role in glycemic control. Knowledge, goal settings, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation determinants were related with video games design features. Conclusions: The findings support the use of health behavior change determinants into video game design as a guide to achieve children learning needs and that might influence self-management behaviors.

scholarly journals Detecting Video Game Player Burnout with the Use of Sensor Data and Machine Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Anton Smerdov ◽  
Andrey Somov ◽  
Evgeny Burnaev ◽  
Bo Zhou ◽  
Paul Lukowicz
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Game Player ◽  
Video Game Player

Towards a Conceptual Framework of Comprehensive Video Game Player Profiles: Player Models, Mental Models, and Behavior Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 807-811
Author(s):  
Jessica Williams ◽  
Rhyse Bendell ◽  
Stephen M. Fiore ◽  
Florian Jentsch
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Behavioral Modeling ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Component Technique ◽  
Player Profiles ◽  
Game Player ◽  
Video Game Player ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Behavior Models

Current approaches to player profiling are limited in that they typically employ only a single one of numerous of available techniques shown to have utility for categorizing and explaining player behavior. We propose a more comprehensive Video Game Player Profile Framework that considers the demographic, psychographic, mental model, and behavioral modeling approaches shown to be effective for describing gamer populations. We suggest that our proposed approach can improve the efficacy of video game player profiles by grounding data-driven techniques in game analytics with the theoretical backing of demographic, psychometric, and psychographic measurements. We provide an overview of our proposed framework, discuss the usage and relevance of each component technique, and provide a proof-of-concept demonstration with archived data.

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