Creativity and Digital Games

Author(s):  
Werner Walder Marin ◽  
Pollyana Notargiacomo

In the last decades the interest in creativity has grown. One of the questions that has risen from this interest is whether it is possible to aid the development of creativity. This chapter reviews a study on the possibility of developing a digital game with this. The game Luovus was created, utilizing previous research on the subject of creativity and digital games as learning aids. The game has been tested with a group of users and seems to be an effect on the player's self-perceived creative capabilities and society's impact on their creativity. This chapter will also cover studies and past experiments on the subject and how they can be of interest to future experiments.

Pedagogika ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 120-138
Author(s):  
Birutė Vitytė

Digital games that involve entertainment, relaxation and technology are very attractive to modern students, while the traditional learning/teaching methods are inefficient and unattractive to them due to the change in learning habits. Surveys testify the successful incorporation of digital games into the curricula of Nature, Mathematics, Foreign Languages and other subjects and allow assuming that they might also be incorporated into the curriculum of the subject of Arts; therefore, this article investigates and reveals the possibilities of the application of digital games in the implementation of the curriculum of Arts subject. Many different interpretations of the concept of a digital game show that it is a manifold and multifaceted phenomenon. In addition to the concept of a “digital game” which can be understood in its broadest sense as the integration of technology and entertainment, the concepts of serious games, game-based learning / digital game-based learning, edutainment, and lecture games can also be encountered in the education contexts. Digital games can be incorporated into the subject of Arts first of all as a phenomenon of modern art. In certain aspects, digital games can be attributed to pop art and they have certain connections with installation art and, no doubt, with video and optic art and other art branches. The idea of digital games as a form of art is still questioned but some researchers suggest that their artistic value should be grounded on the analogy with art cinema. Cinema is undoubtedly considered a form of art although it is understood that not all films are works of art but, instead, an expression of the popular culture. Digital games can be incorporated into art classes as a means of artistic expression in several different ways. The first method is the creation of a digital game as an art object during art classes. The second method involves playing already created digital games as the tool/means of development of certain artistic expression abilities. Surveys show that children under 10 years of age are already capable of designing games: their script, graphics and other elements. Teenagers and older students are often capable of controlling programs intended for professionals. The process of creation of a digital game is analogous to the process of creation of any other art work but, according to the researchers, the nature of such creative work offers more education possibilities in certain aspects in comparison to traditional creative activities. The playing of digital games during art classes could be applied instead of traditional methods aiming to train the composing, designing and modelling abilities of the students or to deepen their knowledge on art history. Learning through digital gaming is an attractive and engaging experience to modern students who cannot learn and read consistently but are rather inclined to act and learn through experimenting; therefore, digital games can also be incorporated into art classes as a motivating element.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleena Mustola ◽  
Merja Koivula ◽  
Leena Turja ◽  
Marja-Leena Laakso
Keyword(s):  

The discussion around children’s digital game culture has resulted in two contradictory images of children: the passive, antisocial children uncritically and mechanically consuming digital game content and the active, social children creatively using and interacting with digital game content. Our aim is to examine how these seemingly contradictory ideas of “active” and “passive” children could be considered. By means of empirical examples of children playing digital dress-up and makeover games, we will point out that for the successful use of these concepts, they need to be thoroughly contextualized. By discussing the context and referent of activity and passivity, it is possible to overcome the unnecessary polarization of the discourses on children’s digital game culture. If the purpose is to advance the multidisciplinary discussion on digital games and childhood, the naive or careless use of the concepts of activity and passivity should be avoided.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob De Schutter ◽  
Steven Malliet

AbstractThe current study aims to integrate the findings of previous research on the use of video games by older adults by applying the Uses & Gratifications (U&GT) paradigm (Blumler and Katz, 1974). A qualitative study was performed with 35 participants aged between 50 and 74, who were selected from a larger sample of 213. Based upon their primary playing motives and the gratifications they obtain from digital game play, a classification was developed, resulting in five categories of older adults who actively play games: “time wasters”, “freedom fighters”, “compensators”, “value seekers” and “ludophiles”.


ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayo Reinders ◽  
Sorada Wattana

AbstractThe possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact does gameplay have on students’ perceptions of themselves as learners, and how does this affect their learning practice? These questions are important as they are likely to influence the success of digital game-based language learning, and as a result the way teachers might integrate games into the curriculum. In this study we investigated the experiences of five students who had participated in a fifteen-week game-based learning program at a university in Thailand. We conducted six interviews with each of them (for a total of 30 interviews) to identify what impact gameplay had in particular on their willingness to communicate in English (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément & Noels, 1998). The results showed that gameplay had a number of benefits for the participants in this study, in particular in terms of lowering their affective barriers to learning and increasing their willingness to communicate. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of further research and classroom practice.


10.2196/12853 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. e12853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Collins ◽  
Anna Cox ◽  
Caroline Wilcock ◽  
Geraint Sethu-Jones

Background Engagement in activities that promote the dissipation of work stress is essential for post work recovery and consequently for well-being. Previous research suggests that activities that are immersive, active, and engaging are especially effective at promoting recovery. Therefore, digital games may be able to promote recovery, but little is known about how they compare with other popular mobile activities, such as mindfulness apps that are specifically designed to support well-being. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effectiveness of a digital game and mindfulness app in promoting post work recovery, first in a laboratory setting and then in a field study. Methods Study 1 was a laboratory experiment (n=45) in which participants’ need for recovery was induced by a work task, before undertaking 1 of 3 interventions: a digital game (Block! Hexa Puzzle), a mindfulness app (Headspace), or a nonmedia control with a fidget spinner (a physical toy). Recovery in the form of how energized participants felt (energetic arousal) was compared before and after the intervention and how recovered participants felt (recovery experience) was compared across the conditions. Study 2 was a field study with working professionals (n=20), for which participants either played the digital game or used the mindfulness app once they arrived home after work for a period of 5 working days. Measures of energetic arousal were taken before and after the intervention, and the recovery experience was measured after the intervention along with measures of enjoyment and job strain. Results A 3×2 mixed analysis of variance identified that, in study 1, the digital game condition increased energetic arousal (indicative of improved recovery) whereas the other 2 conditions decreased energetic arousal (F2,42=3.76; P=.03). However, there were no differences between the conditions in recovery experience (F2,42=.01; P=.99). In study 2, multilevel model comparisons identified that neither the intervention nor day of the week had a significant main effect on how energized participants felt. However, for those in the digital game condition, daily recovery experience increased during the course of the study, whereas for those in the mindfulness condition, it decreased (F1,18=9.97; P=.01). Follow-up interviews with participants identified 3 core themes: detachment and restoration, fluctuations and differences, and routine and scheduling. Conclusions This study suggests that digital games may be effective in promoting post work recovery in laboratory contexts (study 1) and in the real world, although the effect in this case may be cumulative rather than instant (study 2).


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Mycyk

The medium of digital games is constantly evolving, as many recently-published games are crucially different from titles that were popular several dozen years ago. This, as well as the com-mercial supersystems concept of Marsha Kinder, is the contribution of analysing the problem of digital game definition in this paper. The main aim of this article is to emphasise differences between digital games and other, similar artefacts. The author attempts to achieve it by constructing definition of digital games that covers all examples of the electronic entertainment medium. By doing so, the author attempts to analyse the most crucial elements and properties of digital games, e.g. their files available in the memory of digital devices, as well as aims that are supposed to be solved by the player during gameplay.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aung Pyae ◽  
Tapani N. Liukkonen ◽  
Luimula Mika ◽  
Christina Kattimeri ◽  
Veroline Cauberghe ◽  
...  

Attitudes and motivation towards physical exercises play a vital role for elderly people’s adherence to exercise. In recent years, digital games have been used to enhance elderly people’s experiences in physical exercises. However, there is a limited number of studies regarding elderly people’s attitudes and motivation towards digital game-based exercises. In this study, we aim at investigating the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical and digital game-based exercises, as well as their motivation in the gameplay. Furthermore, we intend to investigate if digital games can be an alternative way of exercising for elderly people. We conducted a user experience test of the “Skiing Game” with 21 elderly participants in Finland. We applied both qualitative (e.g. interview) and quantitative (e.g. questionnaires) methods to collect data from the participants. Then, we analyzed the data by using SPSS and Nvivo. The findings show that the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical exercises are more positive than digital game-based exercises. However, their attitudes towards digital games have become more positive after the gameplay. Their in-game and post-game user experiences were moderately positive. Their motivation to play digital game-based exercises was moderately high after the gameplay. Their feedback towards the Skiing game was positive. They recommend that digital game-based exercises can be an effective way of exercising. Based on these findings, we recommend that digital games are promising to be used as an alternative way of exercising for the Finnish elderly people. The discussion in this study can help researchers gain insights about using digital games for promoting elderly people’s participation in physical exercises.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-346
Author(s):  
Beverley Foulks McGuire

Abstract This paper explores structural similarities between playing a digital game and experiencing grief. The digital game Mandagon evokes a sense of loss through its game environment of grey mountainous landscapes, broken wooden scaffolds, and Tibetan temples and prayer flags in states of disrepair. It elicits feelings of disorientation and dependency as players repeatedly fall from scaffolds but ascend by using lifts or finding air bubble streams underwater. It encompasses terrestrial, corporeal, and cosmic crossings as players move through air, land, and water, as they neither inhabit nor encounter a human body, and they cross various cosmic thresholds through the course of the game. For players struggling with grief, it validates and normalizes feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and vulnerability in the wake of death and loss.


Author(s):  
Brian Herrig

This chapter discusses the development and implementation of an introductory programming unit within a seventh grade technology education course. The goal of this unit was to introduce the concepts of programming to middle school students in a way that was accessible and unintimidating. Digital games provide an inherent level of engagement not present in other programming activities, and the digital game environment provides a safe platform for experimentation without concern for safety or equipment. The curriculum described in this chapter provides many practical examples of how digital games can be incorporated into a technology education classroom to engage students in the world of programming.


2018 ◽  
pp. 159-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phu Vu ◽  
Martonia Gaskill

This chapter examined five cases of pre-service teachers' abilities and attitudes towards creating and using digital games in their future teaching. Participants included five pre-service teachers at a Midwest public university. The participants underwent the same research procedure including: pre-project open-ended interview, training session, and post-project open-ended interview. The researchers analyzed participants' responses to the interviews and the quality of the games they created, using the Educational Electronic Games Rubric. Results showed that students not only enjoyed learning about digital games, but also were able to create quality games without coding knowledge or advanced technology skills. Five participants indicated that they plan on creating and integrating digital games into their future teaching.


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