Games

This study documents the development of a classroom game simulating the effects of contractual arrangements on the economic relationships between artists, record labels, and consumers. The game was tested with multiple revisions in classroom settings over a period of three years by using surveys, interviews, session videos, and teacher observations. Using the approach of Grounded Theory, observations and insights were extracted from the collected data with the goal of identifying effective strategies for developing and using classroom simulations. Findings include evidence of deeper engagement with the subject through cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning.

This article explores the emergence and significance of printed game boards in Rome at the turn of the seventeenth century. These objects constitute an important and overlooked visual and material aspect of a pervasive culture of gaming that engrossed a huge range of the populace: both the rich and the poor, men and women, the educated and the illiterate. Printed game boards not only served to entertain, but also mirrored and reified deeper social and moral concerns about gambling and leisure, a tension between the prescribed morality of the legal sanctions, decrees, and censures associated with the Counter-Reformation, and the everyday games common both in courtly leisure and play on the street and in the tavern. Visually manifesting a dual understanding of games as both ludic and mimetic, printed game boards enacted the ontology of life’s journey for early modern players, from the courtly, to the religious, to the quotidian.

Os desenvolvedores criam games, mas os jogadores também se sentem instigados a ir além do que lhe foi oferecido, e assim nascem os MODs. Essas alterações podem transformar um determinado game em um gênero completamente diferente do qual foi inicialmente pensado. Essa tradição se iniciou com Doom (1993), pois acessando com o seu código fonte vários jogadores criaram novas fases, itens e inimigos. Artistas também utilizaram Doom como linguagem, como por exemplo Orhan Kipcak, responsável pelo ArsDoom (1995). Além das modificações que trazem novas maneiras de se jogar, existem os MODs com conteúdo sexual. Tais mudanças vão desde nudez para os lutadores digitais em Street Figther V (2016), remoção de censura e inserção de sexo explícito na série The Sims 4 (2014) e até mesmo complexas narrativas semelhantes a produções eróticas e pornográficas em The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). Podemos até mesmo encontrar vídeos de gameplays com modificações sexuais em sites pornográficos. Assim o artigo pretende analisar e refletir sobre MODs de conteúdo sexual, e de que maneira essas modificações oferecem novas mecânicas, opções e experiências sexuais aos jogadores. Além disso, analisa a relação entre a produção de modificações e as comunidades digitais dedicadas em desenvolver conteúdo sexual para games lançados para o mercado.

The focus of this paper is to apply sensory branding to the case of Lego. Henceforth, the thesis question for my paper is the following: To what extent does Lego use sensory branding and what should the company do in the future in terms of utilizing sensory branding?

The reason for choosing this topic is first of all, that I myself grew up with Lego and as so many in my age range intuitively understand the sensory characteristics of the touch and look of the Lego brand. Second of all I chose this topic because Lego seems to be applying sensory branding only in a limited sense.

This is interesting first of all, because it indicates, that there is room for improvement in Lego’s overall branding strategy. Second of all, it is interesting because according to fellow Danish marketing guru Martin Lindstrom, the future belongs to companies who fully adopt sensory branding. This is particularly relevant for Lego considering they are in an industry where function is relatively easily copied. Therefore, if Lego does not improve its sensory branding efforts, the company risks being overtaken by competitors applying a more holistic sensory branding strategy.

Game development business has become very competitive, therefore it is very important to develop games that stand out from the vast amount of other competing game titles. Usability of the game is crucial to ensure game acceptance, which in turn will contribute to more sales and profit for the game company. Game usability can also contribute to better player engagement and better accomplishment of individual and organizational objectives in the case of gamification. One successful method to ensure good usability is heuristic evaluation, which has been proven useful also in game development. However, the existing heuristics are criticized for being too general to suit specific games. This study investigates the views and practices of the game companies regarding game usability heuristics and the extent to which they utilize heuristic evaluation as a game usability method. A series of surveys was conducted in the North American and North European companies and the results show that all game professionals view usability as being very important in games, however the extent of utilization of heuristic evaluation in game development is overrated. Implications for the development practice and research in games and gamification are discussed.

In five steps this text tries to convey a semiotic analysis of the phenomenon of  ‘live VR music concerts’.Through this paper it becomes clear that the meaning of live music and virtual live music is not always clear. Virtual does not want to be like the real. It does not intend to create the same music experience. It is a globalising trend that seeks to go beyond. In contrast, maybe the real becomes more like the virtual. Experimenting with virtual experiences results eventually in the dissolving of the boundaries between the real and the virtual. The meaning of live music is changing and is strongly interpreted in the context of culture. Pandemic culture insinuated the interpretation that VR is just arriving, but actually it was already here for a while. With the semiotic square we analysed the virtual and real through the ‘here and now’. It is the ‘here and now’ (authenticity?) that gets questioned in live virtual concerts. It is legit to present a live concert in other ways, because that is one of the aims of VR. The virtual concert does not necessarily want to substitute real-life concerts. Peircian interpretations led into new kinds of music experience and new music industries/business models. A virtual concert experience constructs experience of identities of experience of collectivity that are real. Even in a manipulated or determined world the emotions that music creates are real. ‘Liveness’ shows the (intersubjective) power of music.

Pervasive games defy Johan Huizinga’s classic definition of play as being something “outside ‘ordinary life’” with its “own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and an orderly manner” (Huizinga, 1955, p.13).

Pervasive games form a distinct category of games or forms of play that have broached the confines of the magic circle and left the board or, perhaps more accurately, make use of the natural or the built environment as the play-space in a distinct overlap with the real world. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman suggest that the magic circle is a boundary between the real world and the game world, while other game theorists argue that gaming isn’t separate from the real world at all and, far from being “magic”, has become ordinary.

This paper will look at some example of games that have broken away from the board, and will offer some definitions and examples of some popular pervasive games, tracing the evolution of treasure hunts, assassination games, live action role play and alternative reality games.

Perspective-taking skills and eye-gaze processing are reported to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This paper presents the structure and the theory behind a learning game for perspective-taking skills and eye-gaze following. The game is for lower functioning children with autism spectrum disorder, and it was developed in the CASCATE project. It has the potential to improve autism research and educational settings. It can also offer new avenues for creating teaching and intervention methods.

In this paper, we describe an experiment outline on investigating design and user experience related aspects of several virtual reality locomotion and virtual object interaction mechanics. These mechanics will be based on consumer hardware like a common game controllers, an infrared hand and finger tracking device, VR hand controllers and an omni-directional treadmill. Corresponding related work will contextualize and motivate this research. The projected experimental study will be based on user test sessions with a specifically developed 1 st person VR puzzle horror game, called Gooze. A hybrid approach of self-assessment, in-game parameter tracking and session observations will be proposed for the investigation. Statistical analysis methods will be suggested to evaluate results. Furthermore, this paper will give an overview of the game and elaborate on design, gameplay and user experience related insights of already conducted informal pre-studies with it.

The main of the paper is to discuss the meaning of negation involved in the logic of First Degree Entailment in the context of a dialogical analysis of tonk-like operators The dialogical framework is an approach to meaning that provides an alternative to both the model-theoretical and the proof-theoretical semantics. However, dialogic had and still has a bias towards antirealism. The dialogical approach to logic is not a logic but a semantic rule-based framework where different logics could be developed, combined or compared. But are there any constraints? Can we introduce rules ad libitum to define whatever logical constant? This study should provide the first conceptual moves towards the notion of Dialogical Harmony.

This paper proposes a model of a legislature, formed by several parties, which has to vote for or against a certain bill in the presence of a lobbyist interested in a certain vote outcome. We show that the ease with which the lobbyist can manipulate a legislature decision increases with the number of elected parties, and, consequently, decreases with an electoral threshold. On the other hand, a lower electoral threshold increases the representativeness of a legislature. We combine these two effects in a notion of fairness. We show the existence of an electoral threshold that optimizes the fairness of a political system, which is close to 1–5%. Namely, the optimal threshold (in our sense) is close to thresholds that exist in most parliamentary democracies.

Автор обращается к архивным материалам телевидения, анализирует примеры передач начального периода отечественного вещания. В статье выявляется онтологическая близость игры и телевидения. Автор приходит к выводу о системообразующем характере феномена игры для экранных коммуникаций, в первую
очередь для жанра репортажа. Показано, что телевидение родилось как зрелище, которому интересен homo ludens (человек играющий) и в контексте транслируемой телепрограммы, и за экраном, как зритель и потенциальный участник игрового процесса.

The results of observations and interviews of learning media for Object-Oriented Programming subjects at State Vocational High School (SMKN) Malang City indicate a lack of innovation in the learning media used. Therefore, it is necessary to innovate learning media that can be accessed anywhere, anytime, and build engagement with students to foster student learning motivation. The concept of gamification in combining learning and games can be one of the best innovations to maximize the process. This development research uses the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) model. The results showed that the product developed according to learning media experts was declared valid with a score of 94.64%. The material expert's assessment stated that it was valid with a value of 79%. In the feasibility test, the test results on the small group test subjects stated that the development results were very feasible with a score of 88.84% and the large group was very feasible with 89.06%. The measurement of student learning motivation for small groups gets a percentage score of 87%. Therefore the level of motivation is obtained as "Good." In the large group, the learning motivation measurement score was 85.54%, with the motivation level category also at the "Good" level.

Japan is a super-aging society, one marked by a steadily silvering population and shrinking birthrates. Social effects range from a decline in intergenerational homes to new tensions between the generations as elders delay retirement or return to work. Towards improving relations between the generations, two versions of an inclusive, intergenerational game employing "shared action," or time-movement synchrony, were developed: a finger-based version inspired by medical exercise technology from gerontology and a smart shoe-based version as a familiar form factor. A series of three exploratory studies were conducted with young Japanese adults and elders. Findings suggest that the foot version was most suitable overall and reveal initial, complex effects of age and gender on empathy measures that can inform affective computing initiatives within and beyond the cultural milieu of modern Japan.

El agua en la piedra es una aventura para juegos de rol que se puede acabar en una sola sesión (one-shot). Es ideal para personas que comienzan su camino en los juegos de rol. Los encuentros y desafíos tienen una dificultad media y están diseñados para ser resueltos por cuatro personajes de nivel 2.

En el pacífico pueblo de Piedra mojada, medianos, elfos y gnomos viven en armonía y prosperidad; sin embargo, este año una inesperada sequía sacudirá los corazones de quienes lo habitan. La partida tendrá que cruzar el bosque encantado y deberán combatir la sequía con ingenio, sólo así encontrarán la torre de la maga y, tras resolver algunos acertijos, podrán descubrir qué pasa con el agua que tanto anhela el pueblo.

Esta aventura consta mayoritariamente de retos que ponen a prueba las habilidades de los personajes y el pensamiento lógico-matemático de los y las jugadoras, así como su capacidad de observación y escucha activa y dinámica. Se basa en el clásico juego de Dungeons and Dragons de la compañía Wizards Of The Coast y se publica bajo las reglas de Licencia de Juego Abierto contenidas en el documento SRD 5a edición.

Este texto discute o uso da violência como meio expressivo no campo da arte e games. Divido as reflexões em três momentos: a apresentação das inquietações que levaram-me a discutir essa temática; em seguida, acrescento exemplos de imagens de violência usadas em jogos eletrônicos e; encerro aprofundando as reflexões sobre o uso da violência e das imagens de violência como meio de expressão e construção de um olhar específico para espectadores dos artefatos artísticos e usuários de videogames. A discussão trata de pensar a aparente necessidade contemporânea de "consumir" e "transmitir" violência; uma atração reativa ao choque e ao grotesco. Partindo de referenciais teóricos da Cultura Visual e dos games, busco discutir o "deslumbramento inebriante" pela violência, culminando na construção de um termo definidor dessa relação entre aversão/ adoração.

This text discusses the use of violence as an expressive medium in the field of art and videogames. I divide the reflections into three moments: the presentation of the concerns that led me to discuss this theme; then, I add examples of violent images used in videogames and; I conclude by deepening the reflections on the use of violence and images of violence as means of expression and construction of a specific gaze for spectators of artistic artifacts and videogame users. The discussion turns for the thinking about the apparent contemporary need to "consume" and "transmit" violence; a reactive attraction to shock and grotesque. Starting from the theoretical frameworks of Visual Culture and videogames, I seek to discuss the "intoxicating dazzle" of violence, culminating in the construction of a defining term for this relationship between aversion / worship.

40 Most primary school teachers would concur that mathematical games are a valuable pedagogical tool to deploy in the primary classroom; however, not all mathematical games are likely to be equally valuable. How might teachers decide which games to introduce in their classrooms? In this paper we attempt to support teachers to address this question through presenting five principles of good mathematical games. Rather than operating as definitive criteria, our intention for presenting these principles is to stimulate critical discussion and to guide teacher decision-making. Examples of mathematical games that we believe appropriately capture each principle are provided.

Desde su introducción, los juegos en linea no han ido bien con todo el mundo. Se refiere en particular a los grupos de edad adulta. Los padres suelen quejarse sobre cómo sus hijos se sienta pegada al ordenador y pantallas de televisión jugando juegos de video cuando deberían haberlo hecho correr y juega al aire libre o mejor leer un libro de cuentos.

While games may help to support skills practice and attitudinal change, the game creation process itself may also be effective in enhancing empathy and compassion for other people. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups and 500 languages amid its 200 million people. We aim to enhance perspective-taking, empathy, and compassion across different ethnic groups using game jams in public schools in Nigeria. In 2021, we piloted a game jam focused on identity exploration and perspective-taking for students ages 12 to 20. Initial results and next steps are shared.

Gioco di ruolo e molteplicità d'esperienza
E' credenza comune tra i giocatori credere che vi sia una distinzione oggettiva tra il personaggio giocato e il giocatore stesso. Di fatto tale distinzione non esiste: la persona che gioca prova forti emozioni all'interno di quella realtà fittizia che si trova al di là dell'inquadramento metacomunicativo (Bateson, 1972), ossia una comunicazione implicita nella comunicazione stessa che definisce il quadro di gioco. Il gioco presuppone una nuova prospettiva inserita all'interno di una realtà immaginaria e l'immersione percettiva del giocatore in un contesto dove verrà esplorato un determinato oggetto vicino o lontano all'esperienza (Geertz 1998) quale potrebbe essere amore, odio, morte, violenza, misticismo, legame con Dio, famiglia; tali oggetti cambiano radicalmente il loro volto in base a quella determinata prospettiva che si decide di inquadrare, prospettiva che andrà a delimitare il terreno di esperienza. Caratteristica fondamentale della metacomunicazione nel gioco è la riflessività: ci permette di pensare alle dimensioni sociali e culturali del mondo in cui viviamo (Shultz – Lavenda, 2015), suggerendo in tal modo che la vita ordinaria possa essere intesa in più di una maniera. Il gioco può costituire un modo per speculare su ciò che può essere, su ciò che dovrebbe essere o ciò che è (Handelman, 1977). La realtà del gioco è stata osservata come un'attività non obbligata, cioè libera, giocosa, separata all'interno da limiti spazio-temporali ed è fittizia (Caillois 1958). La realtà del gioco è veramente così fittizia e separata dalla " realtà " così come viene definito? Cos'è reale? Suggerisco qui come strumento di osservazione il gioco di ruolo: «Il gruppo di giocatori si trova sempre calato in un contesto non soltanto narrativo, linguistico, ma anche geografico, paesaggistico, dunque visivo» (Ghilardi – Salerno, 2007). Qui i giocatori si trovano ad affrontare esperienze forti, delicate, lontane e vicine rispetto alla prospettiva adottata tramite il proprio personaggio. Ma davvero vi è una netta linea di demarcazione tra personaggio e giocatore? Delle volte la linea di demarcazione tra giocatore e personaggio viene dolcemente o prepotentemente affievolita da un fenomeno chiamato bleeding. Processo psico-fisico, presentato come un'esperienza vissuta dal giocatore quando i suoi pensieri e sentimenti sono influenzati da quelli del suo personaggio o vice versa. Con sempre maggior metaforico bleeding, il confine tra giocatore e personaggio diviene sempre più trasparente. La morte di un dato personaggio, col quale si ha giocato per un breve o lungo lasso di tempo, per il giocatore può significare una morte reale? Forse è proprio il gioco, o ancor meglio il gioco di ruolo, lo strumento che può permetterci di " accogliere a braccia aperte la molteplicità, inglobarla e cibarsene […] forzandone per così dire la portata, non lasciare che essa scivoli attorno a noi, ma ci penetri per trarne arricchimento, forza, vitalità, frequentare «quella scuola che è la società degli uomini» non già per nostra esibizione (mostrare sé, il nostro noi, ma gli altri), ma per conoscere gli altri, andando così a «caccia di conoscenza» antropologica, tutto ciò si traduce in una messa in discussione dell'identità, in una modificazione inevitabile delle «leggi della coscienza» in cui ci identifichiamo " (Remotti, 2016).

Τον αποκάλεσαν «το παιχνίδι του αιώνα» (του 20ού αιώνα). Θα μπορούσε να τον πει κανένας και «τρέλα της δεκαετίας του ’80». Οι διαφορετικές δυνατές διατάξεις των κομματιών του είναι πάνω από... 43 πεντάκις εκατομμύρια! Το παρόν κείμενο είναι μια πρωτότυπη μελέτη του μαγικού κύβου του Rubik η οποία οδηγεί σε μια μέθοδο επίλυσης του προβλήματός του, που είναι:  η επαναφορά του κύβου από οποιαδήποτε από τις προαναφερόμενες διατάξεις στη βασική (αρχική) του διάταξη.

АНОТАЦІЯ
Косюк О. М. “Розважальна функція електронних засобів масової комунікації: світовий контекст та національні особливості” – Рукопис.
Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата філологічних наук зі спеціальності 10.01.08 – журналістика. – Львівський національний університет імені Івана Франка. – Львів, 2005.
У дисертації уперше здійснюється спроба створення теоретичної концепції сучасних медіарозваг, включаючи формування термінологічної бази, класифікацію продукованих електронними ЗМІ проектів, інтерпретацію інтеркурсу від архаїчних до модерних прошарків семантичного наповнення із втіленням основних релаксаційних механізмів. Пропонується також варіант горизонтально-вертикального аналізу медіарозваг: виділяються, систематизуються та узагальнюються їх домінантні компоненти та рівні, визначаються закономірності трансформацій, виділяються традиційно українські медіарелаксаційні типи, вводиться у науковий обіг конкретний фактичний матеріал – фрагменти розважальної продукції, що демонструють закономірності та структурну організацію розваг, продукованих аудіовізуальними засобами масової комунікації.
До інтеркурсу розважальної естетико-комунікативної системи, що завжди вважався чимось стороннім, екзотичним, чужим, чи не вперше вводяться цілі пласти не вивчених на рівні аудіовізуальної журналістики явищ національної естетико-комунікативної системи та серйозні їх переосмислення українськими вченими, а також оригінально потрактовані дисертантом національні особливості розважального функціонування сучасних медіа, що ставлять розважальний дискурс врівень факторів, які істотно впливають на процес національно-духовної самоідентифікації українського народу та популяризують імідж України у світі.
Світовий контекст явищ медіарелаксації засвідчується на рівнях: методологічної бази для написання наукової роботи, діахронічної матриці розвитку явищ видовищної естетико-комунікативної системи, новітніх формул, що використовуються як аналог для створення популярних шоу на провідних телеканалах.
Найбільше уваги приділяється журналістикознавчому аспектові згаданого контексту – питанню присутності на каналах “1+1”, “Інтер” медіапроектів, створених за запозиченими взірцями та проблемі наслідувань і чужорідних впливів у національному інформаційному просторі.
Ключові слова: розвага, релаксаційний дискурс/інтеркурс, медіапроект, міф, архетип, НЗМК, масове, форма, медіаграмотність, лудологічна парадигма мислення.

АННОТАЦИЯ
Косюк О. М. Развлекательная функция электронных средств массовой коммуникации. – Рукопись.
Диссертация на соискание учёной степени кандидата филологических наук по специальности 10.01.08 – журналистика. – Львовский национальный университет имени Ивана Франко. – Львов, 2005.
В диссертации впервые создаётся теоретическая концепция современных медиаразвлечений, включая формирование терминологической базы, классификацию продуцированных СМИ проектов интерпретацию интеркурса от архаичных до модерных пластов семантического наполнения с выделением основных релаксационных механизмов. Предлагается также вариант вертикально-горизонтального анализа медиаразвлечений: выделяются, систематизируются и обобщаются их доминирующие компоненты и уровни, определяются закономерности трансформаций, выделяются традиционные украинские медиарелаксационные типы, вводится в научный оборот конкретный фактический материал – фрагменты развлекательной продукции, которые демонстрируют закономерности и структурную организацию развлечений, продуцированных аудиовизуальными средствами массовой коммуникации.
Ключевые слова: развлечение, релаксационный дискурс/интеркурс, медиапроект, миф, архетип, НЗМК, массовое, форма, медиаграмотность, лудологическая парадигма мышления.
ANNOTATION
Коsiuk O. M. The Concept Europe in the Ukrainian Press: Cognitive and Linguistic aspects. – Manuscript.
For the first time the attempt to create the theoretical conception of modern mediaentertainment, including the formation of terminological base, classification of electronic mass media projects, interpretation of the intercourse from the archaic to modern layers of semantic sense with realization of main relaxing mechanisms is accomplished. The variant of horizontal-vertical analysis of mediaentertainment is also proposed. Their dominant components and levels are chosen, systematized and summarized, transformation appropriatenesses are defined, traditionally Ukrainian mediarelaxing types are picked out, the concrete actual material is brought in the scientific usage - fragments of entertaining production which demonstrate appropriateness and structural organization of entertainments, which are the products of audiovisual means of mass communication.
Maybe for the first time the whole layers of phenomena of national aesthetic-communicative system, not studied on the level of audiovisual journalism, are brought in the intercourse of entertaining aesthetic-communicative system which always considered outside, exotic, strange.
Phenomena world context of mediarelaxation is testified on the levels: methodological bases for writing of a scientific work, new formulas which are used as an analogue for creating of popular show on the popular TV-channels.
Much attention is paid to journalistic aspect of the given context – to the question of mediaprojects’ presence oh the TV-channels “1+1”, “Inter”, created upon the borrowed models and to the problem of imitating and foreign influences at the national information space.
Key words: entertainment, relaxing discourse/intercourse, mediaproject, myth, archetype, newest mass media, mass (popular), form, media competence, paradigm of thinking.

As an emergent medium capable of telling complex stories, the video game gives us unique insight and challenges to established critical theory. This chapter will examine the ways ‘the gaze' is expressed and utilized in video games, particularly the “survival horror” genre. It will discuss some of the ways ‘the gaze' has been shaped by literary and filmic studies before turning to Outlast (2013) by Red Barrels Games as an example of the way the medium can rearticulate our understanding of watching and being watched. Through its player-driven diegesis, immersion and phenomenologically-situated avatar body, and an ability to stimulate emotional response through game mechanics, the video game gaze might be capable of engendering emotional sympathy rather than constructing hierarchical positions of mastery. With its narratives of state control and institutionalization, journalistic distance, and medical invasiveness, Outlast uses critical understandings of ‘the gaze' to ask q...

These are our initial steps towards building the greater platform, our NFT game Hub – the vision of futuristic NFT games that has the option to play & trade will become the biggest and most impressive platform in the real world & in the crypto world

This presentation was designed for the EU's Joint Research Centre Knowledge for Growth (KfG) Unit. It provides an overview of recent foresight gaming projects undertaken by CPPFS and HRCFS in Hawaii, Singapore, Tonga, Macedonia, and Iceland.

Almost every human society has played games, from dice and board games to hunting and sport. But why are games such a universal human phenomenon? What exactly do games accomplish and what are their roles in societies? This course explores the concept of ‘gaming culture’ and seeks to develop and expand ideas on the role of games as a distinct human cultural phenomenon. We will explore games through the lenses of multiple fields, from anthropology and archaeology to sociology, psychology, and philosophy. We will actually play games, ancient and modern, in order to take a hands on and experimental approach in exploring themes and topics. Through such approaches and reflections, this course will equip students to more readily question how games are important and essential parts of human lives, in ways that are not entirely obvious or expected. Start your turn and see where the dice land!