This research paper presents a Screening Room tool, inspired from the Film and TV industry, that is then applied to the game industry. The work involved the creation and development of several in-game prototypes of a Screening Room tool within the game engine Unity 5. The iterative development involved usability testing and benchmarking against an example of current game development quality assurance processes that use BugZilla. The prototype resulting from the third iteration was then tested within a commercial games company CodeGlue and it was found that an overall time saving of approximately 500% was made whilst usability being arguably better for bug finding staff whilst similar to more complex for the bug fixing staff.
Digital game-based learning (DGBL) can be regarded as a promising teaching pedagogy to prepare students for challenges of the 21st century. However, the incorporation of digital games into K-12 curricula remains limited. Research suggests that a comprehensive understanding of barriers and motivational factors that teachers face when implementing DGBL is needed to ensure that teachers can receive the support required. To delineate suggestions for tailored curricula on game-based pedagogy in teacher education programs, we conducted a study to gain insight into in-service teachers’ perception of DGBL in relation to their previous experience in teaching with DGBL. To achieve our goal, we examined the factors that impede and promote the implementation of DGBL among in-service teachers who are presently pursuing master's level education programs, having in mind that this group of teachers is different from pre-service teachers. Data was collected using an online survey with open- and closed-ended questions. The sample consisted of in-service teachers (n=37) who were enrolled in a master’s course in math education. The data analysis conducted was of a qualitative nature. One significant finding derived from this study is that the level of pedagogical experience in utilizing games as a teaching tool appears to be a crucial factor in understanding the inclination of in-service teachers towards game-based pedagogy. Pedagogical factors were mentioned by teachers at all stages of experience with DGBL, and differences were observed between teachers at different stages. For instance, in-service teachers with experience with DGBL (intermediate and advanced stages) were concerned about being able to maintain focus on the math concepts, the need to adapt the game lesson to students, and the ways to evaluate student learning less experienced teachers were essentially concerned about ways to control the classroom during DGBL and whether the pupils would receive adequate practice in this learning mode. Differences were also noted for other factors between teachers at different stages. Advanced stage teachers did have concerns about game appropriateness for the intended learning; teachers with less experience were concerned about the lack of games (technical factors). Dealing with an existing curriculum and high workload were common aspects for teachers with no or some experience but only teachers with some experience mentioned obstacles related to school organization (structural factors). Teachers with few and some experience referred to the lack of knowledge and competence (personal factors) and that pupils would not take the lessons with games seriously (social factors). This research supports DGBL- practice (i) by adding new knowledge on the factors that can support or constrain the integration of DGBL and its implications for the development of curricula on game-based pedagogy; (ii) by providing suggestions to design and implement meaningful curricula on digital game-based pedagogy for teaching education and training programs.
Most educational or training games, also referred to as serious games, have been developed without an underlying design theory. In order to make a contribution to the development of such a theory, we present the underlying design philosophy of Levee Patroller, a 3D first-person game used to train levee patrollers in the Netherlands. This approach stipulates that the design of a serious game is a multi-objective problem where trade-offs need to be made. Making these trade-offs takes place in a 'design space' defined by three general boundary criteria: 1. fun (game), 2. learning (pedagogy), and 3. validity (reality). The various tensions between these three criteria make it difficult to 'balance' or create harmony in a serious game. We illustrate this process with a discussion on the design of Levee Patroller. In addition, we translate the aforementioned general design criteria into a number of concrete design requirements for serious games.
Physical rehabilitation programs revolve around the repetitive execution of exercises since it has been proven to lead to better rehabilitation results. Although beginning the motor (re)learning process early is paramount to obtain good recovery outcomes, patients do not normally see/experience any short-term improvement, which has a toll on their motivation. Therefore, patients find it difficult to stay engaged in seemingly mundane exercises, not only in terms of adhering to the rehabilitation program, but also in terms of proper execution of the movements. One way in which this motivation problem has been tackled is to employ games in the rehabilitation process. These games are designed to reward patients for performing the exercises correctly or regularly. The rewards can take many forms, for instance providing an experience that is engaging (fun), one that is aesthetically pleasing (appealing visual and aural feedback), or one that employs gamification elements such as points, badges, or achievements. However, even though some of these serious game systems are designed together with physiotherapists and with the patients’ needs in mind, many of them end up not being used consistently during physical rehabilitation past the first few sessions (i.e. novelty effect). Thus, in this project, we aim to 1) Identify, by means of literature reviews, focus groups, and interviews with the involved stakeholders, why this is happening, 2) Develop a set of guidelines for the successful deployment of serious games for rehabilitation, and 3) Develop an initial implementation process and ideas for potential serious games. In a follow-up application, we intend to build on this knowledge and apply it in the design of a (set of) serious game for rehabilitation to be deployed at one of the partners centers and conduct a longitudinal evaluation to measure the success of the application of the deployment guidelines.
GAMING HORIZONS is a multidisciplinary project that aims to expand the research and innovation agenda on serious gaming and gamification. The project is particularly interested in the use of games for learning and cultural development. Gamification - and gaming more broadly – are very important from a socio-economic point of view, but over the past few years they have been at the centre of critical and challenging debates, which highlighted issues such as gender and minority representation, and exploitative game mechanics. Our project’s key contention is that it is important for the European ICT community to engage with design trends and social themes that have affected profoundly the mainstream and ‘independent’ game development cultures over the past few years, especially because the boundaries between leisure and serious games are increasingly blurred. GAMING HORIZONS is a direct response to the official recognition by the H2020 programme of work that multidisciplinary research can help to advance the integration between Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and the Social Sciences and the Humanities (SSH). The project’s objective is to enable a higher uptake of socially responsible ICT-related research in relation to gaming. This objective will be achieved through a research-based exchange between communities of developers, policy makers, users and researchers. The methodology will involve innovative data collection activities and consultations with a range of stakeholders over a period of 14 months. We will interrogate the official ‘H2020 discourse’ on gamification – with a particular focus on ‘gamified learning’ - whilst engaging with experts, developers and critical commentators through interviews, events, workshops and systematic dialogue with an Advisory Board. Ultimately, GAMING HORIZONS will help identify future directions at the intersection of ethics, social research, and both the digital entertainment and serious games industries.EU FundingThe 14-month research project 'Gaming Horizons' was funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
