This paper explores how the concept of life has been used in video games through time. Life is an essential element in different types of action games and several nuances have been used to provide various types of emotions and effects during gameplay. However, the details and patterns have not been extendedly analyzed. Primarily, we survey works regarding the description and formalization of game analysis with emphasis on works in which the concepts have impact in the arguably accepted notion of life. Multiple examples are provided to show different approaches to the concept of life and the impact of such approaches in overall gameplay, namely in the game difficulty and emotions. The examples are then generalized, resulting in a proposal of framework to describe life representation in games. The proposed framework was evaluated in a user study, having participants with gaming culture (professionals, academics, and students of game development courses). Each participant was assigned with the task of fitting a preselected set of games within the framework. The results indicate good coverage of the main concepts with satisfactory consistency.
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.
Evaluating player game experiences through biometric measurementsThe BD4CG (Biometric Design for Casual Games project) worked in a highly interdisciplinary context with several international partners. The aim of our project was to popularize the biometric method, which is a neuro-scientific approach to evaluating the player experience. We specifically aimed at the casual games sector, where casual games can be defined as video or web-based games with simple and accessible game mechanics, non threatening themes and generally short play sessions. Popular examples of casual games are Angry Birds and FarmVille. We focussed on this sector because it is growing fast, but its methodologies have not grown with it yet. Especially the biometrics method has so far been almost exclusively used domain by the very large game developers (such as Valve and EA). The insights and scientific output of this project have been enthusiastically embraced by the international academic arena. The aim of the grant was to focus on game producers in the casual sector, and we have done so but we also established further contacts with the game sector in general. Thirty-one outputs were generated, in the form of presentations, workshops, and accepted papers in prominent academic and industry journals in the field of game studies and game user research. Partners: University of Antwerpen, RANJ, Forward Games, Double Jungle, Realgames, Dreams of Danu, Codemasters, Dezzel, Truimph Studios, Golabi Studios
CueSpot is een softwaretool om de totstandkoming van muziek voor media (speelfilms, bedrijfsfilms, animatie, televisie, games, commercials etc.) te faciliteren. Het idee voor CueSpot is ontstaan om communicatie tussen filmmakers en componisten effectiever te laten verlopen. CueSpot voorziet in het snel prototypen van muziek bij media en zorgt voor soepele en eenvoudige communicatie tussen componisten, regisseurs en editors. Deze tool biedt versiebeheer voor audio- en videomateriaal in alle stadia van het productieproces. Filmmakers kunnen realtime feedback aanbrengen en materiaal goed- of afkeuren. CueSpot zorgt voor een efficiënter werkproces en garandeert mediaproducties van een hogere kwaliteit.
