Cognition
Designing Game Affordances to Promote Learning and Engagement
Mon, 07/06/2010 - 20:17 | 
sharritt
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Applied research will be presented from a qualitative study that highlights high school students' learning and use of several game interfaces, describing how particular affordances and game interface designs can encourage learning. Inductive generalizations from several 'commercial' games for good, including Civilization IV, Making History: The Calm & the Storm, and RollerCoaster Tycoon describe patterns of learning among game players, showing how the design of in-game visualizations either led to success or failure to learn to use basic game controls. This analysis, inspired by ethnomethodology and grounded theory, sought patterns from gathered video data of student gameplay to highlight learning episodes and patterns of interface use. Patterns in affordance use (uptake of a perceived action potential) during collaborative gameplay reveal relationships among the video game interface and player behavior, giving focus to how an interface design can guide game player interaction. In line with Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow, a proper balance of difficulty (between feelings of boredom, and too much difficulty) encouraged player engagement and learning. As evidenced in transcripts of collaborative gameplay, feelings of frustration with a game interface often led students to abandon in-game tasks, as did boredom with a given task. However, frustrated goal achievement often led to the re-negotiation of in-game strategies: an indication of engagement. Additionally, games that presented information using multiple channels encouraged learning, as did the use of specific visualizations such as the animation of in-game objects. Finally, a discussion of the affordances created by different game designs will offer educators and game designers guidelines to encourage motivated gameplay.
144 reads | 
Tags: Affordance, Affordances, Cognition, Cognition, cognitive, cognitive technology journal, collaboration, collaborative learning, DESIGN, E-Learning, Education, Education, Educational psychology, engagement, game design, Gameplay, Games, games for good, learning, Learning games, Matthew J
Source, player, Psychology, Situated cognition, situated cognition, situated learning, Technology, Technology, Technology, Video Games
Does culture affect evaluation expressions? A cross-cultural analysis of Chinese and American computer game reviews
Tue, 26/01/2010 - 16:42 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to look at product reviews from a cross-cultural perspective. Product reviews are potentially an influential form of marketing communication, as well as a predictor of sales performance. With Hofstede's typology as a backdrop, the basic proposition of this study is that collectivistic cultural values place more emphasis on giving face to others, even in impersonal social environments, resulting in them giving more positive product reviews than their individualistic counterparts.Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses content analysis of Chinese and American computer game reviews to test the hypotheses.Findings - The results showed that Chinese reviews use fewer negative comments and give higher final ratings for the same set of products than their American counterparts. In addition, Chinese reviews showed a lower consistency between their evaluative comments and their final ratings. Also confirmed is a common belief that final ratings are a summary of the evaluative comments of the review-texts.Research limitations/implications - Future research is invited.Practical implications - Theoretically, the study refines the understanding of differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Practically, it is suggested that if consumers' cultural values are reflected in product reviews, international marketers should weigh and balance possible cultural bias when they decode evaluations of their products from reviews published in other countries' media.Originality/value - Product reviews are a rich but ignored resource with high marketing value. It is hoped that the study can stimulate both marketing researchers and practitioners to make better use of product reviews to further understand marketing phenomena and make better marketing decisions.
Video games and the perception of very long durations by adolescents
Tue, 26/01/2010 - 16:42 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that adolescents might underestimate time while playing a video game. To test this hypothesis, 116 adolescents (14-15 years old) had to judge prospectively or retrospectively the duration of three consecutive tasks: a 8 min and a 24 min task of playing video game (Tetris) and an 8 min task of reading on a computer screen (control task). The main hypothesis received support: for a same duration, the video game task was estimated as shorter than the reading task. Moreover, participants with a game-inclined profile showed a stronger underestimation of time while playing. Finally, the short durations were overestimated and the long duration underestimated. The main findings are accounted for by an attention-based explanation.
Add new comment | 147 reads | Tags: Adolescents, Aggressive-Behavior, Amp, AMP Energy, Attention, Cognition, demands, flow, Judgments, memory, Performance, players, Technology, Technology, time perception, usage, Video Games
O'Game, Can You Feel My Frustration?: Improving User's Gaming Experience via StressCam
Tue, 26/01/2010 - 11:55 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
One of the major challenges of video game design is to have appropriate difficulty levels for users in order to maximize the entertainment value of the game. Game players may lose interests if a game is either too easy or too difficult. This paper presents a novel methodology to improve user's experience in computer games by automatically adjusting the level of the game difficulty. The difficulty level is computed from measurements of the facial physiology of the players at a distance. The measurements are based on the assumption that the players' performance during. the game-playing session alters blood flow in the supraorbital region, which is an indirect measurement of increased mental activities. This alters heat dissipation, which can be monitored in a contact-free manner through a thermal imaging-based stress monitoring and analysis system, known as StressCam.In this work, we investigated on two primary objectives: (1) the feasibility of utilizing the facial physiology in automatically adjusting the difficulty level of the game and (2) the capability of the automatic difficulty level adjustment in improving game players' experience. We employed and extended a XNA video game for this study, and performed an in-depth, comparative usability evaluation on it. Our results show that the automatic difficulty adjustable system successfully maintains game players' interests and substantially outperforms traditional fixed-difficulty mode games. Although a number of issues of this preliminary study remain to be investigated further, this research opens a new direction that utilizes non-contact stress measurements for monitoring and further enhancing a variety of user-centric, interactive entertainment activities.
From Fingers to Embodiment: A Study on the Relations of the Usability, Dependability of the Embodied Interactive Video Games and the Elders' Flow Experience
Wed, 13/01/2010 - 10:40 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The elders feel better and healthier when participating in activities and recognizing their ability to move and creating something. Implementing technology can benefit their lives and improve social interaction. This study develops the embodied interactive video games (EIVG) relying on embodied interactions, which are free from the fine motor skills like pointing, grasping etc. Four research objectives include (1) To evaluate the usability of the EIVG; (2) To evaluate the dependability of the EIVG; (3) To understand the flow experiences of the elders during game play; (4) To explore the relations between the usability, dependability, and the elders' flow experiences. The results were discussed in three aspects. In terms of the usability and dependability of the game system, the elders were satisfied with the EIVG games due to the familiarity of the content and the ease of interaction. In terms of the flow experiences, the challenge of the games played an important role to the elders with high SES. In terms of the relations between usability, dependability, and flow experience, the usability and dependability were identified as critical factors for the elders to use computer technology due to the cognitive ageing.
The effect of violent and non-violent computer games on cognitive performance
Tue, 05/01/2010 - 13:52 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Two studies were conducted in order to determine the impact computer games had on the cognitive performance. Study 1 evaluated a measure of cognition, which incorporates aspects of short-term working memory, visual attention, mathematical decision making, and auditory perception. Study 2 measured the cognitive performance between those who did not play video games versus those who played either a violent or non-violent video game. Results from Study 1 indicate participants needed approximately four trials to reach asymptotic performance on the cognitive measure. Results of Study 2 showed that participants who did not play any video game did not have a change in their cognitive performance, while those who played either a violent or non-violent video game had an increase in their cognitive performance.
Add new comment | 120 reads | Tags: Amp, AMP Energy, Cognition, Computer games, ENVIRONMENT, Performance, synwin, Technology, Technology, Video Games, War, War
Game Play Schemas: From Player Analysis to Adaptive Game Mechanics
Sun, 23/11/2008 - 12:13 | acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Schema theory provides a foundation for the analysis of game play patterns created by players during their interaction with a game. Schema models derived from the analysis of play provide a rich explanatory framework for the cognitive processes underlying game play, as well as detailed hypotheses for the hierarchical structure of pleasures and rewards motivating players. Game engagement is accounted for as a process of schema selection or development, while immersion is explained in terms of levels of attentional demand in schema execution. However, schemas may not only be used to describe play, but might be used actively as cognitive models within a game engine. Predesigned schema models are knowledge representations constituting anticipated or desired learned cognitive outcomes of play. Automated analysis of player schemas and comparison with predesigned target schemas can provide a foundation for a game engine adapting or tuning game mechanics to achieve specific effects of engagement, immersion, and cognitive skill acquisition by players. Hence, schema models may enhance the play experience as well as provide a foundation for achieving explicitly represented pedagogical or therapeutic functions of games.
Add new comment | 1303 reads | Tags: Analysis, Attention, Cognition, cognitive model, engagement, Experience, Game, gameplay, interaction, Kantianism, PATTERNS, Philosophy, Play, player, Psychological theories, Psychology, schema, Schema, Science, script, Technology, Technology, Theory, understanding
What does it mean to understand gameplay?
Sun, 23/11/2008 - 12:01 | acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Understanding gameplay requires a consideration of basic epistemological questions about the nature of understanding. Grounded in a tradition of philosophical hermeneutics, it is possible to approach the understanding of gameplay as a matter of generating mappings to explanatory frameworks in alternative interpretation paradigms. It is especially useful to consider gameplay from perspectives of cognitive science, semiotics, consciousness studies and aesthetics. Each of these approaches provides a different but compatible perspective on understanding play. Integrating these perspectives without losing their differences provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for play analysis.
Add new comment | 1007 reads | Tags: aesthetics, Aesthetics, Analysis, Cognition, consciousness, epistemology, Framework, gameplay, hermeneutics, Hermeneutics, interpretation, Interpretation, knowledge, Literary criticism, Martin Heidegger, paradigm, philosophy, Philosophy, Play, semiotics, Semiotics, Social philosophy, Theory, understanding
What Can We Learn From Playing Interactive Games?
Thu, 26/07/2007 - 19:16 | lieberma
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This book chapter is an overview of recent research on interactive games and learning and it describes the learning outcomes that have been identified in studies of interactive games. The outcomes are grouped into nine areas: Motivation to learn, Perception and coordination, Thinking and problem solving, Knowledge, Skills and behaviors, Self-regulation and therapy, Self-concepts, Social relationships, and Attitudes and values. The chapter concludes by pointing to processes of learning and skill development that can occur in well designed interactive games and some of the game design strategies that can enhance game-based learning.
Add new comment | 1145 reads | Tags: Cognition, Cognitive science, Company Location, computer game, D, Distance education, E-Learning, Education, Educational psychology, effects, EMOTION, Game design, interactive game, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, learning, Learning, learning environments, literature review, Mahwah, methodology, Psychology, research, Systems science, Technology, Technology, theory development, Video Game, Video game
Cognitive emotion in speech interactive games
Sat, 30/06/2007 - 09:58 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This paper falls into the category of Human Computer Interaction. Here the focus lies in injecting emotions into the non-player characters (NPC) in reaction to the emotion of the player in computer games. The idea of injecting emotion into games has been a popular topic for discussion in the Games industry today. The paper reviews the emotional side of games from both the game side and the human player side, considering speech style and content, facial expressions and gestures. The emotional content is encapsulated within an XML and an associated finite state automaton.
Add new comment | 428 reads | Tags: Cognition, Communication, Emotion, Emotioneering?, Gesture, Nervous system, Prosody, Prosody
Digiplay Bibliography Updates
- 'It's in the Game' and Above the Game: An Analysis of the Users of Sports Videogames
- Theoretical Consoles: Concepts for Gadget Analysis
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- Adoption of Mobile Games as Entertainment Technology : A Test of Extended Technology Acceptance Model
- Serious Video Games for Health: How Behavioral Science Guided the Development of a Serious Video Game
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