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Empirical Investigation on Measurement of Game Immersion Using Real World Dissociation Factor
Thesis no: MSCS-2016-13 Empirical Investigation on Measurement of Game Immersion using Real World Dissociation Factor Gadila Swarajya Haritha Reddy Faculty of Computing Blekinge Institute of Technology SE–371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden This thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Computing at Blekinge Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. The thesis is equivalent to 20 weeks of full time studies. Contact Information: Author(s): Gadila Swarajya Haritha Reddy E-mail: [email protected] University advisor: Prof. Sara Eriksén Department of Creative Technologies Faculty of Computing Internet : www.bth.se Blekinge Institute of Technology Phone : +46 455 38 50 00 SE–371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden Fax : +46 455 38 50 57 Abstract Context. Games involve people to a large extent where they relate them- selves with the game characters; this is commonly known as game immer- sion. Generally, some players play games for enjoyment, some for stress relaxation and so on.Game immersion is usually used to describe the degree of involvement with a game. When people play games, they don’t necessar- ily realize that they have been dissociated with the surrounding world. Real world dissociation (RWD) can be defined as the situation where a player is less aware of the surroundings outside the game than about what is happen- ing in the game itself. The RWD factor has been expected to measure the losing track of time, lack of awareness of surroundings and mental trans- portation. Objectives. In this thesis, we measure and compare the difference in game immersion between experienced and inexperienced players using RWD fac- tor. -
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches MICHAEL BONTATIBUS “Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes,” the enigmat- ic G-Man murmurs as he leers into the camera, finishing an eerie opening monologue—and so begins Half-Life 2, Valve Corporation’s flagship game. The last time we saw Gordon Freeman, the protagonist, the same rigid and mysterious (though more poorly animated, since the prequel was released six years earlier) G-Man was handing him a job offer after witnessing the former scientist transform into a warrior, bent on escaping from the besieged Black Mesa Research Facility alive. Now, suddenly, Freeman finds himself on a train. No context.1 Is it a prison train? The three other individuals on it wear uniforms like those the inmates wore in Cool Hand Luke. The train soon stops at its destination, and we realize that it is a prison train, in a way—Freeman has arrived at the Orwellian “City 17,” where the ironically named Civil Protection abuses and oppresses, where antagonist Dr. Breen preaches poet- ic propaganda from large monitors hung high above the town. In the years since scientists at the facility accidentally opened a gateway between dimen- sions and allowed a bevy of grotesque creatures to spill into our universe, Earth has been taken over by the Combine, an alien multiplanetary empire. Breen is merely Earth’s administrator—and we realize that the ashes the G- Man spoke of were the ashes of the prelapsarian world. It’s classic dystopia, complete with a Resistance, of which Freeman soon finds himself the “mes- sianic” leader (HL2). -
Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015
Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Jennifer deWinter; Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: deWinter, Jennifer; Kocurek, Carly A.: Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2. In: Thomas Hensel, Britta Neitzel, Rolf F. Nohr (Hg.): »The cake is a lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen des Computerspiels am Beispiel von PORTAL. Münster: LIT 2015, S. 31– 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996. Erstmalig hier erschienen / Initial publication here: http://nuetzliche-bilder.de/bilder/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hensel_Neitzel_Nohr_Portal_Onlienausgabe.pdf Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Weitergabe unter Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0/ License. For more gleichen Bedingungen 3.0/ Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere information see: Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Jennifer deWinter / Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in ›Portal‹ and ›Portal 2‹ Chell stands in a corner facing a portal, then takes aim at the adjacent wall with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Between the two portals, one ringed in blue, one ringed in orange, Chell is revealed, reflected in both. And, so, we, the player, see Chell. She is a young woman with a ponytail, wearing an orange jumpsuit pulled down to her waist and an Aperture Science-branded white tank top. -
Valve Corporation Tournament License
VALVE CORPORATION DOTA 2 TOURNAMENT LICENSE AND PAID SPECTATOR SERVICE AGREEMENT By pressing “Submit” you and/or the party you represent in submitting this web form (“Licensee”) agree to be bound be the terms of this Dota 2 Tournament License and Paid Spectator Service Agreement (the “Agreement”). It is entered into and effective by and between Valve Corporation, a Washington, U.S.A. corporation (“Valve”), and the Licensee as of the day that Valve accepts and confirms the submission by making it accessible through the Paid Spectator Service. 1. Definitions 1.1 “Adjusted Gross Revenue” mean the gross revenue actually received by Valve from Valve’s sale of the Tournaments via the Paid Spectator Service, less (a) actual costs resulting directly from returns, discounts, refunds, fraud or chargebacks; (b) taxes that are imposed on a customer of the Paid Spectator Service on the distribution, sale or license of the Tournaments (such as sales, use, excise, value-added and other similar taxes) that are received from such customer by Valve for payment to governmental authorities. 1.2 “Confidential Information” means (i) any trade secrets relating to Valve’s product plans, designs, costs, prices and names, finances, marketing plans, business opportunities, personnel, research development or know-how; (ii) any unreleased Valve products; and (iii) any other information that Valve designates to Licensee as being confidential or which, based on the nature of such information and the circumstances surrounding its disclosure, ought in good faith to be treated as confidential. 1.3 “Game” means the game Dota 2. 1.4 “Game-Related Intellectual Property,” means the Dota™ trademark and Dota 2 logo. -
Navigating the Videogame
From above, from below: navigating the videogame A thesis presented by Daniel Golding 228306 to The School of Culture and Communication in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in the field of Cultural Studies in the School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne Supervisor: Dr. Fran Martin October 2008 ABSTRACT The study of videogames is still evolving. While many theorists have accurately described aspects of the medium, this thesis seeks to move the study of videogames away from previously formal approaches and towards a holistic method of engagement with the experience of playing videogames. Therefore, I propose that videogames are best conceptualised as navigable, spatial texts. This approach, based on Michel de Certeau’s concept of strategies and tactics, illuminates both the textual structure of videogames and the immediate experience of playing them. I also regard videogame space as paramount. My close analysis of Portal (Valve Corporation, 2007) demonstrates that a designer can choose to communicate rules and fiction, and attempt to influence the behaviour of players through strategies of space. Therefore, I aim to plot the relationship between designer and player through the power structures of the videogame, as conceived through this new lens. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 AN EVOLVING FIELD 2 LUDOLOGY AND NARRATOLOGY 3 DEFINITIONS, AND THE NAVIGABLE TEXT 6 PLAYER EXPERIENCE AND VIDEOGAME SPACE 11 MARGINS OF DISCUSSION 13 CHAPTER TWO: The videogame from above: the designer as strategist 18 PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY 18 PORTAL AND THE STRATEGIES OF DESIGN 20 STRUCTURES OF POWER 27 RAILS 29 CHAPTER THREE: The videogame from below: the player as tactician 34 THE PLAYER AS NAVIGATOR 36 THE PLAYER AS SUBJECT 38 THE PLAYER AS BRICOLEUR 40 THE PLAYER AS GUERRILLA 43 CHAPTER FOUR: Conclusion 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY 50 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. -
PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours
Spatial Awareness PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours “There’s a lot of challenge in trying to figure out how as the player is moving through this, in terms of a story space, how can you make a gameplay space out of this so they can travel through it in an interesting way.” --Jeep Barnett, designer and engineer In Portal 2, portals are used to navigate obstacle courses filled with deadly hazards inside the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories. To navigate the game, you must move through the space by following a simple concept: anything that enters one portal—including boxes, lasers, bridges, and you yourself—will exit the other without changing speed. In order to escape Aperture Science and defeat GLaDOS, the lab’s computerized overlord, you must think in three dimensions and use physics to solve puzzles in unusual ways. In this guide we invite you to think about the ways Portal 2 challenges players’ special awareness. As you play, reflect HOW TO on your experience. How is spatial awareness important in Portal 2? How is it important in your life? What kind of USE THIS impact does it leave on your understanding of how the world works? GUIDE Answer the questions below and add up your points when you’re finished! What is a “portal?” How do portals work? [+1] What are some tricks for using portals? What happens when you put a portal directly above you and another one directly under you? [+1] GAME What do the different types of gels do? [+1] How do the Excursion Funnels work? How are they different from Hard Light Bridges? [+2] How does the game indicate the steps you need to take when solving a puzzle? [+3] Many Portal 2 marketing materials use the tagline “Now you’re thinking with portals!” What do you think it means to “think with portals?” Do you find yourself “thinking” in this way as you play the game? [+1] What challenged you when thinking about using “space” in the game (e.g. -
Is National Mental Sport Ability a Sign of Intelligence? an Analysis of the Top Players of 12 Mental Sports
Is national mental sport ability a sign of intelligence? An analysis of the top players of 12 mental sports Emil O. W. Kirkegaard1 Abstract Lists of top players for 12 different electronic sports (e-sports) or traditional mental sports were collected from a variety of sources (total n = 36k). National cognitive ability/IQ was found to be a predictor of the relative representation of countries among the top players. This was particularly true when an overall mental sports score was calculated. Controlling for population size, this metric correlated r = .79 with Lynn and Vanhanen’s published national IQs. The relationship was fairly robust to controls for geographical region (coefficient 74% of the original). Furthermore, it had been suggested that IQ estimates for Nigeria were spuriously low due to the country’s prominent performance on Scrabble. However, when performance across all other sports were taken into account, Nigeria’s performance was what one would expect based on the previously reported mean IQs near 70. Key words: intelligence, IQ, cognitive ability, mental sport, e-sport, Chess, Go, Poker, Scrabble, Starcraft 2, DOTA 2, League of Legends, LOL, Counter-Strike, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros 1. Introduction Enormous amounts of human time are spent on playing a variety of mental sports/games2, either involving a computer or not. A large amount of this time is spent playing competitive games, that is, against other players (PvP; player versus player) instead of against the computer (PvE; player versus environment). Major games with PvP gameplay usually have an in-game ranking list as well as large tournaments offering thousands or millions of US dollars in winnings. -
Portal: Impact Guide for Players
Portal: Impact Guide For Players Portal and Portal 2 are games developed by Valve Corporation available for consoles and PCs. The games are first-person puzzle solving games but also provide rich narrative development, interesting characters, and have developed a strong cultural impact including merchandise and a popular series of internet memes. The popularity of the Portal series stems from the quality of the games and from the way the games teach players how to play them so seamlessly. Indeed, Portal is one of the very best games at presenting players with embodied learning and scaffolded instruction – a model for 21st century teaching. How to use this guide: Players – We’ve identified several interesting or important themes in the game. As you play through, reflect on your play. How have you experienced these themes? Are there other important ones present in the game? What kind of impact does your play allow in the larger world? Answer the questions we’ve provided – but feel free to add more at www.gamesandimpact.org. Warning: Questions contain some spoilers about the games. Theme: Problem Solving Portal begins with a player alone in a test chamber; solving puzzles is a key mechanic for both the gameplay and for the story of the game. Puzzles gradually get more difficult as players are given tools sequentially in order to build on top of their previous solutions. Game Why do you think the game doesn’t give you the portal gun immediately? What is the point of limiting you in the early part of the game? Why do you think the test chambers are designed the way they are? What do you think the game’s designers are trying to teach you? At the end of the 19 test chambers, you begin the second part of the game where you get to face GLaDOS directly. -
Applications of Machine Learning in Dota 2: Literature Review and Practical Knowledge Sharing
Applications of Machine Learning in Dota 2: Literature Review and Practical Knowledge Sharing Aleksandr Semenov1, Peter Romov2;3, Kirill Neklyudov2;3, Daniil Yashkov2;3, and Daniil Kireev4 1 International Laboratory for Applied Network Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia 2 Yandex Data Factory, Moscow, Russia 3 Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia 4 Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract. We present the review of recent applications of Machine Learning in Dota 2. It includes prediction of the winning team from the drafting stage of the game, calculating optimal jungling paths, pre- dict the result of teamfights, recommendataion engine for the draft, and detection of in-game roles with emphasis on win prediction from team composition data. Besides that we discuss our own experience with mak- ing Dota 2 Machine Learning hachathon and Kaggle competitions. Keywords: Dota 2, MOBA, eSports, Machine Learning 1 Introduction to Dota 2 game rules and mechanics DotA 2 is an online multiplayer video game and its first part, DotA (after \De- fense of the Ancients") created a new genre, called Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA). It is played by two teams, called Radiant and Dire which con- sist of five players each. The main goal of the game is to destroy other team's \Ancient", located at the opposite corners of the map. Each of the players choose one hero to play with from a pool of 113 heroes in the drafting stage of the game (sometimes called 'picks'). -
The Effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills
Computers & Education 80 (2015) 58e67 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers & Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills * Valerie J. Shute , Matthew Ventura, Fengfeng Ke Florida State University, College of Education, 1114 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453, USA article info abstract Article history: In this study, we tested 77 undergraduates who were randomly assigned to play either a popular video Received 11 May 2014 game (Portal 2) or a popular brain training game (Lumosity) for 8 h. Before and after gameplay, par- Received in revised form ticipants completed a set of online tests related to problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence. Results 19 July 2014 revealed that participants who were assigned to play Portal 2 showed a statistically significant advantage Accepted 23 August 2014 over Lumosity on each of the three composite measuresdproblem solving, spatial skill, and persistence. Available online 30 August 2014 Portal 2 players also showed significant increases from pretest to posttest on specific small- and large- scale spatial tests while those in the Lumosity condition did not show any pretest to posttest differ- Keywords: Assessment ences on any measure. Results are discussed in terms of the positive impact video games can have on Persistence cognitive and noncognitive skills. Problem solving © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Spatial skills Videogames 1. Introduction Most children and young adults gravitate toward digital games. The Pew Internet and American Life Project surveyed 1102 youth be- tween the ages of 12 and 17 and found that 97%dboth males (99%) and females (94%)dplay some type of digital game (Lenhart et al., 2008). -
Virtual Reality
Independent publication by raconteur.net raconteur.net # 0356 17 / 12 / 2015 VIRTUAL REALITY 2016: the year Bringing Virtually Feel like 2016 05 shopping 06 no limit 11 playing 03 of virtual reality to life to VR away? Analysts are tipping 2016 as a breakthrough Retailers are poised to use virtual reality Ten top areas where virtual reality is Virtual reality is adding an extra dimension year for virtual reality technology to transform the shopping experience making an impact and revolutionising life to gaming and interactive cinema FB BANNER - HEXAWARE creating immersive, interactive worlds for VR stinkdigital.com raconteur.net RACONTEUR | 17 / 12 / 2015 raconteur.net VIRTUAL REALITY | 03 Getty ImagesGetty 2016: the year of virtual reality Analysts are tipping 2016 as a breakthrough year for virtual reality with major product launches on the horizon Visitors test virtual reality headsets at the Solutions COP21 exhibition OVERVIEW This is not just the stuff of science fic- ly surpassed anything VR could conjure It is not just the technology companies Investment in VR is reaching fever NIC FILDES tion anymore. Citi, the investment bank, up. Those companies that survived did getting excited about VR. The movie pitch from Kickstarter campaigns to estimates that the market for hardware, so moving away from entertainment industry is clearly excited about the put cameras on the International Space here is often a sense of déjà vu networks, software and content will and towards business applications, prospects of immersive cinema with Station to spice up science teaching in when it comes to technolog- reach a staggering $200 billion by 2020. -
Conference Booklet
30th Oct - 1st Nov CONFERENCE BOOKLET 1 2 3 INTRO REBOOT DEVELOP RED | 2019 y Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned Warmest welcome to first ever Reboot Develop it! And we are here to stay. Our ambition through Red conference. Welcome to breathtaking Banff the next few years is to turn Reboot Develop National Park and welcome to iconic Fairmont Red not just in one the best and biggest annual Banff Springs. It all feels a bit like history repeating games industry and game developers conferences to me. When we were starting our European older in Canada and North America, but in the world! sister, Reboot Develop Blue conference, everybody We are committed to stay at this beautiful venue was full of doubts on why somebody would ever and in this incredible nature and astonishing choose a beautiful yet a bit remote place to host surroundings for the next few forthcoming years one of the biggest worldwide gatherings of the and make it THE annual key gathering spot of the international games industry. In the end, it turned international games industry. We will need all of into one of the biggest and highest-rated games your help and support on the way! industry conferences in the world. And here we are yet again at the beginning, in one of the most Thank you from the bottom of the heart for all beautiful and serene places on Earth, at one of the the support shown so far, and even more for the most unique and luxurious venues as well, and in forthcoming one! the company of some of the greatest minds that the games industry has to offer! _Damir Durovic