The Computer Games Journal Ltd Registered Company No

ISSN 2052-773X

The Computer Games Journal Ltd Registered company no. SC 441838

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journal website: www.computergamesjournal.com journal enquiries: [email protected]

The Computer Games Journal

Volume 2 Edition 2 Lammas 2013

The Computer Games Journal 2(2) Lammas 2013

Volume 2 Edition 2 Lammas 2013: contents

Editorial

The need to play and develop video games in order to understand them Phil Carlisle 3 - 4

Papers

Physical responses (arousal) to audio in games Raymond Usher, Paul Robertson, Robin Sloan 5 - 13

Technical paper - running a business in The Cloud Sean Reilly, Gordon Dow 14 - 51

Game audio – an investigation into the effect of audio on player immersion Nicola Gallacher 52 - 79

On keeping graduates maximally skilled and visibly so to enter the computer games industry as software developers John Sutherland and Martin Williamson Smith 80 - 102

Audio immersion in games Stephen Gormanley 103 - 123

A quality-driven approach to game physics engine development using the Entity Component Pattern Christopher Reilly , Kevin Chalmers 125 - 149

The Computer Games Journal 2(2) Lammas 2013

The Computer Games Journal

Editor-in-Chief

Dr John N Sutherland BSc, MSc, EdD, CEng, CISE, CISP, MBCS

Deputy Editors-in-Chief

Dr Tony Maude BSc (Hons), PhD, BD (Hons) Dr Malcolm Sutherland BSc (Hons), PhD

Editorial Board

Prof. Alonzo Addison, University of California Dr Kenny MacAlpine, University of Abertay Dundee Aaron Allport, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Dr Hannah Marston, Deutsche Sporthochschule, Koln Jennifer Ash, User Research, Bungie Alex McGivern, Reality Council Brian Baglow, Revolver PR Stephen McGlinchey, Eurocom Developments Ltd Dawn Beasley, Mission Resourcing Ltd Simon Meek, Tern Digital Pauline Belford, Canterbury Christchurch University Andy Miah, Creative Futures Research Council Euan Black, University of the Highlands and Islands John Nash, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Matt Black, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Walter Patterson, e3Net Kim Blake, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Gary Penn, Denki Ltd Peter Bloomfield; Vertual Ltd Eve Penford-Dennis (freelance game developer) Prof. Paul Bourke, University of Western Australia Dr Mike Reddy, Newport University Dr Fiona Cameron, University of Western Sydney David Renton, West College Scotland Phil Carlisle, Namaste Prof. Skip Rizzo, University of Southern California Dr Gianna Cassidy, Glasgow Caledonian University Derek Robertson, Learning and Teaching Scotland Dr Prathap Chandran, Smartlearn Telcomp Scott Roberts, University of the West of Scotland Pierre Corbeil, retired professor, Quebec Sheila Robinson, Solvebrand Gordon Dow, PowerLunchClub Ltd Karl Royle, University of Wolverhampton Barry Elder, Digital Minds Mario Santana, VSMM Society Laurence Emms, Pixar Lol Scragg, Gamify Consultancy David Farrell, Glasgow Caledonian University Matt Seeney, Gameology Consultancy Dr Antonio Ramires Fernandes, Universidade do Minho Stuart Slater, University of Wolverhampton Ross Forshaw, Linx Online Ltd Martin Williamson Smith, University of the West of Scotland Bill Gallacher, Reid Kerr College Colin Smyth, Blitz Games Studios Alan Gauld, BT Prof. Ian Smythe, Newport University Remi Gillig, Asobo Studio Mazen Sukkar, Headstrong Games Jullian Gold, Short Fuse Ltd Dr Allan Taylor, University of Abertay Dundee Natalie Griffith, formerly at Blitz Games Studios David Thomson, founder of Ludometrics Richard Hackett, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Prof. Jim Terkeurst, University of Winsconsin Muhammad Nouman Hanif, Radius Interactive Prof. Harold Thwaites, Multimedia University Cyberjaya Douglas Henry, former developer at Bigpoint Studios Prof. Olga de Troyer, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Michael Heron, Epitaph Online Chris Viggers, Blitz Games Studios Mark Hobbs, Natural Motion Dr Krzysztof Walczak, Poznan University of Economics Prof. Charalampos Karagiannidis, University of Thessaly Peter Walsh, Vancouver Film School Romana Khan, Caledonian University Shaun Wilson, RMIT University Andrzej Klimczuk, Warsaw School of Economics Chris Wright, Games Analytics Chris van der Kuyl, Brightsolid Anne Wuebbenhorst, Digital Goldfish Prof. Ian Marshall, Coventry University

Aims of The Computer Games Journal

The focus of The Computer Games Journal is on new and emerging technologies, market trends and other critical issues facing the computer games industry. The journal draws particular attention to research by undergraduate and postgraduate students, and commentary by industry professionals. The intention is to promote and publish information, which is of direct relevance to both computer games entrepreneurs and to students who are intent on developing a career in the industry.

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Editorial: the need to develop and play video games in order to understand them

Written by Phil Carlisle

Senior Lecturer

Address: Dept. of Computing and Electronic Technology, The University of Bolton, Deane Road, Bolton BL3 5AB e-mail: [email protected]

I once attended a meeting between academics and games industry developers where one of the academics asked, “Do you think I have to play video games in order to be able to usefully research them?” At the time I felt quite annoyed because the question seemed to suggest that playing games wasn‟t worth the researcher's time. Could you imagine the same kind of question being asked at a meeting between academics and writers? “Do I have to have read a book in order to be able to research this kind of literature?” The sad truth is that you can research any subject without necessarily being embedded in the culture of the area. However, you will lack the perspective of having experienced some of the issues involved in the area first hand.

I‟m sure many of you who are reading this editorial will have experienced the feeling that video games simply aren‟t taken seriously as a valid research subject. Yet from my own personal experiences of the past decade as both a game developer and academic, I can attest to the overwhelming number of questions I am constantly struggling to answer. We know so little about this medium, about its psychological impact, its technological problems and its aesthetic challenges. Perhaps it is merely academic inertia that is slowing down the study of this field. It has been perceived by some that the games industry itself doesn‟t help by producing a very narrow type of experience, although I suspect that such a view is being challenged when there are several new gaming platforms and new players emerging at a healthy rate.

But I urge you to take heart and consider the long term situation. There is no denying the fact that in recent years interactivity in all its forms has become more pervasive. Mobile phones, tablets with touch screen interfaces, and emerging trends in wearable computers all suggest that the world is becoming both more connected and more interactive. Video games are already an important part of many people's daily lives. I suspect that it is inevitable that interactive media such as video games will become more ubiquitous, perhaps becoming the main media with which people entertain themselves. It is also, I believe, an inevitability that academia will have to accept that this same media is worthy of study because it offers so many interesting challenges.

My own research lies in the study of an area known by a number of names, including 'Interactive Digital Storytelling' and 'Believable Agents'. I am fascinated by the questions arising from the simulation of virtual beings. I call them 'Digital Actors' because ultimately the real questions arise from the player's experience of the agents' behaviour, rather than specifically what the agent is doing. Even this single field of research raises some really difficult questions: What affects the player's perception of the actors' behaviour? How do we optimally configure actors so that they exhibit the behaviours intended by designers? What form of interface should be used by designers, to allow them to specify the actors' behavior? How do we verify that actor behaviour is actually as intended?

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That video games contain challenges from different perspectives is perhaps the reason why we are drawn to them. Technologists can study aspects of rendering, optimisation, and software engineering practice; whilst artists can study the aesthetics, animation and cinematography. Then there are design issues, interactivity issues, process control and business issues to consider. The problem of how to approach such a complex and multifaceted field is a challenging one. Do we create video game artefacts in a design/action research manner? Do we seek some fundamental principle that underpins our understanding of 'play'? How do we critique those experiences already available in a manner that is robust?

I am sure as you read the papers submitted to this journal, you will begin to understand the problems of researching a medium that relies so much on a combination of art, design and technology. It is often hard for a scientist who is used to quantitative methods to accept that they might not explain the whole picture. The analyst must also handle the subjective viewpoints of different players, and accept that video games have their own culture. A great deal of academic thinking has so far been aimed at the product of video games, typified by the ludology/narratology debate, or by the emphasis on the cultural effects of playing games. Yet so much is left to explore in the production of video game experiences. I would advocate that more academics need to produce their own video games, so that they can learn from that act of creation. Abstraction is useful and necessary, but when faced with difficult decisions during video game production, you often experience the fundamental issues which would be beneficial to an academic study.

We can draw encouragement from the fact that there are journals and conferences aimed at the academic study of video games. The diverse nature of the submissions to this journal shows that a wide variety of academic disciplines and approaches can usefully co-exist. What we need to do as academics is to work at establishing a base of knowledge that is both rigorous and informed. We need to engage with the video game industry and seek to understand their needs. There still exists a noticeable divide between academics and game developers. If we can bridge that gap and begin embedding academic thinking within game development, I believe we will gain some valuable understanding of the nature of video games.

My personal goal as a researcher is to gain a better understanding of the role of characters in video games, and how they can contribute to the player's perception of the game with their behaviour. I have long held onto the view that video game characters could be the most compelling ones of any media due to their interactive nature (although I must admit that despite the highly realistic graphics in some games, such characters still seem slightly unconvincing). I do take heart however, after reading Thomas and Johnson's The Illusion of Life, which provides a historic account of the development of animation techniques during the early years of the Walt Disney corporation. This book provides a very interesting insight into the series of developments of the animated cartoon, from early artifacts such as Steam Boat Willy (with its crude line-work and animation), to the more complex and accomplished animations such as Fantasia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

I suspect that it may take many more years for us to develop the techniques applicable to video games before we truly understand their potential. Certainly I would suggest to anyone looking at current video games that they should think beyond the current media. Ultimately we may see video games on vastly different platforms with vastly different forms of interaction, and it may be certain interaction methods which unlock the true potential of the medium. Perhaps our collective goal should be to understand the fundamentals of play and how it affects video game players. I think conducting a further wide range of academic work is one of the keys to achieving that goal. My hope is that by undertaking such research (including developing and playing our own video games), we will add to the collective knowledge that will ultimately lead to better game experiences for us all.

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Physical responses (arousal) to audio in games

Raymond Usher1, Paul Robertson2, Robin Sloan2

1: Address: Euphonious Ltd, Dundee, U.K. e-mail: [email protected] 2: Address: The University of Abertay Dundee, Institute of the Arts, Media and Computer Games, Kydd Building, Dundee, U.K.

Abstract

This study investigates the role that audio plays in the video gaming experience. Two groups of participants played three games (of different styles). One group played the games with the audio switched on; the other group played the games with the audio switched off. A bioharness was used to measure the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants as they played the game. The results showed that for all three games, the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants in the group (playing the games with the audio switched on) were higher than the heartbeat and respiration rates of participants in the other group. This suggests that audio effects in video games provide a measurable enhancement of the game-playing experience.

Keywords: audio, immersion, video games, bioharness, participants, testing

Article Information

Received: February 2013 Accepted: April 2013 Available: online September 2013 (All trademarks acknowledged)

1: Introduction

This study investigated the importance of audio in computer games. To do this an experiment was designed that compared groups of participants that played the same games with and without audio. Participants' physical responses to the games were recorded via a bioharness, that recorded participant's breathing wave, heart rate, respiration rate and skin temperature. Analysis of the heart rate and respiration rate of participants showed that those playing games with audio had a higher level of arousal (a combination of heart rate and respiration rate) and demonstrated the immersion capabilities of audio in games.

2: Participants

12 students from the University of Abertay Dundee participated in the study. All participants had experience in playing computer games but little or no experience in the games selected for the study.

3: Materials

Experimental trials were conducted in the aforementioned university‟s facility, which provided a six- metre rear projection screen, 7.1-surround sound and adjustable lighting providing a great gaming

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experience. Participant's physical responses were recorded with a bioharness (Zephyr Technology, 2003) which had previously been used to monitor the health of trapped Chilean Miners (New York Times, 2011). The bioharness records a range of physical attributes including heart rate, breathing rate and skin temperature.

Three games were selected as stimuli for participants to play:

Osmos (Hemisphere Games, 2009); FlatOut Total Carnage (Bugbear Games, 2007); and, Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Amnesia, 2010).

These games provided a range of genres (racing to survival horror) and play styles (driving to first person shooter).

The aim of Osmos (Figure 1) is to propel yourself (bright blue orb), a single-celled organism (mote), into other smaller motes (dark blue orbs) to absorb them. Colliding with a mote larger than yourself will result in being absorbed yourself, resulting in a game over. Changing course is performed by expelling mass. Due to conservation of momentum, this results in the player's mote moving away from the expelled mass, but also in their mote shrinking.

Figure 1: Osmos screen shot

FlotOut is a racing game with an emphasis on demolition derby-style races, and features a sophisticated physics engine. Races take place in a range of locations from busy street to storm water drains (Figure 2). Players race against 11 computer controller opponents in races consisting of multiple laps. An additional speed boost can be gained by going off jumps and crashing into other cars.

Amnesia: the Dark Descent features an unarmed protagonist exploring a dark and foreboding castle (Figure 3), while avoiding monsters and other obstructions as well as solving puzzles. The player plays and sees through the eyes of Daniel, making their way through the different levels of

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Brennenburg Castle as the story progresses, starting off in the Rainy Hall and eventually making their way into the deepest depths of the castle in their search for Alexander, the owner of the castle.

Figure 2: FlatOut Ultimate Carnage screenshot

Figure 3: Amnesia: the Dark Descent screenshot

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4: Procedure

The experiment trials began with participants signing a consent form, where they agreed to take part in the experiment, understood what the experiment would consist of and stated they had no problem with projected images, as required by The University of Abertay Dundee experiment guidelines. Following the signing of the consent form participants where instructed how to wear the bioharness and once the bioharness was on recording of physical attributes began.

Participants played each of the three games in order: Osmos, FlatOut and Amnesia. Before starting each game participants had to be in a resting state, this was monitored with the bioharness. If participants were not in a relaxed state when they began the game, it would be challenging to determine the effects of gaming on physical responses. Participants alternated between the audio and no-audio conditions, where one participant would play the three games with audio and the next participant would play the three games without audio. All participants were given the same levels/locations in all three games to play. For Osmos participants were given two levels where they were tasked to become the largest. For Flatout all participants were given the first race (4 laps) and the same car. Finally, for Amnesia all participants were tasked with navigating through the open level of the game.

5: Results

5.1: Game 1

Analysis of participant responses focused on heart rate and respiration rate as variables demonstrating arousal. Participants were divided into two groups based on testing conditions: Audio and no-audio. Figure 4 shows a comparison of the groups' heart rate over the duration of playing the first game. At the start of the game both groups had a heart rate around 75 beats per minute (bpm). The Audio group played the game for longer, but also demonstrate a consistently higher heart rate throughout and had greater maximum and minimum heart rate values (Audio group maximum 84bpm, minimum 68bpm, No-audio group maximum 78bpm and minimum 61bpm). Further analysis found this difference in heart rate to be significant (Mann-Whitney, p<0.001). Figure 5 shows a comparison of groups respiration rate during game play (Maximum and Minimum respiration rate of 25bpm and 7bpm for Audio group, respectively and 21bpm and 2bpm for No-Audio group, respectively). Analysis showed unlike heart rate a significant difference was not found (Mann-Whitney, p=0.182).

5.2: Game 2

Figure 6 shows a comparison of Audio and No-audio groups' heart rate while playing game 2 (FlatOut). The graph shows a clear difference between the groups with the Audio group having a much higher heart rate throughout the game compared to the No-audio group (Audio group maximum 91bpm, minimum 57bpm and No-audio group maximum 77bpm, minimum 64bpm). Further statistical analysis showed this to be a significant difference (Mann-Whitney, p<0.001). Figure 7 shows a comparison of the two groups' respiration rate throughout the game. During game-play both group show fluctuation in respiration rates with the Audio group having a slightly higher maximum and minimum respiration rate (Audio group maximum 24bpm, minimum 14bpm, and No-audio group maximum 22bpm, minimum 12bpm). Statistical analysis found the difference between groups to be significant (Mann-Whitney, p<0.001).

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Figure 4: Heart rate comparison of groups with and without audio

Figure 5: Comparison of respiration rate of Audio and No Audio groups

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Figure 6: Comparison of heart rates

Figure 7: Comparison of Audio/No-Audio groups‟ respiration rate for game 2

5.3: Game 3

Figure 8 shows a comparison of heart rates for the Audio and No-audio groups while playing game 3 (Amnesia: the Dark Descent). The graph shows that the Audio group had a consistently higher heart rate throughout the game-play session. The Audio and No-Audio groups obtained maximum heart rates of 90bpm and 77bpm respectively and minimum heart rate of heart rates of 74bpm and 52bpm, respectively. Further statistical analysis found the differences in heart rate to be significant (Mann- Whitney, p<0.001). Figure 9 shows a comparison of respiration rates throughout game-play for the Audio and No-audio groups. The graph shows overall the Audio group had a greater respiration rate

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(maximum rate of 27bpm and minimum rate of 10bpm) compared to the No-audio group (maximum 16bpm and minimum 6bpm). Statistical analysis found that the differences in respiration rate were significant (Mann-Whitney, p<0.001).

Figure 8: Comparison of Audio/No-Audio groups' respiration rate for game 2

Figure 9: Comparison of Audio and No-audio groups' heart rate for game 3

6: Summary

During game 1 the Audio group had a significantly higher heart rate and a slightly higher respiration rate compared to the No-Audio group. During game 2 the Audio group had a significantly high heart rate and respiration rate than the No-audio group. Finally, during game 3 the Audio group had

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significantly higher heart rate and respiration rate compared to the No-audio group. These findings suggest that the presence of audio (Serafin et al 2004; Schuemie et al 2001; Steuer, 1992) in virtual digital interactive media such as games can lead to an increase in player arousal, as shown by an increase in physical responses (heart rate and respiration rate).

Focusing on the games individually, starting with game 1 (Osmos) the results show this game produced a low heart rate (68bpm) and lowest respiration rate (7bpm) for the Audio group. While these values are low both were still higher than that produced by the No-audio group. These values are low mostly likely because Osmos is a low stress game. The levels participants were tasked with completing were not challenging and the audio is relaxing, therefore participants did not express any frustration.

During Game 2 (FlatOut) the Audio group produced the highest heart rate (91bpm) and a slightly higher respiration rate compared to the No-audio group. The rationale for these high values is that FlatOut is an exhilarating racing game, more so with audio (engine noise, crash sound effects and background rock music). Furthermore, participant performance in the game may effect responses, for example if a player is winning they may respond with excitement (increasing both heart and respiration rate), or if a player is losing they may become frustrated also increasing heart and respiration rate.

Game 3 (Amnesia) best demonstrates the affect of audio in games. The audio group obtained significantly higher heart and respiration rates compared to the No-audio group during game play. This is more impressive given that the section of game all participants played through very little happens. There are no bad guys, no fighting, just exploration and the results suggest that audio can increase immersion in games.

Reviewing group responses to all games it shows the Audio group produced a high maximum heart rate and respiration rate for all games (heart rate Game 1: 84bpm, game 2: 91bpm and game 3: 90bpm; respiration rate game 1: 25bpm, game 2: 24 and game 3: 27bpm). The No-audio group produced consistent maximum heart rate values over the three games (game 1: 78bpm, game 2: 77bpm and game 3: 77bpm). The difference in heart rates between the groups shows the effect audio in games has on players.

To further investigate the effect of audio in games another study could be conducted, that utilises the same methodology as the above study, but instead of using commercial games as stimuli, researchers could build a bespoke game environment for testing. The advantage of a bespoke testing environment is the ability to control almost everything. Such an environment could be used to investigate aspects such as quality or realism of audio and the responses of players.

Video games and hardware

Amnesia. (2010). Amnesia: The Dark Descent. [online] http://www.amnesiagame.com/ [accessed 3 May 2013].

Bugbear Entertainment Games. (2009). Bugbear Entertainment [online] http://www.bugbear.fi/games.html [accessed 3 May 2013].

Hemisphere Games Osmos (2009). Hemisphere Games Osmos. [online] http://www.hemispheregames.com/osmos/ [accessed 3 May 2013]

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Zephyr Technology (2013). BioHarness 3 – Wireless Professional Heart Rate Monitor & Physiological Monitor with Bluetooth. Zephyr Technology Corporation. [online] http://www.zephyr-technology.com/products/bioharness-3/ [accessed 3 May 2013].

Further Reading

Scheumie, M., van der Straaten, P., Krijn, M., & van der Mast, C. (2001). Research on Presence in Virtual Reality: A Survey. Cyberpsychology and Behaviour. 4(2) pp.183-201.

Serafin, S., & Serafin, G. (2004). Sound Design to Enhance Presence in Photorealistic Virtual Reality. In: Proceedings of ICAD 04 - Tenth Meeting of the International Conference on Auditory Display. Sydney, Australia, July 6-9, 2004, [poster] http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2004/posters/serafin_serafin.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

Steuer, J. (1992) Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence. Journal of Communication. 4(2) pp.73-93.

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Technical paper: running a business in The Cloud

Sean Reilly1, Gordon Dow2

1: Address: Dept of Computing, the University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Renfrew, U.K. 2: Address: PowerLunchClub Ltd, Edinburgh, U.K. e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The rise of Cloud Computing in recent years has generated interest in many small businesses, which aim to take advantage of cloud-based services for their business operations. The Cloud Computing model promises a shift from a small business required to heavily invest in limited resources that are managed internally, to a model where a small business can out-source their business operations to a Cloud service provider, and thus gain access to powerful tools at a much lower cost.

This trend in the IT world beckons the following question: is it possible for an SME to run its business operations entirely in the Cloud? The aim of this project was to try and answer this question through secondary research, by investigating: (1) the definition of the Cloud; (2) the composition of the Cloud; (3) what SMEs can accomplish using the Cloud; and, (4) the benefits and drawbacks of running a business in the Cloud.

Primary research is also presented. This focused on data gathered from interviews. A survey and a small implementation experiment (to provide further data to answer the main research question) were also conducted, and guidelines were created. Those guidelines provide advice for SMEs, should they wish to implement Cloud- based services in the future.

Keywords: Cloud computing, business, survey, SMEs, software, platform, infrastructure

Article Information

Received: May 2013 Accepted: August 2013 Available: online September 2013

1: Project overview

1.1: Introduction

The popularity of Cloud Computing has grown dramatically over the past five years. A number of Cloud services emerged in 2008, and the Cloud has become part of many people‟s lives ever since. Cloud Computing is a new way of delivering computer resources, ranging from data storage (Dropbox, Google Drive) to software (Microsoft Office), which are now available instantly, are commitment-free, and on demand.1

During the past five years, Cloud services have matured to become more reliable, making it more attractive for SMEs to adopt these services. However, a number of SMEs are not aware of the benefits of cloud services and do not have the technical knowledge to fully utilise them. According to a survey carried out by E.ON, 1.1 million SMEs (86%) in the UK do not recognise that cloud computing

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could possibly have an impact on an SME‟s energy expenditure. Additionally, over a third (39%) of SMEs in the UK admitted to not knowing what Cloud Computing is, namely the property and financial sectors in the UK (with only 28% (in total) knowing what it is). These figures indicate that SMEs (which either use Cloud services or do not) are not fully aware of the benefits of the Cloud.2

1.2: Background on SMEs

According to the European Commission of Enterprise and Industry, there are a number of factors which determine whether or not a company is an SME:3

- a micro-enterprise has a headcount of less than 10 employees; - a small enterprise has a headcount of 50 or fewer employees; and, - a medium-sized enterprise has a headcount of up to 250 employees.

However, headcount is only a minor factor in the categorisation of an SME. The turnover or the balance sheet totals of a business also help define an SME. Recent studies show that SMEs account for 99.9% of all private sector businesses in the UK, and employ over 14 million people. Due to their having a smaller form factor compared to their large enterprise counter-parts, SMEs have a distinct advantage and have greater flexibility when it comes to implementing new technologies into their systems. This is the main reason why SMEs are the most ideal candidates for this investigation.3,4

1.3: Research questions

The research questions were inspired by a personal experience of setting up a website, and using Cloud services with a project partner living several miles away; as a result, face-to-face meetings were impractical. This situation prompted the following questions:

- What benefits can Cloud services provide? - What are the drawbacks of using Cloud services? - Can SMEs run their business operations using Cloud-based services?

1.4: Scope and limitations

This investigation addressed some of the benefits and drawbacks of using Cloud Computing. The different types of model and services were investigated. Information was also gathered through the use of primary research.

2: Defining Cloud Computing

2.1: Introduction

Background research was conducted into the main subject area. There are several definitions of the term “Cloud Computing”. Most of these list common features, although some definitions elaborate on the different capabilities of Cloud Computing.

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2.2: What is the Cloud?

Microsoft definition 5

“We at Microsoft think about cloud computing as using computing - not literally in a cloud, for obvious reasons - but running software in a data center. Therefore, instead of running software that resides only on a device, whether it‟s a laptop or a phone, or sitting on a server on premise, it is possible to run software that sits in a data center. Connectivity and computing power in data centers has grown to the point that it's feasible for individuals and institutions to move virtually all of their computing work out of their server rooms and into somebody else's data center, whether it's a data center run by Microsoft, Google, IBM, Amazon, or somebody else.”

It is evident that Microsoft‟s approach to Cloud Computing is based on SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). SaaS is based on delivering an internet-accessible service and using computer applications within the Cloud, rather than using the software on a local desktop. (SaaS is described in further detail below.)

IBM definition 6

“Cloud computing is a term used to describe both a platform and type of application. A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Servers in the cloud can be physical machines or virtual machines. Advanced clouds typically include other computing resources such as storage area networks (SANs), network equipment, firewall and other security devices. Cloud computing also describes applications that are extended to be accessible through the Internet. These cloud applications use large data centers and powerful servers that host Web applications and Web services. Anyone with a suitable Internet connection and a standard browser can access a cloud application.”

The IBM definition of Cloud Computing (despite being more dated) is very similar to the Microsoft perspective. However, cloud infrastructure operations are also mentioned. IBM is one of the leading companies which provide IT infrastructure, and the IBM definition is an indication that Cloud Computing provides reliable and dynamically scalable cloud infrastructures to their clients.

Oracle definition 7

“Cloud Computing is the convergence and evolution of several concepts from virtualization, distributed application design, grid, and enterprise IT management to enable a more flexible approach for deploying and scaling applications. Cloud enablers, such as virtualization and grid computing, allow applications to be dynamically deployed onto the most suitable infrastructure at run time.”

In this definition there is more focus on the flexibility of the Cloud, and the scalability provided by virtualisation and grid computing. Oracle specialise in selling virtualisation products, hence the larger focus on virtualisation compared to IBM or Microsoft.

All of these quotations contain both common and different viewpoints on Cloud Computing, but now an overall definition of Cloud Computing will be presented. To help readers understand the concept of “Cloud Computing”, the term should be defined.

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2.3: Defining the term “Cloud Computing”

The term “Cloud Computing” is a fairly new concept in the computing world, and is probably derived from notations in books that help define the Internet. When most internet users see a Cloud icon, they understand that it is the internet. The illustration in Figure 1 gives users a very basic understanding of how things connect together, such as computers and mobile phones. However, for the Cloud Computing world, the Cloud is – to use a common definition – “...clusters of distributed computers (largely vast data centres and server farms) which provide on-demand resources and services over a networked medium (usually the Internet)”. 8

Figure 1: Cloud computing notation 8

There are other definitions of the Cloud, which have been criticised by some Cloud Computing experts. Sultan (2010) provided a very basic definition, but it only defines the hardware and what the user requires to access the data and software on the said hardware. Due to the large number of definitions, it is difficult to find a true, comprehensive definition that gives a clear idea of the different concepts of the Cloud. 8

A number of experts in Cloud Computing have varied opinions on how to truly define Cloud Computing. Many focus on the business models; others focus on user-friendliness; and, others focus purely on the types of services offered. Markus Klems (2008) believed that immediate scalability and the optimisation of resource usage are key elements for the Cloud: 9

“You can scale your infrastructure on demand within minutes or even seconds, instead of days or weeks, thereby avoiding under-utilization (idle servers) and over-utilization (blue screen) of in-house resources.”

Kelms (ibid) referred to rapid elasticity, which is essentially a „rename‟ of scalability. (Rapid elasticity is the ability to scale resources as needed.) A common example of scalability is the ability to add or remove capacity to or from an IT environment when needed.9,10

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However, Brian de Haaff (2008) argued that scalability is a key requirement for an infrastructure to be considered as a Cloud: 11

“There really are only three types of services that are cloud based: SaaS, PaaS, and Cloud Computing Platforms. I am not sure being massively scalable is a requirement to fit into any one category.”

Jeff Kaplan (2008) preferred to define the cloud based on the business model and the reduction of expenditure, as opposed to Brian de Haff and Markus Kelms, who defined the cloud based on the types of service model and the scalability. Jeff Kaplan (op cit) defined Cloud Computing as: 12

“A broad array of web-based services aimed at allowing users to obtain a wide range of functional capabilities on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis that previously required tremendous hardware/software investments and professional skills to acquire.”

If you combine these three definitions into one, Cloud Computing appears to be a concept which provides a number of service models (SaaS, PaaS), computing resources and software resources. Correspondingly, using the Cloud for resources (depending on demand, or scalability) brings another concept to clients. This is a web-based “pay-as-you-go” business model, which can also be defined as utility computing. All the points mentioned are parts of the cloud; nevertheless, it still is not a comprehensive definition. With the varied definitions from a number of experts it is difficult to piece together any actual definitions that make sense. One of the biggest issues is vagueness and lack of precision in detailing these complex topics. A list of definitions from prominent figures in Cloud Computing was summarised by Luis et al (2009), and is provided in Table 1. These show the scope and variety of definitions within the Cloud Computing.

Table 1: List of definitions adapted from Luis et al (2009) (continued over-page) 13

Source Quotation

M. Klems “You can scale your infrastructure on demand within minutes or even seconds, (Geelan, 2008) instead of days or weeks, thereby avoiding under-utilisation (idle servers) and over- utilisation (blue screen) of in-house resources.”

P. Gaw (Geelan, “...refers to the bigger picture...basically the broad concept of using the internet to 2008) allow people to access technology-enabled services.”

R. Buyya “...a type of parallel and distributed system, consisting of collection of interconnected (Geelen, 2008) and virtualised environments that are dynamically provisioned and present as one or more unified computing resources, based on service-level agreements established through negotiation between service providers and customers.”

R. Cohen “For me, the simplest explanation for Cloud computing is describing it as „internet (Geelan, 2008) centric software‟. This new Cloud computing software model is a shift from [a] traditional single tenant approach to software development, to that of scalable, multi- tenant, multiplatform, multi-network, and global.”

J. Kaplan “...a broad array of web-based services aimed at allowing users to obtain a wide (Geelan, 2008) range of functional capabilities on a „pay-as-you-go‟ basis, that previously required tremendous hardware/software investment and professional skills...”

D. Gourlay [The] “...Cloud will be the next transformation over the next few years, building [from] (Geelan, 2008) the software models that virtualisation enabled.”

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D. Edwards “...what is possible when you leverage web scale infrastructure (application and (Geelan, 2008) physical) in an on-demand way...anything as a service...all terms that couldn‟t get it done. Call it „Cloud‟ and everyone goes bonkers(!)”

B. De Haff “There are only three types of services that are „Cloud‟-based: SaaS, PaaS, and (Geelan, 2008) Cloud Computing Platforms.”

B. Keppes “Cloud computing is the infrastructural paradigm shift that enables the ascension of (Geelan, 2008) SaaS.”

K. Sheynkman “The „Cloud‟ model initially focussed on making hardware layers consumable as on- (Geelan, 2008) demand computer and storage capacity... To harness the power of The Cloud, [the] complete application infrastructure needs to be easily configured, deployed, dynamically scaled and managed in these virtualised hardware environments.”

O. Sultan “...in a fully implemented Data Center 3.0 environment, you can decide if an app is run (Geelan, 2008) locally („cook at home‟), [or] in someone else‟s data center („take out‟), and you can change your mind on the fly in case you are short on data center resources („pantry is empty‟) or you are having environmental/facilities issues („too hot to cook‟).”

K. Harting “Cloud computing overlaps some of the concepts of distributed, grid and utility (Geelan, 2008) computing. However, it does have its own meaning if contextually used correctly. Cloud computing really is [about] accessing resources and services needed to perform functions with dynamically changing needs.”

J. Prizker [The] “Cloud tended to be priced like utilities...I think [it] is a trend, not a requirement.” (Geelan, 2008) T. Doerksen “Cloud computing is...the user-friendly version of grid computing.” (Geelan, 2008) T. von Eicken “...outsourced, pay-as-you-go, on-demand, somewhere in the internet.” (Geelan, 2008) M. Sheedan [The Cloud is a] “...‟cloud pyramid‟ to help differentiate the various Cloud offerings out (Geelan, 2008) there: top – SaaS; middle – PaaS; bottom – IaaS.”

A Ricadela “Cloud computing projects are more powerful and crash-proof than grid systems (Geelan, 2008) developed, even in recent years.”

I Wladawsky [With the Cloud] “...the key thing we want to virtualise or hide from the user is (Geelan, 2008) complexity...with Cloud computing, our expectation is that all that software will be virtualised or hidden from us, and taken care of by systems and/or professionals that are somewhere else – out there in the Cloud.”

B. Martin “Cloud computing really comes into focus only when you think about what IT always (Geelan, 2008) needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.”

R. Bragg “The key concept behind the Cloud is web application...a more developed and reliable (Geelan, 2008) Cloud.”

G. Gruman and E. [The] “...Cloud is all about: SaaS...utility computing...web Knorr (Geelan, 2008) services...PaaS...internet...integration...commerce platforms...”

P. McFedries (2008) “Cloud computing, in which not just our data but even our software resides within the Cloud, and we access everything not only through our PCs, but also [via] Cloud- friendly devices such as smartphones, PDAs...the mega-computer enabled by virtualisation and software as a service...this is utility computing powered by massive utility data centers.”

Garter (Geelan, 2008) “A style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided as a service using internet technologies to multiple external customers.”

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) undertook the task of publishing a new definition for Cloud Computing, taking into account all the opinions and the characterisations of Cloud Computing. They realised that Cloud Computing is an “evolving paradigm”, and actively sought comments from experts to help further define the Cloud. NIST defined Cloud Computing as: 14

“...[a] model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

NIST‟s aim was to provide a definition that covers the characterisation and opinions that exist. The above quote is from the 16th edition of The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (NIST, 2011), which addressed the characteristics and service models available. It covered the main characteristics and services. However, one expert disagreed with their deployment model definition. Chou (2011) stated that the NIST (2011) definition presents “a conceptual model envisioning what Cloud Computing is and about”. He then noted that the deployment model definition is “inconvenient” and “did not accurately describe the deployment models decorously”.14,15

3: Composition of the Cloud

3.1: Characteristics

NIST (2011) identified five essential characteristics of Cloud Computing: 14

On-demand Self-service: the Cloud allows provisioning of computing capabilities. One example of this is the provisioning of network storage, as needed, automatically. Provision can be accomplished without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

Broad Network Access: Cloud capabilities are available over the network and using standard mechanisms provided by thin or thick client platforms heterogeneously. An example of this is accessing cloud capabilities through the use of tablets or mobile phones.

Resource Pooling: the provider‟s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model. Different physical and virtual resources are assigned and reassigned in a dynamic way in harmony with the consumer‟s demand. The consumer has no knowledge or control over which location the resources are provided from. However, consumers may be able to identify the location at a higher level of abstraction. An example of this is a country, state, or a data centre. Examples of the resources include storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth.

Rapid Elasticity: this allows for rapid elastic provisioning and release; in some cases this is done automatically. It also allows for quick scaling outward and inward to be commensurate with consumer demand. From the consumer standpoint, the capabilities of the service appear to be unlimited and are appropriated by the consumer as demanded.

Measured Service: systems automatically control and optimise resources using metering capabilities which are appropriate to the type of service (e.g. storage, processing, and bandwidth.) Measured service allows for transparency between the service provider and the

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client. The usage of resources demanded by the consumer can be monitored, controlled and reported. 3.2: Service models

NIST (2011) stated that a cloud infrastructure is a collection of hardware and software, both of which enable the characteristics detailed in the previous section. NIST also noted that the infrastructure of the Cloud can be regarded as comprising both a physical layer and an abstraction layer: the physical layer consists of hardware resources to support the services offered; and the abstraction layer consists of the hardware deployed on the physical layer. In order for end-users to access services, three service models must be in place: 14

- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) - Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) - Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

There is a multitude of service platforms including Storage-as-a-Service, Security-as-a-Service, Data- as-a-Service, and Backend-as-a-Service. For this study only the three service models listed above were investigated:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Traditionally, software is distributed in the form of a physical format medium (CD, DVD) and the software is installed on a personal computer, often referred to as Software-as-a-Product (SaaS). SaaS is a service model in which applications are hosted by vendors and made available to end- users over the Internet.16

SaaS is typically implemented to provide software to the end-user at a low cost, whilst allowing the end-user access to the same benefits of a physical product, without the complexities of sourcing the product, installation, and the high cost of purchasing. Many types of software are well suited to the SaaS model, such as word processing, email clients and video communication software. The difference between SaaS and other applications delivered over the Internet is that SaaS products are specifically developed to work in an end-user‟s web browser. This allows the end-user to use the software without the worry of not having the most up-to-date hardware components in their computer.16

SaaS applications are not locally installed on PCs like physical products. The SaaS-based applications architecture is designed to support a multitude of customers using the application at once. However, traditional desktop software (e.g. Microsoft Office) can be converted to work as a SaaS model. However, Rittinghouse and Ransome (2010) only specified a few key aspects of SaaS. A more comprehensive description of SaaS was provided by Barrie Sosinsky (2011): 16,17

- the software from SaaS services is made available over the Internet through a browser on demand; - the license for the software is typically subscription or usage-based, and end-users are billed on a recurring basis (e.g. monthly, annually); - the service and the software are monitored by the service provider, regardless of whether all of the software components are running; the service provider also maintains the software and service; - due to the reduced distribution, maintenance costs and minimal end-user system costs typically make SaaS applications cheaper than locally installed software;

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- SaaS applications typically feature automatic upgrades and updates, and have much faster roll- out changes; - SaaS applications tend to have a lower barrier of entry than locally installed software, since the end-user is aware of the recurring costs and the services can scale on demand; - all end-users have the same version of the software to allow compatibility with other end-users‟ software; and, - SaaS also supports multiple users and provides a shared data model through single-instance and multi-tenancy models.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Platform-as-a-Service is essentially an extension of the SaaS application delivery model. It is a software environment that allows businesses to create custom solutions within the context of the development provided within the platform, such as virtualised servers and operating systems. It is also a means for businesses to rent virtualised servers and services associated with the platform for running their existing applications. Using the PaaS model allows end-users to interact with the software to perform actions, get results, and customise their platform (to the extent permitted by the service provider). However, the end-user is not responsible for maintaining hardware, software, or developing applications, and is only responsible for their interaction with the platform. Only the service provider is responsible for the maintenance.17

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure-as-a-Service is the first major layer in Cloud Computing architecture. IaaS is basically the delivery of Infrastructure-as-a-Service, and leverages technology, services and data centres to deliver IT as a service to end-users. The service providers manage the transition and the hosting of the applications selected by the end-user. The end-users maintain ownership and the management of how their application works. However, the operations and the infrastructure management are maintained by the IaaS provider. IaaS providers typically provide the computer hardware for the end- users, the network (routers, firewalls, etc.) internet connectivity, the virtualised environment and the service level agreements. End-users rent the storage space, servers and network equipment (rather than purchasing them). Typically, these types of service are billed on a monthly basis and are charged based on the amount of resources consumed by the end-user. Using these types of service allows businesses to run without the worry of maintaining hardware.16

3.3: Deployment models

NIST (2011) defined four deployment models, of which Cloud Computing is composed. Each model represents a specific type of cloud environment. The deployment models are as follows: 14

Public Cloud

The public cloud infrastructure is accessible to the general public and typically has a pay-as-you-go model of payment. The infrastructure may be managed, owned, etc. by businesses, academic institutions, or the government. The infrastructure exists on the service provider‟s premises.

Private Cloud

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The private cloud infrastructure is used exclusively by a single organisation, typically embracing multiple users (e.g. departments). The infrastructure may be located within the organisation‟s premises or managed by a third party. The organisation may also own, manage or operate the infrastructure, or it may be a combination of the organisation‟s infrastructure and third-party infrastructure.

Community Cloud

The community cloud infrastructure is used exclusively by a community of end-users from multiple organisations who share the same concerns for their business (e.g. their mission, security, policy). Like the private cloud, it may be managed by one or many organisations, or it can be exclusively managed by a third party.

Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid infrastructure combines two or more cloud infrastructures (community, private, or public), and they are “bound together by standardised or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability”.

4: Running a business in the Cloud

4.1: Benefits and drawbacks

The main reasons why SMEs wish to utilise cloud services are (i) to achieve financial savings, and (ii) improve resource management. For SMEs, an obvious financial benefit are the savings from purchasing, maintaining and running hardware and software infrastructures. Thus, their capital investment in hardware and software is reduced. This introduces an opportunity for SMEs to acquire IT capabilities they may not have been able to afford previously.18

SMEs have taken notice, and this is demonstrated in research conducted by Easynet Connect, which showed that SMEs are eager to adopt cloud services. 47% of SMEs plan to do so within five years, with 35% of their managers citing cost savings as a major factor for utilising cloud services.19

Furthermore, universal access to software applications and services hosted by vendors can bring additional financial benefits, as SMEs would no longer need to invest further for software license fees. Also, due to the elasticity cloud vendors provide in their services, it could lead to further reductions in terms of resource management, as they only need to pay for what they use.

Conversely, Sultan (2011) raised some concerns with regard to using these services. He stated that vendor lock-in and failures are two main problems encountered when using the Cloud. Many service providers offer their services through proprietary interfaces, and there are no Cloud Computing standards for APIs (Application Programming Interface), the storage of business data for recovery, and the import and export of data if businesses wish to change vendors. Additionally, the failure of a cloud vendor that stores the information can have serious ramifications for the end users who trusted their data with their selected vendor.20

Sultan (2011) did state that there are some efforts to address these issues which have come to fruition. With regard to the issues mentioned previously, a body such as the Cloud Security Interoperability Forum was created for the sole purpose of promoting the creation of a set standardisation of application program interfaces and platform technologies. Setting this standard

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would allow companies to easily transfer their data from one cloud service provider to another, thus preventing vendor lock-in.20

As stated by Sarna (2011) and Sosinsky (2011), an additional advantage of using cloud services is the reduced cost of IT staff within the business. Because the infrastructure and hardware is located on the service provider‟s service, the business no longer needs dedicated in-house IT staff to maintain an infrastructure. However, Khajeh-Hosseini et al (2012) argued that an organisational change associated with moving to the Cloud is difficult. They argued that it will take a great deal of management effort to fully move to the Cloud, and project managers should be put in place to maintain the use of cloud services within the business. Additionally, they wrote that, due to the lack of IT staff, end-users have to depend on IT staff from the cloud service to fix potential issues. They do not have the ability to tell their service provider to prioritise their issues as they could before with IT staff in their own department.17,21-22

One advantage identified by Sosinsky (2011) is reliability. Cloud services can be highly reliable due to the scale of the computing network and the abilities they have, such as load-balancing. Typically, cloud services are more reliable than can be achieved within a single organisation.17

Conversely, reliability can also be a major disadvantage. The uncertainty of availability of services and reliability (e.g. unexpected downtime and disruption) could possibly deter SMEs from using cloud services, as it could potentially increase project and business risk. An example of this situation is the downtime of Saleforce.com services. Customers had no access to the service for six hours due to a system upgrade. Additionally, Amazon EC2 experienced outages in one of their East Coast facilities because of a power failure in their data centre. For SMEs, these situations could be calamitous for their businesses. Having no access to their data or applications could result in the loss of a day‟s work.18,20,22

There is a myriad of third-party cloud storage services available for regular consumers or businesses to use. For example, an SME may upload word documents to Dropbox, which then allows employees to access these documents from home. Additionally, it eliminates “dead time”, since employees can continue writing up reports from home without physically being present in the office. However, this does raise the question of whether or not data is secure in the Cloud. ENISA (2009) stated that utilising cloud services can have additional security benefits. Due to the larger scale nature of cloud services, security services are much cheaper to implement and have better protection. Also, they stated that data can be stored in multiple locations.1

This, however, raises other concerns about the Cloud. Data Protection of business documents is a drawback, as Cloud Computing potentially poses several risks for businesses. Businesses may be unaware where their data is held, or who is controlling their confidential data. Various government bodies (e.g. the European Union) are trying to address these issues, and to place privacy regulations that prohibit transmission of various types of personal file outside of the EU. They have also prompted cloud service providers to give users the option to choose the geographical location of where to store their files.1,20

4.2: What can you do on the Cloud?

Motahari-Nezhad et al (2009) stated that the idea of a company running a business online is not a new one. With the popularity of Cloud Computing, more businesses have taken advantage, and they are now outsourcing their business processing to Cloud services. The authors referred to this as a “virtual business” in which a majority or all of small businesses‟ functions are outsourced to online

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services. The authors identified elements of the Cloud such as SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and DaaS (Database-as-a-Service). With SaaS, SMEs can use software applications that are offered as a service over the Internet, instead of an individual software package purchased by an individual customer to be used on one computer.22

Miller (2009) detailed a myriad of examples of Cloud services that could be used in SMEs, some of which are available at no financial cost. Web-based products like Google Calendar can be used in an organisation to create both personal and shared organisational calendars for the business. Due to the nature of SaaS, businesses can use products like Google Calendar on multiple devices instead of being restricted to one device. Small businesses can even use word processing software on the Cloud using Office 365TM. This service allows small businesses to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, email and calendars online for a fixed monthly price through an internet web browser. This means that end-users within the business no longer need to purchase a full licence to use the Office suite for a single computer. The only requirement to access Office 365TM is a web browser and a monthly subscription based on a per-month, per-user basis. This allows end-users to access their documents from any device at any time, allowing end-users to work from home or on the move. However, calendars and word processors are only a couple of examples. Small businesses can use services in the Cloud to collaborate on event management, contacts, customer relationship management, databases, project management, file storage and file sharing.23

If the focus of the small business is on development of software applications, PaaS provides facilities for businesses to help support the entire development lifecycle, including (i) the design of the application, (ii) implementation, (iii) debugging, (iv) testing, (v) deployment, (vi) operation and (vii) support, entirely on the Cloud. Services from Salesforce.com, Microsoft and Google App Engine enable PaaS and SaaS users to develop add-ons and stand-alone applications collaboratively as a team. This enables the developers in the company to create their applications from different locations, which is helpful if some members of the development team are unable to meet one another in person (and thus reduces dead time).22

With IaaS, businesses can rent hardware resources (storage) and computing power as a service, instead of spending money to purchase dedicated servers and networking equipment. Services like Amazon EC2 offer businesses virtual environments where they can deploy and run their programs. Typically, this type of cloud architecture is aimed at larger enterprises with a large consumer base that uses the application provided by the business. For smaller businesses, SaaS or PaaS are more likely to be used.22

Moving all business processes into the Cloud may have a number of advantages that are attractive for smaller businesses, e.g. financial savings. By using these services, it allows small business to perform some basic business processes free of charge or at a low monthly price. Furthermore, Google Drive allows users to store their data for free. Previously, businesses often had to purchase hardware to store their data locally. Nowadays, using Cloud services allows SMEs to acquire IT capabilities they may not previously have been able to afford at a much lower price. The benefits of using these types of service are obvious, but it is very important for SMEs to realise the potential risks of moving their entire business processes into the Cloud. The recognisable risks are security of data and loss of control. Furthermore, cloud services may have outages which could potentially prevent the end-users in the business from working. Another concern is the unknown location of where data is actually stored. If governments decided to shut down cloud services in the US, this could potentially threaten small businesses in the UK.

Even though the benefits are obvious, it is very important for small businesses to strategise their implementation of the Cloud. Some of the drawbacks mentioned can be reduced if a strategy is used

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to implement the Cloud into a business. Motahari-Nezhad et al (2009) created a strategy to aid in the development of a virtual business-operating environment, where businesses have their own secure environment which allows them to use the Cloud services in an inter-operated manner. This means that all of the Cloud services used in the business are in an easy-to-access, secure environment where all the services used work together with ease. In their study, Motahari-Nezhad et al identified two issues of their exemplary business, and designed the framework around this type of environment. The two challenges were: (i) ensuring a smooth migration process of legacy applications within the business environment to the Cloud; and (ii) finding and selecting a service that meets the business requirements and ensures that the services interoperate.22

Motahari-Nezhad et al (2009) also stated that smaller businesses tend to use the public cloud more than the private cloud. As shown in Table 2, SaaS covers a larger spectrum of users within the business:

Table 2: Cloud customers vs. Cloud Services 22

Customer IaaS DaaS SaaS PaaS (others)

IT admin Use to deploy Configure to store Only for n/a Monitoring as a images of existing data administrative use service (to set up software and monitor SLAs) Software May use to deploy Store data Mainly to browse Main users of Integration as a developers software and find existing PaaS service services to reuse and add-ons Managers and n/a n/a Occasional users n/a Monitoring as a business owners to manage their service businesses (dashboards); may employ people as services Business users n/a n/a Main user of n/a n/a SaaS; may perform simple configuration tasks and use add-ons

5: Primary research methodology

5.1: Secondary research

Academic journals, books and articles were sourced for review of information deemed relevant to answering the research questions in section 1.3. However, it proved difficult to answer the research questions adequately using background information. Primary research was therefore undertaken, by surveying a group of SMEs.

5.2: Research methods

In the early stages of the project, it was decided that surveys and interviews would be used as a form

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of primary research. Further research was taken to fully understand quantitative research, qualitative research and mixed method research.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is “explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods (in particular statistics)”. The aim of using quantitative research is to be as objective as possible by discovering, and basing the conclusions on, the statistical findings. Whatever is being researched, it must be capable of being expressed in terms of numbers, for example, percentages and averages. An example of quantitative research is a survey composed of pre-determined response categories, where the responses to the questions fit into the pre-determined set of categories. Surveys can be used to create a general picture of a situation, which can be supported and illustrated using supplementary data from qualitative research.24-26

Surveys have advantages. They can be cheap in terms of time and cost, and they can also be used to target a large number of potential respondents. Additionally, the respondent does not feel under pressure to complete the survey as they can complete it in their own time. Surveys also have disadvantages. The most common limitation is the difficulty in generating a high response rate. If surveys are submitted online, the response rate could be under 10%. Greetham (2009) produced a table (reproduced in Table 3) detailing the advantages and disadvantages: 25

Table 3: advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research 25

Advantages Disadvantages

1: cheap in terms of time and cost 1: low response rate

2: it is possible to cover a large number of potential 2: tends to favour the more literate respondents respondents 3: simple questions limit the depth of responses 3: not limited to a geographic area

4: reliable and objective

5: the questions are the same for all respondents

6: they can work at their own pace

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is the collection of data which is analysed and interpreted by what people do or say. This type of research is much more subjective in comparison to quantitative research, as it uses different methods for collecting information. The data taken from qualitative research cannot be converted into numerical form since the data is based on attitudes or feelings towards the subject matter. However, this sort of material is rich with insights into human behaviour and attitudes.25,27

Using qualitative research can have its benefits. For example, interviews give the researcher the chance to “probe deeper” compared to using surveys. They also give you the chance to explore issues which may not have been anticipated based on the question created for the interview. There are also some disadvantages. If multiple interviews are conducted it can be difficult to set the time to transcribe. Additionally, it can take time to analyse what is being said, and attempting to draw

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comparisons between interviews can also be difficult. Bryan Greetham (2009) produced a table displaying the advantages and disadvantages: 25

Table 4: advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research 25

Advantages Disadvantages

1: flexibility to probe deeper 1: it is difficult to make comparisons

2: explores unanticipated issues 2: it is difficult to generalise data

3: if someone doesn‟t understand the question, 3: time is consumed in transcribing data and this can be resolved drawing out the implications of the information

4: non-verbal communication can also be noted 4: biased opinions on subjects discussed

5: interviewees have more control over their responses

6: richer and deeper material

5.3: Chosen research method

A mixed research method was chosen for this project. Brannen (2005) defined this as “adopting a research strategy employing more than one type of research method”. Typically, mixed method research is the mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. Using mixed method research involves working with different types of data, for example, surveys and interviews. Using this type of method allows the researcher to balance trends from the quantitative data with the data from the qualitative research, e.g. people‟s attitudes towards a trend within Cloud Computing. Essentially, mixed methods research allows the researcher to triangulate findings from different sources.25,28

This type of research method embraces a broader view of people‟s opinions. For example, if a mere survey was to be conducted, it would limit the types of question and response received. Combining a survey with interviews allows for richer data to be captured and analysed. Cloud Computing is a broad topic (as indicated in section 2), and limiting the type of research would not provide beneficial results able to fully answer the research question.

Survey

It was decided to prepare both open-ended and closed questions. (Ideally, the primary research for this project would have comprised a rigorous structured observation of an SME over a significant time-frame, but this was not possible due to time constraints.) However, a small experiment set over a number of days was performed, which will be discussed further in the primary research section.

Semi-structured interview

For the interviews a semi-structured method was followed. This allowed the interviewer to ask open- ended questions and discuss matters further which would not be possible through a survey (Saunders et al 2012). Semi-structured interviews can be carried out in a number of ways, such as face-to-face, group interviews, telephone interviews, video conference interviews and over e-mail. For this project,

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face-to-face interviewing was chosen. Saunders et al (2012) stated that seeing the body language and reactions to questions allows the interviewer to gauge certain gestures and tones of voice, which otherwise would not have been possible to gauge using other interview methods.29 Small experiment

In addition, one small business kindly offered assistance with the primary research. This small experiment took place over the course of five days, and the results were examined the day after the experiment ended. This experiment did not necessary follow a set methodology due to the limited available time of the small business and the time constraints of this dissertation. Before the experiment was conducted, a short interview was conducted. Once the experiment was over, an additional interview was conducted with the business owner to allow him to express his opinions on using the Cloud. This interview provided some information on how it was possible for this small business to run its business operations in the Cloud.

6: Primary research: results

6.1: Interviews

An interview was arranged with Gordon Dow, CEO of the Power Lunch Club. The interview took place on 15th February 2013 in Edinburgh (Scotland). The full transcript for this interview can be found in Appendix 1.

The first question asked was, “How would you define The Cloud?” This is perhaps the most appropriate first question to ask as it was the starting point for this project, and uncovered some interesting results.

Before asking this question, it was expected that the answer would most likely entail the storage and accessing of documents. McFedries (2008) agreed that documents can be stored, but also mentioned that software can be accessed on a range of devices. The Cloud enables users to work anywhere remotely on a range of devices, such as an iPad and iPhone. The ease of access to information and software is much greater since users no longer need to carry large laptops in order to access information.30

However, when asked about what he considered the problems of the Cloud to be, Gordon stated that the major downside of the cloud is data ownership, and that there are still “a lot of unanswered questions” when it comes to data ownership. Similar opinions were cited in the literature. As discussed, ENISA (2009) believed that data protection is a major drawback and poses several risks for businesses. Most small businesses are unaware of where their data is held or who is controlling their confidential data. This concern was a recurring theme throughout the interview, and it is also the primary reason why Gordon does not use cloud-based services.1

Dow also believed that small businesses that do use cloud-based services have not “fully thought through what the implications of using the Cloud are for their data, should anything go wrong.” It is important for small businesses to consider this, as Dow stated that, “an iPad, iPhone etc. can be easily replaced; however, if you lose your data this could be costly. This is what small businesses don‟t think about”.

When asked, “Do you think that a business can run exclusively using the Cloud?”, Gordon replied by saying that businesses can exclusively run their day-to-day business operations in the Cloud with relative ease. However, he again mentioned the issue of who owns the data.

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Due to this response, Gordon was asked, “How has the Internet changed the way you have done business over your career?” Dow said that it has made “it easier to communicate with other businesses” e.g. using email services.

Gordon mentioned that in order to further communicate with businesses, he sends out bi-weekly e- mail newsletters, in which he confirms appointments with the Power Lunch Club. He noted that he is currently using a Microsoft Access database to create the invoices and to store customer data. He noted that in the future he may consider looking into online database alternatives to create invoices and store this customer data through a web browser instead of a desktop application. Gordon also mentioned that all of the marketing for the Power Lunch Club is done through social media, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

It is interesting to note that Gordon does use cloud-based services for some of his business operations. He defined the cloud as a storage service where users can access documents from any device, although the Cloud provides much more than that. Technically, there was a contradiction in his answers: Gordon said that he does not use the Cloud; however, cloud-based services were being used for business operations for the Power Lunch Club. (This may have happened since Gordon perceived the Cloud through his own definition, and did not detect that some of the services he uses are Cloud-based.)

Furthermore, despite saying that he does not trust the Cloud due to data protection issues, Gordon agreed that he is considering moving his local database to an online service to produce invoices on a web browser. (This may be due to the fact the he defined the Cloud, not as an online database to store and create invoices online, but only a means to access and store the data without being tied to an individual computer.)

The responses by Gordon inspired some key questions in the survey. It is hoped that with the questions created, similar responses may be given in terms of the way that businesses define the Cloud and what cloud-based services they use for their day-to-day business operations. With this survey and the small experiment, it is hoped that the research question can be answered.

6.3: Survey

To create the survey for this project, two existing surveys from ENISA (2009) and Bournemouth University (2009) were adapted. 22 respondents completed the survey. The open-ended nature of the survey resulted in some interesting data. Gordon Dow kindly offered to send out the survey to his clients, so the data collected was provided by SMEs from his network.1,31

Question 1: do you know what the Cloud is?

This question was asked in an effort to gauge how many of the respondents knew what the Cloud is. The majority of the respondents chose the “Yes” option, indicating that they were aware of what the Cloud is and that they did have some knowledge. 19 (86%) of 22 respondents chose this option. Two (9%) of the 22 respondents selected the “Not Sure” option, indicating that they may have some partial knowledge but perhaps cannot fully define the Cloud. One (5%) of the 22 respondents selected the “No” option, indicating that they have no idea what the Cloud is.

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Figure 2: responses to Question 1

Question 2: based on your current knowledge of the Cloud, how would you define it?

This question was asked, partly to supplement the background research on definitions of the Cloud. The aim here was to compare different definitions amongst the SME respondents, and potentially identify some trends. As mentioned in the previous question, the answer for this question depended on what was selected from the previous question. The responses are listed in Tables 5a and 5b. Respondent 18 selected the “No” option in Question 1, and, as predicted, skipped the second question.

Question 3: does your business solely utilise cloud-based services for business operations?

The purpose of asking this question was to get a sense of how many of the SMEs use cloud-based services for their day-to-day business operations. The majority of the respondents chose the “Only Specific Business Operations” option. This implies that they only use specific services and do not run their entire business in the Cloud. 14 (64%) of the 22 respondents chose this option. 6 (27%) of the 22 respondents chose the “No – (Not Yet Implemented)” option. Surprisingly, 2 respondents (9%) of the 22 selected the “Yes (All business operations)” option. This may have indicated that the 2 respondents run their business operations solely using cloud-based services.

Question 4: what were the predominant reasons for implementing the use of cloud-based services for your business operations?

This question was asked in order to measure the reasons why SMEs adopted cloud-based services for their day-to-day business operations, as well as to gauge what they perceive as the benefits of adopting such services. Responses to the question are provided in Table 6.

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Table 5a: answers by respondents to Question 2 (who answered “Yes” to Question 1)

Respondent Answers

Respondent 1 “To me, the Cloud is where you backup data.”

Respondent 2 “An ever-enlarging envelope of e-stuff.”

Respondent 3 [A] “Cyber platform to allow you to access programs and data through the internet, anywhere in the world.”

Respondent 4 “Online storage service.”

Respondent 6 “Storing data and applications virtually on external services, not on your own hard drive or office-based server. [The] ability to sign in from anywhere as it‟s web-based.”

Respondent 8 “Using the internet to host all your data...no need for so much hardware/software...access anywhere you have internet access...and a device to access it (smartphone, PC, tablet, etc).”

Respondent 9 “Online hosting of files.”

Respondent 10 “A place to remotely store lots of data.”

Respondent 11 “External servers that you can store data onto.”

Respondent 12 “Cloud-based information is data held securely, which can be accessed remotely from any location.”

Respondent 13 “...keeping documents, etc. in servers owned by companies such as Google, Dropbox, etc., where they are always backed up and accessible from various devices and locations.”

Respondent 14 “My office anytime, anywhere.”

Respondent 15 “Software hosted...data stored elsewhere...provides browser-based services to your PC.”

Respondent 16 “Software or data storage on global servers for personal or group use.”

Respondent 17 “Server space that I pay for and can access with all of my devices anywhere at any time. The Cloud also ensures my documents are saved on all my devices too.”

Respondent 19 “An internet-based system for storing and accessing data and hardware.”

Respondent 20 “A set of external servers hosted by a company, which allows you to store, backup and access data and software packages from any location through the use of an internet connection.”

Respondent 21 “Online file storage and sharing, programs and applications.”

Respondent 22 “...an all-round, easy-[to]-access place for your info to be stored in.”

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Table 5b: answers by respondents to Question 2 (who answered “Not sure” to Question 1)

Respondent Answers

Respondent 1 Respondent 5 “A remote storage space.”

“Using the internet to store information.”

Figure 3: answers to Question 3

Table 6: responses to Question 4

Answers to Question 4 No. of responses

(Not yet implemented) 5 (23%)

Avoiding capital expenditure in hardware, software, IT support, 6 (27%) information security by outsourcing infrastructure/platforms/services

Increasing computing capacity and business performance 4 (18%)

Flexibility and scalability of IT resources 4 (18%)

Greater IT efficiency and agility 8 (36%)

Online collaboration between employees 7 (32%)

Mobility and convenience in accessing applications virtually from any 11 (50%) location via the internet on-demand

Business continuity, regular backups and disaster recovery capabilities 9 (41%)

A much greener way of managing IT for its efficient use 1 (5%)

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This question also featured an essay box to allow respondents to enter their own options which may not have been available. Four of the respondents took advantage of this and provided the following:

“To access software and data from any location.”

“My business is virtual so my systems need to be too.”

“We host clients‟ websites on external servers therefore they are cloud based. We do not store any of our business function in the Cloud, we are a single site company so why would I want to?”

“...falling further into the hole without thinking seems to be the strategy...”

Question 5: if your business does not solely utilise cloud-based services for all business operations, what are the predominant reasons?

(NB: this applied only to respondents who said „Specific‟ or „No‟ to Question 3)

This question was asked in order to measure the reasons why SMEs only use cloud-based services for their specific day-to-day business operations, or why an SME has yet to implement it. The question was also asked in order to gauge what they perceive as a drawback for adopting such services. Only 14 responses were received for this question. 8 respondents skipped this question (despite the fact that based on their previous answer from Question 2, they qualified for this question).

This question also featured an essay box to allow respondents to enter their own options which may not have been available. The respondents took advantage of this and provided the following:

“My business is very small and I don't see any major advantages in using cloud-based services yet.”

“I like to have a physical back-up device (i.e. an external hard drive on my desk) as well as a virtual one.”

“Gradual change requiring the right software...”

“Concern over the security of information – can other people get access?”

“We do not store any of our business functions in the cloud, we are a single site company so why would I want to?”

“Ownership issues...”

“The US Patriot Act worries us...”

Question 6: if your business does utilise cloud-based services for business operations, what do you use them for?

This question was asked in order to measure what type of cloud-based services SMEs use for their specific day-to-day business operations; the responses are provided below:

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Table 7: answers to Question 6

Answers to Question 4 No. of responses

(Not yet implemented) 4 (18%)

Email 11 (50%)

Data storage 13 (59%)

Data backup 13 (59%)

Booking systems 2 (9%)

Calendar service 7 (32%)

Word processing 4 (18%)

CRM and sales management 4 (18%)

Accounting and finance 4 (18%)

Project management 5 (23%)

Social media marketing 6 (27%)

This question also featured an essay box to allow respondents to enter their own options which may not have been available. Two of the respondents took advantage of this and provided the following:

“sharing documents” “e-learning”

Question 7: when implementing cloud-based services into your business, was an implementation strategy created to evaluate the benefits and risks of using cloud-based services for your business operations?

In the literature review a strategy to create a virtual business environment was referenced. This question was asked in order to see how many SMEs used any form of implementation strategy to successfully implement the Cloud into their business.

The majority of the respondents chose the “Yes” option. This indicates that they might have created a strategy to implement the Cloud into their business. 8 (36%) of the 22 respondents chose this option. 7 (32%) of the 22 respondents chose the “No” option. This indicates that those respondents had implemented cloud-based services, but without a strategy. 7 respondents (32%) of the 22 selected the “No - (Not Yet Implemented)” option. The results are provided in Figure 4:

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Figure 4: answers to Question 7

Question 8: if all business operations have yet to be solely cloud-based, is this something you will consider in the future?

This question was asked in order to see how many of the respondents (who did not fully run their business operations in the Cloud) would consider using it in the future. The majority of the respondents chose the “Yes” option. This indicated that they are considering moving their business operations to the Cloud in the future. 4 (20%) of the 22 respondents chose the “No” option, indicating that they do not intend to move their business operations to the Cloud, perhaps due to the reasons they selected in Question 5. 7 respondents (35%) of the 22 selected the “Not Sure” option. This indicates that the 7 respondents are unsure but may consider it in the future (Figure 5).

Figure 5: answers to Question 8

6.4: Small experiment

This small experiment was a sub-section of the survey, but some valuable data was obtained nevertheless. An interview was conducted with another SME owner (details are provided in Appendices 2 and 3, although the name of the person and company are confidential).

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Company J specialises in training Judo at healthy living centres in central Scotland. To Mr D (the director), this is more of a hobbyist business than his main job. Mr D kindly offered the use of his business for this small experiment. Before starting this experiment a number of questions were asked to give the researcher the ability to measure the success or failure of the experiment. The first interview before the experiment took place on March 28th, 2013. This can be found in Appendix 2.

Mr D reported that he uses an HP G72 laptop with Wi-Fi capability to perform his business operations within different healthy living centres. He uses Microsoft Excel to calculate his takings for his training sessions, and he also uses Microsoft Word to produce reports to present to the local healthy living centres. For advertisements, he uses Adobe Illustrator CS6 to make posters to attract new members. Additionally, he uses a 1TB External Seagate Hard Drive to store his documents.

With knowledge gained about his business environment and current set-up, a range of Cloud services were sought. Since Mr D is familiar with Microsoft Office and the Adobe Illustrator CS6 package, Cloud-based alternatives to these packages were sought. Currently, Microsoft and Adobe offer cloud alternatives to the products that Mr D uses. Additionally, he intends to use Dropbox in order to store his documents in the Cloud free of charge.

As part of the experiment, Mr D was provided with a Cloud-based account. (It was not possible to purchase the full versions of these products; however, it was decided that free trails would be used for this experiment.) Since these products are web-browser-based, the implementation of the software was not necessary. Free Trail accounts were created for Mr D to access from his laptop within the local healthy living centres. Fortunately, all of these centres had free Wi-Fi, so connecting to the Internet was not an issue. Connection to these services was demonstrated to Mr D, so as to allow him to access them without any assistance. Once this was completed, Mr D was left alone to perform his business operations (from 1st April to 5th April).

On 5th April, Mr D was asked a number of questions, to measure the success or failure of the experiment (the transcript can be found in Appendix 3). Mr D liked the freedom of using these software packages on a web browser as it allowed him to use them on his home computer. Furthermore, he enjoyed having the ability to store documents and to access them from any device. He felt that having these services helped improve his business processes as it allowed him to work on more than one computer. However, he did note that the dependence on an internet connection is an issue as his internet connection is not always reliable. He noted that he had no issue when using these services, but expressed some concern over the security of storing some of his personal information on services that could be taken down at any point in time. The results from this experiment have demonstrated that, in this case, it is possible to run a small business in the Cloud.

7: Primary research discussion

Judging by the responses to the survey, it was evident that most businesspeople who completed the survey had some form of knowledge as to what the Cloud is. Interestingly, when asked how they define the Cloud, the responses were fairly similar to one other. Some of the definitions given by the respondents were fairly similar to those given by experts. For example, respondent 8 defined it as:

“...using the internet to host all your data...[there is] no need for so much hardware or software…[you can] access [it] anywhere where you have internet access and a device [with which] to access it, e.g. tablet, smartphone, PC, etc...”

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McFedries‟s (2008) definition also noted that you can use smart-phones to access the Cloud. The respondents tended to focus on the storage of documents and applications, but the literature does not necessarily agree with all the definitions provided. The literature also demonstrated that the Cloud can be used as a platform to program and deploy applications, but perhaps most of the SMEs surveyed have no use for this. Since all of the SMEs surveyed have similar definitions, how the Cloud is marketed could be the reason for similar definitions. Gordon Dow brought this point up in the interview (Appendix 1), stating that the Cloud is marketed in such a way that it makes SMEs think that their businesses can change overnight. Furthermore, he noted that perhaps SMEs have not fully thought through the implications of using the Cloud. Because of this point noted by Gordon, the guidelines will highlight these points to ensure that SMEs make the right choice if they wish to implement the Cloud successfully.30

The majority of the respondents for this survey (64%) only use cloud-based services for specific business operations. This is not too surprising given the fact that, when asked how they define the Cloud, all the responses focused solely on the hosting of software and documents, which can also be called Software-as-a-Service. This point agrees with an aspect of the literature, which highlighted that SMEs are more likely to use SaaS compared to other platforms available on the Cloud. Furthermore, it is obvious that SMEs tend to define the Cloud by the services they use the most. 59% of the total number of respondents use some form of cloud storage service to store their business documents.

Unexpectedly, 9% of the respondents exclusively use cloud-based services for their business operations. One of the respondents even defined the Cloud as “my office anytime, anywhere” meaning that his business is entirely virtualised. Furthermore, in Question 4, the same respondent noted that “my business is virtual so my systems need to be too”. Motahari-Nezhand et al (2009) said that the idea of a company running a business in the Cloud is not new. They also stated that many businesses have taken advantage of this, and are outsourcing some or all business operations to the Cloud. This argument also matches the results from the primary research, with 64% using the Cloud for some operations and 9% using it for all operations. The data gathered from the small experiment also matches this argument.31

To summarise, one lesson learned from the experiment is that if an SME owner is asked whether or not it is possible to run an entire business using cloud software, the answer is likely to be a „yes‟.

In the survey, respondents were required to answer a question about why they use the Cloud and the reasons, or, if they selected “...Specific...” or “Not yet implemented”, why they do not use it. The highest selected answers (Question 4) involved having the ability to access applications from anywhere in the world, and also having the ability to back-up and store data. These highest rated options matched up with their own definitions and also the literature, which does state them as options available in the Cloud.

For those who do not use it for all business operations or none at all (Question 5), the most important reasons selected were “Confidentiality of data” and “Loss of control of services and/or data”, which both received 58% overall. The fact that these options were selected the most may not seem surprising; similar concerns and reasons were reported in the literature. One of the respondents said “Concern over the security of information – can other people get access?” One of the major drawbacks raised in the literature was the security of the Cloud, and whether or not company data is safe. This concern was also raised during the interview with Gordon Dow, and was a recurring theme throughout the whole interview.

The survey also featured a question (Question 6) about what Cloud-based services they use, which allowed the respondents to define their Cloud usage within their business. For this question, all of the

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options were selected. The literature does tend to agree with this point, as an array of services mentioned in “What can you do in the Cloud?” section match up with the selections made in this question. The most common answer for this question was the storage of data, which is not surprising based on the definitions given. (Additionally, one of the respondents said “e-learning” which was not in the listed options on the survey form.) This quote reflects the fact that a number of online e-learning services are available to universities (such as BlackboardTM and MoodleTM), which enable students to study at home.

8: Project conclusions

The objective of this project was to find out if small businesses can run their entire business through the use of Cloud-based services, which has required an investigation of the Cloud supplemented by primary research findings. Judging by the findings in the literature, it is very difficult to define the Cloud in a universal way that covers all aspects. The primary research revealed that SMEs tend to focus on the storage of documents and accessing software remotely from devices (in contrast with many of the other aspects of the Cloud listed in the literature review). These results matched a point made in the service models section, which highlighted that SMEs are more likely to use SaaS compared to any other service models.

Furthermore, several benefits of using Cloud-based services have been reported in the literature. This proved valuable when creating the survey, and it also gave the researcher the ability to gauge what SMEs perceive as beneficial. What SMEs perceive as beneficial has been mentioned in the literature, specifically the ability to access software remotely from any device. An additional finding from the literature is the number of drawbacks of using cloud-based services. Their investigation also proved valuable when creating the survey, and also gave the researcher the ability to gauge what SMEs perceive as a reason not to use cloud-based services. The views by many of the respondents in the survey were the same as the concerns mentioned in the literature. In conclusion, it was found that some SMEs have some knowledge of what the benefits and drawbacks are.

The main finding from the primary research is that some SMEs do run their businesses entirely in the Cloud. This was unexpected, as it was predicted that most SMEs would perhaps only use specific operations in the Cloud. It was also unexpected that the small experiment would work as well as it did. Perhaps these findings can be linked back to Motahari-Nezhad et al (2009), who said that this is not a new idea and some businesses are currently moving their operations to the Cloud.31

The survey featured a question about what small businesses use in the Cloud (Question 6). All the options that were available in the question were ticked by at least one of the respondents. However, the fact that all of the options were selected suggested it is possible to solely use Cloud-based services to run a business. From the options available in Question 6, there are Cloud-based software alternatives available. For example, Google and Microsoft both offer email and productivity suites in the Cloud. Additionally, Salesforce.com offer CRM, customer service and employee collaboration software also. Work.com offer performance management for teams, too. All of these services listed are used by thousands of organisations worldwide, as they are easy to use, and they integrate well with each other. It may be concluded that if small businesses choose carefully and select Cloud- based services that suit their needs, then it is possible to run a business in the Cloud. According to the survey results, two of the SMEs use the Cloud entirely to run their businesses. It was found that the majority of the respondents use Cloud-based services for their specific business operations, but choose not to for all operations, partly because of the reported drawbacks of using the Cloud.

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It can be concluded that it is possible for small businesses to run their business operations using Cloud-based services. This can provide a number of benefits, although it does amplify some issues. Those included (i) where data is stored; and, (ii) what happens when the service fails. Small businesses have a range of choices from powerful tools when it comes to using the Cloud. Nevertheless, it can take time to fully understand the risks and to implement the move properly.

Recommendations

Due to the limited scope of the surveys used in this project, further research is required:

- Different types of SMEs that are in unique situations should be investigated, in order to test rigorously whether or not it is possible for them to run their businesses on Cloud-based services.

- There should be a case study with multiple SMEs, in order to produce a more rigorous answer to the research question.

- A more detailed strategy should be pursued, using a group of researchers to cover a larger spectrum, in order to yield better results.

- Researchers should also contact SMEs who do run their business operations in the Cloud to gain access to richer data. Gathering this data will give an insight into how businesses run their operations in the Cloud.

- Researchers should also contact Cloud providers and gather their views on the issues raised.

There is scope for further research into this topic as small businesses (as noted in the literature review) may be in a unique situation and may need a custom solution to implement Cloud-based service, e.g. further experiments with implementing cloud services into SMEs that are larger than the businesses covered in this project. Experimenting with more SMEs enables further analysis and segregation of gathered data, in an effort to see if it is possible for an SME to run its business in the Cloud.

9: Guidelines

These guidelines do not contain a step-by-step list on how to effortlessly implement the Cloud into a business. Every business is unique, and all have varying capacities, skills and budgets – so a business may need a custom solution to successfully implement cloud-based services. Nevertheless, the following guidelines may assist businesses by providing some advice on how to make the best decisions:

1. Is Cloud Computing right for my business?

Perhaps the most important thing to remember in the early stages of decision-making is that the Cloud will not improve a business overnight. It is very important for managers to assess their businesses and identify how the use of Cloud Computing can add value to their operations. Managers may need to ask the following questions (over-page):

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Q: What type of cloud-services do we need to run our business? Q: What is our budget to spend on these services? Q: Do we need to share data across these services?” Q: Do we have the required skills and resources to use cloud-based services? Q: What security and disaster recovery plans do we need in case something malfunctions? Q: Do we have the internet connectivity to use these services effectively?

It is important to address these questions before making any radical changes.

2. Seek professional assistance

It is important to find a professional who has experience with implementing Cloud-based services in a business. By finding a professional with this experience it can help a business through the implementation process, ensuring that the right vendor and services are selected. A professional may also be able to answer some of the questions (listed above in section 1), and raise other issues. Seeking professional assistance may be expensive but it is worth the investment.

3. Cultural shifts within the business

It is important to understand that Cloud Computing is much more than an IT deployment. Not only is it a technological shift implementing the Cloud, but it is also a cultural shift within the business. It is essential to discuss these plans with other employees to help them understand that they may have to re-think their roles. For example, an employee in charge of managing infrastructure may need to re- think his or her role since Cloud infrastructure may replace the in-house infrastructure.

4. Choosing the right Cloud vendor for a business

There is an abundance of Cloud computing vendors. Before selecting the type of applications which are required, it is important to conduct enough research on cloud vendors. Investigate the reputation of the vendors. Find out how long they have been offering Cloud-based services. Furthermore, investigating how the vendor would solve security issues is vital. Managers should also investigate (i) how the vendor stores data; (ii) how the vendor backs up data; (iii) how data can be migrated onto another provider; (iv) who owns the data; and, (v) what happens to the data if the vendor goes out of business.

Managers should obtain a good SLA (Service Level Agreement) in order to ensure a good service. They should try to negotiate with the vendors. They should make sure the SLA does not “lock” them into their service when it fails to meet expectations, and they should avoid paying for services they do not require. Many vendors offer free trials for their services which give the customer a chance to try their products before committing to their service.

Data is the most important aspect of a business, and it is essential to find out if any of the vendors have been responsible for data leaks or serious “downtimes”.

5. Choosing the product that‟s right for your business

There is a myriad of Cloud-based application suites and services to choose from, many of which can be customised to suit business processes. Before making a full commitment with the chosen vendor, managers should liaise with them in order to find the right applications that work for the business. It can be tempting to purchase a whole suite of applications, but if they do not demonstrate an improvement for existing business processes, then this could result in staff working in frustration.

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Managers should choose what is suitable and try to avoid services that would not benefit their businesses.

Acknowledgements

(Sean Reilly would like to thank (i) John Sutherland for assisting him throughout this dissertation and making it a positive learning experience; (ii) Tom Caira for moderating the dissertation project; and (iii) The University of the West of Scotland for giving him the opportunity to undertake this project. He also thanks Gordon Dow, Mr D and the 22 SMEs who dedicated their time and assisted with the primary research.)

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17 Sosinsky, B. (2011) Cloud Computing Bible. 1st ed. Indiana, USA: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

18 Lin, A. & Nah-Chen, C. (2011) „Cloud Computing as an Innovation: Perception, Attitude, and Adoption‟ International Journal of Information Management. 32(6) pp.533-540.

19 Stening, C. (2009) „Every Cloud has a Silver Lining‟ EasyNet News, 19 January 2009. http://www.easynetconnect.net/news/easynet-news/2009/01/every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining-chris-stening- easynet-connect [accessed 4 September 2013].

20 Sultan, N. (2011) „Reaching for The “Cloud”: How SMEs Can Manage.‟ International Journal of Information Management. 31(3) pp.272–278.

21 Sarna, D.E.Y. (2010) Implementing and Developing Cloud Computing Applications. 1st ed. Florida, USA: Auerbach-Publications.com (Taylor & Francis Gp, Llc)

22 Khajeh-Hosseini, A., Greenwood, D., Smith, J.W., & Sommerville, I. (2012) „The Cloud Adoption Toolkit: Supporting Cloud Computing Adoption in the Enterprise.‟ Software: Practice and Experience. 42(4) pp.447–465.

23 Miller, M. (2008). Cloud Computing Web-based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Que Publishing

24 Muijs, D. (2004). Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. 1st ed. SAGE Publications Ltd.

25 Greetham, B. (2009) How To Write your Undergraduate Dissertation (Palgrave Study Skills Edition). Hamps, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

26 Patton, M.Q., (2002) Qualitative research and evaluation methods. SAGE Publications Ltd.

27 Anderson, J. D. (2006). „Qualitative and Quantitative research‟ Imperial County Office of Education. http://www.icoe.org/webfm_send/1936 [accessed 5 December 2012].

28 Brannen, J. (2005) „Mixed Method Research: A Discussion Paper‟ ESRC National Centre for Research Methods. http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/89/1/MethodsReviewPaperNCRM-005.pdf [accessed 5 December 2012].

29 Saunders, M.N.K. (2009) Research Methods for Business Students 5th ed. New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall, Inc.

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30 McFedries, P. (2008). „The Cloud Is The Computer‟ IEEE Spectrum. http://specturm.ieee.org/computing/hardware/the-cloud-is-the-computer [accessed 21 October 2012].

31 Bournemouth University (2009) „Cloud Computing from an SME Perspective Survey‟ [online survey] https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8D7XWM8 [accessed 14 January 2013].

32 Motahari-Nezhard, H.R., Stephenson, B., & Singhal, S. (2009) „Outsourcing Business to Cloud Computing Services: Opportunities and Challenges‟ HP Laboratories – IEEE Internet Computing, Special Issue on Cloud Computing. http://www.hpl.hp.com/techreports/2009/HPL-2009-23.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Interview Notes

Interviewee: Gordon Dow, PowerLunchClub Location: Waverly Gate, Edinburgh Date: 15th February 2013 Time: 11:05am – 11:55am

Q1 - How would you define The Cloud?

A: An area where you would store business documents. The Cloud is a generic area where you access your business information - such as databases or texts without being tied to an individual computer - whilst also having the ability to access it anywhere in the world.

Q2 – To you, what are the positives and negatives of The Cloud?

A: To me, the positives are that it allows you to work anywhere remotely on a range of devices, such as an iPad and iPhone. The ease of access to your information and software is much greater since you no longer need to carry large laptops to access information. The downside is who controls the data stored in the cloud, who really owns the data. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Such as, what if the servers go down and where are the backups held, for example.

Q3. What side are you on in terms of The Cloud?

A: I would not use it due to all of these unanswered questions. I do not feel that the cloud is safe enough. I understand the technical ease of it all, and I understand that it is easy to use. However, if you can‟t access your data then what is the point?

Q4. Do you find others you do business with use The Cloud more than you do?

A: I know very few companies that use the cloud, and the ones that do rave about it because they find it easier to use. However, I don‟t think they have fully thought through what the implications of using the cloud are for their data, should anything go wrong. The fundamental question is, is our data safe?

Q5 Have you had speakers in the Powerlunch Club talking about The Cloud?

A: Yes, a former head of marketing from Microsoft Worldwide came to discuss the cloud. He discussed the benefits of using the cloud, the way it was going and how it affects us all. However, he did not answer the fundamental question, who owns the data? This is still a huge sticking point for a lot of businesses.

Q6 Are members of the power lunch club interested in these types of speakers who discuss the cloud?

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A: It‟s not something we do too often, only once in a while. The members got a lot out of it, they saw the benefits of it but it is the unknown of the cloud that they don‟t ask. However, most business people want to be focused on running their business. They tend not to worry too much if anything goes wrong. Those of us close to managing data understand that an iPad, iPhone etc. can be easily replaced; however if you lose your data this could be costly. This is what small businesses don‟t think about.

Q7 After the seminar, did you notice if members of the power lunch club started using the cloud?

A: Only one or two that use it. There is still so much of the Microsoft office based office products that are used. What they might use is an online backup system which is probably the closest thing that they have to the cloud, so if they lose their data they can get it back. Most of them probably work using their local machines.

Q8: Is this what you do also? A: Yes, I work from home. I do not backup my data in the cloud; I store my data in an external hard drive every day.

Q9 Do you know of any small businesses that exclusively use The Cloud?

A: I don‟t know of any businesses that just use the cloud. Some businesses do use it, but only for a very limited use; Backing up data, etc.

Q10 If you were to implement cloud functionality into an organisation, what would you recommend to the business?

A: A strategy to identify who owns the data. This needs to be clarified for everyone in the business. The speaker from Microsoft who discussed the cloud was asked about where data is stored; he did not give a straight forward answer. I don‟t think they have an answer because it has yet to be properly defined. They promote the benefits but do not highlight the potential risks, which are not being answered. The cloud is marketed to SMEs in such a way that they seem to think that implementing the cloud would change their business overnight, but this is not the case.

Q11 Do you think that a business can run exclusively using the cloud?

A: Yes, it could be done. This could be done with ease, lots of great tools out there that can be used through web browsers, such as analytical tools to produce management and financial reports. However, the fundamental questions will also be who owns the data once stored in the cloud, who controls the data and what happens if anything goes wrong?

Q12. How has the internet changed the way you have done business over your career?

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A: It has made it easier to communicate with other businesses. I don‟t work with paper much. Any communications or documents for the events run in the Power Lunch Club are handled over the internet. Currently I do not used software online to handle creating invoices. A local database is used to produce these. There is online software which can be used to create invoices, so there are lots of tools out there in the cloud – like online databases. There are also events management systems online, so everything can be done online. Things like marketing are exclusively done online through social media, like twitter and LinkedIn. Statistics packages online can be used to measure data. My Microsoft access database is a few years old now, but I am considering using an online database and just load it up there.

Q13 Do you think small businesses care about these unanswered questions?

A: Yes, they should. Even in a small business their data is worth something. If all your clients details were in the cloud and an error occurred, and you couldn‟t contact them or send invoices then this could be detrimental to the business. (YouTube video of interview with head of marketing) Furthermore, most small businesses are not run that well that they actually manage their data very well. If they are putting information up in the cloud, chances are their book-keeping is awful and their database management is awful. Having the cloud there does not guarantee that the business will automatically run better or providing their business. Essentially, it makes it easier to run; it just does not run better. I think the perception is that going onto the cloud makes it easier but if you don‟t utilise it properly or run your business office well, then it won‟t make any difference once it is implemented – it is not a business improvement tool. Small businesses don‟t ask enough questions about it, they are blind to the facts. They are not interested in whether or not if it works; however the questions not being asked are the ones that could be a major problem.

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Appendix 2: Interview Notes 2

Interviewee: Mr D, Company J Location: Glasgow, Scotland Date: 28th March 2013 Time: 12:05pm – 12:15pm

Q1 – So what is your business then?

A: I wouldn‟t really describe it as a business, but more of a hobbyist business rather than my main job. But it‟s called [Company J] and I specialise in training Judo to all ages in local living centres

Q2 - How would you define The Cloud?

A: Well considering I never really use it fully, I [would] probably describe it as a place where you can store your music; pictures etc. and access them from any computer.

Q3 – Why have you never used any form of cloud service for your business?

A: I never really saw the point in it to be honest. I‟m happy with using my laptop for my day- to-day stuff, which is rarely connected to the internet anyways. I suppose using stuff like Spotify is cool but, then again, I don‟t see the point.

Q4 – Would you be willing to use cloud-based services similar to the products you use right now?

A: Yeah I wouldn‟t mind. I‟m interested to see what all the fuss is about. All the living centres I visit all have Wi-Fi, so hopefully there should be no problems using it.

Q5 - What type of laptop do you have?

A: I have a HP G72.

Q6 - What type of software do you use?

A: I use Microsoft Word to type up weekly profit reports for the living centres. I use Microsoft Excel to manage the takings from each lesson. I sometimes use Adobe Illustrator CS6 to create advertisements to attract new members.

Q7 - Do you back-up your data?

A: Yeah, I have a 1TB Seagate hard drive to store all my files.

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Q8 – Do you have any of the software you described on a home computer?

A: No, I don‟t...I could only afford to purchase one licence and I wanted it on my laptop since I‟m not always at home. I would like to have them at home though.

Q9 – Is it suitable for the experiment to last all week?

A: Yeah, I‟m out all week so I should be able to test them for you.

Q10 – Do you have any concerns about using cloud-based services?

A: The only concern I have really is more information getting stolen. But I don‟t store any personal things on my laptop anyway, only the stuff I described before.

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Appendix 3: Interview Notes 3

Interviewee: Mr D, Company J Location: Glasgow, Scotland Date: 5th April 2013 Time: 7:00pm – 7:10pm

Q1 – So what did you think of using the software you are used to but based in the cloud?

A: It was much better than I expected. What I liked most about it was being able to access the software on my computer! I think I said before that I would like that, so I‟m glad I finally got to try it out.

Q2 - How did it perform compared to the software stored locally?

A: Much better. Sometimes my laptop can‟t handle all the software running at the same time. But running it through Google chrome on the internet: it had no hitches at all. I was rather impressed.

Q3 – What do you like most about using the software on the cloud?

A: I like being able to use it on any computer and not having to worry about backing it up on my hard drive. Dropbox was very good. It blended in well, made it look like it was part of the file system on the computer. I loved how it synced between my laptop and home computer, even the app on my iPhone.

Q4 – So do you think using them on the cloud improved your business processes?

A: Very much so. It allowed me to work on more than one computer, so that‟s much better. Plus running it through a web browser is much easier since it‟s just a matter of logging in and everything is there.

Q5 – Did you experience any technical issues when using these services?

A: No, not really. There was once instance when Dropbox didn‟t sync but that was because my upload speeds were too slow from home. But I was uploaded a rather large file.

Q6 – Any concerns of using these services?

A: Well because of the ease of use of Dropbox, I decided to put a lot of information up there as an extra backup. However I‟m now slightly concerned about the security, as I‟m worried it could be taken down at any time. I do back it up on my hard drive too, though.

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Q7 – Will you keep using these services?

A: Yeah probably. Most likely Dropbox though, since it‟s free. Software like Word and Illustrator I will probably go back to using my local version. I‟m not sure about paying for it monthly when I don‟t use them every day. However it is tempting since I like using them on my home computer.

Q8 – Anything else to add?

A: My internet isn‟t always so reliable, especially in the upload speeds front. So I‟m not so sure about the dependence on internet connections, but I guess I‟ve come round to liking it. Which I didn‟t really expect.

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Game audio - an investigation into the effect of audio on player immersion

Nicola Gallacher1

1: Address: Dept of Computing, the University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Renfrew, U.K.

Abstract

Immersion within video games is a key aspect that contributes to a player‟s enjoyment of a game. However, there are different forms of immersion within the media of video games and these different aspects of a video game are combined in order to make the player feel immersed within the game world. This paper aims to explore these definitions of immersion and the various techniques used to immerse the player, with a particular focus on audio methodologies. An investigation into audio‟s impact on player immersion was conducted with a group of 20 students (16 male, 4 females): 10 participants tested a game with audio effects, and the other 10 participants tested the same game without audio effect. The survey results show that the use of audio effects appears to improve player immersion in the video game.

Keywords: immersion, audio, participants, game flow, awareness

Article Information

Received: May 2013 Accepted: August 2013 Available: online September 2013

1. Background

This paper examines the importance of immersion in games, and what techniques are used by game developers when creating game environments with a particular focus on audio methodologies.

1.1: What is Immersion?

Definitions of relevance to video games

An absolute definition of immersion has been debated by academics within the field of video games for several years.

One definition was suggested by Brown and Cairns (2004), whose research included interviewing people who played games, with the aim of discovering what immersion meant to the player. Brown and Cairns described how immersion was perceived by players when critically reviewing games. They suggested that it is high levels of realism in the game and the inclusion of atmospheric noise that makes a game more immersive.1

Brown and Cairns (2004) concluded that a player of a video game is neither immersed nor un- immersed in a game; rather, there are varying stages of immersion the player can feel:

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“Three levels of involvement were found: engagement; moving onto greater involvement in engrossment; and finally total immersion...”

In other words, the player must feel engaged within the game before being engrossed, and both sensations must be felt before total immersion is reached (Figure 1).

Figure 1: the Brown and Cairns Immersion Model: aspects in black show what must be addresses to reach the next level of immersion (barriers). 1

Sweetser and Wyeth (2005) stated that the following criteria must be met in order for the player to be immersed within the game: 2

“Players should become less aware of their surroundings; players should become less self-aware and less worried about everyday life or self -players should experience an altered sense of time; players should feel emotionally involved in the game; players should feel viscerally involved in the game”.

Another possible definition of immersion in video games is the SCI-Model proposed by Ermi and Mayra (2007). Their research suggested that immersion in video games is not absolute and varies depending on the game and the player: 3

“… immersion is a many-faceted phenomenon with different aspects that can appear to be emphasized differently in the individual cases of different games and players.”

With this idea in mind, they stated that immersion in video games can consist of three key aspects (Figure 2): 3

Sensory immersion: is described as when the player is drawn into the game world by the audio-visual aspects of the game;

Challenge-Based immersion: this refers to the interactivity that is unique to the media of video games and the enjoyment of solving puzzles within the game world; and,

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Imaginative Immersion: this is based upon the player‟s enjoyment of the narrative and fantasy elements of the game as well as the opportunity for the player to use their imagination to build a deeper emotional connection to in-game characters.

Figure 2: the SCI-model of immersion, which defines three key aspects of immersion and their related fundamental components. 3

Taylor (2002) described immersion as consisting of only two levels: 4

Diegetic immersion: this takes place when the player becomes engaged in the activity of playing the game; and,

Intra-diegetic immersion: the player becomes more engaged with the game world rather than the passive experience of playing the game. Intra-diegetic immersion is described as when “...the player is not acting upon the game, but within the game space”.

Taylor (2002) explained that for a player to be intra-diegetically immersed within a game, he/she must first become diegetically immersed in the game as an activity. In order for a player to become diegetically immersed within a game the virtual world must be created in such a way that all the aspects of the game come together to create a concise environment that is conveyed to the player, and the consistency of this environment must be maintained throughout the player‟s experience of the game. 4

Whitson et al (2008) described traditional immersion in games as the result of three factors: 5

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The Loss of Self-Awareness, which consists of the player becoming less aware of their own presence, and being more focused on an in-game representation of themselves (e.g. an in-game avatar, the player controls); Loss of Social Awareness, in that the social presence of others while playing a game can act as a distraction to becoming fully immersed in the game world; and,

Loss of Game-Awareness, whereby the game itself must represent some form of real experience in the eyes of the player after a prolonged period of use. Such an effect can be achieved through the use of skilful game design in order to create a game world that feels very realistic due to the attention to detail taken in its creation.

However, Whitson et al also mentioned the concept of “Neo-Immersion”. Neo-Immersion is not present in all games and was categorised by the authors as a “trait” that games may have rather than a category of game immersion itself. Whitson et al explained that players should be aware of themselves, the social input of others and of the game itself – a statement which contrasts with their definition of traditional immersion. 5

Being aware of the social aspect within games helps immersion in certain cases by allowing the enjoyment of the game to be shared in an audience-like environment. A game that uses social activity in this way is SingStarTM (London Studio, 2004), which requires players to pass the microphone peripheral to each other as they play. Social awareness within games can also be used within massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) where teamwork with other characters in the game can be used to achieve goals that would be unattainable when working alone. An awareness of the game itself also allows the player to control the time he/she spends playing it (rather than becoming absorbed in the game and losing track of the time).i

However, it should be noted that some other researchers believe that the term “immersion” should not be used. In the context of video games, Calleja (2007) proposed replacing the metaphor of “immersion” with “incorporation”. Calleja was of the opinion that immersion cannot take place as the player is not physically within the environment of the game, but is acting through the actions of an avatar over which he/she has control. It is also important to note that although various techniques are used by games developers to try to immerse players within games, factors outwith the game itself can affect how immersed with a game the player can become, e.g. the player‟s age, gender or experience with the media.6,7

Game flow/cognitive flow

The concept of Flow within an activity was defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as “so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake, with little concern for what they will get out of it, even when it is difficult or dangerous”. Sweetser and Wyeth (2005) proposed the Game Flow model that consists of eight core elements: 2

Concentration Challenge Skills Control Clear goals Feedback Immersion Social

...whereby each element (apart from the social aspect) relates to the original general Flow model created by Csikszentmihalyi.

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It is important to note that the social aspect of certain genres of games is not an original element of the Flow model, due to the possibility of it disrupting the player‟s sense of immersion within the game, as social interaction with other players can distract them from the immersion in the virtual environment. The idea of social interaction acting as a hindrance to traditional forms of game immersion was also discussed by Whitson et al (2008) in their definition of traditional immersion. They indicated that social interaction within a game acts as a reminder of the real-world, and does not allow the loss of social awareness needed for the player to become immersed in the game. The Game Flow model of Sweetser and Wyeth (2005) does contain certain elements that define flow, which may not be relevant to certain genres of game (for example, the element of control may be more prominent in a role-playing game (RPG) than within a real-time strategy game (RTS)).2,5

Building upon Csikszentmihalyi‟s original definition of the idea of Flow within an activity, Chen (2007) explained that a person engaging in an activity enhanced by the feeling of Flow has an altered sense of the passage of time and less awareness of events outwith the activity itself. Chen (2007) stated that the feeling of Flow is what video game players experience when they are immersed within a game. Chen also explained how Flow is achieved within an activity and stated that the activity itself must be neither too challenging nor too simple. If these conditions are not met, the participant is likely to become too frustrated or bored to enjoy the activity with the desired sense of Flow.8

1.2: Immersive Techniques in Games

Overview

The medium of video games differs in comparison to other multimedia in terms of the user‟s involvement within it. Rather than watching a movie or reading a book, video games require the player to actively have a role in the progression of the game, by placing the player within a virtual world which they can explore, “...while perspective painting and cinema present the spectator with an illusory 3D space designed to be seen passively, from a fixed viewpoint, video games allow the user to enter and explore this space in real time” (according to Shinkle (2008)).9

Therefore if the player has the ability to roam freely through this virtual world, there must be techniques used to entice and further immerse the player into the game and contributing to the player‟s enjoyment. Sweetser and Johnson (2004) summarised their findings on immersive techniques in games as the ability to draw a player into a game and deeply affect his/her emotional state and senses by the use of various techniques, such as narrative and audio.10

Interface, Control & Feedback

As indicated in Figure 1, a video game must (i) give consistent feedback to the player; (ii) allow the player a sense of control over the actions that are taking place; and (iii) have an engaging interface that allows the player to interact with the game. The controls must be understood by the player in order for the player to interact with the game. Such controls exist in the form of controller device such as a gamepad for consoles, or a mouse and keyboard for PC games.

However, a controller not only serves as a bridge between the real world we live in and the virtual world in which the game takes place. Murphy (2004) explained that force feedback technologies allow players to become further immersed in the gameplay experience as the controller itself responds to actions taking place in the game with functionality, e.g. the rumble sensation built into some controllers, since the rumbling sensation imparts a physical sense of being in the virtual environment of the game.11

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Virtual World and Visual Quality

The visual aesthetic of the virtual world is the key aspect in the game which allows the player to experience “Sensory Immersion” within the game. Visual aspects and the virtual world of the game must also be created in order to allow the player to pass from being engaged in the game to becoming engrossed with it (according to the Brown and Cairns Immersion Model). Vinayagamoorthy et al (2004) explained that when creating a virtual environment all visual aspects of the world must contain the same level of detail so that no particular feature of the visual environment stands out, as this could disrupt player immersion.12

According to Jarvinen (2002), the visual element of games comprises three factors:13

Dimension: this refers to the graphical dimension layout of the game (for both 2D and 3D games), and how certain types of gameplay can be represented better in certain dimensions.

Point of perception: this dictates how the player will view the game world. The point of perception is usually first-person or third-person, but does not need to be set to the one or the other. Some video games allow players to control the angle and point of view at which they view and experience the game world. One game that allows this is The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimTM (Bethesda Games Studios, 2011); a comparison of its points of perception can be seen in Figure 3. Jarvinen noted that the dimension and point of perception of a game is combined with the visual outlook to create the visual aspect of the game environment.

Visual outlook: this depends on the type of game, but can be based on fictional element graphical designs or modelled upon real life people and images. The visual outlook of the game is then applied in textures to the elements within the game.

Figure 3: comparison between first-person Camera (left) and third-person Camera (right) in the video game The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimTM (Bethesda Games Studios, 2011) ii

Gameplay: Challenges and Tasks within the Game

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Gameplay is the unique aspect of video games which is not found in most other media forms such as films and books. The player interacts with, and controls the actions within, the game; this results in Challenged-Based Immersion, as defined within the SCI-model of Immersion.

Many games require the player to hone his/her skill with the game in order to achieve its defining goal. Federoff (2002) explained that games that offer challenges to help improve the user‟s skill within the game provide the motivation needed for the player to enjoy the game (thereby making the game engaging - although it should be noted that gameplay within games varies from genre to genre as discussed by Apperley (2006)). Therefore, depending on the tasks dictated by the game, the gameplay must be implemented in such a way as to accompany the task.14,15

Narrative/Story

Narrative is a key component used to make video games more immersive. It acts as the stimulus for Imaginative Immersion (within the SCI-model of immersion) and is also defined as a barrier that must be passed in order for the player to become engrossed in a game (within the Brown and Cairns Immersion Model).1

Doyle (n.d.) explained that even simplistic “Casual Games” have some form of narrative to explain to the player what is happening within the game. Doyle also suggested that certain genres of game follow a “ludonarrative” pattern which allows the player to deviate from the story‟s course and progression to perform other activities within the game world.16

An example of a game that follows a ludonarrative structure is Grand Theft Auto IVTM (Rockstar North, 2008).iii Within the game the player has the freedom of choosing what tasks and challenges to do and when to carry them out. Allowing the player more control in this ludonarrative fashion often shifts the focus of the game from narrative to gameplay.

This contrasts from the strictly linear narrative within some games where the story can be acted out only from beginning to end. One example of a game whose narrative follows a strictly linear path is To The MoonTM (Freebird Games, 2011),iv in which the player has no choice but to follow the events of the game‟s story from start to finish. Another game that has a strictly linear narrative path is Heavy RainTM (Quantic Dream, 2010).v The game has such a strong focus on the narrative within it that it has been argued that it should be described as an “interactive drama” rather than an adventure game (Purchese, 2008). This is also an example of a video game with more focus on certain areas of immersion than others, but which is still a very successful and immersive gaming experience.17

Some researchers are of the opinion that ludonarrative and narrative styles should be combined in order to increase gaming pleasure through a balance of gameplay and narrative.18

Emotional connection with games through Immersion

Shinklen (2008) suggested that players should not become too emotionally involved within the world of the game and the game itself, as their performance within the game may suffer as a result:9

“For the gamer, emotional and physical discipline quite literally go hand in hand: get too caught up in a game and you risk swapping precision [of] technique for frantic button- mashing”.

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However, according to the Brown and Cairns Immersion Model, the emotional connections that a player makes with a game lead to Total Immersion; and they are possible factors within Imaginative Immersion (according to the SCI-model of immersion).1

1.3: Audio as an Immersive Technique in Games

Overview

The use of audio within games is similar to its use in other multimedia such as film. Cohen (2001) stated that audio serves eight distinct purposes within film. Eladhari et al (2006) identified five of these purposes which are used in games: 19,20

“...to induce mood; to communicate meaning to further the narrative; to enable the symbolization of the past and the future events through the technique of leitmotiv; to heighten the sense of absorption; and, to add to the aesthetics.”

Categorisation of Game Audio

There are two categories of audio within games: 20,22

Diegetic sounds: these are sounds that occur within the game world, for example the sound of an avatar‟s footsteps as they run; and, Non-diegetic sounds, which include background music that is audible to the player but not to the characters within the game.

Collins (2007) believed that these categories were too broad and her research aimed to further define and categorise the different types of audio present in video games: 20

Interactive audio: this refers to sounds that are responses to actions from the player (e.g. the player pressing a button on the game controller and a gun-shot noise playing as the character fires a gun in-game).

Adaptive audio: whereby the game itself alters the audio playback in relation to events happening within the game. An example of this was the music for the game Super Mario Bros.TM (Nintendo, 1985)vi in which the tempo of the background music increased as the player was running out of time to complete the level; this imparted a sense of urgency to the player.

Dynamic audio: this term is used to include both Interactive and Adaptive audio categories. This is due to the complex nature of the use of audio in games and how audio can change from being interactive to adaptive and therefore dynamic. Collins (2007) mentioned that one example could be found within The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeTM (Nintendo, 1998),vii where the background music in segments of the game changed from interactive to adaptive depending on the time of day specified in

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the narrative. When visiting an area at night, the music that usually played during the day was replaced by ambient sound effects. Thus the background music was changed from interactive to adaptive, encompassing both definitions, and was therefore dynamic. Dynamic audio effects can be further described as diegetic or non-diegetic, depending on how they are heard in relation to the player and game world.

Kinetic Gestural Interaction audio: these are sounds based on gestures, whereby the player must physically mimic the action needed to create the sound within the game. This category of audio in games links to the advancement of gestural movement as a method of control in video games and is present in the Guitar HeroTM franchise of games (Harmonix, 2005)viii and in many other methods of gestural control across various games consoles.

Audio as an aid to other Immersive Techniques

Several researchers have commented on how audio acts as a supporting role to other methods of immersion. In terms of enhancing the narrative of a game, Zehnder and Lipscomb (2004) noted that music played in the background of in-game situations can follow a narrative arc, mimicking the actions that occur on screen. Their research drew a comparison between the Aristotelian model of narrative and the sonata form of musical composition, and how they can complement each other with the correct use and execution.22

Audio effects can also be used when providing feedback to the player, as explained by Ekman‟s (2008) research. Battino and Richards (cited by Collins, 2007) noted that in the game Halo: Combat EvolvedTM (Bungie Software, 2001),ix the background audio fades out after the player has been in a particular area for too long. This method is used in order to direct the player to move into the new area so that the game can progress onwards; this also prevents the player becoming bored with listening to the same repeated loop of music. When discussing composing the music for Halo: Combat EvolvedTM, Marty O‟Donnell (2002) described what the requirements of the audio were: 22,24

“Our main goal for the audio in Halo was that it would set the mood, give the player information about what is happening (especially things that can't be seen) and make the world seem more alive and real.”

With the use of musical techniques, audio can also help to achieve an emotional connection between the game and the player through immersion. A technique most often used within film and video games is leitmotiv. Leitmotiv was popularised in the Romantic Period of musical composition by Richard Wagner and is used to represent a particular theme or character within media, in this case video games.

An example of leitmotiv being used to induce emotions in the player of video games comes from Nobuo Uematsu‟s score for the video game Final Fantasy VIITM (Squaresoft, 1997).x It occurred when one of the main characters, Aerith, is slain by the main antagonist, Sephiroth. Up until this point the player has become attached to the character of Aerith through various narrative aspects but has also learned to identify her by her musical leitmotiv, “Aerith‟s Theme”, as it plays in various scenes where her character is present. However, upon her death, the player is given very little time to take in the events that have transpired before being placed into a battle situation. In this battle the fast paced, frantic music that is usually played in this situation has been replaced with the gentle melody of “Aerith‟s Theme”, further emphasising the distressing situation the player now finds themselves in, therefore provoking an emotional reaction.

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1.4: Gestural Movement and Related Audio within Games

Overview

According to Collins (2011), gestural control (the player physically moving to interact with the game) can make players feel more involved within a game: 21

“By using gestural controllers (in this case, musical controllers like the guitar of Guitar HeroTM),viii and thus including body movement, players felt more of a sense of presence in the game-world.”

At the time when Guitar HeroTM was being developed, it was not possible to create a realistic experience in terms of applying advanced musical techniques to the button presses that generate the sounds the player produces. Nowadays, these effects can now be practised by the player (e.g. RocksmithTM by Ubisoft (2011)).xi

Gestural interaction is not only of relevance to the Guitar HeroTM series (Harmonix, 2005). Entire consoles have been created with gestural movement at the forefront of its purpose, namely the Wii TM (Nintendo, 2006).xii Other consoles include additional hardware to allow the option of gestural movement within games, e.g. the Xbox KinectTM (Microsoft, 2010)xiii and the Playstation MoveTM (Sony, 2010).xiv With the release of the aforementioned hardware many new games have been released to allow players to enjoy the gestural movement aspect of controlling the actions that happen within the game. It could be said that this is a trend that will continue into the next generation of game consoles, such as the release of the Wii U TM (Nintendo, 2012)xv with the ability to support the controller from its predecessor console, thus allowing gestural interaction with the game.

Developing Games for the Visually Impaired

Yuan and Folmer (2008) explained that the vast majority of video game feedback is conveyed to the player through visual stimuli, and indicated that many games cannot be played and understood using audio feedback alone. This is a problem that must be addressed when designing video games for those who are visually impaired. In an attempt to remedy this problem, Yuan and Folmer designed a haptic glove peripheral to accompany a demo game that closely mimicked the play style of the popular video game Guitar HeroTM (Harmonix, 2005). Within their study, they found that they were able to produce a game that was fun and enjoyable as well as being accessible to those who suffer from visual impairment. Gardenfor (2002) studied the creation of games for the visually impaired using simple graphics, but which mostly relied on audio providing feedback to the player. Gardenfor (ibid) thereby managed to create simple game environments that can be experienced using only sound effects.25, 27

In an effort to create video games that open up the media to the visually impaired, Glinert and Wyse (2007) proposed the game concept of “AudiOdyssey”. The goal was to create a video game that could be played in the same way by both visually impaired users and sighted users while allowing those who are visually impaired to use alternative control schemes in order to improve game accessibility for them. In addition to achieving this goal, they also aimed to create a fun and engaging game that has a greater focus on audio rather than visual aspects being used to convey the exciting experience of the game world.26

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As discussed, sound is a key aspect that is needed to open up the video game media for those who are visually impaired. However, it should be noted that the use of touch as a control method is equally important - if not more so - than its audio counterpart. Sepchat. et al (2006) mentioned that touch is the pivotal aspect when learning Braille (the language of communication for the visually impaired), and therefore video games aimed at this market should maintain this touch aspect of interaction and learning.28

2: Research Evaluation

2.1: Overview

An experiment, similar to that carried out by Grimshaw et al (2008), was conducted for this project. In their study, players were asked to play a modified level of the game Half-Life 2TM (Valve Corporation)xvi with varying degrees of audio impacting the game. However, for the experiment in this project, a maze level was created using UnityTM. In order to test the effect of audio on immersion in the game environment, two versions of the maze demo were created:29

Test A: which contained adaptive background music; and,

Test B: with no audio at all.

20 participants played the game: 10 participants completed Test A and the other 10 participants completed Test B. The time taken by the participants to solve the maze was recorded, and the mean times between Test A and Test B were compared. The aim was to find out if the participants realised that the adaptive audio was an aid which could guide players to the centre of the maze.

2.2: Demo Design and Implementation

General Maze Design and Test B

The demo was created (using the UnityTM game engine, Javascript and C#) to be a maze environment in which the player must navigate to the centre of the maze from the starting position. Both versions of the demo had the same maze layout. (This was to ensure that the research comparison was conducted in a fair manner, and so that the test completion times were compared against the same maze. The original design for the maze layout is reproduced in Figure 4 below:

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Figure 4: initial design of “Maze Demo”

The layout of this maze can be described as a “simply-connected” maze, in that there is only one correct path to the centre of the maze. It was believed that a simply-connected layout would be most appropriate for this study, as the existence of other correct routes (which could take less time to complete) would invalidate the test results. Appropriate textures were then applied to the demo in order to fulfil the visual aspect of immersion. It was apparent that the lack of engaging visuals (Figure 4) would be a distraction for participants and that it would be better to give the maze the appearance of a typical maze. The final result is shown in Figure 5:

Figure 5: final design of the maze layout

In the final design of the maze layout, the centre of the maze was indicated by a trophy-like statue, with which the player must collide in order to solve the maze. Within the demo the player was presented with a menu with the options About and Start. Clicking the About button led to a brief description of the demo and the controls for movement throughout it. The player clicked Start in order to enter the maze, at which point the timer commenced.

The timer for the player‟s final time was displayed only when the goal at the centre was reached. The maze was implemented in this way as it was believed that the visual appearance of a timer throughout the game would alert the players to the fact that their time was being recorded, and thus impart extra urgency or stress to their actions. This could have then altered their interpretation of the game‟s immersive aspects as well as the possibility of the solve time.

Test B was played with no background music or sound effects of any kind. This was so that the results from the investigation could be compared to those of Test A and its inclusion of adaptive background audio.

Adaptive Background Music in Test A

Test A was identical in layout and visuals to Test B, but also with the inclusion of adaptive background music. The chosen musical track was a simple melodic tune that repeated in a loop. Using the tools in

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the Unity game engine, the music was set to increase or decrease in volume, depending on the distance of the player from the goal at the centre of the maze. The logarithmic function used to determine the differing volumes of audio is shown in Figure 6, as a blue sphere around the goal at the centre of the maze.

Figure 6: Test A: adaptive background music

Although the purpose of this study was to investigate the immersive quality of audio in video games, with the adaptive audio being implemented in the manner as shown above, it might also be possible to consider whether or not the audio acted as a guide to the gameplay. If the players realised that there was a connection between the audio‟s change in volume and the route they were taking, they would to be able to identify that the quieter the audio the further they were from the trophy. It might be hypothesised that if the players recognised this connection, these players could complete the game more quickly than those who did not find the connection.

2.3: Demo and Questionnaire Sessions

Demo and questionnaire sessions were performed in the IT labs at the University of the West of Scotland. All participants were students who were supervised by the author of this paper when they played the demo and completed the corresponding questionnaire. Each participant could only play either Test A or Test B. The questionnaires that were used for Test A and Test B are provided in Appendices A and B.

3: Results

Quantitative Data

A summary of the quantitative test results and mean solve times for both Test A and Test B are provided in TABLE 1. In general, the participants that played Test A completed the game more quickly than those who played Test B, although only marginally (with a difference of 1.13 seconds).

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Table 1: performance and other data of the participants in Tests A and B

TEST A

Gender of Age group Time spent playing video Time taken to solve Test A participant (years) games (average = 34.1) (hours per week)

Male 18 to 23 15+ 21.8 Male 18 to 23 15+ 23.7 Male 18 to 23 10 to 15 25.5 Male 18 to 23 15+ 25.9 Male 18 to 23 5 to 10 28.6 Male 18 to 23 15+ 30.4 Male 18 to 23 5 to 10 32.0 Female 18 to 23 10 to 15 40.5 Male 30+ 1 to 5 50.3 Female 30+ 1 to 5 62.3

TEST B

Gender of Age group Time spent playing video Time taken to solve Test B participant (years) games (average = 35.2) (hours per week)

Male 30+ 10 to 15 19.7 Male 18 to 23 1 to 5 28.5 Male 24 to 29 5 to 10 30.1 Female 18 to 23 5 to 10 30.9 Male 30+ 15+ 31.3 Female 24 to 29 10 to 15 36.9 Male 24 to 29 15+ 40.4 Male 18 to 23 10 to 15 42.7 Male 18 to 23 5 to 10 44.6 Male 24 to 29 5 to 10 47.2

More quantitative data was gathered using a Likert scale style of analysis: Likert scale results for Test A and Test B are provided in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. These can be summarised as follows:

the participants considered immersion as an important aspect of video games (except for one participant who was unsure);

10% of participants (two people) did not believe that the visual appearance of the maze was immersive; all other participants were either unsure or agreed that the aesthetic appearance of the maze was immersive;

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55% (eleven) of participants believed that the gameplay of the maze demo was immersive; 40% (eight) were unsure; and, 10% (two) disagreed;

45% (nine) of participants considered the camera and control aspect of the demo to be immersive; 25% (five) were unsure; and, 30% (six) believed that the camera and control were not immersive; 60% (six) of the players who took part in Test A believed the maze demo was an immersive game, whereas only 40% (four) of those who played Test B felt the same;

when discussing aspects that were unique to Test A, 70% (seven) of Test A participants believed that the audio within the game was immersive; 20% (two) disagreed with this statement; and the other one (10%) was unsure; and,

60% (six) of those who played Test A realised that the audio acted as a guide to the goal of the maze; one person (10%) was unsure; and, 30% (three) did not realise this.

Table 2: Test A questionnaire: Likert Scale results (%, n)

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree Immersion is an important aspect of video 0, 0 0, 0 10, 1 10, 1 80, 8 game enjoyment The „Maze Demo‟ was an immersive 0, 0 0, 0 40, 4 50, 5 10, 1 game The visual appearance of the „Maze 0, 0 20, 2 30, 3 40, 4 10, 1 Demo‟ was immersive The audio element of „Maze Demo‟ was 10, 1 10, 1 10, 1 40, 4 30, 3 immersive The gameplay of the „Maze Demo‟ was 0, 0 0, 0 30, 3 40, 4 30, 3 immersive The control and camera angle of the 10, 1 20, 2 20, 2 30, 3 20, 2 „Maze Demo‟ was immersive The audio aspect of the game helped me 10, 1 20, 2 10, 1 10, 1 50, 5 to reach the goal in the maze

Table 3: Test B questionnaire: Likert Scale results (%, n)

trongly

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree S agree Immersion is an important aspect of video 0, 0 0, 0 0, 0 50, 5 50, 5 game enjoyment The „Maze Demo‟ was an immersive 0, 0 20, 2 40, 4 40, 4 0, 0 game The visual appearance of the „Maze 0, 0 0, 0 40, 4 50, 5 10, 1 Demo‟ was immersive

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The audio element of „Maze Demo‟ was n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a immersive The gameplay of the „Maze Demo‟ was 0, 0 10, 1 50, 5 30, 3 10, 1 immersive The control and camera angle of the 0, 0 30, 3 30, 3 30, 3 10, 1 „Maze Demo‟ was immersive The audio aspect of the game helped me n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a to reach the goal in the maze Gender performance

The mean solve times (in seconds) by male and female participants for Test A the following results are shown in Figure 7; those for male and female participants for Test B (also in seconds) are shown in Figure 8. A histogram of results is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 7: game completion times in Test A

(females: n = 2, mean time = 51.40s; males: n = 8, mean time = 29.78s)

Figure 8: game completion times in Test B

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(females: n = 2, mean time = 33.90s; males n = 8, mean time = 35.56s)

Figure 9: histogram of game completion rates (seconds) amongst male and female participants for tests

Age Performance

For Test A, 80% of the participants were aged 18 to 23; and 20% (one male, one female) were aged over 30. For Test B, 40% (including one female) of the participants were aged 18 to 23; 40% were aged 24 to 29; and 20% (including one female) were aged over 30. The performance amongst players of these age groups for Tests A and B are shown in Figure 9 (left and right, respectively). No conclusions can be drawn, partly because there were no players aged between 24 and 29 who completed Test A. However, it was observed that players aged 18 to 23 completed Test A quicker than those completing Test B. The opposite trend was observed for players aged over 30.

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Figure 9: Test A age group mean game completion times (left); Test B age group game completion times (right) (both in seconds)

Participants‟ gaming experience

During the experiment, the participants were asked to indicate the amount of time they spend playing video games per week (none; 1-5 hours; 5-10 hours; 10-15 hours; or 15+ hours). All the participants spent between 1 and over 15 hours a week playing video games.

For Test A, 20% of the participants played games between 1 and 5 hours per week; 20% for 5 to 10 hours per week; another 20% for 10 to 15 hours per week; and 40% played games for over 15 hours a week. For Test B, 10% of the participants played games between 1 and 5 hours per week; 40% for 5 to 10 hours per week; 30% for 10 to 15 hours per week; and 20% played games for over 15 hours a week. The average game completion times for each age group for Tests A and B are shown in Figure 10 (left and right, respectively).

Figure 10: average game completion times of participants with varying levels of gaming experience: Test A times (left); Test B times (right) (both in seconds)

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According to the Test A results, it appeared that the fewer hours a participant spent playing video games each week, the longer it took for him/her to navigate through the maze environment.

However, the pattern in the results for Test A are not evident within the results for Test B. The least experienced participants managed to obtain the fastest solve time (although it should be noted that there was only one candidate who spent 1-5 hours playing video games. This person only played 1-5 hours a week due to the busy university schedule. The results for the other gaming experience groups for Test B do not follow a trend.

Qualitative Data

The last question of both questionnaires (see Appendices A and B) asks the players if there is anything that could be altered or added to the demo in order to enhance their sense of immersion within it. The majority of participants complained that the camera sensitivity and movement speed were too fast and that this made the game difficult and deprived them of their sense of immersion within it. However, some participants enjoyed the fast controls; according to one person:

“Camera/control movement was fast but it added to the immersion of the game”.

A participant from Test Group A suggested that the audio should have been more “lifelike”, instead of the repetitive simple melody that is used within the demo:

“The audio of the game could be altered to be more lifelike, such as adding ambient noise from real life rather than using a repeating audio tune to make the player feel like they are in the maze, possibly add footsteps on grass.”

A participant from Test Group B noted the absence of audio:

“I believe the game demo would benefit from some sort of sound, be it background, ambient or otherwise.”

Data comparison and discussion

As mentioned, the difference in Test A and Test B mean solve times were marginal, results being separated by 1.13 seconds. This could relate to the fact that some of the participants who took part in Test A were less experienced with playing video games (i.e. spent less time playing them each week). This is apparent in the data in Table 1, as well as in Figure 11. It may be argued that the slowest game completion result in Test A is an outlier. If the two longest times are removed from each test group data set, the new mean solve times are as follows: Test A mean = 28.55 seconds; and, Test B mean = 32.56, resulting in a difference of 4.01 seconds. This is a noticeable change from the original difference in mean solve times. This could indicate that the inclusion of adaptive background audio successfully acted as a guide to the centre of the maze, although more research is needed to support this conclusion.

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Figure 11: relationship between game completion times and gaming experience of participants (left: Test A results; right: Test B results)

60% of Test A candidates believed that the maze demo was an immersive environment, whereas only 40% of Test B subjects agreed with this. With the only differing factor between the tests being the inclusion of adaptive background audio, this suggests that audio enhanced the immersion of those who played Test A.

It should be mentioned that one of the female participants from Test Group A was very inexperienced with video games and therefore took a longer time to solve the maze. Due to this (as well as the fact that only two females participated in each test), no conclusions regarding male and female

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performance in video games can be drawn. Future work on this project should include an accurate test on male and female performance in order to produce viable data for further analysis on the subject.

The negative comments regarding the camera controls and mouse sensitivity (being too fast) resulted from a possible flaw when the demo was tested (although it should be noted that the mouse sensitivity and movement speed were custom-set and not all comments from the questionnaires were negative). One way to resolve this issue is to include a settings option in future work in which each user will be able to set his/her preferred mouse sensitivity before playing the demo.

4: Conclusion and recommendations

One of the aims of this project was to investigate the subject area of audio in video game immersion, in addition with other immersive techniques used within the media of video games. A literature review was conducted into the varying definitions of immersion in games; what aspects contribute to immersion in games (with a particular focus of the aspect of audio); gestural movement in video games; and, how audio can combine with this method to produce games for the visually impaired.

This project also included a test game (with and without audio), which was played by 20 participants (10 for each test). There were some indications that the adaptive background audio test improved the players‟ performance as well as their sense of immersion within the game environment. However, there was a small pool of participants, of a range of age groups with a varying interest in playing video games.

Further tests should be conducted with larger test groups of specific ages and specific gaming experiences, and with a gender balance, in order to confirm the trends reported in this paper. There is preliminary evidence that audio does enhance player immersion in video games but also that the use of adaptive background audio, depending on how it is implemented, can act as an aid to gameplay and also improve player performance. This mirrors the results of Hebert et al (2005), who found that players who played the video game in their experiment with music showed increased cortisol levels compared with those who played in silence. (Cortisol is a hormone that is usually produced in the body as a response to stressful situations; an increased level of the hormone in players in the experiment indicated that these players felt more immersed within the game world than those who played in silence as their body showed signs of stress indicating a more realistic experience.30

Hebert et al (ibid) also determined that audio in games has no impact on player performance, in contrast with the results in this study. It should be noted that Hebert et al used a basic “techno”-styled music track that was not adaptive background audio and therefore it would be improper to draw comparisons between their research and this paper when discussing audio in games altering player performance; further work is needed on the subject.30

Future work should aim to improve upon the results shown in this study. This could be done by addressing the issue of camera and control within the maze demo by allowing the user to customise mouse sensitivity settings or replacing the current controls with some other method. Allowing customisation of the way that an individual player interacts with a game environment may be difficult to test as the technique of immersion would then be tailored to their preference and this would be hard to investigate on a fair level as different players will have different preferences as to how they wish to interact with the game. The option of customisation within games, whether it be control settings or otherwise, should help to enhance player immersion within video games.

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It has been shown in previous studies that character customisation within games can affect a player‟s sense of immersion (e.g. Bailey et al, 2009) with some games being criticised for their lack of character customisation in comparison with others (Korhonen et al, 2009) This relates to the previous point about allowing the player to customise their experience within a video game and whether it enhances or detracts from their sense of immersion within the virtual environment by letting them do so.31,32

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32 Korhonen, H., Montola, M. & Arrasvuori, J. (2009) „Understanding Playful User Experience Through Digital Games‟ In: International conference on designing pleasurable products and interfaces, DPPI, Compiegne, France, 13-16 October 2009, pp.274-285

Video Game and Hardware References

(i) SingStar (2004) [Video Game] Developed by London Studio. (ii) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) [Video Game] Developed by Bethesda Game Studios. (iii) Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) [Video Game] Developed by Rockstar North. (iv) To The Moon (2011) [Video Game] Developed by Freebird Games. (v) Heavy Rain (2010) [Video Game] Developed by Quantic Dream. (vi) Super Mario Bros (1985) [Video Game] Developed by Nintendo. (vii) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) [Video Game] Developed by Nintendo. (viii) Guitar Hero (2005) [Video Game] Developed by Harmonix Music Systems. (ix) Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) [Video Game] Developed by Bungie Software. (x) Final Fantasy VII (1997) [Video Game] Developed by Squaresoft. (xi) Rocksmith (2005) [Video Game] Developed by Ubisoft San Francisco. (xii) Wii (2006) [Video Game Console] Developed by Nintendo. (xiii) X Box Kinnect [Video Game Console] Developed by Microsoft. (xiv) Playstation Move (2010) [Console Hardware] Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. (xv) Wii U (2012) [Video Game Console] Developed by Nintendo. (xvi) Half-Life 2 (2004) [Video Game] Developed by Valve Corporation. (xvii) Kinect (2010) [Console Hardware] Developed by Microsoft.

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APPENDIX A: Questionnaire for Test A participants

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APPENDIX B: Questionnaire for Test B participants

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On keeping graduates maximally skilled – and visibly so – in order to enter the computer games industry as software developers

John N. Sutherland1, Martin Williamson Smith2

1: (editor in chief) 2: Address: The University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Renfrewshire (post code: PA1 2BE) email: [email protected]

Abstract

The development and update of applied degree programmes is required regularly, and involves the acceptance that this involves close liaison with practitioners. This paper outlines the educational reasoning behind a survey of practitioners from a range of studios in the field of Computer Games development. This was performed in order to update the content of a five-year-old degree programme in Computer Games Development at West Scotland University. 41 Games Developers were surveyed and interviewed in order to learn which taught and other skills would be required in the graduate marketplace. This is a remarkably high response rate for a survey of this kind and industry. The principal results were that graduates entering the Computer Games industry require strong computer programming skills, specialist micro-business understanding, a strong Internet-based e- portfolio, and they must have traditional personal strengths. It was also found that underlying understanding of a more traditional Computer Science and Software Engineering kind was also required to underpin skills. These results have now been fed into the Computer Games Development degree programme as it is offered at three campuses.

Keywords: computer games, programming, e-portfolio, education

1: Introduction

The (first) author has been closely involved in degree design in Applied Computing since the 1980's, and in Computer Games degree design since the mid 1990's. In the course of the latter he created the core degree which defines C++ 3D Graphics games programming (as defined by Skillset) based upon the University of Abertay Dundee award BSc (Honours) Computer Games Technology, upon which the University of Paisley‟s (now University of West Scotland) identically named degree is also closely based.1

In 2006 the same author was persuaded by the then University of Paisley (now the University of the West of Scotland) to take up the offer of defining a new kind of degree for the Computer Games Industry. This was to be built around the growing, and now dominant, independent and casual games industry. It was decided to base the new BSc (Honours) Computer Games Development degree around a core of SDK (software development kit) development with wide input from design, animation and audio/music for compact Computer Games development. In July 2012 the first graduates completed this new degree course, many finding employment in the Computer Games industry (for example four were employment in Quality Assurance positions at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, developers of the Grand Theft Auto1 series of games.)

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Much had changed during the passing years, and this 'new' degree has recently been under internal review. The approach taken has been a pedagogic one, driven by best educational practice available within a tightly restricted environment of possible changes.

Toohey (1999) proposed a 6-stage process of course design: 2

1. Define the need 2. Identify potential students 3. Determine content 4. Define goals and objectives 5. Teach the course and assess the students 6. Adjust the content as circumstances dictate

The purpose of this study was to facilitate stage 6 of this process, i.e. adjust course contents.

2: Teaching computing students

2.1: Curriculum

Gardner (1993) stated that, "the greatest enemy of understanding is coverage – I can't repeat that often enough". Indeed, when several UK institutions impose reduced timeframes available to teach (e.g. from 16 hours per teaching week to 12 hours per week), if coverage is to increase, then content has to be lost elsewhere. And, if content must be lost, then selectivity is required in making the necessary changes.3

However, there is always the need to attempt an understanding of practice in professional education such as the delivery of a Computer Games Development degree aimed at producing workers for the industry. A world of rapid technological change is, as Schon (1987) said, a difficult teaching field with a "rapidly changing and proliferating mass of knowledge relevant to professional practice." 4

A modern degree course designer has to make changes within a tight work-hours budget. In addition to ever-increasing teaching burdens and being a part of an ageing academy, there are many other duties. As D'Andrea and Gosling (2005) comprehensively stated, " pressures of...funding...and understanding research limit the time and energy available to devote to innovating in the curriculum." So innovation must be done quickly and efficiently. The less formal the procedures the better, since many computing academics work within tight institutionally and externally defined strictures. As Hannan and Silver (2000) encouraged, change is best negotiated via an "informal collaboration amongst subject specialists".5,6

There are advantages in a „modern‟ university. As Haslum (1994) stated, modularization actually encourages and even "demands a review of the curriculum”. It is easier to look at parts of a degree individually than at an entire degree as a unity. This allows an easier basis to create a "negotiated curriculum" (Middlehurst and Barnett, 1994) with others who are affected by degree course change proposals.7,8

Eisner (1981) laid down principles for curriculum orientation: 9

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1. Development of cognitive processes – learning how to learn – opportunities to strengthen the mind

2. Academic rationalism – only study things of direct field relevance

3. Personal relevance – the student understands why the course contains what it does

4. Social Adaptation and reconstruction – fits the population it is aimed at

5. Curriculum and technology – students create useful material

It is not necessary or sufficient to know a field in detail in order to define a curriculum. There are generalities that an educationalist will apply before considering content. These are good principles, as stated above, and always worth considering. They encourage the course designer to stop and ask, 'why?' and so not confuse activity with progress. As Kelly (2009) stated, the course developers, "must look beyond consideration of content alone and recognise that questions of the purposes or reasons for our decisions are logically prior to those about substance". If this is not done then there is a danger of neither seeing the wood nor the trees and ending up with what White (1973) called, "the threat of mediocritization".10,11

Having been involved in what was, when the first author began as a student in 1975, 'University' and is now called 'Higher Education', there have been major changes in the sector, which are well documented elsewhere. This has included challenges to, "what counts as a bona fide form of knowledge, suitable for inclusion in Higher Education" (Barnett, 1990), not least professional courses in Computer Games Development. And, as Barnett continues, these have often come reluctantly in a sector which has, as he sees it, been, "widening, albeit grudgingly".12

There are many forces acting upon Higher Education today. Nearly two decades ago, Burrage (1994) concluded that there are four interested parties in the use of specialist knowledge: professionals, educators, the state and the consumers. They all need to be considered when a degree is designed, delivered, and adjusted.13

2.2: External forces

Any degree in the subfield of Applied Computing must be industry aligned. This involves periodic adjustment of content. D'Andrea and Gosling (2005) detailed how curriculum change is driven by "external input and criticism". Outside the university there are "changes in the subject or its practices" which must be considered and brought to bear upon the taught content and approaches to teaching.5

For traditional academics closer to the core Computing Science or Software Engineering field, with an established corpus of knowledge dating back to the 1950's and 1960's, this is challenging. However, in a field as close to application as Computer Games Development the advice of Middlehurst and Barnett (1994) remained pertinent that: 8

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"…in designing curricula...which match external agendas, the scope for subject development, promoted through the curiosity of academics and involving open-ended enquiry for its own sake, is restricted."

The academic degree designer must give a significant priority to the reality of the externalisation of subject knowledge over the idealism of pretence that this knowledge is held as an internalisation within the educational institution.

As already hinted, Computer Games degrees are at the cutting edge of a rapidly developing digital world. Every new technology seems to embed Computer Games as a content option. As Hannan and Silver (2000) also found, "Underlying all ... reasons for [curriculum] innovation was a sense that 'the water is getting hotter' and something had to be done". Indeed to not update a degree aimed at the leading edge of technical development is to ignore the heat and the need for change.6

In addition, Computer Games are a worldwide phenomenon, from Japan to the USA, via the UK, South Korea, China and Eastern Europe into potential and developing markets in Africa and South America. This is a huge and perhaps only ever partly comprehensible global marketplace, in addition to a rapidly changing one. Urry (1998) noted that: 14

"…[the] awesome effects of ... globalization ... alters the very characteristics of society ... risks that know no national borders ... common global problems ... the development of a 'risk culture' ... developments which are massively significant to humans with regard to technology".

It is this context in which the Computer Games marketplace operates. In designing degrees for such a context there is a definite need to source information from outside the Academy.

In addition, national mandates from governments across the developed world see the need for ongoing innovation in general in universities: 12

"The higher education climate seems increasingly pressured to produce graduates ready for the labour market and 'employability' ... the world of work would be a strong influence on the design of the curriculum" (Barnett et al, 2004).

The pressures on Computer Games may be specific, but they are also widely generic. This significantly affects the content, and some courses have experienced the loss of Assembler Language programming, Sony PS2 development, and UDK SDK usage; the arrival and loss of MIT Scratch; and the recent arrival of technologies such as HTML5, Android and Unity3D. These reflect the industry's needs for graduates, and graduates' reciprocal need for industry employment. Inevitably, "topics may come and go depending on current challenges within the relevant industry" (Barnett et al, 2004).12

Wright (1990) took a high-level view of these forces acting upon the Higher Education curriculum (and increasingly the Schools one also). He saw this as, 15

"... the move towards greater closeness with industry [which] can be seen as a real drift towards some new model ... it is common ... to all developed societies and is driven by five broadly identifiable forces:

“1. rapid advances of technological knowledge and related growth of the sophistication and capabilities of the production process; 2. change from elite to mass Higher Education;

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3. mass media has changed the image of universities; 4. new concepts of education: competence, capability and enterprise; [and], 5. internationalisation.”

Not all of these affect Computer Games Development, as these are general forces. The “rapid advances in technological knowledge” are a major issue for Computer Games degree programmes. The ”change from elite to mass … education” is a feature, which has facilitated the introduction of these new kinds of degrees, not dissimilar to the growth in such nineteenth century fields as Medicine and Engineering. Universities have always faced challenges to any attempts to establish a norm.

2.3: Employers

We have already detailed (above) how D'Andrea and Gosling (2005) recognised the forces coming in to the university from employers for degrees such as those in Computer Games Development, that Donald Schon (1987) famously outlined how educating professionals involves inputting externalised knowledge into the Universities, and that this is a difficult process.4,5

Green (1994) was one of many to recognise that in addition to generic practitioners it is "employers" who are a primary stakeholder. After all, employment of graduates is set often at corporate rather than practitioner level. It is with a company that a graduate will probably interface in the search for a job.17

There are particular issues with Applied Computing as a subfield. Walker (1980) detailed more than thirty years ago that the university-company interface was difficult. Kedney and Parker (1988) perceived "the difficulties experienced in ... parts of the [education] system in getting employers, especially small employers, actually involved". The Computer Games industry has a particularly difficult time as it is small, highly-complex, problem-orientated, and often subject to NDAs (non- disclosure agreements) which make it legally impossible to interface visibly with any external bodies, including universities. Yet, as they continued, "it is expected that courses will be revised, and discontinued if necessary, in the light of review ... and market research". Here is a difficult circle to square. It is true, as Burrage (1994) indicated, that in professional education there are a number of interested parties in the use of specialist knowledge: professionals, educators, the state and the consumers. But it is in the world of the acting professional that the knowledge of how the craft operates is held.13,16,19

In the UK we have an advantage over some other countries. Here, professional education is generally practitioner-led, so a model already exists within the university system. This is unlike France (where it is government led) or the USA (where it is educationally led). And so, 2,13,21

"in programmes which are planned from a performance [i.e. a skilled graduate] viewpoint, content is not chosen according to teacher or student interests but on the basis of research into the nature of practice in the profession". (Toohey, 1999)

Toohey (1999) continued, writing that information on professional practice can be gained by reviewing industry discussions, analysing what professionals do, surveys and interviews with practitioners, and surveys and interviews with employers. Some of these can be gained by individual practising academics, some by industry attendance and observation, where this is available, but at some point professionals must be questioned and answers elicited.2

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2.4: Graduates and the computer games industry

It would be a gross slur to imply that a practitioner degree is a degree „for dummies‟. Practitioner degrees include those in Law, Theology, Medicine, Engineering as well as, of course, Education. A graduate from a Computer Games Development degree must display certain traits gained by university students in general: 22

"The general education associated with universities e.g. maturity, intellectual development, pluralism, cosmopolitanism, has become increasingly valued..." (Eraut, 1994).

In addition, in a volatile graduate marketplace, the degree must not be so narrow as to prevent students from gaining the necessary transferable knowledge and skills that will, we hope, still outlast any content not used in the chosen or eventual graduate workplace. For, as Race (1999) puts it, when talking to students, 17,20

"a good degree ... will open up more career choices than a not-so-good one, rather than just jumping at a sexed-up degree title which cannot deliver its promise”.

He continued; 20

“…student[s] must not find themselves in a position of effectively acting as if, „When you don't know where you are going, any bus will do‟".

A University which offers such a course faces the risk of short-selling its reputation, as are the academics involved.

The student must ask of the degree programme, and will ask of any course within it, "Why am I learning this topic? Where does it lead to?” (Race, 1999). The student too, like the employer, has his own extrinsic motivation to study. When choosing a degree programme to study, "it is useful to identify the benefits that will come to you as a result of your studies" (Race, 1999). If a degree says it will qualify you as a Computer Games Developer, then it had better be capable of doing that with at least the majority of students who complete four years of honours degree study. 23

Generic skills are also essential and the educator must not lose them in the crush on the curriculum and the need to input changes. Graduates must always show, "autonomy, creativity, ... innovation, memory and habit" (White, 1973), "reflective practice" (Gravells, 2011), "personal development" (Gravells, 2011) and practice "continuing professional development" (Gravells, 2011). 15,24

Hawkins (1999) detailed this as follows: 25

"The four skills groups are:

1. people skills – communication, cultural awareness, team work, leadership; 2. self-reliance skills – action planning, initiative, networking; 3. generalist – commitment, flexibility, problem solving;

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4. specialist - organizational knowledge, technical skills and specific knowledge".

Race (2000), still advising the graduate into employability, warned that, even if a student can do the task, they must still, in addition be able to impress. He asked; "What will be the main factors to impress potential employers in your discipline?” Race answered his question with the following: 23

– “your academic record; – evidence of your skills, such as a portfolio; – referees reports; – performance at interviews".

Over and above this there remains the need for a relevant industry-focussed and employable curriculum for any applied practical degree. For every student on a course such as Computer Games Development, "the main requirement of higher education will continue to be that the graduate must master his or her subject." 26

Some emergent issues will also need to be considered, even if simply selected-out of the curriculum. These must be acknowledged and if they are excluded, then this must be the result of an active decision. These choices may bear more strongly on some fields than others. Computer Studies (a term which would include everything from Computer Science to Applied Computing) is less aware than other fields of the demands which more apply to fields such as Nuclear Physics and Petrochemicals where, 26

"there will be a constantly increasingly demand in industry and commerce for people who possess a social and environmental sensitivity, enabling companies to react more easily to future and present demands in these fields" (Meyer-Dohn, 1990).

But, in an industry where controversy is never far away, this may become more important in the course of the four years of an honours degree study. And so, quality graduates will continue to need "the ability to think critically, to analyse, to solve complex problems and to create new knowledge" (Toohey, 1999) as and when the need arises during a lifetime of graduate career.2

2.5: Universities as degree teaching centres

One danger is that it may seem too easy to develop a study programme. A strong amount of self- control is required on the academic programme designer to always ensure there is due consideration of, "what it is realistic to hope to achieve" (White, 1973). For if an undeliverable course is produced, then it is the academic course developer who bears the first-hand responsibility as (s)he will quite likely be at the sharp end of delivery. 10

It would be unrealistic to expect procedures to be altered significantly for a new degree programme or its revision. "The universities have certainly become far more open, flexible and resourceful than they were ... but they have probably moved too slowly ..." (McInnis, 1995). Fancy thoughts of industrial- placed modules, corporate-based training or professional assessments are unlikely if they are not already legislated for at the University. 28

This remains a time of great uncertainty, particularly in Universities. Rushton (2001) summarised a range of these forces; 29

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"Universities across the world face serious and growing challenges. These include: ... employers increasingly demand students who have vocational skills ... the growth of knowledge presents an almost insurmountable problem ... The IT revolution presents universities with considerable uncertainty about its future impact upon teaching and indeed the nature of higher education."

Universities which succeed can prosper. One example is Warwick University. Burgess (2001) detailed how this 1960's foundation (and now leading Russell Group university) is known for its success, educational effectiveness, complementary academic and industrial development, involvement with industry, responsive internal culture, short lines of communication, can do culture, and academic freedoms. 30

Burrage (1994) stated that, "broadly speaking, British educational policy-making ... has been driven by two great concerns: The first was to expand quality of educational opportunity." This has been strongly evidenced by the strength of such new degrees as Computer Games and their effects upon the significant Scottish Computer Games industry and beyond. It could be argued that universities like Abertay would not exist if it were not for these modern Digital Media teaching programmes. However, Burrage sees a downside to this expansion; "the second major concern has been the failure of the British educational system to provide industrially relevant skills and qualifications." A degree programme designer seeking to create the best study programme imaginable, must do the best (s)he can achieve within the limitations that exist. Every effort must be made, not just in design but in delivery to avoid what Toohey (1999) warned is "the university or college experience itself pushes students towards a more superficial and instrumental approach to their studies", where it can be assumed that “instrumental” implies the surface appearance of an education over its real content.2,12,32

2.6: Computer science as an academic field

Few fields, if any, change as rapidly as Applied Computing. The core values, as stated above, of Computer Science and Software Engineering are set in textbooks, which are regularly updated in the usual market-driven cycle of a new edition every three years. But the basic content would be as recognisable to the old student from the 1970s as to the new student of the 2010s.

This is not so with a subfield like Computer Games Development. Books are of little use in a field which turns over, for example, four different Apple iPad models in just one year (in 2012); or where Android versions abound; or where new technological developments are often developed in total secrecy and then suddenly revealed to the public (which includes the teacher and student); and where commercial forces close development studios instantly; and where new business, monetization and marketing models are trialled.

This is a world of "dizzying growth of information technology and communications" (Wright, 1990). It is a world where the academic, the curriculum, the student, and the practitioner must work, naturally, with, "the changing contours of knowledge" (Schuller, 1995). In this world the Applied Computing degree developers echo the cry of the 20th century Computing Science course developers, "we have no useful evaluation data that will help in reviewing our course" (Toohey, 1999).2,15,33

3: Method

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Two approaches were taken in order to gather valid and useful data. Firstly a survey was posted up on SurveyMonkey.com. Secondly a focus group was established. The data were then gathered and separately analysed using a qualitative approach of textual analysis with reference to the key terms and issues that were raised in advance of the study and which arose in the responses gathered.

The questionnaire was based around the currently-taught subjects and recognised issues that have arisen in a recently-developed games degree programme which produced its first full graduating cohort in 2012. This four-year honours degree programme is aimed at producing a skilled and flexible graduate who is able to enter and pursue a career in a field that is changing rapidly.

It is the first author's experience, having worked in Computer Games education, research and development since 1982, that gathering feedback from Games Studios is difficult. However, during this time working with the games industry has helped the author create an active network of over 400 people working in computer games and computer games-related development. These people are primarily collected on LinkedIn.com, but also through the network of The Computer Games Journal editorial board.

The questionnaire was designed to maximise responses, both in number of respondents, and also in quality and depth of feedback. It was posted via LinkedIn, Facebook and using Twitter during November and December 2012. It was made clear in posting requests that only those directly involved in computer games development should respond. SurveyMonkey has a method to ensure duplication is very unlikely. The textual nature of the responses also ensures responses are individual. However, it is not possible to be utterly precise as to the individuals who responded as, in order to maximise responses in breadth and depth, respondents were only asked pertinent questions and not personal questions.

The focus group was with a group of three senior games academics, an established games developer and the CEO of a leading games industry recruitment company. The discussion was open and informal, allowing issues to arise that were not pre-formatted. Notes were taken live as significant issues arose in the discussions. The discussion lasted one hour. The first author was present and took an active part as a participant observer.

4: Results

There were 40 responses to the online survey between November 23rd and December 12th, 2012, inclusive.

There were five open questions:

How useful would it be for Games graduates to be able to develop for HTML5?

How useful is it for graduates to know how to script and develop in a standard SDK such as Unity3D or UDK?

How useful is it for graduates to know how to develop in Flash?

What are the strengths you find most useful in graduates you have worked with?

What are the weaknesses you have found most evident in Games graduates?

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Each question received a response from every submission; there were no empty responses.

There were two initially closed questions with pre-coded options to a range of related issues. In the first ("Looking forward, what will be the important gaming platforms in, say, 3 years time?") there were a further ten responses to the 'other comments' open comment box. In the second ("How important would these graduate skills be to your company?") there were a further eight responses to the 'other comments' open comment box.

There were no responses which implied the seven questions set were incorrect or inadequate. However, the additional responses to the closed questions does imply that although the data gathered is valid and probably adequate, it is not comprehensive as the respondents did often take time to add further answers to questions not specifically set.

The focus group discussion took place on campus on December 11th, 2012. It was open and candid as individuals were familiar with each other. There was no residual feeling that issues had not been aired. In addition, the discussion did allow a greater sense of issue priorities to be set, such as in the discussions on e-portfolios and business skills, which the simple online survey could not so easily do.

On balance the data gathered was strong enough to provide a detailed and useful analysis, with input gained from forty-three (including the primary author) people directly involved in the games industry, in addition to three (in the focus group, to include the author again) in games-related education over a relatively short time period of just twenty days.

4.1: Computer Programming

There was a strong response from almost all the respondents on the importance of Computer Programming as the core skill. It is worth showing the response to one particular question:

Figure 1: the importance of computer programming

No respondent said that they did not want programming. One even wanted artists to understand coding (which is understandable as significant artistry tools, such as Maya, use full programming languages, such as Python.)

Responses included that graduates they wished to employ, "must have strong program and logic thinking" and "must have a fundamental understanding of programming ...". Programming is still the core skill requirement: "programming fundamentals are more important [than other skills]", and one respondent said very openly, "I hire programmers."

However, there was a strong bent towards programming ability in one specific language over the tendency to create graduates with a wide range of smaller skills. One respondent said, "Instead of learning several languages, I think its more beneficial to go more in depth in one language." Another response was critical of the tendency for graduates he had met to have a wide palette of weak skills in

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programming. One third of the respondents said they regularly met too many graduates who, as many said specifically simply, "can't code."

There was a feeling of looking back to traditional Computing Science in the responses. Respondents asked for graduates with a fundamental understanding of programming, adaptive to new languages, being skilled enough to pick up new languages.

4.2: C++ Programming

There was no specific question or mention in the survey questions of C++, but this language regularly appeared as the most important single skill a graduate should have: to be able to program complex hardware and software using C++. This was identified back in 1995 when the author designed the first named games degree (Abertay University's MSc Computer Games Technology). It remains the core language in Skillset-accredited Games Programming degrees and it is still the language of choice for a number of games developers, with one quarter of respondents mentioning it – always positively.34

Some respondents reported that C++ is the definitive programming language for their company's product development. One said, "I would expect a Games Grad to spend the vast majority of their time learning and using C++". Another said a graduate needs, "A robust knowledge of C/C++ (with emphasis on memory management + multi-threaded/core)". Another wanted graduates with "excellent core programming skills in C/C++".

One respondent was specific in asking for, "[a] Solid understanding of the 3D pipeline and related Maths. Deep knowledge of a graphics API (DirectX or OpenGL) Appreciation of console hardware Multi-threading". It is worth noting in the passing that three respondents noted the need for the ability to handle Mathematics. This was once a core or essential partner subject with Computer Science, and is retained by Skillset-accredited Computer Games Programming degrees.34

4.3: HTML5

Opinion on the need to be able to use the upcoming technology, HTML5, is divided and sometimes undecided. One quarter of respondents had no interest in HTML5, and a similar proportion was very interested. The remainder were often unsure.

Some of the responses are time-based. HTML5 is "a useful skill set to have for the future" according to one respondent, but another says, "it's not just for the future – it is here and now". On a similar line another said, "HTML5 is fast becoming one of the world‟s leading languages for creating games on mobile devices and PC's. Games created in HTML5 can be played via browsers on home consoles such as the Xbox 360, so this language is a great opportunity and it would be fantastic to learn over some others". The two words "fast becoming" appeared elsewhere too.

Less positively, one respondent saw HTML5 as being of limited use "for a majority of projects" and another felt that HTML5 has a "future which seems uncertain." And, realistically, one response warned against any one-trick graduates as they "need to be able to code [in] more than just HTML5."

4.4: Adobe Flash

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There was a similar, if slightly differently skewed, response to the older technology, Adobe Flash. Half the respondents saw no need for it, but one quarter were still supportive of this tool.

Supporters said it was either "essential" or "very useful". They were not willing to bury it with the rise of alternatives; one respondent saw it as a current and future development platform, "Flash is a great authoring tool. As its capability to export as HTML5 improves it will maintain its status as a leading game development tool for the web & mobile".

Even being less than a full development tool, Flash can be viewed as a legacy tool (in the same way as C++ can sometimes be), and so knowledge helps the conversion and support developer of the large number of existing Flash program suites. It can also be used for rapid prototyping and is not a dead-end technology as it is close to Javascript and so to emerging HTML5.

There was a widespread negative response to Flash. On the milder side there were responses on Flash being "drowned out by HTML5" and developers "seeing less and less demand for Flash". On the extreme end developers have clearly abandoned Flash as being "defunct", "a dying platform" and even “pointless". For graduates, the feeling of it being an aged product is perhaps worth noting as it is said to be years out of date and lacks a feeling of modernity.

4.5: Software Development Toolkits (SDKs), or, Game Engines

Although a questions was particularly asked about Unity3D and UDK, the widest response showed a strong support for the use of games SDK's over any specific toolset which "can be picked up along the way" during a career. There was a strong feeling that it was "important" or "critical" to have been exposed to development in a games SDK or engine and this "should definitely be in the curriculum".

However, there was no feeling strongly for these tools as any more than skills worth being exposed to. One respondent felt HTML5 was more important, and there was some criticism of these engines as coding tools. Only one respondent expressed a specific usefulness of games engines for future technologies, such as interactive TVs and tablets.

It was perhaps best put by the response, "I would expect them [students] to be taught the fundamentals on how an engine works. A good understanding of the principles is better than specific knowledge of A. N. Other Engine."

Three specific tools were discussed: Unity3D, UDK and XNA. One studio does all its development in Unity, another rated UDK as more useful, another felt Unity was not powerful enough for their games development, and another used Unity as a prototyping tool.

4.6: Degree programme weaknesses

There were opinions that students are often exposed to obsolete technologies at university. In a marketplace where perhaps significant new developments appear weekly or monthly, the university is focussed on change on yearly or more cycles. There is a timescale mismatch. Focussing in one technology, for example a commercial SDK can "date the course". If students are learning no-longer-

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valid skills then, as another respondent put it, "learning it = not learning something to get a job = no jobs."

One respondent went into detail about this problem,

"Games technology is always evolving...things are changing very fast...so in my opinion an ideal games degree should, for one, help students develop a firm foundation on game development concepts. These mostly are not platform dependent. Secondly students should be encouraged to explore at least 2 or 3 different games platform during their term and final projects. This would develop enough adaptability in them to take on new platforms in future. Trying to focus on a couple of specific platforms during the degree would be limiting. Instead they should be encouraged to investigate and choose a platform for a given project as they like. Obviously with an explanation about why they like it etc."

There was also criticism of degrees at the other end of the scale where the need to chase after a latest development technology allowed a defocussing from important fundamental skills teaching, "Instead of learning the latest language it is more important to learn the basics of good games programming in the first place. Different languages can be easily adapted / learned once the basics are understood". One particular regular criticism was the lack of ability of graduates to handle required Mathematical concepts and complex coding such as 2D and 3D graphics.

There appeared to be an expressed need for a medium which involved "teach[ing] principles useful with working with any such standard game development tool" and also focussing in as "Unity is a terrific engine to learn on, and gives students an opportunity to develop a working game prototype." But this needs to be underpinned beyond simple skills use; one respondent said, "graduates should learn what lies underneath" the bonnet of the engine. Another said, "I would expect then to be taught the fundamentals on how an engine works"

There was also a criticism of the range of games degrees which are neither one thing nor the other, "Not all designers need [to] be programmers, and not all programmers will be designers. The programme might offer two streams, in which the designer stream would look at games in a wider perspective, historical and real gaming."

This lack of focus was also seen in the lack of product that games graduates produce. One respondent said, "Students should be churning out games all the time. It teaches them while giving them the kind of experience they will need." There was a deeply-felt hurt by one respondent who looked back at his own experience and said, "I was left fairly bitter after leaving university with multiple degrees but being told I didn't have the experience needed to get into the industry, especially when I look back now as an employer and realise that a ton of the things I was taught really don't mean anything, to anyone."

Specific field skills were identified which are eccentric with respect to an Applied Computing degree, and unlikely to be found amongst Computer Scientists. Respondents identified the need for skills in research (39% said “definitely”) and professionalism (39% said “definitely”) and creative thinking (59% said “definitely”). This is deeply challenging in an age when internal education budgeting is „per bum per seat‟ and the loss of 1/6th of a student fee per module to another department is discouraged. This was also seen in the need for students to learn professionalism and respect for related professions in the workplace; again, this can be difficult to achieve in an age of education silos.

Some skills mentioned cannot be taught in a traditional undergraduate degree structure, but are seen as important. To gain "real world experience" and "independent learning" and to make "the effort to

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work on games/projects in their free time" and to gain "experience of testing games in a structured way" a student must work, in a directed way, outwith taught and assessed classes.

However, and doubtlessly, the greatest challenge is that the respondents to the survey produced a copious list of graduate and employee essential features when asked what are the strengths they are looking for. Here is a list:

"willingness, distinct personal flare, creativeness, enthusiasm, commitment, adaptability, situational awareness, responsible, self-motivating, bright, tactful, diplomatic, having wide knowledge, with the ability to quickly grasp problems, passion to learn new things, speed, raw inventive talent, having a feel for what looks/plays well, good at listening , knowing how to learn new things very quickly, being able to get on with it, open- minded, passionate, able to give interesting and useful advice based on current events, ability to hit the ground running, with initiative, energetic, adaptable, motivated, able to take ownership, eagerness, friendly, with a professional attitude, able to concentrate, can finish real projects, willing to work hard, and slog through boring stuff when necessary" and, finally, "knows their area inside out."

I challenge the educator to work out (i) how to teach these skills and (ii) how to assess them. I also challenge the educator to disagree with these 40 respondents.

4.7: Business Knowledge and Skills

There was a strong tendency to look for real-world orientated graduates, either with specific knowledge of business, or with an understanding of how business works for games studios.

There were five specifically business-oriented questions asked in the survey. Noticeably, none of these were felt to be critical, certainly not in comparison with the need for the core Programming skills. The spread (see figure 2 below) shows a lack of a single mind amongst the respondents on the need for the named skills (covered in the games degree mentioned above), but specific skills come up as the questions become more open, and in the focus group.

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Figure 2: non-Computing graduate skills

At times the need for graduates to think corporately popped-up in the wording of answers. Words such as “company”, “studios”, “professionals”, “career” and “industry” were regularly mentioned in the context of other responses. The need for graduates to be market-aware showed up also in the question about near-future target platforms for developers (see figure 3 below). This shows a breadth of current targets; terms used include: “PC”, “multi-platform”, “TV”, “consoles”, “hand-held”, “Android”, “iPhone”, “Web”, “Blackberry”, “Facebook”, “Windows” and “Mac OS” – this in a market where new tablets, phones, consoles and user input devices appear monthly.

Figure 3: gaming platforms

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There was also a clear expression of the need for graduates to think and act as corporate employees quickly. Criticism of graduates that lack these skills was harsh: “arrogant”, “lazy”, “unimaginative”, “apathetic”, “over-confident”, “uncompromising”, “unprofessional”, “naïve”, “self-righteous”, “sloppy”, “lacking drive”, “poor team players”, “a herd of wannabees”, “unable to concentrate”, “rude”, “a bad fit”, “unable to ask for help”, “opinionated” and other ephithets. These responses came from around half of the respondents.

Instead, games studios are looking for graduates who can contribute in a professional and friendly way to the company and the project from day 1, and who interface well with other skilled co-workers in non-programming fields. They should understand the industry, being flexible and adaptable. One respondent advises that there should be far better student interface to real world games studios in order to get this feedback early. I would respond that this is not from lack of trying to interface to an industry that is notoriously hard to interface with.

One way to get this experience is for the student to become a developer early. As one respondent said,

"while [they are] at Uni, students are surrounded by all they need to create their own studio. Given that mobile games take a small team 3 months to create, students should be churning out games all the time. It teaches them while giving them the kind of experience they will need. [If I'd done this] I'd have launched my first title within months of starting uni. Hell, maybe I'd have paid off my student loans by now if I'd kept that up."

Respondents also raised more particular business issues, including business knowledge and product monetisation and the need to collaborate in larger teams than happens at university. The lack of real- world-esque experience means that graduates, "did not know how to apply that knowledge to actual game development" and "[the] Transition from student mentality to employee mentality usually takes longer than expected" meaning graduates "lack self-sufficiency (not all companies have time to baby sit new hires, you may get dropped in at the deep end.)"

One respondent honestly said that games studios perhaps are only aiming at 'the top 2%' of graduates. And these should be 50% code-focussed and 50% industry focussed. As one response said "we can't leave this to business graduates or other professionals'. And the best way to get this experience may be through entrepreneurship through student and graduate studios.

4.8: Graduate self-presentation

There is both direct and indirect evidence in the responses gathered of the need for students to work up an effective portfolio (probably e-portfolio with supporting social media presentations and linkages). One respondent made a particular criticism of "terrible portfolios" being presented by applicants, who are then considered to be weak. The focus group industry members were particularly strong on the need for strong portfolios for graduates to present their work to games studios.

The link between the explicit demand for portfolios and indications of the contents that employers are seeking was summarised well by one respondent who indicated that a good graduate is notable by having, "a strong portfolio. Knows their area inside out. Pro-active. Has made a game in their free time. Has worked in teams. Good communicator." The graduate both needs to present well and present good and relevant content. There was a recommendation from two respondents that this needs to be built from first year, using a popular medium, and should be presented on the web as an

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up to date personal website, with regular postings and updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and via other social media.

It was also indicated that the graduate needs to be able to present a portfolio which shows a balanced split between presenting examples of their skills development and also of their wider games business awareness. They have to show a knowledge of the industry and of how it works: marketplaces, finance, service, emergent trends, design, technologies, etc.

Two phrases which often appeared from respondents were “enthusiasm” and “effective communication”. A student needs a medium to quickly present themself before an employer. Although there are face-to-face opportunities, a student's e-portfolio has to be strong in terms of content, and also interesting in terms of presentation.

Several respondents recommended that graduates should be able to present evidence to show that they have a strong bent towards personal, out-of-class project work. The respondents also wanted to see proof that a student can program in, for example in C++, HTML5 or Flash. Many also stated that employers expect to be able to see evidence of the student's work in games development for new hardware (with an often strong criticism of obsolete university teaching platforms) and with the implication that an e-portfolio is the place to do this (although this last point was not often explicitly stated.)

Whereas an e-portfolio can contain class work, the respondents also expected to see evidence of knowledge and understanding of non-taught or little-taught skills such as professional and ethical awareness, game design, research, creative thinking and drawing. One respondent asked that, "they [students] should be encouraged to investigate" various projects and then provide "an explanation about why they like it, etc." Much of this cannot be done in class, and so must be performed in a student‟s own time for presentation to future employers.

Respondents also asked for evidence of the development of design, game and other relevant prototypes. Here Flash, Unity3D and XNA were particularly mentioned as development means to create exemplary prototypes and for evidence that a student's work has been released by them into the wider gaming public for real-world feedback.

The graduate should be able to present to employers, probably at least partly through an e-portfolio, their "creativeness, research skills, willing[ness] to work to a high standard, [with a] good understanding of the industry" and their "wide knowledge of games, genres, gameplay styles" and that they have "research[ed] their own learning resources".

5: Findings and recommendations

This reading of the data gathered and analysed comes from the personal viewpoints of being a designer and developer of (mainly) computer games degrees, an academic Computer Scientist, former company director and former software developer. Others may read aspects of these data differently, however the principal concern of the first author is as a course leader of a games degree that is recruiting well, but is facing many challenges in outputting employment-ready graduates.

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There are four significant groupings that appeared through the coding process:

1. The expressed need for certain skills

2. The need for a level of professional awareness

3. The need for graduates to present themselves well to employers and, finally,

4. Issues relating to teaching games degrees

5.1: Games graduate skills

The primary skill requirement which was demanded by the surveyed games studios was for programmers. 95% of those asked in the survey said that this was the principal skill required from a long list. Although the analyses presented are not quantitative, this does appear to be a significant figure. This provides a challenge to the student and to the university. Teaching programming is a difficult task, as is learning. In this, the principal finding, there is a clear and ever-present warning to both:

1. games employers want programmers above all else and this cannot and should not be avoided by watering down the difficulty level and simplifying the course content away to other softer skills. More students may pass, better grades may be achieved, but graduates will be less employable.

The second skill recommendation that comes out is that the principal demand remains for,

2. C++ programmers.

However, these authors would express a caution here from wider experience. Good C++ programmers are rarely created and often do not stay as such for long periods of time, say beyond ten years. They are, if the cliché can be pardoned, as rare as hen's teeth.

In the author‟s experience of designing and teaching on Skillset-accredited games programming degrees, there is, despite careful intake selection, a loss of up to and even beyond 50% of the class cohort before graduation. There is a closed circle of validation around C++ caused by the lack of graduates with these skills. Employers cannot get and hold enough of them, there is clearly a defined need for which a few universities seek to provide the supply. This focus down on C++ programming can be seen in Skillset's list of graduate games careers options in the games industry:1

“design, art, animation, programming, audio, quality assurance, production, publishing and organisational management” over against the list (Skillset, 2013b) of Skillset validated games degrees of which no less than nine of the fifteen are focussed around C++ programming skills development. Doubtless, there is a clear and ever-present need for new C++ programmers to enter the games industry, but it would be wrong to assume that this is the only need for graduate entry.

There is less clarity in the range of responses about the need for other programming or scripting skills. Respondents often expressed the truism that if a graduate can program in C++ then it is a

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relatively simple sideways step to other, simpler programming languages. If a course were to look beyond C++ then it would appear

3. the student needs to be able to learn a range of technologies.

This list does not seem to have a defined end point. Although Adobe Flash is in decline, there is still a need and demand for graduate/entry-level and established professional development. Indeed, jobs continue to be advertised for Flash programmers in the games industry. HTML5 is also seen as being an available development/implementation technology for games, as are games engines such as UNity3D, SDK and XNA. However, students and university teachers should note that simply learning to use these engines falls short of knowing how they work.

5.2: Business and professional awareness

The interface between developer and customer is critical in games development. From earliest stages a games developer must be blogging, tweeting and Facebooking to build an audience for the upcoming games. Games aresold increasingly online directly to audience. The graduate games developer needs to develop a range of skills beyond simply programming.

Any games developer following social media trends needs to be aware of ethical considerations. As we were writing, trends one day on Twitter included linkages between computer games, US high school shootings, politically correct social inclusion and others. Indeed, in the five issues presented, the responses appeared to indicate that they represent only some of a range of wider social, political and financial issues that bear down upon the games developer.

Monetization, legal issues relating to intellectual property and ownership, and knowledge of how a business works were all thought to be possibly important. When added to the clearly expressed view elsewhere that one good way to gain these skills is in personal-professional work, there was a feeling expressed that these skills may be best learned by many in vivo rather than in vitro in a dry classroom experience.

It is the first author‟s experience in helping start many graduate computer games and other enterprises in the past twenty years that much of this can only be learned beyond the classroom. Also, simple measures of success and failure do not apply as it is experience that counts, not whether or not the product or new-start studio are successful.

The dynamism of the games industry is evident in the range of development tools and target platforms supported. The industry requires employees with a mind-set and application that is dynamic and effective. This can be challenging as Computer Science style graduates can be single- focussed. The games industry requires employees who can switch and adjust depending on emerging issues and trends.

5.3: Graduate self-presentation

The role of well-presented and well-populated e-media is core to interfacing the games graduate with a games studio potential employer. This is challenging for the student and university, but the needs of the studio are clearly expressed: they want to see, quickly, the best work done by the student from earliest studies in first year right down to final year honours project work.

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The student must rely on the university putting in place, quickly and simply, the means and methods for the creation of a personal, world-facing e-portfolio which can be populated, amended and adjusted over a period of several years. This e-portfolio must also allow the student to add their own extra- curricular work. The challenge here is for the student who must do at least as much outwith formal studies as in them. If a student spends 12 hours in formal education classes over a period of 24 weeks a year, and there are40 hours study in a week and 40 working weeks in a year, the following proportions appear (see figure 4).

Figure 4: a proposed model of study/practice/life balance

The 'professional' (yellow) section indicates the proportion of personal professional practice a student wishing to build a strong e-portfolio should spend over the duration of the year during a reasonable 40 hour working week, 40 working weeks per year and 16-hour availability per day. It can be seen that not only is time spent on extra-classroom work greater than in-curriculum work (although both are within the curriculum) but, in addition, in order to create a working life-style over the period of studying for a degree, a student needs to be spending almost one and a half times as much time in addition developing their own projects during the period of an undergraduate study covering several thousand hours of work.

The need for a strong, wide and deep graduate e-portfolio is deeply challenging. It is the first author's estimation from his experience of working in games-related education since the late 1980's that currently no graduates have ever achieved this set of requirements. There is an onus upon universities to ensure that this happens, starting now.

5.4: The Degree as a Games Industry training medium

The need for access to using the most up to date technologies is not being met by universities. The current model of ”ask for money for specific technology, wait for decision, purchase technology, install technology, maintain technology, repeat” is incorrect for both software and hardware when the student is not working on the little-changing C++ skills development. The student requiring to learn and prove knowledge of other – particularly target – hardware, and development software requires a different model.

Although it is an issue to be discussed in detail with regard to a consideration of the range of models available elsewhere, a model for outputting such as an entrepreneurial indie graduate games developer may involve an adjusted model such as: agree spending budget, buy

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informatively/speculatively, supply/support a range of potential technologies for student use. This would allow, for example, students to work at honours level on such emergent technologies as smartphones, tablets, development software, par-games products (e.g. interactive graphic novels), monetization and mixed enterprise/classroom teaching models.

This would also allow students to develop the necessary skills in product research and development without requiring academic staff to become so multi-skilled they become unskilled. But it may require the addition of academic staff with a creative technological remit over tight-skills-focussed staff teaching C++ mathematical-graphics programming skills.

There is little doubt that the industry requires adaptable and well-rounded individuals who can work in a widely dynamic way. This is a cultural issue that affects the university as the learning provider. It requires an atmosphere of adaptability and dynamism, but within a working educational quality environment. This is challenging, but as some institutions have proved, not least Abertay Univeristy in Dundee's Institute for Arts, Media and Computer Games, this can be done if both academic staff and management are so minded.

References

1 Sutherland, J. (2002) „Some Reflections on Creating the New Academic Field of Computer Games‟ Proceedings for the Society for Research into Higher Education Annual Conference. The University of Glasgow, U.K., December 2002

2 Toohey, S. (1999) Designing Courses For Higher Education. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K.

3 Gardner, H.W. (1993) „Educating for Understanding. The American School Board Journal‟ In: Biggs, J.B. (ed) (1999), Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 1st ed. Society for Research Into Higher Education. Taylor & Francis Gp, U.K. p20.

4 Schon, D.A. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions. San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass

5 D'Andrea, V. & Gosling, D. (2005) Improving Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: A Whole Institute Approach. 1st ed. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K.

6 Hannan, A. & Silver, H. (2001) Innovation in Higher Education: Teaching, Learning and Institutional Cultures. 1st Edition. Open University Press, U.K.

7 Middlehurst, R. & Barnett, R. (1994) „Changing the Subject: The Organization of Knowledge and Academic Culture‟ In: Bocock, J. & Watson, D (eds). Managing the University Curriculum. Society for Research in Higher Education Press, U.K. pp.48-66.

8 Eisner, E.W. (1985) The Educational Imagination. 2nd Edition. USA: Macmillan

9 Kelly A.V. (2009) The Curriculum: Theory and Practice. 6th Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd.

10 White, J.P. (1973) Towards a Computing Curriculum. London: Routledge

11 Barnett, R. (1990) The Idea Of Higher Education. Society for research in Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K.

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12 Burrage, M. (1994) „Routine and Discreet Relationships: Professional Accreditation and the State of Britain‟ In: Becher, T. (ed). Governments and Professional Education. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K. pp.140-160.

13 Urry, J. (1988) „Contemporary Transformation of Time and Space‟ In: Scott, P. (ed) The Globalization of Higher Education. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K. pp.1-17.

14 Barnett, R., Parry, G. & Coate, K. (2004) „Conceptualising Curriculum Change‟ In: Tight, M. (ed) The Routledge Falmer Reader in Higher Education. Routledge, pp.140-154.

15 Wright, P.W.G. (1990) „Introduction: Crossing the Border, or Creating a Shared Territory?‟ In: Wright, P.W.G. (ed) Industry and Higher Education: Collaboration to Improve Student's Learning and Training. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.1-6.

16 Walker, R. (1980) „Project Technology‟ In: Stenhouse, L. (ed) Curriculum Research and Development in Action. Heinemann Educational Books, pp.115-134.

17 Green, D. (1993) „Looking Ahead‟ In: Green, D. (ed) What Is Quality in Higher Education? Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.112-117.

18 Haslum, M.N. (1994) „A Course Leader's Perspective‟ In: Bocock, J. & Watson, D. (eds) Managing the University Curriculum. Society for Research Into Higher Education Press, U.K., pp.103-115.

19 Kedney, B. & Parker, D. (1988) Planning the FE curriculum: Implications of the 1988 Education Reform Act : Perspectives from Administrators and Managers. Further Education Unit, U.K.

20 Race, P. (2000) How to Win As a Final Year Student: Essays, Exams and Employment. Open University Press, U.K.

21 Becher, T. (1994) „Freedom and Accountability in Professional Curricula‟ In: Becher, T. (ed) Governments and Professional Education. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.162-179.

22 Eraut, M. (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence. London, U.K.: Falmer Press

23 Race, P. (1998) How to Get a Good Degree. Open University Press, U.K.

24 Gravells, A. (2011) Delivering Employability Skills in the Lifelong Learning Sector (Lifelong Learning Sector Series). London, U.K.: Learning Matters

25 Hawkins P. (1999) The Art of Building Windmills - Career Tactics for the 21st Century - cited in Gravells (see above)

26 Meyer-Dohn, P. (1990) „Graduates in Higher Education: What Do Employers Expect in the 1990's?‟ In: Wright, P.W.G. (ed) Industry and Higher Education: Collaboration to Improve Student's Learning and Training. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.61-67.

27 Smith, M., Sutherland, J. & Sutherland, M.A. (2012) „A Case Study on the Successes and Difficulties on Running an Online e-Portfolio Support Site for Digital Media Students‟ The Computer Games Journal. 1(1) Whitsun 2012 pp.51-70.

28 McInnis, C. (1995) „Less Control and More Vocationalism: The Australian and new Zealand Vocational Experience‟ In: Schuller, T. (ed) The Changing University. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.38-51.

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29 Rushton, J. (2001) „Managing Transformation‟ In: Warner, D. & Palfreyman, D. (eds.) The State of UK Higher Education: Managing Change and Diversity. Open University Press, U.K., pp.169-178.

30 Burgess, R. (2001) „Academic Development‟ In: Warner, D. & Palfreyman, D. (eds.) The State of UK Higher Education: Managing Change and Diversity. Open University Press, U.K., pp.178-185.

31 Scott, P. (2001) „Conclusion: Triumph or Defeat‟ In: Warner, D. & Palfreyman, D. (eds.) The State of UK Higher Education: Managing Change and Diversity. Open University Press., U.K., pp.186-204.

32 Taylor, F.W. (1903) The Principles of Scientific Management. London, U.K.: Harper and Brothers.

33 Schuller, T. (1995) „Introduction: The Changing University? A Sketchmap with Code‟ In: Schuller, T. (ed.) The Changing University. Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, U.K., pp.1- 14.

34 Skillset (2013, a/b). http://www.creativeskillset.org/games/careers/article_2768_1.asp and http://www.creativeskillset.org/games/accreditation

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Audio immersion in games – a case study using an online game with background music and sound effects

Stephen Gormanley1

1: Address: School of Computing, the University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Renfrewshire, U.K.

Abstract

Immersion is term that is often used when describing how good a game is. However, there are different concepts of immersion and different opinions on what causes a player to become immersed. Previous studies have shown that immersion is an area of game development that has attracted great interest from gamers and researchers. Studies into areas such as player immersion have successfully shown that players can become immersed through graphics and audio features of games. Audio immersion is often overlooked in place of graphics and there is a general assumption that a game with high-quality graphics is more immersive than one with simple graphics.

This paper reports on a study into the effects of audio features on player immersion. This was achieved by creating a prototype game that makes use of different applications of audio within gameplay. The effects of audio in the prototype were assessed via: (i) the creation of an online game with four levels (with and/or without sound effects and background music); and (ii) an online survey, which asked players to quantify how much they felt immersed when playing the game. Links to both were e-mailed to over 100 computing students, and completed by 30 recipients. The survey results show that many of the 30 players felt that the background music and sound effects increased their sense of immersion.

Keywords: audio, immersion, video games, online survey, players

Article Information

Received: June 2013 Accepted:August 2013 Available: online September 2013

1. Introduction

When developing a computer game or any other virtual environment such as virtual reality simulators an important factor to be considered is player/user immersion. Gamers (e.g. GamesDomain, 2001), developers (e.g. Gamespot, 2010) and game reviewers (e.g. IGN, 2011) have mentioned that immersion is a key element in defining what makes a game good. Immersion is still a widely debated topic and there are different concepts and ideas on what causes a player to become immersed in a game. There has been research into different areas of player immersion, including: (i) how a player becomes immersed; (ii) different game factors that help a player become immersed; (iii) different levels of immersion; and (iv) studies into the link between immersion and addiction.1-7

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2. Literature review

2.1: Immersion

Murray (1997) stated that the term immersion is complex, in that an interesting story can be told in virtual experiences because our brains are programmed to interpret them in such a way that they can “blur the world around us”. Pleasure occurs when a person feels as if he/she has been transported to a different world, regardless of the content. This experience is referred to as “immersion”. Immersion is a metaphor that is derived from the feeling of being completely submerged under water. It is the same feeling that humans seek from a mental experience when becoming psychologically immersed in something. In the field of computer games/virtual reality immersion is the sense of being completely submerged in a virtual world.8

Brown and Cairns (2004) implied that the term is commonly used within the computer gaming environment and is mostly used when referring to gaming software. Similarly, Alexander et al (2005) suggested that the term is also associated with gamers and video games. Cheng and Cairns (2005) suggested that immersion is a term that is widely used by gamers and designers to promote, review and describe the gaming experience. Grimshaw et al (2005) described immersion as "the holy grail" of computer games design; that is that it is described by gamers and designers as an important aspect of good games.1,6,10

Brown and Cairns (2004) identified that gamers, researchers and game designers regard immersion as an experience which is so powerful that it incorporates high levels of engagement andengrossment by the player. Liljedahl and Ortqvist (2010) agreed that immersion can be a powerful experience which is considered by gamers when playing a game, by designers when creating the game, and by reviewers when reviewing the game.1,11

A term that is often used synonymously with immersion is presence. Heeter (1992) suggested that presence refers to being part of a virtual environment. Seah and Cairns (2008) also suggested that presence is the feeling of being part of a virtual world rather than being in the real world. When people who feel that they are part of the virtual world and are lost to the real world it becomes evident in the sense that they are immersed. Furthermore, Seah and Cairns (ibid) identified that this sense of immersion is classed as "perceptual immersion" and not "psychological immersion". They mentioned, by way of example, that a game such as TetrisTM did not give the player the opportunity to feel presence (because there is no virtual world with which the player can engage), but that the game could still be immersive. Similarly, Liljedahl and Ortqvist (2010) suggested that the two terms of presence and immersion are closely related, but nonetheless distinct.7,11-13

Seah and Cairns (2008) acknowledged that not everyone agreed with this belief. They listed other concepts that are related to immersion (such as presence, flow and cognitive absorption) but which are completely distinct from immersion. Weibel et al (2008) conducted a study with a group of 80 people and concluded that the concepts of presence, flow and enjoyment are similar, but still quite different.7,14

Seah and Cairns (2008) also suggested that the concept of flow is a harmonious state of mind, where the player is engaged with an activity that they find challenging but not too difficult. The player must have a clear sense of how to progress towards the goal set for him/her, and the activity must not be beyond the player‟s skill level. The overall outcome of the activity should be enjoyable and be a positive experience that the player finds rewarding. It is then suggested that games can still be immersive but do not provide flow. Lindley and Nacke (2008) found in their study that immersion is

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closely related to what Csikszentmihalyi described as “flow”. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) described “flow” as a "holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement".7,15,16

The concept of cognitive absorption is identified as different from immersion. The intention of cognitive absorption is to identify people‟s tendency to become absorbed in computing activities, as suggested by Seah and Cairns (2008). Cairns et al (2008) suggested that cognitive absorption is exhibited through five dimensions: (i) temporal dissociation; (ii) attention focus; (iii) heightened enjoyment; (iv) control; and (v) curiosity. They suggested that the main goal of cognitive absorption is to build a better understanding of how people react to information technology. However, the term “immersion” is usually focused on specific tasks or experiences when playing video games, whereas cognitive absorption refers to people‟s general beliefs about computing activities.7,17

2.2: The three levels of involvement

It may be suggested that immersion is related to these other terms of flow, presence and cognitive absorption but is made distinct by how it occurs and how it only addresses particular experiences of gameplay. In Brown and Cairns‟ study into game immersion, they found that the immersion in gameplay could be categorized into three different levels of involvement: the first level is engagement; the second level is engrossment; and the third (and last) level is total immersion.1

Engagement

As mentioned, the first level of immersion identified by Brown and Cairns is engagement. They suggested that this is the lowest level of immersion found within a game and must precede any other level of immersion. In order to become engaged with a game, the player will need to "invest" time, effort and attention to it. In their study, Brown and Cairns found that at each stage of immersion there were certain properties of immersion that they called "barriers" that controlled how immersed a person was. To become engaged in a game two important barriers must be overcome: 1,7

Access: it was found that if a player does not like a particular genre of game then it is unlikely that he/she will play the game;

Availability: i.e. how much investment of time, effort and attention a player puts into a game. It is suggested that the player must put a relatively large amount of time into a game to be engaged and if a player had "played for ages" then he/she would feel more involved. It was also mentioned that if a player loses track of time it can be said that he/she is immersed. Seah and Cairns (2008) reported that people who use computers or who play video games on a daily basis tend to show high amounts of engagement in the sense that they spend a substantial amount of time performing these activities, and when they are not, they spend a lot of time thinking about them.

The amount of effort players put into the game is also linked to engagement. It was found that effort is related to the perception of “rewards”, i.e. if a player puts more effort playing a game, he/she expects to be rewarded. Attention is related more to engrossment and total immersion, rather than engagement, even though a gamer must initially invest attention into the game. Brown and Cairns (2004) suggested that engagement can be described as only the initial start of immersion. However, McMahan (2003) described engagement to be when a player becomes so engaged in a game that they reached a point of near-obsessiveness. McMahan suggested that this state of in-depth feeling of immersion is commonly known as “deep play”. This term was taken from The Theory of Legislation

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by Jeremy Bentham (1931), and was used to refer to a state of mind where players would enter a game without thinking about the stakes.1,12,18

Engrossment

The second level of immersion described by Brown and Cairns is engrossment. For players to become engrossed in a game, they must feel emotionally attached to the game in such a way that a combination of all the game features directly affects the players‟ emotions. Their study also reported that participants mentioned that game features which were important to them were the visuals, interesting tasks and plot. They concluded that gamers could tell if a game had been built well, and that they could identify areas game features into which the developers had put extra effort to make the game better. The gamers in their study stated that a well-constructed game was more enjoyable to them.1

A high level of „emotional investment‟ in a game is added at this stage of immersion due to the time, effort and attention that has been previously been put into the game. This makes players want to keep on playing the game and they feel „emotionally drained‟ when they stop playing. At this level of immersion, the player‟s emotions are directly affected by the game and it becomes the only focus of the player‟s attention. Calleja (2007) suggested that there is an emotional connection between gamers and games, such that games offer an „emotional arousal‟ to players who (for example) suffer from a lack of excitement in their lives. He also noted that people with a hard or busy life may utilise games to suit their emotional needs by releasing their frustrations in first person shooter games, or relaxing by exploring aesthetically detailed environments.19

A connection between emotions and games was identified in a study by Emri and Mayra (2005). They found that parents were worried that their children were spending so much time playing games that they became "emotionally too intensely immersed".5

Total immersion

Lindley and Nacke (2008) summarised the final stage of immersion as, “a state facilitated by feelings of empathy and atmosphere, which links immersion to factors of graphics, plot and sounds in addition to emergent gameplay”.14

Browns and Cairns (2004) identified the final stage of immersion in their study as “total” immersion, which is further identified as “presence”. According to them, one gamer described this as follows: 1

“You feel as you are really there and you are no longer part of reality and the game was all that [matters].”

The barriers that must be overcome for a player to feel totally immersed in a game are identified as follows:

Empathy: this is different to attachment because a player can feel attached to certain characters or team members but may not empathise with their situation; and

Atmosphere: this is composed of the same elements of game construction, a combination of graphics, sound and plot. (It is important to note that atmosphere is different from game construction through relevance; the features of the game must be

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relevant to the actions that the game characters make and to the location of the character.)

Furthermore, Brown and Cairns (2004) stated that atmosphere is needed to retain the player‟s attention. For example, if a player has to react to a sound or a sight, then more effort will be needed. To become more immersed, a gamer must invest more attention and effort than before. This is achieved by the gamer making use of the elements of attention (visual, audio and mental). However, Harig (2012) held a different view on total immersion. He suggested that a person can never actually be totally immersed in a game because the player and the game are ultimately still separate. An example of this is when a player's avatar improves its skills in the game and the actual player does not automatically gain this skill in real life. Brown and Cairns (op cit) reiterated that total immersion is achieved by utilising all the elements of attention, as listed above.1,20

Ermi and Mayra (2005) found similar results in their study when they identified three different forms of immersion: 5

1: Challenge-based

This was described as a feeling of immersion that is at its greatest when a player is able to achieve a satisfying balance of abilities and challenges. Challenges can be split into two categories: (i) motor skills; and (ii) mental skills. Game challenges usually involve both sets of skills.

Ermi and Mayra (2005) found that children playing the games would (i) analyse the way that the challenges were incorporated; (ii) find pleasure in successfully completing challenges and moving on through the game; and (iii) that they also enjoyed the suspense of not knowing what was coming next. The researchers also suggested that the challenges found in the gameplay could be split into two different categories: (i) sensorimotor abilities (which include using the controller and fast reactions); and, (ii) cognitive challenges. They noted that the children seemed to avoid the puzzle games, but enjoyed games where problem solving was an important part of the gameplay.5

2: Imaginative

Ermi and Mayra (2005) described imaginative immersion as “offering the players the experience of the game and the opportunity to use their imagination to enjoy the fantasy of the game or empathise with particular characters”. They identified that children thought that imagination and fantasy were a key element of many games. The children mentioned that the characters, story and world were all important features of the games that made them more enjoyable. The children particularly enjoyed playing in an imaginary world because they were able to do things that they could not or would not be allowed to do in the real world (e.g. attacking policemen, driving and living in a house without adults).5

3: Sensory

Sensory immersion is the third type of immersion that was identified in Ermi and Mayra's (2005) study. They suggested that sensory immersion is related to the audio and visual elements of the game. Audio and visual immersion is a feature of many games that even less experienced novice gamers and parents were able to recognise, as they suggested that newer video games are impressive (both audibly and graphically) and have further evolved into the 3D and stereophonic worlds. Through the use of large screens and overpowering sounds, the player can become more focused on the game and therefore more immersed.5

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However, McMahan (2003) stated that several scientists and scholars believed total photo and audio realism is not necessarily required for a game or virtual environment to produce a sense of immersion for the viewer.12

Hou et al (2011) carried out a study to investigate the effects of screen size on player immersion and their gameplay experience. In the study, 30 people played a game on two different screens at different sizes. The first screen was only 12.7 inches wide, whereas the second screen was 81 inches wide. They found that screen size had an effect on the players‟ sense of physical presence, self-presence, impression on the game characters and mood. Players of the game experienced a greater sense of presence in front of the larger screen. When analysing the results for how immersed the players felt, it was found that immersive tendency affected the players feeling of presence significantly. People who are more engaged with digital media were found to be more easily immersed than others.21

Video game developers persist in making their games more realistic by use of audio and graphics despite the fact that some experts have suggested that audio and visual elements do not make a game more immersive. However, Lipscomb and Zenhder (2004) stated that music in video games can help increase a player's sense of immersion.22

Grimshaw et al (2005) investigated the potential of sound as tool of immersion by analysing data gathered from a group of players who played the same level of a game on four separate occasions with different sound modalities: (i) sound effects and music; (ii) sound effects and no music; (iii) no sound effects and music; and, (iv) no sound and no music. They found that music appeared to generate an increase in the feeling of immersion, and also a decrease in tension and negative feelings; however, these sensations reduced the flow within the game. They also noted that that some players initially thought that the inclusion of sound effects in a particular level of the game was very important; but after playing the game without any sound effects or music, the players claimed that the sound effects were distracting. It should also be noted that 75% of the players claimed that they missed the sound effects when playing the level with just music.10

A similar, and more recent, study into the effects of audio in location-based games by Kurczak et al (2011) found that ambient audio in the game reduced the players performance in the game but increased their sense of immersion. One participant in this study claimed that, "If there was some random rustling of leaves in the background that was not related to the animals but just happened to be there, I probably would have found it more immersive.” Their studies showed that audio has some impact on the player's gameplay experience, although it may increase or reduce their sense of immersion.23

Investigations have been conducted into areas such as motion control, and audio as a tool of immersion. Manuel et al (2012) investigated immersion through motion tracking and stereo audio reproduction. They created a system that allowed a user to navigate through a room using a virtual soundscape and motion traction. They identified that new technologies have allowed game developers to improve in-game audio and make them more immersive. Each participant played the game in which they had to find a secret passcode hidden among the audio using both the Kinect motion controller and a more traditional analogue controller. They concluded from their results that participants felt more immersed using the motion controller and that they would have preferred the use of 5.1 surround sound. Despite this, their results showed that a stereo configuration of loudspeakers created a more immersive environment.24

3: Research design

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A prototype game was created. This incorporated different aspects of audio, and its ability to immerse a player through the use of audio was analysed. Prior to testing the prototype game, three different research methodologies were investigated: 3.1: Quantitative research

Quantitative research is based on numbers and facts. The most common ways for data to be gathered using quantitative research is by using either a questionnaire or a survey. Cresswell (1994) defined quantitative research as “an approach in which the person carrying out the research uses their knowledge and skills to investigate the chosen area using techniques such as experiments, surveys and collecting other data using similar techniques that gather empirical statistic data”. Trochim and Donnely (2008) simply defined quantitative data as “any data that is gathered in numerical form”.25,26

Studies using quantitative methods

There are many studies which include quantitative research methods to gather data and information on immersion in video games. One such study was a survey carried out by Fu et al (2009) to investigate the level of enjoyment that users felt when playing e-learning games. The survey was used to measure eight different factors of the game (concentration; goal clarity; feedback; challenge; autonomy; immersion; social interaction; and, knowledge Improvement). The surveys were distributed online via e-mail, handed out to people, or sent by post. Out of the 502 students to whom the survey was sent, 166 responses were collected (a 33% response rate).27

These authors listed the key points to consider when creating a survey: 27

the researcher must consider the content of the survey; the researcher must think about how he/she is going to distribute the survey; and the researcher must consider how to analyse the data that is returned from the survey.

Advantages and disadvantages of online surveys

Fricker and Schonlau (2002) reported that internet surveys can be faster and cheaper than traditional methods of distribution. An internet survey can be easily distributed by email in a matter of minutes. Secondly, internet surveys are much cheaper than other methods. Nowadays, services such as Surveymonkey.com allow users to create online surveys and questionnaires for free. However, the number of questions in each survey is restricted, and if the user wants to include more questions then he/she has to pay a subscription for these enhanced services.28

Fricker and Schonlau (2002) also found some disadvantages of using internet surveys: 28

Low response: responses were poor for internet surveys. One possible reason for the low number of responses may be because online surveys are less personal (and so many people will simply ignore or delete the emails); whereas if someone is asked by a researcher face-to-face to complete a survey, he/she is more likely to complete it there and then.

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Effort: online surveys require more work from the person being surveyed, e.g. scrolling back and forward between questions; validating input; using passwords; and formulating questions where answers are not optional.

Sills and Song (2002) identified several similar disadvantages of using online surveys, including: 29

Low response rates (as previously mentioned);

A lack of generalization: this problem can occur when distributing surveys using other methods; questions might be too specific or confusing for some of the participants and as such they might not understand the question and give a random answer; and,

A lack of validity and reliability: if the questions are difficult to understand, then this will affect the results, and it could also deter people from answering any further questions.

Sills and Song (2002) also mentioned that there are a range of technical problems to take into consideration in the design and implementation of an on-line survey, including multiple computer platforms, browsers and poorly written software. There is an increasing range of new devices (particularly mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets) that have different screen sizes and resolutions. Images, videos or games might be displayed correctly on one platform but not on another; some devices might not display the content at all (e.g. AdobeFlashTM games on certain mobile devices). There is also the concern that the server (where the researcher‟s particular survey is being hosted) could crash.29

3.2: Qualitative Research

Qualitative research concerns people‟s emotions and feelings. Qualitative research is most commonly carried out via interviews, focus groups, observations and case studies. Interviews can be broken down into three different types: (i) informal; (ii) open-ended interviews; and (iii) fixed response interviews. Cresswell (1994) defined qualitative research as “an approach to research in which the investigator bases their findings on the perspective of other individuals”. Techniques used to gather the information include: (i) narratives; (ii) phenomenology; (iii) grounded theory studies; and (iv) case studies. The information gathered is examined and used to develop ideas and theories.25

Studies that use qualitative research

Interviewing is the most common type of qualitative research method. One such study was carried out by Wan and Chiou (2006). Semi-structured interviews were used alongside sentence completion tests to investigate why adolescents become addicted to online video games. Each interview was carried out individually by a trained researcher. The interviews varied in duration from 50 to 150 minutes. The purpose of using the interviews was to gather self-reported verbal data first-hand from the participants in order to obtain detailed information on the causes of online gaming addiction. The interview questions were split into four different categories: (i) surface motivation; (ii) in-depth

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motivation; (iii) self-conception; and (iv) interpersonal relationships in the real world. The participants were asked a total of 17 questions.30

During the sentence completion part of the interview, the participants completed the partial sentences given to them by the researcher. By using this particular qualitative method of research, Wan and Chiou gained a more in-depth understanding of the participant.30

The results gathered from the interviews were analysed by developing different themes according to the original objectives of the study and explanations were then generated to identify the motivations of the players.

Advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative Research

A lack of reliability and validity are two causes for concern within quantitative research; that the same problems also affect qualitative research has been demonstrated by Golafshani (2003).31

In another paper Golafshani (ibid) mentioned that there is widespread debate over the reliability and validity of qualitative research; some researchers have argued that the concept of reliability is not applicable to qualitative data and that caution is necessary when validating qualitative data. A potential reason for this could be the fact that there is no definitive definition of validity in qualitative research.31

There are ethical issues associated with qualitative research (namely interviews), as explained by DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree (2006). In their study four different ethical issues were identified: 32

Reducing the risk of unanticipated harm: During interviews with willing participants, there is the risk of the interviewer becoming so involved with the interviewee that he/she starts to express his/her own personal views and opinions, and this could make the interviewee uncomfortable and lead to unprofessional behaviour by the interviewer, e.g. the interviewee gives an answer that conflicts with the interviewer's personal beliefs, resulting in friction between the two persons.

Data Protection: The participant‟s information must be protected, and the information gathered from interviews should remain private, confidential and anonymous, as participants might provide information that could be harmful to others or indeed to themselves.

Effectively informing the participants about the nature of the study: Participants should be provided with all the relevant information about the study before they agree to take part. All participants should complete either a consent form or give clear verbal consent that they wish to take part in the study. During the interview session, participants should also be allowed to walk away or give no comment at any given time for any reason.

Reducing the risk of exploitation: The fourth and final ethical issue identified is reducing the risk of exploitation the participants of the study should be in no way exploited during the interview process.

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DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree (2006) also identified some technical issues in their study that should be noted when conducting interviews: 32

Recording method: some researchers will use traditional methods such as using pen and paper to make notes during the interview; whilst others will decide to use more technical methods such as audio or video recording. Not all participants will feel comfortable with an interviewer using audio-recording equipment.

Data transcription: it can be difficult to transcribe tape and video recordings as the transcribers might have difficulty understanding the full meaning behind what the participant said, and could be tempted to make “judgement calls”.

Software problems: as previously mentioned, there are a number of risks in using software during research, including software crashes; incompatible hardware; and the risk that any data collected can be deleted, or accidentally erased or overwritten.

3.3: Mixed method research

Mixed methodologies contain both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Bryman (2006) reported that mixed method research has become increasingly popular, and an important method of research in its own right. Bryman also found that most common research methods used when mixing quantitative and qualitative data included: (i) semi-structured interviews; (ii) self-administered questionnaires; and (iii) structured interviews. Less common research techniques included: (i) language based analysis; (ii) unstructured interviews; and, (iii) structured observation.33

Cresswell (1994) defined mixed method research as an approach where the investigator tends to base theories on data gathered by employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data gathered involves gathering numeric data, e.g. surveys or questionnaires; or through written information, e.g. interviews.25

Problems with using Mixed Methods research

As with quantitative and qualitative research, there are different factors to consider before choosing mixed methods to carry out research. One concern was identified by Yin (2006) who suggested that combining quantitative research with quantitative research could prove difficult and that researchers could end up with two parallel investigations instead of one integrated study. Johnson et al (2007) identified 11 important issues about using mixed method research methods:34,35

1. Can researchers and methodologists reach an agreement about what stage in the research process mixed methods should occur?

2. What strategies are most effective for different stages in the research process?

3. What scientific philosophy will best partner mixed method research?

4. Are there particular sets of philosophical and methodological positions required for mixed method research?

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5. Is it possible to have equal balance of both quantitative and qualitative research in the study?

6. Are there issues with the credibility and reliability of mixed methods?

7. How could studies that are more quantitative based, qualitative based or equal status be more differentiated from each other?

8. Is there a full contingency theory for the conduct of human research?

9. A better definition of mixed method research might include a reference to the logic behind using mixed methods as method of research.

10. Will a typology for mixed methods ever be created that can be broadly agreed upon?

11. How can mixed method research be branched out?

There is also debate as to what style of research should comprise the majority of the mixed method study, i.e. should the study be mainly quantitative in nature based on preliminary qualitative results or vice versa? Similar doubts about mixed method research were raised by Driscoll et al (2007), who suggested that mixed method research incorporates all the same problems inherent in both quantitative and qualitative approaches.36

4: Chosen research method

It was decided to use a quantitative research method to gather the data for this study into the effect of audio on player immersion. A survey was chosen as the primary research method, as it allowed participants to quickly and efficiently describe their thoughts and feelings on the prototype online game which was created as part of this study. The survey was created online at Surveymonkey.com, which in turn allowed the user to quickly and easily create a fully interactive survey. For this particular study, the URL to the survey was included within the prototype game, so that the participants could easily find and complete the survey after playing the game.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of audio on player immersion. The survey was used to analyse a prototype game based on its ability to immersegive a player an immersive game-playing experience. The survey combined with the game aimed to give a better understanding of what effect, if any, audio had on player immersion (including what aspect of the audio the player found more immersive, e.g. background music, sound effects or both). The survey was also designed in an effort to find out if some people found the game more immersive than others (e.g., a casual gamer might feel more immersed than a hard-core gamer). Another purpose of the survey was to investigate how immersive the game was at different levels.

The survey was distributed via email to all 109 students currently enrolled in the computing honours project at the University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, during the 2012/13 session.

The online survey contained 10 carefully chosen questions within two different sections. For the first section, the user provided basic information about themselves and their gaming habits:

1. Are you male or female?

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This is a basic question used in many surveys and questionnaires.

2. What is your age?

Another basic question that is found in most surveys as researchers often want to examine which age group participated most in the survey and what patterns develop between different age groups.

3. How often do you play videogames in a week?

People who play video games more often might feel less immersed in the game than people who play videogames less often, due to the fact that they are more used to playing games.

4. Do you have any hearing problems?

People with hearing problems are less likely to feel immersed in a game that has been specifically designed to make use of audio in gameplay.

5. What sound system would you prefer to use to play a game?

Answers to this question may provide an understanding of what sound systems certain people prefer to use when playing video games.

The next section of the survey concerned the immersive properties of the prototype game. The five questions featured in this section of the survey were as follows:

6. How important do you feel sound is in a game?

This was ranked on a 5-point scale, from 1 (not very important) to 5 (extremely important). Answers to this question will give an indication of whether or not participants felt that sound is an important aspect of video games, before they continued on to complete the rest of the sound- based questions.

7. How immersive was the background music in the game?

The participants stated how immersive they thought the background music was, using a 5 point scale, from 1 (not very immersive) to 5 (extremely immersive).

8. How immersive were the sound effects in the game?

The participants stated how immersive they thought the sound effects were, again using a 5 point scale, from 1 (not very immersive) to 5 (extremely immersive).

9. How much did the levels without sound bother you?

Participants ranked these using a 5-point scale, from 1 ( not very bothered) to 5 (extremely bothered). Answers to this question might indicate how much the participants missed the sounds and music after playing with them.

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10. What level in the game did you prefer?

The final question asked the participants to state what level they thought was the best in the game.

5: Creation of the online game prototype

The prototype game was created using Adobe Flash CS6TM and coded in Actionscript 3TM. (These programs were chosen since the the author had previous experience with them; advanced features were implemented into the game, and errors could easily be identified and fixed.)

5.1: The first prototype

This was a simple application that played background music. This is a basic example of audio features in Adobe FlashTM but was also one of the key features as background music was present in nearly every game developed. A sound clip was first imported into the Adobe FlashTM document. A sound class had to be created in order to play the sound. Once a sound class was created and linked to the sound clip, the sound class was instructed play the sound. The main code for this prototype was:

var myMusic:Sound = new MySoundClip(); myMusic.play();

5.2: The second prototype

This was similar to the first, but, instead of having the sound imported to Adobe FlashTM file, it was loaded externally. This was achieved by adding an extra line of code that loaded the sound file from the same folder as the Adobe FlashTM file. The main code for this prototype was:

var mySound:Sound = new Sound(); mySound.load(new URLRequest("myFavSong.mp3")); mySound.play();

5.3: The third prototype

The final prototype that was created incorporated different sounds into the Adobe FlashTM game. The purpose was to demonstrate how different sounds can be used when creating a game. In this example the user was presented with several different buttons that when pressed will play a sound. The sound clips were loaded externally (as previously mentioned for the second prototype). However, the code to play the sound was omitted. Once the sounds had been loaded, four different buttons were created that would play a different sound when played. An event listener was added to each button that “listened” for a user interaction and then the code to play each individual sound was added.

5.4: The game

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Once these prototypes had been developed, the next stage was to create a game that incorporated sound into gameplay to make it more interactive (but which could also be played without sounds). It was decided to make the prototype a horror/spooky game which would justify the use of sounds and music in a game that would hopefully immerse the player.

Game concept

In the game, the player had to use a torch to find a ghost hiding somewhere on the screen. The ghost would make a wailing noise and the closer the player‟s torch light got to the ghost, the louder the noise. (It was hoped that this would add a sense of immersion to the game.) Some background music to the game was implemented; the music was spooky and mysterious, in order to help immerse the player in the game. Before implementing the game in Adobe FlashTM, some concept screens where created for the game. An example of the early concept art for the prototype game is shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1: early game concept

The main objective of the game was to use sound as a tool to find the ghost. The game could be played without sound, but was better with sound effects and background music. Since the design of this project was based on Grimshaw et al's (2005) study (which examined audio immersion in first person shooters), the prototype game was designed to meet certain criteria. In a later stage of their investigation, Grimshaw et al (2005) used a questionnaire to find out how immersive a game was after the participants had played the game under four different sound modalities.10

In the prototype game created for this project there were four different levels which corresponded to four different sound modalities. The first level of the game was designed to feature all the audio files that were used in the game, including the background music and the sound effects made by the ghost in the game. The first level was an ideal game,with (i) sound effects created by the ghost so that the players used the sound to navigate the torch around the black screen to find the ghost; and (ii) background music to immerse the player further.

Game sounds

The background music for the game was sourced from a royalty free website (www.incomputech.com); this was spooky/horror music, but which was neither “quirky” nor “catchy” (so as to not distract the player from the sound effects created by the ghost). Once a suitable music

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track had been chosen, it was added to the game by importing it to the AdobeFlashTM file beforehand so that the sound was played internally. The basic Actionscript 3TM code was used to play the sound when the level had begun. Once the background music was working, the ghost was created and added to the screen, together with the necessary sound effects.

The ghost sprite

The ghost was designed to be a static sprite on the screen that when touched by the torch light would randomly move to a new position on the screen. The ghost sprite was created in Adobe FlashTM as a 2D image sprite to look like a cartoon style ghost, and the background image for the game was also created in a similar way. As mentioned previously in the literature review, the use of graphics as a tool for immersing players has been widely debated, and therefore it was decided that the graphic style for this game would be kept simple (so that the focus on immersion was on audio and not graphics). The ghost appeared on the screen at random locations, and when touched by the torch, it disappeared and moved to another location, and the player was awarded one point. Once the player scored five points, the game moved to the next level and sound environment.

By using basic trigonometry to calculate the player‟s position and distance from the ghost, the distance calculated was used to determine the volume of the sound produced by the ghost.

After combining all the features of the game together a working prototype game was created that made use of background music and interactive sound effects in gameplay.

Final preparations

The other levels in the game were created using the same basic code, but without certain sounds:

the second level of the game was the same as the first level, but without the background music;

the third level was again the same as the first level, but without sound effects; and,

the last level of the game featured was without either background music or sound effects.

6: Results

The survey and game were uploaded to a website and the URL links were sent via email to 109 students who were enrolled in the computing honours project module at The University of the West of Scotland, Paisley. These students were studying computer games development, computer games technology and computer networking. A total of 30 responses were collected.

6.1: Section one - results

Of the 30 responses that were collected, 22 (73.33%) respondents were male, and 8 (26.67%) were female. More than half (16) were aged between 18 and 24 years (53.33%); the next highest age range (with 6 respondents, 20.00%) participants was 25 to 34 years, andthe third highest age range was from ages 35 to 44 (4 respondents, 13.33%). The full range of participants and their respective age groups is shown in Figure 2.

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It was found that a large percentage (56.67%) of the participants played video games more than 3 times a week: 8 (26.67%) of the participants claimed to play video games every day of the week; and 9 (30.00%) of them claimed to play 3 to 5 days a week; 6 (20%) participants played only 1 to 2 days a week; and 7 (23.33%) participants played less than one day a week.

Only 2 participants (6.67%) had hearing problems; 28 participants (93.33%) reported no hearing problems.

In the fifth question for the first section of the survey, players were asked what sound system they most enjoyed playing on. The most common method chosen was the use of stereo speakers (with 12 of the participants, or 46.15%) choosing this method: earphones and surround sound speakers both received 7 votes each (26.92%). 4 participants choose to skip the question.

Figure 2: Age Ranges

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6.2: Section 2 - results

Question 6

For the first question of this section, the players were asked to rank the importance of sound in a game. The most common answer was 4 (very important), chosen by 14 participants (46.67%). The second most common answer was 5 (extremely important) given by 10 of the participants (33.33%). 1 participant thought that sound was not very important (1); and the remaining 5 players thought that sound was important (3). These results showed that almost all the participants (96.67%) felt that sound is an important part of video games.

Question 7

Players were asked to rank how immersive the background music was in the game:

2 of the participants (6.67%) found the background music to be extremely immersive. It is interesting to note that both these participants were male and both felt that sound was an extremely important part of a game. Since these two participants played video games every day of the week, it could be suggested that players who play videogames more often might feel more immersed when they hear background music.

4 participants (13.33%) found the background music to be very immersive and (as with the participants who found the background music to be extremely immersive), these participants also felt that sound was an extremely important part of games.

16 participants (53.33%) found the background music to be immersive.

8 of the participants however thought that the background music wasn't immersive: 7 of them (23.33%) chose option 2 (not immersive) and one participant found the background music to be “not very immersive” (although this particular participant did have hearing problems). Should this read, Option 1: not at all immersive; Option 2: not very immersive?

Question 8

The participants were asked how immersive they thought the sound effects were:

2 participants (6.67%) thought that the sound effects in the game were extremely immersive.

11 participants (36.67%) considered the sound effects to be very immersive (by contrast, only 4 (13.33%) chose this option for background music).

10 participants (33.33%) found the sound effects to be immersive.

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6 participants (20.00%) rated the sound effects as “not immersive” (similar to the 7 (23.33%) who rated the background music as “not immersive”).

1 participant ranked the sound effects as “not very immersive”. This was the same participant who thought the background music was not very immersive and who had a hearing problem.

Question 9

Participants were asked how much they felt bothered by the levels without sound and music:

4 of the participants (13.79) choose option 5 indicated they were “extremely bothered”.

8 participants indicated they were “very bothered”.

Likewise, 8 participants (27.59%) indicated they felt “bothered”.

7 participants (24.14%) indicated they were “not bothered” (second-lowest ranking).

2 participants (6.90%) indicated they were “not bothered much”.

1 participant chose to skip the question.

Question 10

For the final question of the survey, the participants were asked to identify what level of the game they preferred. 21 of the participants (70%) preferred the first level of the game which featured both sound effects and music; 4 participants (13.33%) each chose option 2 (sound effects only) and option 3 (music effects only). 1 participant preferred the level with no sound effects or music. Figure 3 shows a more detailed chart of preferred levels:

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Figure 3: Preferred Levels

The results gathered from the survey suggested that the prototype game created was successful in immersing players through the use of audio. Both the background music and the sound effects features in the game were found to be immersive, although the sound effects were identified as being more immersive than the background music. The majority of the participants who took part in the investigation claimed that sound was an important aspect of games and most of them preferred to play the game with both sound effects and background music. Despite the use of simple graphics and easy non-trivial gameplay, some players became immersed in the game when audio was used.

7: Conclusions and recommendations

Academics and researchers are still debating the meaning of the term “immersion” and about what causes a player to become immersed. There have been several studies into sound and its potential to immerse players in a game. Some studies have shown that sound can be used as tool to immerse players. Grimshaw et al (2008) have shown that a player can become immersed through the use of audio. The same trend may have been confirmed in this project, as the results show that the participants felt immersed in the prototype game through the use of audio.10

This study focussed on the use of two different kinds of sounds in a game. The results of the survey suggest that interactive sound effects (in this case the sound effects that the ghost created) were

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more immersive than background music. However, some participants considered the background music to be immersive as well.

Researchers have also suggested that there are different levels of immersion, and that certain players might feel more immersed than others. Likewise, some of the participants in this project felt more immersed in the game than others. It is also interesting to note that some participants felt more immersed under the influence of the background music than by the sound effects created by the ghost; and vice versa, some participants felt more immersed in the game by use of the sound effects rather than the background music.

In reference to the literature review, it was found in one particular study (by Manuel et al, 2012) that participants felt more immersed when playing a game using a 5.1 surround sound system. However, in this project only 7 (26.92%) of the participants preferred to play using surround sound speakers; whereas nearly half of the participants, 12 (46.15%) choose stereo speakers as their preferred sound system with which to play games.

The results from this short project indicated that players can be immersed through the use of audio and that different applications of audio can induce different levels of immersion. However, several other applications for sound should be researched and incorporated into a more advanced game, which should be tested by several more participants, in order to gain a solid understanding of immersion and its causes.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Jim Scullion for his help and support during this project, and to the students who participated in the online game and survey.

References

1 Cheng, K. & Cairns, P. (2005) „Behavior, Realism and Immersion in Games‟ CHI EA 05: ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2-7 April 2005, Oregon, USA: ACM Press, pp.1272-1275.

2 GamesDomain (2001) http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdreview/zones/review/pc/nov00/cm001.html [accessed November 2012]

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4 IGN Entertainment (2011) „Fully 3D Immersive RPG Released for iPhone Xenome Episode 1‟ IGN – Video Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, Reviews, News & Videos. http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/07/08/fully-3d-immersive-rpg-released-for-iphone-xenome-episode-1 [accessed December 2012]

5 Ermi, L. & Mäyrä, F. (2005) „Fundamental Components of Gameplay Experience: Analysing Immersion‟ In: de Castell, S. & Jenson, J (eds.) Changing Views – Worlds in Play: Proceedings of the Digital Game Research Association (DiGRA) Second International Conference. Vancouver, Canada, 16-20 June 2005

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6 Brown, E. & Cairns, P. (2004) „A grounded Investigation of Game Immersion‟ CHI '04 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Vienna, Austria, 24-29 April 2004

7 Seah, M. & Cairns, P. (2008) „From immersion to addiction in videogames‟ In: People and Computers XXII – Culture, Creativity and Interaction. Proceedings of the 22nd British HCI Group Annual Conference on People and Computers: Liverpool John Moores University, U.K., 1-5 September 2008, pp. 55-63.

8 Murray, J. (1997) Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York, USA: The Free Press.

9 Alexander, A.L., Bruye, T., Sidman, J. & Weil, S.A. (2005) From Gaming to Training: A Review of Studies on Fidelity, Immersion, Presence, and Buy-in and Their Effects on Transfer in PC-Based Simulations and Games. DARWARS Impact Training Group research paper. http://www.aptima.com/publications/2005_Alexander_Brunye_Sidman_Weil.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

10 Grimshaw, M., Lindley, C.A. & Nacke, L. (2008) „Sound and Immersion in the First-Person Shooter: Mixed Measurement of the Player's Sonic Experience‟ In: Games Computing and Creative Technologies: Conference Papers. Paper 7. The University of Bolton, U.K. http://ubir.bolton.ac.uk/index.php?action=fileDownload&resourceId=233&hash=b9350b55ce06041ble2db e97fbe2351806440daa&filename=gcct_conference-1.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

11 Liljedahl, M. & Örtqvist, D. (2010) „Immersion and Gameplay Experience: a Contingency Framework‟ International Journal of Games Technology. Volume 2010. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Sweden. http://soda.swedish-ict.se/4099/1/Immersion_and_gameplay_experience.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

12 McMahan, A. (2003) „Immersion, Engagement and Presence, A Method for Analysing 3-D Video Games‟ In: Wolf, M.J.P & Perron, B. (eds.) The Video Game Theory Reader. New York, USA: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, pp 77-78.

13 Heeter, C. (1992) „Being there: The subjective experience of presence‟ Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments. 1(2) pp.262-271.

14 Weibel, D., Wissmath, B., Habegger, S., Steiner, Y. & Groner, R. (2008) „Playing Online Games Against Computer-vs-Human-Controlled Opponents: Effects on Presence, Flow and Enjoyment‟ Computers in Human Behaviour. 24(5) pp.2274-2291.

15 Lindley, C.A. & Nacke, L. (2008) „Flow and Immersion in First-Person Shooters: Measuring the player‟s gameplay experience‟ In: Futureplay 2008 - Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on Future Play: Research, Play, Share. 2008. Toronto, Canada: ACM

16 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York, USA: Harper and Flow

17 Cairns, P., Cox, Anna.L., Dhoparee, S., Epps, A., Jennet, C., Tijs, T. & Walton, A. (2008) „Measuring and Defining the Experience of Immersion in Games‟ International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 66(9) pp.641-661.

18 Bentham, Jeremy. The Theory of Legislation. London, U.K.: Paul, Trench, Trubner (eds.), 1931

19 Calleja, G.(2007) „Digital Game Involvement - a Conceptual Model‟ Games and Culture 2(3), pp.236-260.

20 Harig, D. (2012) „Inside and Outside the Game‟ In: Fromme, J. & Under, A. (eds.), Computer Games and New Media Cultures. Springer (2012 edition)

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21 Hou, J., Min Lee, K., Nam, Y, & Peng, W. (2011) „Effects of screen size, viewing angle, and players‟ immersion tendencies on game experience‟ Computers in Human Behavior 28 pp.617-623.

22 Lipscomb, S.D. & Zehnder, S.M. (2004) „The Role of Music in Video Games‟ In: Vorderer, P. & Byran, J. (eds.) Playing Computer Games: Motives, Responses and Consequences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006

23 Kurczak, J., Graham, T.C., Joly, C. & Mandryk, R.L. (2011) „Hearing is Believing: Evaluating Ambient Audio for Location-based Games‟ In: Romao, T., Correia, N., Inami, M., Kato, H., Prada, R., Trade, T., Dias, E. & Chambel, T. (eds.) ACE'11: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology. Lisbon, Portugal, 8-11 November 2011, pp.32:1-32:8.

24 Charissis, V., Manuel, D. & Moore, D. (2012) „An Investigation into Immersion in Games Through Motion Control and Stereo Audio Reproduction‟ Audio Mostly Conference: A Conference on Interaction with Sound. New York 2012.

25 Cresswell, J.W. (1994) Research Design. California, USA: Sage publications.

26 Trochim, W.M. & Donnely, J.P (2008) Research Methods Knowledge Base. Ohio, USA: Atomic Dog Publishing.

27 Fu, F.L., Su, R.C. & Yu, S.C. (2009) „E GameFlow: A Scale to Measure Learners‟ Enjoyment of e- Learning Games‟ Computers & Education. 52(1) pp.101-112.

28 Fricker, R.D., & Schonlau, M. (2002) „Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet research surveys: Evidence from the Literature‟ Field Methods. 14(4) pp.347-367.

29 Sills, S. J., & Song, C. (2002) „Innovations in Survey Research - an Application of Web-based Surveys‟ Social Science Computer Review. 20(1) pp.22-30.

30 Wan, C.S., & Chiou, W.B. (2006) „Why are Adolescents Addicted to Online Gaming? An Interview Study in Taiwan‟ CyberPsychology & Behavior. 9(6) pp.762-766.

31 Golafshani, N. (2003) „Understanding Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research‟ The Qualitative Report. 8(4) pp.597-607.

32 DiCicco-Bloom, B. & Crabtree, B.F. (2006) „The Qualitative Research Interview‟ Medical Education. 40(4) pp.314-321.

33 Bryman, A. (2006) „Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research Design: How Is It Done?‟ Qualitative Research 6(1) pp.97-113.

34 Yin, R.K. (2006) „Mixed Methods Research: are the Methods Genuinely Integrated or Merely Parallel?‟ Research in the Schools 13(1) pp.41-47.

35 Johnson, R.B., Onwueguzie, A.J. & Turner, L.A. (2007) „Towards a Definition of Mixed Methods Research‟ Journal of Mixed Methods Research 1(2) pp.112-133.

36 Driscoll, D. L., Appiah-Yeboah, A., Salib, P., & Rupert, D. J. (2007) „Merging qualitative and quantitative data in mixed methods research: How To and Why Not‟ Ecological and Environmental Anthropology 3(1) pp.19-28.

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Game physics analysis and development – a quality-driven approach using the Entity Component Pattern

Christopher Reilly1, Kevin Chalmers2

1: Address: School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University, Merchiston Campus, Edinburgh EH10 5DT 2: Address: (same as above) email: [email protected]

Abstract

The games industry is a broad, multi-discipline industry, which continues to grow in terms of revenue and cultural significance. Despite the accolades of this “recession-proof” industry, video game projects often fail either to deliver on time and on budget, or to deliver a high quality product. There are likely to be many reasons for this failure, but it may be possible to construct the software technologies used by the games industry in such a way that games development becomes quicker and easier. In order to determine if there are architectures which provide such a benefit, an analysis was carried out using software quality metrics as key indicators to determine the usability, maintainability, and re-usability factors of games technology.

Initial findings, based on online discourse and firebrand proponents, suggested that the entity component model (ECM) provides a well-engineered solution to the problems arising when developing games. However, the results of the analysis show that entity-component models do not produce inherently better metrics, and (in fact) some of the key arguments for the usage of Entity Component models consist of arguments against “straw- man” architectures that do not exist. It is possible that the ECM architecture provides benefits over current trends that do not employ an entity component model, but the results of the analysis in this report do not conclusively show that to be the case. Further directed investigation will be required to prove the importance of the ECM architecture in games development.

Keywords: entity component model, software quality metrics, games industry

Article Information

Received: August 2013 Accepted: September 2013 Available: online September 2013

1: Introduction

The purpose of this dissertation is to present a formalised method of approaching games engineering. The formalised method in question is an emergent architectural pattern hailed as a solution in part to the dynamism, chaos, and agility that permeates the games development industry.

Software projects are plagued with failure; Steve McConnell (1996) asserted that “software projects include a glut of risks that would give Vegas odds-makers nightmares. The odds of a large project finishing on time are close to zero. The odds of a large project being cancelled are an even money bet”.1

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The games industry – by extension and by virtue of the multidisciplinary nature of games development – suffers from the same issues: ever-extending deadlines, over budget projects, and an overall failure to deliver.2

The aim, then, is to improve the quality of games software using a formalised, flexible model. This dissertation suggests the entity-component model as such a method.

1.1: The case for better engineering

The games industry would benefit from any formal method that improved its software, and worked towards reducing the time, money, and effort involved in producing games software. This raises the following question: how can we improve games engineering?

If software can be re-used, then time and money need not be wasted writing more software. If software can be used easily by those not familiar with its structure, then time and money need not be wasted performing introductions. If software is flexible, then time and money need not be wasted altering it to meet new requirements.

Using Software Quality Metrics, which give an empirical indication of the re-usability, usability, and flexibility of a piece of software, we can begin to investigate ways of improving the games development process.

1.2: Software Quality Metrics

There are two kinds of metrics: internal and external. External metrics measure software quality at run time, and they shall not be discussed here; internal metrics measure software before compilation, and they form the driving force behind the architectural pattern that is proposed in this dissertation. Internal metrics shall be referred to henceforth simply as “metrics” or “software quality metrics”. Software quality metrics give us an empirical answer as to how easily a piece of software can (among other things) be maintained and reused (they will be discussed at length in Section 2.2 below).

1.3: An overview of the Entity-Component Model

The Entity Component model is an emergent games engine design pattern that aims to deal with the problems inherent with traditional class hierarchy structures in game engines.

In brief, it is a response to the tendency for the increasing complexity of a game‟s design (as it moves through the development process) to have an impact on the game developer‟s ability to implement the new elements of that design in an efficient way.

Section 2.4 will look into the technical details of how this is achieved. The next section will discuss the method of project management used for this honours project.

1.4: Project Management

In order to provide milestones for performing periodic metrics analysis, the free Agile project management tool, Pivotal Tracker (Figure 18), was used to track the development process. Pivotal

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Tracker breaks a project down into iterations, which last for a predefined period (usually two weeks). At the end of these iterations, an analysis of the quality metrics can be performed, and further architectural decisions can be made using this data.

In order to preserve the source code in the event of unforeseen circumstances, an SVN repository was maintained using Google‟s Code TM service, and the repository was automatically synchronised with an SVN repository on the author‟s machine.

1.5: Structure of this paper

This paper is organised as follows:

Section 2 presents a review of software quality metrics; the games industry as a whole; efforts taken to improve the quality of games software; and an investigation into the entity component model.

In Section 3, a number of open-source physics engines are evaluated and their metrics analysed, with conclusions drawn about the implications of the results.

Section 4 focuses on the architecture of the ECM in detail, including implementation, design decisions and overall architectural concepts.

Section 5 is a study of the results of an in depth analysis ECM and the metrics therein.

Section 6 will form the conclusion of the dissertation and propose future work.

2: Literature review

2.1 The games industry

The games industry is a major growth industry comprising multiple disciplines; some creative, others technical, others still with a basis in business, marketing and management. This multidiscipline industry operates on an international level, which some projections estimate as being worth US$68bn by the year 2012.3,4

As the industry grows, video game projects are also receiving larger budgets (Briggs, 2010). Technological advances in graphics hardware and rendering techniques mean that players now expect highly realistic or detailed game worlds (Bryant, 2006). The expectations of the customer, the complex and often pioneering subject of video game development, and the incredible budgets are some of the factors that have driven the need for a unifying, robust, fit for purpose video game project management approach where, according to a survey by Musil et al (2010) on the state of the art in video game development, no such approach yet exists.2

Musil et al found that the games industry in Austria typically eschews traditional software engineering best practices such as test-driven development, software quality analysis and use of the unified modelling language in favour of the more flexible Agile development methodology, a methodology that has gained some status in the games industry, advocating an iterative development process – as opposed to the linear “waterfall” method much ingrained in the software development lifecycle. Musil

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et al claimed that this is because studios prefer the flexibility of the Agile approach, where change is acceptable, even welcome, in the later stages of development. However, there are no Agile paradigms which can be considered as conflicting with a quality analysis check. In fact, at the end of each milestone in the project, Agile provides an opportunity to investigate the state of the product.2

As Musil concluded, the games industry (or interactive entertainment industry) is about producing real‐time software with a heavy emphasis on quality and improving the user experience. This improvement usually comes in the form of beta testing. The information gained during the play‐testing process is fed back to the team and, on the basis of that information, important design decisions can be made comfortably and used to plan the next iteration of development. Some studios make more use of Agile principles than others, but most studios fabricate a piecemeal framework based mostly on experience.2

This section has given a broad overview of the games industry, and established that a formalised software development process has yet to unify the industry. From an engineer‟s point of view, it is possible to feed other information into this iteration cycle in an effort to improve software quality. One particular approach to evaluating the quality of a piece of software is through the use of code analysis, and that is what the next section will aim to discuss.

2.2: Software quality metrics

This section will give an overview of the software quality metrics including their definitions, their importance, and the implications of improving them.

Percentage of comments

This metric represents the percentage of comments in the source code. The quality of code comments is not evaluated here, only that a comment exists. As long as the code comments clarify the intent of the programmer, improving this metric should improve maintainability.

Methods per class

This is an average of the number of methods in each class. Lower numbers (<4) indicate that the system contains “micro-classes”, which – according to McConnell (1994, 1996) – are too small to ensure proper encapsulation; larger numbers (>20) are far larger than McConnel‟s suggested ideal of 7 methods per class.1,5

Average statements per method

This is an average of the number of statements in each class. Martin (2008) claimed that the method should be written with as few lines as possible in order to achieve its goal. Certainly, this metric should never reach the (70 to 80) range.11

Maximum complexity

The maximum complexity metric is the value of the most complex function in the code base. Complexity is calculated by starting with a complexity of 1, then moving through the functions and adding 1 each time:

4. an if, else, for, foreach or while statement is encountered;

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5. an “&&” or “||” operator is found inside an if statement; 6. there is a break, goto, return, throw or continue statement which exits from a switch statement; and, 7. if there is a catch or except statement in a try block.

Maximum depth

The term “maximum depth” refers to the depth of logic blocks in the class with the highest depth of all the classes in the code base.

Depth of inheritance

This term refers to the depth of the inheritance hierarchy in the code-base. In most object oriented languages (e.g. C#, Java) this metric will always be at least 1, because all classes derive from the languages base class (which is often called object and implements the functionality required of all classes in that language).

2.3: The case for Aggregation over Inheritance

This section will investigate the case for using aggregation to define objects in a game system.

Introduction to inheritance hierarchies

At some point in the development of the game, it falls to the development team to classify every object (e.g. vehicles, characters, items, invisible trigger boxes) in the game world. This process of classification involves modelling these objects using high-level architecture. The previous trend in games engineering has been to use an inheritance hierarchy (Figure 1), where methods and attributes can be inherited down throughout that hierarchy. This relationship between objects and their functionality is commonly referred to as an “is a” relationship, for example: “car” is a “vehicle”.

Figure 1: a traditional inheritance hierarchy in games

Although the computational cost is negligible for shallow trees, and even deep class hierarchies are “flattened” in most languages (such as C++) (meaning that calls do not traverse the tree at runtime), there is an implication for the memory footprint of the application at runtime. Whilst objects are

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flattened, they may be holding references to functions and variables which are unnecessary. From a development perspective – the entire legacy of that object – the classes from which it has been derived must be taken into account by the developer. With a shallow tree such as the one shown in Figure 1, this consideration may not be significant. However, deeper hierarchies present an increasing challenge.

In his book, Exceptional C++, Herb Sutter (1999) discussed deep inheritance hierarchies: 7

[The use of deep inheritance hierarchies] “...greatly increases the maintenance burden by adding unnecessary complexity, forcing users to learn the interfaces of many classes even when all they want to do is use a specific derived class. It can also have an impact on memory use and program performance by adding unnecessary variables and indirection to classes that do not really need them. If you find yourself frequently creating deep inheritance hierarchies, you should review your design style to see if you've picked up this bad habit. Deep Hierarchies are rarely needed and almost never good.”

Inheritance, in and of itself, is obviously not a flawed concept, but when overused to create monolithic class structures, it presents an impediment to the engineering of game systems.

A brief history of the Entity Component Model

The earliest examples of the ECM pattern can be traced to Scott Bilas‟ (2002) work on Dungeon Siege TM. The game engine is the first example of a game engine using the ECM pattern. Bilas also gives us the earliest known literature on the pattern; his presentations, papers, and talks on the ECM at the International Game Developers Conference of 2002 are possibly the most academic and concrete body of literature available on the entity component model.8

Bilas was critical of the way in which games developers had been organising objects in their games worlds. “There are hundreds of ways to decompose the [game object] problem into classes,” he wrote, “... [but] they are all wrong.” He attributed this to the fact that game developers naturally start by outlining the game object hierarchy. This comes from the object-oriented method of inheritance, but is taken to an extreme level.8

These inheritance hierarchies are created with the best intentions, but games development is very complex and designers often make decisions without regard for how their changes will fit into the inheritance structure. In fact, if game designers are constrained by the limitations of a particular engineering approach, progress could suffer.

Thus, Bilas developed an engine that was more “data-driven” and which allowed for more flexible game design. This is the essence of the ECM: to reduce the number of problems presented with the constant change in game design. Today (just over 10 years later), only a handful of engines demonstrate this pattern. If the logic is sound (that the ECM makes dealing with change in the game design easier), one would expect to see more ECM engines in the games industry now.8

Unity TM

There is very little consensus about a unified approach to producing these engines. Most efforts are open-source community projects (which do not attain the level of dependability, support, and performance found in corporate products). However, one commercial game engine in particular has enjoyed ever-increasing popularity since its release: the Unity engine.

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Unity TM is a cross‐platform, feature rich game development toolkit. The toolkit consists of a visual “drag and drop” editor, a .NET scripting engine and a game engine, which executes the final product.

Unity TM is built using the ECM pattern and, as a result of its inherent flexibility, the toolkit has found a solid audience in small studios across the world. The package was being used by over one million registered developers in 2012. Unity was named one of the top five games companies of 2009, and the toolkit was ranked as the #1 game engine by the readers of Game Developer Magazine. This is possibly because Unity has the benefit of being written in C++, coupled with the ease of using less complex languages like Javascript and C# to develop every aspect of the game.9-11

The Entity Component movement

Much of the modern literature surrounding the Entity-Component model is found on online blogs, message boards and various anomalous treatises released into the public domain. Proponents of the ECM often cite the argument of the monolithic class hierarchy as their main case for the ECM.12

The shift toward the use of aggregation in the games development sub-culture is most commonly attributed to how inheritance hierarchies respond to increasing complexity in the taxonomy of game objects, in that, as the developer implements the requirements of the project and updates the architecture to suit, it becomes more difficult to find a “good fit” for new game objects (West, 2007). Often, this leads to various so-called “anti‐patterns”, i.e. harmful software patterns that arise during the course of development. West used one such anti-pattern, “the blob”, as an example; the blob occurs when one factors too much functionality into a severely over‐used class, from which ~80% of other classes are derived. This is especially prevalent in the player class, which often encapsulates the most functionality.12

Finding a good fit for new game objects is often cited as a case against inheritance hierarchies, because new objects sometimes require the functionality found in two classes on the same level in the hierarchy. The prescribed approach in object oriented engineering is to allow derive a child from only one parent class.

However, it is possible to derive a class from more than one class in some languages (C++, for example). This is known as “multiple inheritance”, but, while this may solve some of the issues an inheritance hierarchy presents, West noted that this can lead to a “deadly diamond” scenario (Figure 2) if the parent classes both derive from the same class.

Figure 2: The Deadly Diamond 12

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If a particular child is suffering from the deadly diamond problem, and a call is made to a method in the grandparent, one cannot determine with certainty which instance of the grandparent class will be referenced: is it the Parent A base class, or that of Parent B?

Furthermore, West (2007) said that implementing methods and attributes in the leaf nodes often leads to duplicate code, and so functionality has a tendency to gather in the classes closest to the root node of the hierarchy, which means that some leaf classes are burdened with an amount of unnecessary functionality.12

The component approach, which (according to West) is “gaining acceptance in current game development”, is to place this functionality into a class of its own, such that it can be carried out by any object that requires that functionality. The process of collecting these components to build an object is called aggregation. In an inheritance hierarchy, entities are defined by inheritance and lineage; in an entity-component system entities are defined by aggregation, with the possibility of some functionality existing in the entity class.12

This differs from what West refers to as “pure aggregation” (see Figure 3). The properties and methods of entities are defined almost exclusively by their collection of components. Entities exist solely to contain references to those components containing no functionality themselves beyond a method of unique identification in the game world (which may take the form of an automatically incremented integer assigned to the entity when it is added to the game world).

Figure 3: "Pure Aggregation": West's (2007) diagram of the Component Model

West made some favourable remarks on the subject of early adoption: 12

“Moving from blob style object hierarchies to composite objects made from a collection of components was one of the best decisions I made. The initial results were disappointing

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as it took a long time to re-factor existing code. However, the end results were well worth [the effort], with lightweight, flexible, robust and re-usable code.”

To West, employing a component-based model begins and ends with the classification of objects (taxonomy), leaving the logistics of communication between the components and major subsystems (rendering, physics, audio, etc.) apparently up for debate. Using West‟s model, the diagram for the example shown in Figure 1 would look like this:

Figure 4: an aggregated example (adapted from West (2007))

In contrast to the “is a” relationship of inheritance hierarchies, aggregation proposes a “has a” relationship, in that car has a control script, and car has a collider.

Traditional component based architecture in software engineering

Folmer (2007) wrote about what he referred to as the Commercial, Off The Shelf component. Whereas West (2007) viewed the component as the single‐service unit of functionality, Folmer wrote about componentising entire subsystems, developed with inter‐operability and maximal compatibility in mind, to increase reusability across the industry. Folmer said that the COTS method was seen as a “silver bullet” – the final word in global reusability in the nineties – but claimed that the difficulty involved in refactoring complex game engines to a traditional component model was counter productive. Folmer did not mention using entities as containers for components as the basis of taxonomy; in fact, Folmer did not mention taxonomy at all.12,13

It is evident that West and Folmer did not arrive at the same definition of a component-based system in the realm of games development. West favoured the aggregation of components into containers called entities, but did not mention how these components should interact with the subsystems with which they are ultimately concerned. Folmer identified a need to compartmentalise subsystems (physics engines, rendering engines, etc.) for greater reusability, but neglected to discuss the means

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by which the developer should build the objects of the game world into such a system in a component‐based way.12,13

2.4: Taxonomy in game engines

One major justification for the use of the ECM is that of taxonomy. In this subject, the term refers to how objects are classified in game code. Depending on the method used to classify game objects, it can be either trivial or difficult to introduce new game objects as the project progresses.

With the entity component model, entities are defined by the components which they contain, as opposed to the previous trend of defining entities by their lineage. Thus, the entity component model helps us to move away from large inheritance hierarchies, which lead to a “house of cards” style structure where dependence must always be considered and class coupling is very tight. In order to make this distinction clear, the following sections will analyse open-source game engines currently in use and evaluate their taxonomy methods.

Node‐based scene graphs

OGRE TM, IRRLICHT TM and Delta3d TM – three different open-source games engines – all employ some kind of node based scene graph (or tree, depending on whether branches converge after their splitting). These graphs allow game developers to organise their game objects into structured hierarchies using what is known as a matrix chain.

Information about the position, orientation and scale of a 3D object can be represented in a mathematical matrix. Mathematical operations can then be performed on these matrices to alter the position, orientation and scale of the object in question. This matrix is known as the object‟s transform or world matrix.

When transforms are created, they describe these attributes in the default world space; however, when transforms are part of a matrix chain, their attributes are transformed into the world space of their parents‟ transform. This allows game developers to group their entities together into a hierarchy, such that parts of objects (e.g. the individual limbs of a human body) can be manipulated relative to their parents.

This purely mathematic rationale has always been justification for such node based hierarchies; but with the ECM, all nodes can become game objects simply by attaching components (pieces of game functionality) to those nodes.

2.5: Physics engines as a case study

If an ECM framework is to be suitably analysed, at least one major subsystem must be implemented. One of the major subsystems is the physics engine, a suitable system to choose, since the methods of implementing a physics engine have been thoroughly documented. Additionally, physics engines are complex enough to provide a set of problems which can be overcome using the entity component model.

The ECM implementation developed for the case study should not contain the functionality of modern open-source 3D game engines. It should not be a physics engine. It should not contain all the necessary functionality required of a physics engine; nor should it be a full game engine, since a

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game engine would require many different subsystems (rendering, full physics simulation, asset management, an audio engine, etc).

3: Methodology

3.1: Analysing current physics engines

This section concerns the analysis of the metrics acquired from each of the four physics engines in the form of a Kiviat graph followed by a discussion on the implications of the results. The green areas in the following Kiviat graphs represent zones with optimal metric results.

3.2: Bullet Physics

Bullet physics shows a dearth of comments in proportion to the size of the code‐base. As an open- source project, this could prove to be difficult. An example is provided in Figure 5. The methods per class result shows a value close to optimal, indicating that classes are not bloated with too many methods. “Max complexity” shows a value of 75, far above the recommended range of (2 to 8). However, this is possibly due to the complex nature of methods written to solve physics problems. With a maximum depth (“Max Depth”) of 13, the “bullet” shows a high maximum number of nested statements, which indicate a poor level of nesting which could be detrimental to performance and maintenance. As with complexity, the average depth is shown to be acceptable, but depending on how often certain functions are called, and how many levels of nesting are present in these functions time‐sensitive, heavily-nested functions are candidates for refactoring.5

Figure 5: Bullet Physics engine metrics (note: “Stmts” = statements)

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3.3: The Newton game dynamic

The Newton method shows high-complexity metrics and a very high number of statements per method on average, indicating that some classes may contain blob functions. These classes should be re-factored in order to better divide the process with which the class is involved. Depth is also high, with the average depth reaching the ceiling of acceptable levels. An acceptable level of comments is present in the codebase, indicating that Newton is neither under-documented nor over-documented. A similar level of depth and complexity is seen as in Figure 5.

Figure 6: Newton game dynamics metrics

3.4: Tokamak physics engine

With a similar distribution to that of Figure 5 and Figure 6, Tokamak shows the same “complexity- heavy” system (Figure 7). Again, this indicates that the “blob” classes are time‐sensitive (such as integration methods); they will be difficult to maintain and act as bottlenecks in the system.

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Figure 7: Tokamak physics engine metrics

3.5: Open Dynamics Engine (ODE)

ODE exhibits the same bottom‐heavy distribution as the previous engines (in fact, it contains the most complex method of all the engines discussed here). It may be possible that this high complexity pattern in the engines is due to the nature of the software developed for real-time physics simulation or with games software in general. However, this assertion would require further comparison with other types of software.

Figure 8: Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) metrics

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3.6: Depth of Inheritance table

In addition to the standard complexity metrics, the depth of the inheritance tree of each of the aforementioned engines should be considered. This should further indicate how easy a given engine is to use and maintain. The data was produced using SciTools Understand TM, a software quality analysis tool. Table 1 presents the results of measuring the maximum depth of the inheritance trees for the four physics engines. Bullet Physics has the deepest inheritance tree. This is the depth of the tree for the physics engines before it has been implemented in a game, and the decision to opt for aggregation or inheritance when using a physics engine is still down to the game developer. This raises the question of how these physics engines are being used.

Table 1: physics engine DIT metrics

Physics engine Maximum depth of inheritance tree

Bullet Physics 6 Newton Game Dynamics 3 Tokamak Physics Engine 1 Open Dynamics Engine 4

3.7: Physics engine usage in games engines

The Open Dynamics Engine has a community‐developed “wrapper” available for the IRRLICHTTM games engine. This wrapper exposes several new IRRLICHT-compatible types, the most important of which are dBody and dGeom. These types cooperate with its node‐based architecture (as mentioned in sub-section 2.4.1), but their usage in Irrlicht is no more conducive to the use of aggregation than the default IRRLICHTTM engine. However, these types are specific to the ODE wrapper for IRRLICHTTM, and if the ODE physics engine no longer meets the requirements for the project and must be replaced, the task of removing the references to the types and physical world manager of ODE is complicated.

Many of the physics engines above have community-driven wrappers for the IRRLICHTTM game engine. However, while IRRLICHTTM enforces a node-based architecture (such as those described in section 2.4.1), there are different types of nodes which all perform different functions. This does not infer that aggregation is impossible with IRRLICHTTM. For example, the open‐source game Super Tux Kart2TM (developed using IRRLICHTTM), has a max inheritance depth of 6, which is in addition to the default Irrlicht engine inheritance metric of 3. Although there is a degree of inheritance in the Super Tux Kart TM source code, the architecture used is somewhat aggregate-based. Hence, there have been community-driven efforts to develop software for use with IRRLICHTTM that promote the use of an ECM architecture. (NB: this information was sourced from sourceforge.net)

Other popular open‐source game engines (such as OgreTM and Delta3DTM) are built in such a way that developers can develop their game objects as classes, where functionality is implemented within that class.

In documentation and tutorials for IRRLICHTTM, game objects are modelled in a single class, and the functionality required of these game objects is implemented there also. While entity component model architecture can be used in IRRLICHTTM, it was not developed with such a consideration in mind.

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4: Implementation

There is no unified approach to implementing an ECM‐based engine. There exists Scant literature exists on this subject, and much of its implementation is performed by the engineer‟s intuition. Investigating products such as UnityTM provides a sense of the features an ECM engine should contain.

4.1: An overview of the architecture

In essence, components simply provide an interface to a particular subsystem. Audio components, like sound emitters and 3D sound listeners, interface with the audio engine; rendering components, like point lights, model renderers, and shader effects, interface with the rendering engine, etc (see Figure 9). One of the major benefits of the architecture is that substituting an entire subsystem requires only that any components using that system be updated.

Figure 9: diagram showing how components interface with major subsystems

4.2: Entity

The entity class holds a collection of components. When an entity is created, it is given a name (e.g. “car” or “machine gun”). Entities do not contain any code that would allow them to produce game mechanics (for example, an entity does not contain any code to make sounds, or to fire a weapon, or to float in water); instead, all game functionality is deferred to a component.

4.3: Components

Components are the single‐serving units of functionality. A component should provide one function to an entity (e.g. giving that entity rigid body mechanics. or allowing the entity to make sounds).

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Components are aggregated into entities. Particular arrangements of components (components with particular parameters) in an entity define that entity known as definition by aggregation.

The implication of this component‐driven approach is that the complex subsystems that are found in most fully-featured game engines can be easily introduced to the engine in the form of a component (in the case of physics, this can be rigid body components or colliders. In the case of rendering engines, this could be point lights, mesh renderers, or any number of standard rendering features).

The components may require that they are able to interface with the specific subsystem they use (for example, an ODE rigid body component requires that it be managed by the ODE physics world object). In this case, an interface class can be designed to standardise the process of instantiating and updating any systems that are required by a particular component. This provides developers with the flexibility to make system wide changes with fewer repercussions than in the scenario discussed in section 2.5.

4.4: Entity Manager

Games engines are, essentially, an infinite loop which runs until the game exits. In most game engines, the process is as follows:

Figure 10: a standard game engine loop

Most components require initialisation and updating, at the very least. This process operates at the highest level of the game‟s logic and feeds down into the other parts of the game‟s logic. The entity manager is a single class that handles these major steps in the process and orders the entities in the game world to perform the same task (i.e. initialise, load assets, update and draw).

The update function is where most components will update their mathematical constructs to reflect the state of the game at that particular time; this, for example, is where the physics engine will perform an integration step, where the Newtonian physics calculations are updated and the state of the object under physical simulation will be adjusted. The draw function is used only for rendering objects to the screen.

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4.5: Updateable and drawable interfaces

As the entity manager passes on these function calls to the entities in the game world, those entities pass on these function calls to components attached to them. However, some entities will have components that require only updating, but not drawing (the rigid body component, for example, which does no rendering, but only updates the position of the entity to which it is attached).

Any draw functions called on a rigid body component, therefore, is wasted CPU time, and so an approach must be used where components may signify whether or not they need an update function, draw function, or both. Components requiring the use of an update function may implement the IAGEUpdateableTM interface. This interface enforces the creation of an Update function. Similarly, the IAGEDrawableTM interface enforces the creation of a Draw function.

Components may implement either of these two interfaces, both of them, or neither of them. When a component is added to an entity, the entity performs a check:

if (component is IAGEDrawable)

...and, if so, adds it to the list of drawable Components (as seen in Figure 11, showing Entity.cs, its methods and attributes) declared in the entity class. The process is the same for the IAGEUpdateableTM interface. In this way, entities have a list of which components need updating and drawing. When the entity manager calls update and draw on an entity, that entity iterates through its list of updateable and drawable components, calling the update and draw methods as it goes.

4.6: Messaging system

One of the goals of this dissertation is to investigate the implications of improving code metrics in a physics engine.

Figure 11: an entity class

One particular metric which measures the reusability and usability of software is the class coupling metric. In object orientation, class coupling refers to the degree of interdependency exhibited by the classes in a software system. Class coupling is “tightened” as classes contain more and more references to other classes in order to perform their function.

This presents a problem with the ECM because components are classes, and components often depend on the data held in other components to function correctly. Data must be passed between components, preferably without those components storing references to one another.

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Figure 12: a simple diagram of the messaging system

The messaging system in the engine uses delegates (a feature of the .NET framework that allows functions to be referred to as a variable and called when required) to deliver messages between components using the entity as a proxy. When the entity receives a message (from one of its components or from a component elsewhere), it will check which components have registered an interest in a message of that nature.

The entity will then forward the message to the interested component(s), and allow the communication of data without the need for close class coupling. This issue of class coupling with components is mentioned as one of the main drawbacks of components, in that they required information from other components to perform their function. The use of a messaging system mitigates this drawback.

4.7: UML diagram of the ECM architecture

In order to clearly define the architectural pattern, the UML class diagram system built into Microsoft Visual StudioTM was used prior to and during development.

Scene Management

The SceneManager class acts as an entry point for the ECM. When the XNA framework‟s game loop calls the Initialise, LoadContent, Update and Draw methods, and the UnloadContent methods are called, these are passed onto SceneManager:

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Figure 13: SceneManager and scene relationship

The SceneManager then accepts the responsibility for passing these method calls onto the current scene. Having received these calls, the scene object passes these calls onto the entity class, and checks any entities containing colliders for collisions. If collisions are detected, a set of contacts (which indicate a set of points in space where the objects collided) are generated and resolved:

Figure 14: Scene, Entity, and Contact relationship

Entities, transforms, message subscriptions and components

The entity has a collection of MessageReceiver boxes, which store any message subscriptions from components. Entities also have a transform, which enables each entity to have its own location in 3D space. Most entities will require a transform, so this is justification for not putting the transform class into a component:

Figure 15: Entity, AGEComponent, Transform and MessageReceiver relationship

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As can be seen, the entity class contains a recursive reference to itself. This is the collection of child entities that belong to this entity‟s branch of the matrix chain. The game process method calls made to this entity will be passed onto each one of these children. Finally, entities contain a collection of components. The entity will pass game process calls on to the components, as well as any messages for which the components have registered.

The architecture of components

The AGEComponent abstract class provides a standard template for different types of components. Components, which derive from this abstract class, can be optionally embellished by the implementation of two interfaces: IAGEUpdateable, and IAGEDrawable, which indicate the requirements of the component. For example, the camera class need not be updated (Figure 16). It simply stores the mathematical constructs used to model a perspective or orthographic camera in 3D space based on a position and orientation (which can be obtained from the transform associated with this components entity). Neither need a camera be drawn, for the purpose of a camera is to determine how other things should be drawn. In this case the camera should not implement either interface. Physics colliders must implement the ICollider interface, which forces the derived collider component to handle the manner in which it should be checked for intersections with other‐shaped colliders.

Figure 16: component architecture

Figure 17 shows the hierarchical nature of the aggregation. This highlights the code path taken by game process calls as they travelled down from the scene manager to the individual components that make up the game world.

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Figure 17: The entire UML class diagram

5: Evaluation and comparison

5.1: Metric analysis

The chart in Figure 18 demonstrates the same bottom‐heavy pattern as the engines analysed in section 3, although to a lesser degree. The %Documentation is a field introduced by the SourceMonitorTM metrics analysis tool when the C# language is measured, and is not present in the charts of the other engines (which are all written in C++). Additionally, the “statements per method” metric is missing from the chart. Incidentally, this metric had a value of 3.6 (within the “green zone”, and below the average values for other engines).

The main issue with these results (and those of the other engines) is that many physics engines have high complexity metrics, which has a negative effect on maintenance. However, if the metrics are analysed at milestones in the project (and steps are taken to reduce high metric areas, as was the case during the development of this ECM) this can be alleviated, even in cases where the software type inherently requires complex code, such as a physics engine.14

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Figure 18: metric analysis of the ECM

5.2: Depth of inheritance

The depth of the inheritance tree for the ECM was valued at 2. The solution to the problem of architecting different types of geometric colliders accounts for this metric (otherwise the depth value would have been 1).

In comparison to the metrics displayed in Table 1, a reading of 2 is not much lower than the inheritance metric values produced by IRRLICHTTM and SuperTuxKartTM. Were the ECM to be used in producing a racing game, a degree of inheritance would be expected and acceptable.

5.3: Returning to Taxonomy

The reduction in depth of inheritance is not providing sufficient gains to justify the aggregated approach. The only case for using the ECM lies with taxonomy. However, it is difficult to qualify just what the benefits of ECM are in relation to taxonomy without having available data. If this data (built from open‐source projects and showing the engine architecture and technical impediments with which open‐source teams are presented) were available, one could identify empirically whether or not the ECM is more flexible and provides a faster development framework.

6: Conclusions and recommendations

6.1: The Effect of using of an ECM

The aim of this paper was to present the ECM as a formalised, flexible model for games engines, using a quality driven approach to determine the benefits of that model. However, there is little

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evidence found to support the claim that ECM engines are inherently easier to use, other than speculation. The results of metric analysis on popular open source physics engines and their usage in games engines does not support the idea that metrics are improved using an ECM and a quality driven approach.

If the metrics are not improved, it may still be possible that the ECM provides a more flexible model when considering design changes during the game project.

Given the example projects investigated, the current architectural trend eschews the traditional inheritance hierarchy, invalidating this argument for the use of the ECM cited by proponents such as West. The only remaining case for the use of the ECM is developing games quicker and easier, a case which this dissertation has been inconclusive in asserting.

6.2: Recommendations

Ideally, the ECM case study could have been used to identify and analyse the development of a simple game implementation consisting of various types of game object, and comparing this implementation to a similar implementation in a popular game engine. The first would use an ECM engine much like the engine described in section 4; the second, a common node based engine such as IRRLICHTTM in the style prescribed in the engine‟s documentation. The proposed implementation would make use of a subsystem (such as physics) but this subsystem should be identical in both engines (i.e. ODE with a C# project and ODE with an IRRLICHTTM project). When the implementation is complete, an attempt to substitute the physics engine could be made, simulating a change in the project requirements.

It would be trivial to introduce a visual editor for the ECM engine built during this honours project, because game object creation is already data‐driven. For example, a scene could be built using the engine whilst it is in “editing mode”. Then the entities, the list of components and their types, and the properties of those components could be serialized into a common data-form such as JSON. This collection of JSON data could define an entire game world. In fact, the engine has the ability to reproduce an entire scene from a set of data from a file.

Key indicators would then be how many lines of code were required to produce the implementation, how long the implementation took, how many impediments were encountered (and what were the nature of the impediments), and finally the software quality metrics associated with the two architectures. A comparison of these two source‐codes (preferably in the same language) would then serve to answer the question empirically as to whether the ECM is more flexible, more reusable, and easier to use than current architectural trends.

Acknowledgements

Christopher Mann would like to thank his supervisor, Dr. Kevin Chalmers, for his support, guidance, advice, and patience during both my honours year and his time at Edinburgh Napier University. Christopher Mann would also like to thank his second marker, Head of the School of Computing, Sally Smith, for her encouragement, support, and advice.

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