Game Application Research Articles

Gamification Attributes to Enhance Socio-Vocational Readiness Among People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Developmental Disabilities: A Conceptual Paper

People with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) may experience obstacles in social, communication, vocational, and behavioral skills that limit their participation. Video modeling (VM) entails demonstrating desired behaviors through video simulation. Its effectiveness in encouraging adaptive behaviors in work-related social activities has been demonstrated for ASD and IDD. Gamification is the application of game attributes to nongame situations. Within health care, education, and rehabilitation, gamification has included simulations of real-life events to engage clients and improve function. In this conceptual paper, we examined the link between gamification’s intrinsic attributes and the VM paradigm through examples of our evolving VM studies for individuals with ASD and IDD. The discussed interfaces demonstrate gamification attributes that likely contributed to their usability and effectiveness. This conceptual framework illustrated a new perspective concerning the effectiveness of VM paradigms. We encourage clinicians and technology developers to consider the value of incorporating gamification when designing VM interventions to enhance independence in the daily lives of vulnerable populations. Embracing gamified VM can promote engaging interventions, enhancing skill acquisition across diverse populations.

HEALTH EDUCATION: INFORMATION TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS WITH SCORPIONS

We aimed to describe an experience of developing and applying a Didactic Sequence (DS), which included an educational game designed to study scorpion sting prevention. We developed a didactic game titled "Journey against Scorpionism." The DS unfolded in three stages: firstly, we conducted a dialogued expository class to address the topic of scorpionism. In the second stage, we showcased specimens of scorpions to the students. The third stage involved the application of the didactic game. The project was implemented in five public schools in the city of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving both primary and secondary school students. Approximately 150 students took part in the activities, with an average of 30 students per class. We observed a keen interest among the students regarding the topic, with active participation as they shared stories related to scorpion stings or sought clarification on the subject. This engagement fostered a moment of significant interaction. When we presented the scorpions, there was a palpable enthusiasm for learning about the animal's biology. As the students engaged with the didactic game, we noted that it effectively reinforced the knowledge they had acquired. We believe that these educational initiatives have the potential to contribute to the prevention of scorpionism and, consequently, to reduce mortality resulting from such incidents.

Pengembangan Game Edukasi Digital Tema Seni dan Bahasa dengan Metode Multimedia Development Life Cycle

Education for early childhood, especially for PAUD TK-B in the age range of 4-6 years, is crucial in providing and shaping the foundation of children's knowledge. An engaging teaching method will enhance children's interest in learning, thus the need for digital learning media as an alternative. One step in implementing digital learning is through Educational Games. This research is conducted by developing the PAUD TK-B Nurussunnah Educational Game using the Multimedia Development Life Cycle (MDLC) method. The game's validation includes usability aspects such as effectiveness, satisfaction levels, and adaptation to the TK-B curriculum. After development, the educational game undergoes alpha and beta testing using the black box method. Beta testing involves evaluating usability for the efficiency and satisfaction of TK-B students, with an effectiveness rate of 98.94% and satisfaction rate of 88.57%. The interview results with expert teachers indicate that the educational game aligns with the curriculum at the educational unit level for PAUD. Thus, based on the research findings, the PAUD TK-B Educational Game application can be considered an alternative learning media for TK-B students.

Reinforcement Learning in Social Sciences: A Survey

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become one of the most prominent topics in artificial intelligence research. It is widely used in various fields, such as recommendation systems, psychology, economics, and natural language dialogue systems. Finding the best path of action to maximize cumulative reward is the long-term strategy of RL. Undertaking research may yield suboptimal immediate results but optimal long-term consequences. Economists can address difficult behavioral problems with knowledge, especially those generated by deep learning algorithms. We provide the most recent advancements in RL methods in this study, along with their applications in gaming, finance, and economics. The survey's last section discusses RL's present problems and potential future developments. Such open problems as sample efficiency, safety, and interpretability are currently being sought after by researchers. Moreover, several ambitious prospective applications of RL in a wide variety of domains are discussed. This study gives a comprehensive review of the many methods and uses of RL in social science. This study's results will give researchers a standard against which to evaluate the utility and efficacy of frequently used RL. Guide future investigations across several domains.

SceneFusion: Room-Scale Environmental Fusion for Efficient Traveling Between Separate Virtual Environments.

Traveling between scenes has become a major requirement for navigation in numerous virtual reality (VR) social platforms and game applications, allowing users to efficiently explore multiple virtual environments (VEs). To facilitate scene transition, prevalent techniques such as instant teleportation and virtual portals have been extensively adopted. However, these techniques exhibit limitations when there is a need for frequent travel between separate VEs, particularly within indoor environments, resulting in low efficiency. In this article, we first analyze the design rationale for a novel navigation method supporting efficient travel between virtual indoor scenes. Based on the analysis, we introduce the SceneFusion technique that fuses separate virtual rooms into an integrated environment. SceneFusion enables users to perceive rich visual information from both rooms simultaneously, achieving high visual continuity and spatial awareness. While existing teleportation techniques passively transport users, SceneFusion allows users to actively access the fused environment using short-range locomotion techniques. User experiments confirmed that SceneFusion outperforms instant teleportation and virtual portal techniques in terms of efficiency, workload, and preference for both single-user exploration and multi-user collaboration tasks in separate VEs. Thus, SceneFusion presents an effective solution for seamless traveling between virtual indoor scenes.

3D Gamut Morphing for Non-Rectangular Multi-Projector Displays.

In a spatially augmented reality system, multiple projectors are tiled on a complex shaped surface to create a seamless display on it. This has several applications in visualization, gaming, education and entertainment. The main challenges in creating seamless and undistorted imagery on such complex shaped surfaces are geometric registration and color correction. Prior methods that provide solutions for the spatial color variation in multi-projector displays assume rectangular overlap regions across the projectors that is possible only on flat surfaces with extremely constrained projector placement. In this article, we present a novel and fully automated method for removing color variations in a multi-projector display on arbitrary shaped smooth surfaces using a general color gamut morphing algorithm that can handle any arbitrarily shaped overlap between the projectors and assures imperceptible color variations across the display surface.

Gamification in Higher Education: challenges and proposal for teachers of the Architecture Career

The aim of this research was to identify the main challenges that Architecture teachers face when integrating gamification into their teaching activities, with the intention of offering recommendations and strategies to improve their adaptability and effectiveness in the educational environment. A study involving 25 teachers from the Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo was carried out through purposive sampling. The results revealed challenges such as alignment of objectives and activities, adaptation of content and integration of feedback. A mixed non-experimental, cross-sectional cohort approach was adopted, using surveys with 21 closed-ended questions and a reliability coefficient of 0.720. These surveys, all non-parametric, allowed for a Spearman correlation analysis, which supported the effectiveness of gamification in stimulating interdisciplinarity, knowledge integration and competence development. This finding could motivate teachers to seek training in this area. As a result, the development of a didactic guide containing guidelines, platforms and usage guidelines for the effective application of gamification in the classroom is proposed.

Play to Resolve: Educational Games as a Pathway to Conflict Resolution for Early Learners

This study explores the role of educational games in developing conflict resolution skills among children aged 6 to 8, a critical period for social and emotional development. Utilizing a qualitative research design and an exploratory case study approach, the research was conducted in two educational institutions in X, Indonesia, involving 60 children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. This diversity provided insights into how educational games affect children with varying levels of social experience and resource access. Data collection methods included observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Findings indicate that educational games significantly enhance conflict resolution skills by improving communication, empathy, teamwork, and self-regulation. Children demonstrated increased impulse control and thoughtful responses during game-related conflicts, as reported by teachers and parents. These improvements align with Vygotsky's theory of social development, highlighting the importance of structured play in cognitive and social growth. The study concludes that educational games offer a dynamic platform for practicing conflict resolution, thereby fostering children's social and emotional development. Recommendations for educators include integrating a variety of cooperative and role-playing games into curricula and conducting regular debriefing sessions to reinforce learning. This research underscores the broad applicability of educational games in diverse contexts, supporting their integration into educational settings to equip children with essential life skills.

Application of Interactive Games on Tourism Objects Based on Augmented Reality Gamification

The development of information technology is always growing rapidly, especially in the field of android smartphones. Android smartphones can now be obtained at a fairly affordable price. With rapid development, there are so many innovations that can be developed by the smartphone itself, even the tourism sector such as The Sila's Agroutourism can get the impact of several innovations that exist along with the times such as Augmented Reality. In this research, the author uses two augmented reality methods, namely Marker Based Tracker and also Markerless. Where Marker based tracker is a method that uses image illustrations in the form of QR codes or special logos to identify an object in the Augmented Reality application. While Markerless is a method that does not require a marker or image to display the object. So that this research produces an augmanted reality game using the marker-based tracker method and also markerless which takes the GPS tracker method as its markerless method. This test uses 3 tests, namely Blackbox testing, Response Time testing and also User Experience Questioner (UEQ). Where the UEQ results filled in by 35 respondents get results above average (Excelent). So that it shows that this game is good and as expected.

From Play to Concentration: The Effect of Digital Educational Games on Preschool Children’s Attention Skills

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of a digital educational game application on the attention skills of 5-6-year-old children. The research, planned with a quasi-experimental design and pre-test post-test control groups, measured children's attention skills using the ‘Concentration Test for Five-Year-Old Children’ (Frankfurter Test Für Funjahrige Konzentration–FTF-K). The study used the MentalUp application, a digital educational game designed to improve the attention skills of preschool children. Sixteen different types of mini-games supporting 13 different attention skills were included in the study. A total of 40 children aged 5-6 years were divided into two groups based on gender. The preschool children were instructed to complete the application in a quiet classroom environment following a pre-post-test design. The results indicated that the digital educational game application significantly improved the children's attention skills. While there was no significant change from pre- to post-test scores for the control group, the attention skills of the children in the experimental group were positively affected. The findings extend the current knowledge on attention skills in preschool children, highlighting the necessity of incorporating digital educational games into classroom practices to support attention skills at an early age. This study also provides valid evidence for the dissemination of digital educational games among preschool children.

Cops and robbers game and applications of its variant

Pursuit-evasion game is a game with a pursuer player and an evader player, it has numerous applications including artificial intelligence, robot motion planning and so on. The cops and robbers game is a type of pursuit-evasion game played on graphs, and its variant is a very fruitful research area in graph theory. The purpose of this paper is to find the specific relations between pursuit-evasion game applications and different types of variants of the cops and robbers game. The research method is to find variants with different game rules and winning strategies and classify them. Then compare these rules and strategies with the applications of pursuit-evasion games to find their relationships. The comparison result shows that there are many differences between the variants and the applications, which lead to their inability to be directly related. The application of the pursuit-evasion game is mainly based on route planning and object distance, and generally contains multiple variant types, which is different from the current research direction of variant.

New Approach to Personalizing Scenarios for a Single-Player 3D Soulslike Game

The results of an analysis of games in the Action/RPG genre and existing methods for personalizing their scenarios are presented, and the stages of developing a computer video game using methods for personalizing its scenarios are outlined. These include strengthening and weakening the player and opponents, as well as changing the environ­ment; approaches and technologies used to solve the problems of developing a system for gameplay personification of game scenarios and developing a software product are revealed. A description of the design stages by the authors of a Soulslike-style game application with the possibility of personalizing its scenarios, the results of functional testing and game performance in terms of the number of frames per second are presented.

Bibliometric and Visualization Insights: Understanding the Trend in the Application of Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Serious games have become one of the most promising ways to display and disseminate cultural heritage. Institutions and scholars have become increasingly interested in developing serious games in cultural heritage in recent years, and relevant academic results have been outstanding. Still, a lack of comprehensive analysis of publications in this field exists. This study aims to analyze the current status and trends of the application of serious games in cultural heritage. This article adopts bibliometric methods through a strict screening process, identifies 156 relevant articles from the Web of Science database, and uses VOSviewer and Scimago Graphica tools to conduct a comprehensive analysis. The results of this study are expected to enrich the knowledge base of the research field, providing insights into the current landscape, research hotspots, and development trends of this interdisciplinary field and offering insights into future research directions.

Modeling Behavioral Dynamics in Digital Content Consumption: An Attention-Based Neural Point Process Approach with Applications in Video Games

Modeling Behavioral Dynamics in Digital Content Consumption: An Attention-Based Neural Point Process Approach with Applications in Video Games

The application and development of toon shading technology in mobile games

With the continuous development of the gaming market, the toon shading technology in mobile games is gradually moving towards integration with Physically Based Rendering (PBR) technologies, giving rise to a trend of hybrid toon shading. This paper aims to discuss the development reasons of hybrid toon shading technology in mobile games, and compare the technical requirements and practical applications of toon shading and hybrid toon shading in the mobile gaming context. Firstly, the paper introduces the characteristics of toon shading and its relationship with non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) and PBR. Subsequently, examples of toon shading applications in mobile games are provided, along with a discussion on the two advantages of toon shading technology in the mobile gaming domain. The fundamental process of toon shading is then outlined, followed by an explanation of the limitations of traditional toon shading in contemporary mobile games. Then, introduce the development reasons of hybrid toon shading technology and the general process of hybrid toon shading, compare the technical differences between hybrid toon shading and toon shading. And then introduce the advantages and disadvantages and current application status of hybrid toon shading. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes that hybrid toon shading is a feasible approach warranting active development, and also discusses the future of the two-dimensional game market.

LapBot-Safe Chole: validation of an artificial intelligence-powered mobile game app to teach safe cholecystectomy.

Gaming can serve as an educational tool to allow trainees to practice surgical decision-making in a low-stakes environment. LapBot is a novel free interactive mobile game application that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide players with feedback on safe dissection during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). This study aims to provide validity evidence for this mobile game. Trainees and surgeons participated by downloading and playing LapBot on their smartphone. Players were presented with intraoperative LC scenes and required to locate their preferred location of dissection of the hepatocystic triangle. They received immediate accuracy scores and personalized feedback using an AI algorithm ("GoNoGoNet") that identifies safe/dangerous zones of dissection. Player scores were assessed globally and across training experience using non-parametric ANOVA. Three-month questionnaires were administered to assess the educational value of LapBot. A total of 903 participants from 64 countries played LapBot. As game difficulty increased, average scores (p < 0.0001) and confidence levels (p < 0.0001) decreased significantly. Scores were significantly positively correlated with players' case volume (p = 0.0002) and training level (p = 0.0003). Most agreed that LapBot should be incorporated as an adjunct into training programs (64.1%), as it improved their ability to reflect critically on feedback they receive during LC (47.5%) or while watching others perform LC (57.5%). Serious games, such as LapBot, can be effective educational tools for deliberate practice and surgical coaching by promoting learner engagement and experiential learning. Our study demonstrates that players' scores were correlated to their level of expertise, and that after playing the game, most players perceived a significant educational value.

Source localization based on field signatures: Laboratory ultrasonic validation

Location awareness in wireless networks is essential for emergency services, navigation, gaming and many other applications. This article presents a method for source localization based on measuring the amplitude-phase distribution of the field at the base station. The existing scatterers in the target area create unique scattered field interference at each source location. The unique field interference at each source location results in a unique field signature at the base station which is used for source localization. In the proposed method, the target area is divided into a grid with a step of less than half the wavelength. Each grid node is characterized by its field signature at the base station. Field signatures corresponding to all nodes are normalized and stored in the base station as fingerprints for source localization. The normalization of the field signatures avoids the need for time synchronization between the base station and the source. When a source transmits signals, the generated field signature at the base station is normalized and then correlated with the stored fingerprints. The maximum correlation value is given by the node to which the source is the closest. Numerical simulations and results of experiments on ultrasonic waves in the air show that the ultrasonic source is correctly localized using broadband field signatures with one base station and without time synchronization. The proposed method is potentially applicable for indoor localization and navigation of mobile robots.

Perception and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Mobile Application for an Educational Arabic Charade Game in Acquiring Arabic Skills

Perception and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Mobile Application for an Educational Arabic Charade Game in Acquiring Arabic Skills

Trust, Workload and Performance in Human-AI Partnering: The Role of AI Attributes in Solving Classification Problems

Abstract Intelligent systems have been rapidly evolving and play a pivotal role in assisting individuals across diverse domains, from healthcare to transportation. Understanding the dynamics of human-Artificial Intelligence (AI) partnering, particularly how humans trust and collaborate with intelligent systems, is becoming increasingly critical to design effective systems. This paper presents an experimental analysis to assess the impact of AI design attributes on users' trust, workload and performance when solving classification problems supported by an AI assistant. Specifically, we study the effect of transparency, fairness, and robustness in the design of an AI assistant and analyze the role of participants' gender and education background on the outcomes. The experiment is conducted with 47 students in undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. programs using a drawing game application where the users are asked to recognize incomplete sketches revealed progressively while receiving recommendations from multiple versions of an AI assistant. The results show that when collaborating with the AI, participants achieve a higher performance than their individual performance or the performance of the AI. The results also show that gender does not have an impact on users' trust and performance when collaborating with different versions of the AI system, whereas education level has a significant impact on the participants' performance but not on trust. Finally, the impact of design attributes on participants' trust and performance highly depends on the accuracy of the AI recommendations, and improvements in participants' performance and trust in some cases come at the expense of increased workload.

The Application of Educational Games in Primary Education: A Theoretical Framework

This study aims to shed light on educational games in the field of learning and education, through the perspectives of educators and teachers in primary education. The goal is to identify the key determinants associated with this learning approach. Accordingly, this study seeks to explore the meaning and types of educational games, followed by the theories that have interpreted this type of learning.