Collaborative Game Research Articles

Online Problem Gambling: A Comparison of Casino Players and Sports Bettors via Predictive Modeling Using Behavioral Tracking Data

In this study, the differences in behavior between two groups of online gamblers were investigated. The first group comprised individuals who played casino games, and the second group comprised those who bet on sports events. The focal point of the study was on problem gambling, and the objective was to identify and quantify both common and distinct traits that are characteristic to casino and sports problem gamblers. To this end, a set of gamblers from the gaming operator LeoVegas was studied. Each gambler was ascribed two binary variables: one separating casino players from sports bettors, and one indicating whether there was an exclusion related to problem gambling. For each of the four combinations of the two variables, 2500 gamblers were randomly selected for a thorough comparison, resulting in a total of 10,000 participants. The comparison was performed by constructing two predictive models, estimating risk scores using these models, and scrutinizing the risk scores by means of a technique originating from collaborative game theory. The number of cash wagers per active day contributed the most to problem-gambling-related exclusion in the case of sports betting, whereas the volume of money spent contributed the most to this exclusion in the case of casino players. The contribution of the volume of losses per active day was noticeable in the case of both casino players and sports bettors. For casino players, gambling via desktop computers contributed positively to problem-gambling-related exclusion. For sports bettors, it was more concerning when the individual used mobile devices. The number of approved deposits per active day contributed to problem-gambling-related exclusion to a larger extent for sports bettors than casino players. The main conclusion is that the studied explanatory variables contribute differently to problem-gambling-related exclusion among casino players and sports bettors.

Kegiatan pembelajaran sebagai upaya dalam menstimulus perkembangan sosial-emosional anak usia dini

This study aims to determine the emotional social development of early childhood in Integrated Early Childhood Education Tarbiyatul Athfal UIN Antasari Banjarmasin as well as the form of learning activities undertaken as an effort to stimulate the emotional social development. The research method used is qualitative research on 6 children and learning activities that can stimulate children's emotional emotional development as primary data. Based on research conducted, the results obtained that the child's emotional social development tends to be unstable. Children often prefer to play alone. Nevertheless, children also begin to show interest in hanging out in the surrounding environment and doing play activities together. In addition, there are several factors influence, such as: social emotional experiences of children, gender differences, differences in family and cultural backgrounds, and parenting. While the form of learning activities that are pursued in the form of stimulation of children's emotional social development include: routine activities of reading Asmaul Husna and short surahs, filling in journals, playing indoor, and conducting learning activities. The activity was carried out through exemplary methods, sharing learning, and collaborative games.

The Impact of Social Value Orientation, Game Context and Trust on Cooperative Behavior After Cooperative Video Game Play.

This study explores the effects of the cooperative video game context, social value orientation (SVO) and trust on cooperative behavior. The main finding is that collaborative game play significantly increases cooperative behavior, especially in prosocial individuals. In addition, a mediation model is established in which trust partially mediates the association between the game mode and cooperative behavior. The results indicate that playing collaborative games increases cooperation in prosocial people partially by facilitating the trust they have in their gaming partners. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

‘It was fun’: Exploring the pedagogical value of collaborative educational games

This qualitative descriptive study explored the value of games as pedagogical tools to teach team working and foster collaborative learning in a higher education classroom. Groups of three or four students (n = 181) were asked to participate in a simple low-tech serious game which required them to solve a puzzle. The puzzle simulated ‘good’ teamwork practices. Subsequently, participants were asked to complete an open-ended qualitative questionnaire about their experiences. The game was found to enhance learners’ understanding of the attributes of effective team working. It was concluded that team-based collaborative games have value in experientially ‘teaching’ team working skills. Moreover, simple low-tech games were found to have good capacity for generating high-quality collaborative learning experiences. In this context it is argued that simple low-tech games should not be forgotten in the rush to develop computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Not least because they generate opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

A APLICAÇÃO DE UM JOGO PARA MOTIVAÇÃO DO PROCESSO DE ENSINO-APRENDIZAGEM EM CURSOS DE ENGENHARIA E CIÊNCIAS EXATAS

Os jogos e as aulas roteirizadas com a linguagem de jogos (gameficação) estão cada vez mais presentes na universidade e são estratégias importantes de encantamento e motivação para uma aprendizagem mais rápida e próxima da vida real. Para gerações acostumadas a jogar, a linguagem de desafios, recompensas, de competição e cooperação é atraente e fácil de perceber. Os jogos colaborativos e individuais; de competição e colaboração; de estratégia, com etapas e habilidades bem definidas se tornam cada vez mais presentes nas diversas áreas de conhecimento e níveis de ensino. Nesta linha de raciocínio, este trabalho tem como objetivo principal apresentar a aplicação de um jogo em turmas das disciplinas de Cálculo I e Algoritmos e Programação de Computadores dos cursos de graduação em Engenharias Civil, de Minas e de Produção, Ciências da Computação e Física Licenciatura da Universidade Federal de Goiás – Regional Catalão. A finalidade desta pesquisa foi analisar se os estudantes se sentem mais motivados a aprender em aulas lúdicas comparadas com aulas tradicionais adotadas na instituição. Os alunos que participaram da pesquisa responderam questionários. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados e apresentados na forma de gráficos para melhor compreensão das informações. Logo, observou-se que estes estudantes preferem as aulas no ensino superior sejam ministradas pela junção de ambas as metodologias: tradicional e lúdica, uma vez que uma complementa a outra.

Crash: Find the Exit- A neuroscience board game as a tool to discuss mechanisms of drug abuse and addiction issues in the classroom

ABSTRACT Discussing substance abuse, licit or not, requires dynamism when it comes to adolescents. Games are a powerful tool to bring the subject up for discussion. Here we describe a collaborative board game designed to address this subject using current neuroscience knowledge about neurophysiology of (drug) addiction. The game highlights the action of 22 neuroactive drugs, classified into the following groups: (1) depressants; (2) hallucinogens; (3) stimulants and (4) others (anabolic steroids and prescription drugs). In addition, the game was developed to approach specific neuroscience-related themes such as: (1) brain structures (e.g. lobes); (2) cell types present in the nervous system; (3) neurotransmitter actions; (4) impact of drug abuse on the nervous system function; (5) the concept of overdose. Moreover, the game has got an educational proposal that combines the individual and social aspects of development, addressing concepts of neurosciences in a playful and stimulating way, aiming to promote not only awareness regarding the abuse of chemical substances, but also to stimulate the social development of the participants at the same time. It is worth mentioning that drug cards also bring curiosities and cultural trivia, including music and art, making it more attractive for young audiences.

Sustaining intangible heritage through video game storytelling - the case of the Sami Game Jam

ABSTRACT This article explores how game jams, a rapid collaborative game production format, can work to support the revitalisation of Indigenous self-narratives in the context of Sámi culture. The study focuses on the Sami Game Jam, an event designed and carried out in the Northern Finish Sámi community in Utsjoki, in February 2018. Using an ethnographic method including participatory observation, video interviews with Sámi participants, and textual video game analysis, the study first discusses the event design, and how the creation of Sámi themes and priorities created constraints for game design. The variety of themes selected for the jam reflects the diversity of concerns present in contemporary Sámi society, and the need to reflect them in media. Secondly, we address the process of collaborative game development to explore current Sámi experience in a dialogic, open-ended way. Finally, we discuss the games created during the game jam, and how their design translate Sámi themes into playable artefacts. Based on the findings, we conclude how game jamming as a cultural practice can be appropriated for the purpose of sustaining intangible cultural heritage.

Learning to Communicate Implicitly by Actions

In situations where explicit communication is limited, human collaborators act by learning to: (i) infer meaning behind their partner's actions, and (ii) convey private information about the state to their partner implicitly through actions. The first component of this learning process has been well-studied in multi-agent systems, whereas the second — which is equally crucial for successful collaboration — has not. To mimic both components mentioned above, thereby completing the learning process, we introduce a novel algorithm: Policy Belief Learning (PBL). PBL uses a belief module to model the other agent's private information and a policy module to form a distribution over actions informed by the belief module. Furthermore, to encourage communication by actions, we propose a novel auxiliary reward which incentivizes one agent to help its partner to make correct inferences about its private information. The auxiliary reward for communication is integrated into the learning of the policy module. We evaluate our approach on a set of environments including a matrix game, particle environment and the non-competitive bidding problem from contract bridge. We show empirically that this auxiliary reward is effective and easy to generalize. These results demonstrate that our PBL algorithm can produce strong pairs of agents in collaborative games where explicit communication is disabled.

Too Busy to Be Manipulated: How Multitasking with Technology Improves Deception Detection in Collaborative Teamwork

ABSTRACT Deception is an unfortunate staple in group work. Guarding against team members’ deceptive tactics and alternative agendas is difficult and may seem even more difficult in technology-driven business environments that have made multitasking during teamwork increasingly commonplace. This research develops a foundation for a nuanced theoretical understanding of deception detection under these conditions. The intersection of information technology multitasking and deception detection theories is shown to produce various and sometimes competing ideas about how this type of multitasking might affect truthfulness assessments in real-time teamwork. A laboratory study involving a collaborative game helped evaluate the different ideas using manipulated deception and multitasking behaviors in a real-time, virtual group environment. The results provide evidence that information multitasking can actually improve deception detection, likely because multitaskers engage less in the team conversation, making themselves less manipulable. As understanding of multitasking benefits increases, managers and designers can incorporate effective multitasking into collaborative processes.

Vulnerable robots positively shape human conversational dynamics in a human-robot team.

Social robots are becoming increasingly influential in shaping the behavior of humans with whom they interact. Here, we examine how the actions of a social robot can influence human-to-human communication, and not just robot-human communication, using groups of three humans and one robot playing 30 rounds of a collaborative game (n = 51 groups). We find that people in groups with a robot making vulnerable statements converse substantially more with each other, distribute their conversation somewhat more equally, and perceive their groups more positively compared to control groups with a robot that either makes neutral statements or no statements at the end of each round. Shifts in robot speech have the power not only to affect how people interact with robots, but also how people interact with each other, offering the prospect for modifying social interactions via the introduction of artificial agents into hybrid systems of humans and machines.

Guided Heads-Up: A Collaborative Game that Promotes Metacognition and Synthesis of Material While Emphasizing Higher-Order Thinking

Games are a way to engage students with course material in a low-stakes environment. In the popular game app “Heads Up!”, participants give clues to a guesser who is holding a word on their forehead. Here, we present a modified version of this game where students are required to give clues in a specific order that emphasizes higher-order thinking in the early rounds and moves to lower-order recall events in the later rounds. The collaborative group environment promotes oral communication, metacognition, and student–student interactions and may lead to improved student learning. This game, called guided heads-up, was used in three courses at two institutions. Student perceptions were gathered and analyzed for all three classes. Recommendations from students and instructors for designing and implementing the guided heads-up activities into additional courses are included.

EmoFindAR: Evaluation of a mobile multiplayer augmented reality game for primary school children

Games are powerful generators of positive emotions in children and are intrinsically satisfying. In this context, our work evaluates the use of mobile augmented reality without markers as the technology to implement a multiplayer game scenario that can be used to improve socialization, communication skills and emotional intelligence in primary school children. The present study addresses the usability of two gameplay styles and their impact on users' communication and motivation: competitive vs collaborative play. The game integrates Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) technology without markers to create a geolocation scenario with unlimited physical space. The results indicate that both game modes are intrinsically satisfactory for children triggering positive emotions such as enthusiasm, enjoyment and curiosity that improve the participants’ mood and help increase the degree of involvement. Moreover, we observed that the collaborative game version has a greater impact on emotional affection, social interaction and interest. In addition, we observed in our study that the quality of the communication in the collaborative mode is good in terms of several factors such as sustaining mutual understanding, dialogue management, information pooling, reaching consensus, time management and reciprocal interaction. Finally, several design implications and suggestions related to game time management, scaffolding, mixed competitive-collaborative modes, dynamic 3D content and active learning, among others, are discussed. The present evaluation contributes to the identification of the most relevant aspects to be considered in the future design of MAR-based gamification strategies in education.

Developing a Lightweight Rock-Paper-Scissors Framework for Human-Robot Collaborative Gaming

We present a novel implementation of a Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) game interaction with a social robot. The framework is tailored to be computationally lightweight, as well as entertaining and visually appealing through collaboration with designers and animators. The fundamental gesture recognition pipeline employs a Leap motion device and two separate machine learning architectures to evaluate kinematic hand data on-the-fly. The first architecture is used to recognize and segment human motion activity in order to initialize the RPS play, and the second architecture is used to classify hand gestures into rock, paper or scissors. The employed tabletop robot interacts in the RPS play through unique animated gestural movements and vocalizations designed by animators which communicate the robot's choices as well as cognitive reflection on winning, losing and draw states. Performance of both learning architectures is carefully evaluated with respect to accuracy, reliability and run time performance under different feature and classifier types. Moreover, we assess our system during an interactive RPS play between robot and human. Experimental results show that the proposed system is robust to user variations and play style in real environment conditions. As such, it offers a powerful application for the subsequent exploration of social human-machine interaction.

An Algorithmic Approach for Maritime Transportation

Starting from the 3rd millennium BC, Indian maritime trade has augmented the life of a common man and businesses alike. This study, finds that India can leverage on the 7,500 long coast line and derive holistic development in terms of interconnected ports with hinterland connectivity and realize lower expenditure coupled with reduced carbon emission. This research analyzed a decade of cargo data from origination to destination and found that around 82.95 per cent (953 MMTPA in 2017–18) of road based consignments in India comprised of Fertilizers, Hydrocarbons, Coal, Lubricants and Oil. Essentially, a quantum of this i.e. 78.39 per cent of MMTPA cargo consignments (State Owned Hydrocarbons) traverses on Indian roads. The study drew parameters of this transportation paradigm and modeled the same using Artificial Intelligence to depict a monumental opportunity to rationalize costs, improve efficiency and reduce carbon emission to strengthen the argument for the employment of Multimodal Logistics in the Maritime Sector. Subsequent to model derivation the same set of parameters are plotted as an efficient transit map of Interstate transit lines connecting 16 major hubs which now handle bulk cargo shipped by all modes of transport. For the pollution segment a collaborative game theoretic approach i.e., Shapley value is proposed for improved decision making. This study presents data driven and compelling research evidence to portray the benefits of collaboration between firms in terms of time and cost. The study also proposes the need and method to improve hinterland connectivity using a scalable greedy algorithm which is tested with real time data of Coal and Bulk Cargo. As a scientific value addition, this study presents a mathematical model that can be implemented across geographies seamlessly using Information Communication Technology.

Transmedial Worlds with Social Impact: Exploring Intergenerational Learning in Collaborative Video Game Design

This article’s focus is the creation of intergenerational game design experiences supported by phygital video games (i.e., games that feature both digital and physical elements) for children 8–12 years of age and elders 65 years and over living in Paris and Bagnolet, France. The purpose of the article is twofold: first, to give an account of our protocol activity to highlight the implementation difficulties associated with this kind of intergenerational gameplay, and second, to inspire researchers, educators, and caregivers to include innovative uses of transmedia world building and collaborative game design as tools to connect different generations and foster community participation in intergenerational programs.

Stimulating ideation in new teams with the mobile game Grapplenauts

Working in teams is a common approach to solving problems. However, new teams often suffer from a form of cold start, by which individual members are not yet comfortable expressing their ideas. Previous work has shown that ideation can be stimulated by promoting a sense of psychological safety among team members and instilling an ambiance of openness, and that games are helpful at establishing such social bonds. However, most such games only partially target psychological safety or openness, and often rely on the expertise of a facilitator, who may be unavailable for many teams. The ubiquity of mobile platforms opens up many opportunities for overcoming such drawbacks. We developed the mobile game Grapplenauts, a novel serious game directly focused on psychological safety and openness, that generates a beneficial atmosphere for ideation and does not require any facilitator. In Grapplenauts, team players have to gradually work together towards a team-wide goal, first in pairs and then among pairs, which has shown to be quite successful in promoting communication and collaboration. Play testing has shown that Grapplenauts was perceived as a fun, engaging and challenging collaborative game. In addition, results of a preliminary user study are cautiously optimistic about the success of the game in improving the perceived atmosphere withinnewly-formed teams.

Impact of game mode in multi-user serious games for upper limb rehabilitation: a within-person randomized trial on engagement and social involvement

BackgroundSerious games have been increasingly used for motor rehabilitation. However, it is not well known how different game features can be used to impact specific skills properly. Here, we study how the mode (competitive, co-active, collaborative) in which a multi-user game is presented impacts engagement and social involvement.MethodsWe collected data from 20 pairs of community-dwelling older adults (71.5 ± 8.7 years) in a study following a within-persons design. The participants performed a two-player upper limb rehabilitation game with three conditions (Competitive, Co-active, and Collaborative modes). Engagement and social involvement were assessed through the Core Module and Social Presence Module, respectively, from the Game Experience Questionnaire. To infer the impact of personality and cognitive function, users answered the International Personality Item Pool (short version) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, respectively.ResultsResults show that the Collaborative game mode promotes more social involvement when compared to Competitive and Co-active modes. This result is mostly explained by those participants with higher cognitive skills, and those that are more extrovert. Extrovert participants feel more empathy and are behaviorally more involved when playing the Collaborative mode. Also, the Collaborative mode is shown to be appropriate to promote interaction with participants that previously had a distant relationship, while the Competitive mode seems to be more beneficial to promote empathy between players with a closer relationship.ConclusionsThe Collaborative game mode elicited significantly higher social involvement in terms of Empathy, Positive Affect, and Behavioral Involvement. Hence, this game mode seems to be the most adequate choice to be used in multiplayer rehabilitation settings, where social interaction is intended.

Adult instruction limits children’s flexibility in moral decision making

Children’s moral behavior is guided, in part, by adults teaching children how to treat others. However, when circumstances change, such instructions may become either unhelpful or limiting. In the current study, 48 dyads of 5-year-olds played a collaborative game and either (a) received an instruction by an adult to share the spoils of the game equally, (b) did not receive any instruction (but still chose to share equally), or (c) agreed between themselves on a rule to share equally. Afterward, each child played with a new partner who was needier or worked harder in his or her collaboration and so plausibly deserved more than just half of the spoils. Results showed that children who were instructed by an adult shared less with their more deserving partner than children who did not receive any instruction. Thus, moral instruction by adults may, in some circumstances, make children more rigid in their moral decisions.

Active Learning via Problem-Based Collaborative Games in a Large Mathematics University Course in Hong Kong

Research has demonstrated the positive impact of active learning on students’ learning outcomes, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, few studies have explored the impact of active learning via problem-based collaborative games in large mathematics classes in the context of Asian tertiary education. This study assesses the effects of active learning on students’ learning outcomes using class test scores and the calculus concept inventory (CCI) to test the conceptual understanding of the basic principles of differential calculus, in a first year calculus course in Hong Kong. Three hypotheses were tested to determine the effects of game-based collaborative learning on learning mathematics among students. Active learning through a problem-based collaborative learning methodology was employed, using Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform. Results supported all three hypotheses, demonstrating a statistically significant increase in students’ conceptual understanding and examination performance, based upon their individual perceptions of active engagement and time spent in active learning. Our results indicated that active learning “levels the playing field”, in the sense that students with less pre-requisite background knowledge, using a problem-based collaborative learning methodology, were relatively more inclined to catch up or even exceed the performance of students with a stronger prerequisite background knowledge, at the end of the course.

Using Epistemic Network Analysis to Examine Discourse and Scientific Practice During a Collaborative Game

According to the National Research Council, the ability to collaboratively solve problems is of the utmost importance in scientific careers, yet students are not exposed to learning experiences that promote such expertise. Recent studies have found that interdependent roles used within collaborative mobile games are an effective way to scaffold collaborative problem solving. School Scene Investigators: The Case of the Mystery Powder, a collaborative mobile game, incorporated interdependent roles in order to foster collaborative problem solving and promote scientific practice. Using epistemic network analysis (ENA), this study examined the conversational discourse of game teams to determine what connections exist between communication responses, language style, and scientific practice. Data included audio transcripts of three teams that played through the game. Transcripts were qualitatively coded for five types of scientific practice aligned to the National Research Council framework for K-12 science education, three types of communication responses (accept/discuss/reject), and an emergent language style (communal). ENA revealed that students developed scientific practices during gameplay. ENA also identified engaged communication responses and communal language style as two types of collaborative discourse used within School Scene Investigators: The Case of the Mystery Powder that fostered key linkages to effective data analysis and interpretation.