Game Content Research Articles

Effectiveness of Serious Games in Improving Genetic Literacy and Genetic Risk Awareness in the General Public: A Pilot Study.

Background: Genomics is an integral part of medical science; however, European citizens' literacy on basic genetic concepts is still poor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Serious Games (SGs) in increasing genetic literacy in laypeople and to assess the impact of SGs on participants' perceived self-efficacy (SE) in managing genetic risk implications. Materials and Methods: Two minigames and an adventure game were created, together with leaflets reporting the same information as the SGs. Sixty participants enrolled at baseline and completed a brief sociodemographic questionnaire and an ad hoc questionnaire assessing their genetic knowledge. They were assigned to the SGs group (30 subjects) or to the Leaflets group (30 subjects) by matching age and sex. Both groups had about 40 minutes to play the SGs or to read the leaflets. In the postlearning session, participants completed the same genetic knowledge questionnaires administered at baseline and five items from the Self-Efficacy Scale, whereas the SGs group also filled in the In-Game Experience Questionnaire. Results and Conclusion: Results showed that learning genetic concepts through SGs was comparable to learning through leaflets. Playing SGs was also associated with poor feelings of frustration or annoyance, good engagement in the game challenges and contents, and positive feelings, particularly in subjects under 30 years. Participants perceiving SE increased significantly in both Leaflets and SGs groups, but the effect was higher for SGs players. SGs have the potential to increase genetic literacy in the public by making the learning process more engaging, pleasant and by enhancing SE.

Learning experience assessment through players chat content in multiplayer online games

Assessing players’ learning experiences in a proper manner is a fundamental aspect of successful game-based learning programs. One notable characteristic of these programs is stealth assessment, which involves integrating formative assessment into the learning environment without disrupting the learning process. In multiplayer online games (MOGs), the in-game online chat system is a commonly used tool that enables players to communicate through text or voice messages during gameplay. However, there is a lack of specific research on incorporating players’ in-game chat content for computational learning experience assessment, which could enhance the validity of stealth assessment. This study proposes a stealth assessment method based on natural language processing to highlight the significance of players’ in-game chat data in estimating learners’ skills in MOGs. A natural language processing model is developed using a distilled version of the Google BERT pre-trained model. The evaluations demonstrate that the proposed method accurately estimates a player’s skill level by analyzing a few chat messages from the player. This method has the potential to make a profound impact on the field of game-based learning by enabling more precise assessment and supporting the design of tailored interventions and adaptive learning systems. This study pioneers computational skill assessment through chats in MOGs, opening up new opportunities for future investigations in skill assessment and having the potential to transform the field of game-based learning.

PENGARUH LIVE STREAMING ENGAGEMENT TERHADAP CONTINOUS WATCHING INTENTION

The growth of YouTube as one of the live streaming platforms is also accompanied by the rise of the video game trend that utilizes this media as a means of broadcasting game content. Dyland PROS is one of the YouTubers known as a gaming content creator streamer in Indonesia. With 16.1 million subscribers, Dyland PROS channel holds a broadcasting grade of B+. This research employs a quantitative approach. In this study, the analysis is conducted using Partial Least Square (PLS) through the stages of measurement model testing, including validity testing with a minimum outer loading value standard of 0.70 and an AVE (Average Variance Extracted) value above 0.50 to be considered valid. Reliability testing is also performed by examining the Cronbach Alpha or Composite Reliability values, with a requirement of above 0.70 to be considered reliable. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that Live Streaming engagement has a proven positive influence on Continuous Watching Intention. To maintain a continuous viewing intention, Live Streaming content must be able to create engagement. Engagement in live streaming content can be achieved through: (1) Content and Form Aesthetics, Communication with Others, Emotional Reactions.

THE IMPACT OF MICROTRANSACTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER GAME BUSINESS MODELS

The paper deals with the impact of microtransactions on the development of new business models in the field of computer games, caused by various monetized offerings within computer games, as well as other platforms such as gaming consoles and smartphones. The paper also examines the reasons for the emergence of business models based on microtransactions in the video game industry and the influence of the industry’s transition towards a consumer-oriented model. The central hypothesis of the paper is that microtransactions have a strong impact on the development of business models in the entire video game industry, and that over time, the value of products monetized in this way increases, despite consumers’ efforts to prevent this development direction of the industry. The paper conducted research on a population of consumers of video game content, mainly students of the Faculty of Organization and Informatics at the University of Zagreb, as well as respondents from other EU countries. The conclusion is that the number of microtransactions and the number of business models based on microtransactions will continue to grow in the future, but there are ways to combat those forms of microtransactions that have negative effects on consumers, especially minors, and, in some situations, even illegal.

Dental Case, a Brazilian Serious Game for Supporting Decision-making in the Dental Clinic: A Case Study

Background: Games are intrinsic to society and are used to represent a wide variety of human activities. Contemporary society has been digitalized, and the habit of playing games has naturally migrated to the digital environment. The use of digital games in education, where they are known as serious games, has given rise to the introduction of new educational approaches for dental students and dentists, which complement traditional approaches. A brief conceptual outline of games can help broaden our understanding thereof in social and educational contexts. Objective: To report the designing and development of a serious game for decision-making in clinical case management in the field of dentistry, for use as a complementary teaching tool. Method: The method used was a case study to describe the development of the content and narrative of a Brazilian serious game for decision-making in the dental clinic, called Dental Case. A player in Dental Case takes on the role of a dentist during a consultation, with the mission of completing the steps of anamnesis, clinical examination, complementary examination, diagnosis, and treatment. The clinical cases presented in the game were designed to resemble real-life decision-making situations in the dental clinic of a primary healthcare setting. The content developed was reviewed and validated by specialists, from both a technical and pedagogical point of view, and then included in the game software by an information technology (IT) team. Results: Dental Case was developed from a set of clinical cases. The game targets dental professionals and students, and its goal is to lend support to the teaching of decision-making in the different stages of clinical care. The game is freely available on the web, and on the Play Store and Apple Store mobile application platforms. Conclusions: The resources made available by Dental Case constitute a new complementary pedagogical approach, and a tool for the application of educational technologies in dentistry, which can contribute to expanding the scale and reach of educational activities. Future research is warranted to investigate the effectiveness of Dental Case in promoting learning and should include an evaluation of its performance by its users.

Applied the augmented reality technology combined with social stories strategies and computational thinking games to improve the social skills of children with ASD

ABSTRACT Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves social skills deficits, hindering effective communication and meaningful relationships. Prior research indicates that Augmented Reality (AR) games appeal to children with ASD for learning social skills but lack a structured framework and clear instructions for grasping social concepts. Therefore, this research aims to develop AR game content with a social story context and computational thinking specifically tailored for specific social situations. The goal is to assist children with ASD in mastering the developmental context and social structure of complex social situations through sequential and staged game activities. This helps children with ASD develop social skills and reciprocal behaviors. Four high-functioning children with ASD, aged 6 -9, participated in the experiment. Their behavioral performance during game interactions, learning, and social task accomplishments was observed using a multiple-baseline design across subjects. After three stages of testing and assessments, the results showed that incorporating AR effectively piqued the interest of children with ASD in learning. In particular, combining social stories and computational thinking game elements as instructional strategies helped children with ASD understand social tasks and contextual sequences. These intervention strategies also indirectly manifested in changes in their behavioral abilities and improvements in social reciprocity skills.

The impact of an online educational game on breast cancer awareness among university female students, Malaysia: a pilot study

BackgroundBreast cancer is one of the world’s most prevalent cancer and the most common type of cancer in Malaysia. Interestingly, breast cancer in young women is more aggressive compared to older women and the survival rate among these groups of individuals is poor. Thus, breast cancer awareness is essential among young women as early detection is possible and treatment will be effective during which the disease is curable. Hence, the purpose of this study is to design and evaluate the impact of an educational game on breast cancer awareness among female university students in Malaysia.MethodsThis is a one-group pre-and post-intervention pilot study. It was conducted in Private and public higher education institutions around Malaysia. An online education game was created and used as the intervention. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to the participants during the pre-and post-intervention test to evaluate the online educational game on breast cancer awareness.ResultsA total of 52 responses were collected. The mean age of the participants was 21.98 (SD = 1.896) years. The findings showed a statistically significant median increase (p < 0.05) in breast cancer knowledge scores among participants in the post-intervention. A median increase in breast cancer knowledge score of 6 was shown when participants were exposed to the online education game (24.00) compared to before they were exposed to it (17.00).ConclusionUsing online educational games effectively raised awareness of breast cancer among university students. Online games can be used as a health educational tool to promote awareness of a topic of interest, as digital games can be accessed easily, game content can be tailored made or updated, and improve participant engagement in learning.

Evaluating Alternative Metaheuristic Algorithms for Procedural Content Generation in Game Design

Procedural Content Generation (PCG) has emerged as a powerful approach for automating game content creation, offering significant benefits in terms of cost reduction and time efficiency compared to traditional game design and development processes (Zhang, Zhang, &amp; Huang, 2022). While Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have been widely used in PCG, alternative metaheuristic algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) have demonstrated their effectiveness in delivering high-quality solutions and efficient optimization capabilities across different problem domains (Amato, 2017). However, their application in PCG remains limited. I aim to evaluate the performance of PSO and ABC in map layout generation, challenging the conventional use of GAs. By comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, ABC, and PSO) I seek to assess the effectiveness of these approaches in generating game levels and identify any obvious differences in their performance characteristics. Comprehensive experiments are conducted, applying GA, ABC, and PSO to a map layout generation. Metrics like convergence speed and content quality are used to evaluate the generated game content. My findings reveal that both ABC and PSO demonstrate advantages over traditional GA implementations when generating game levels, indicating their potential for enhancing PCG. In this presentation, I will share the results of comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, PSO, and ABC) in map layout generation for game levels, emphasizing the potential benefits of leveraging diverse algorithmic approaches to create more captivating and immersive game worlds. Also, I will conclude with a call for further research in this area to expose new possibilities in content generation. By considering varied metaheuristic approaches, game developers can improve content generation techniques and create more captivating and interactive player experiences.

Participatory Minecraft mapping: Fostering students participation in disaster awareness

Scholarship suggests video games are one of several innovative tools to foster students’ participation in learning. However, research indicates that teaching pedagogies employing social group-based activities are required to enhance the strength of video games for learning. This study explores how academics, teachers, students and local emergency management personnel co-designed a teaching pedagogy, involving several social group-based activities and a geo-referenced Minecraft world, to engage students in learning about disaster and disaster risk reduction within their local area. The research/ teaching approach subsequently informed three classrooms of students in creating three geo-referenced Minecraft worlds. Each class experienced a variation in teaching approach (guided, targeted, hands-off). Analysis of the outcomes of their Minecraft worlds (including game content, game mechanics, skills, motivations and social interactions) illustrate how the teaching approach influences students’ active participation in learning. Ultimately, Minecraft is not the critical component in the teaching and learning process but rather one portion of the bigger picture in fostering students engagement. This study therefore demonstrates the potential for Minecraft as a learning tool to foster student participation in learning about disasters and disaster risk reduction when connected to an appropriate teaching pedagogy and learning theory.

Digital forensic approaches for metaverse ecosystems

The accelerating pace of digital transformation has given rise to metaverses that can participate freely in contactless environments. More than just game content, metaverses are driving everyday innovation across industries. However, threats are also prevalent, with crimes such as child sexual exploitation and privacy violations occurring in metaverses that mimic reality, making digital forensics for metaverse threats essential. Nevertheless, technical standards for different types of metaverses have yet to be defined, making investigation difficult. Furthermore, even though metaverses are complex forms that combine multiple hardware devices and software applications, existing studies have either focused on a single component or not analyzed the real-world environment. In this study, we derived a metaverse ecosystem with common components that comprise a metaverse and analyzed the hardware and software used throughout the user's metaverse lifecycle from a digital forensics perspective. In particular, we applied real-case-based scenario to the metaverse environment of the most popular Meta's currently in use to identify various artifacts that can be used across the ecosystem and validate the effectiveness of the process. We also developed a metaverse digital forensics tool for the first time in the current situation where open-source and commercial tools do not support metaverse investigations.

Inclusivity and diversity in ‘Actual Play’: Studying The Adventure Zone

‘Actual Play’ is a growing form of play spectatorship which involves the recording and broadcast of tabletop gaming sessions. It has spawned bestselling comics, live shows and television adaptations. Unlike ‘Let’s Play’ videos on YouTube or game livestreaming on platforms like Twitch, there has been little in the way of critical analysis of this new media form. This article therefore aims to understand its audience(s) through qualitative and quantitative content analysis of survey responses from the fan communities of one of the most popular Actual Play shows, The Adventure Zone. We focus on the relationship between Actual Play’s attempts at creating more accessible and inclusive media that welcome all types of people and the more exclusionary, highly gendered aspects of the broader gaming community. These enquiries also serve as a case study for Actual Play as a less-examined area of both play spectatorship and gaming content creation, and points towards potential future study in these areas. This article analyses Actual Play podcast The Adventure Zone to highlight the under-explored dynamics of fan audiences in this area of gaming content creation. Topics covered include audience reception of the creators, engagement with issues of diversity and Actual Play as a tabletop roleplaying game gateway.

Development of Mandarin Education Quiz Game Using Android-Based Multimedia Development Life Cycle

Mandarin is a language that is widely spoken and studied by people all over the world. Parents who start enrolling their children in Mandarin language courses from an early age with the hope that their children will become accustomed and proficient in using Mandarin. However, for elementary school children, the difficulty of constructing sentences in Mandarin is a major obstacle for children in the process of learning Mandarin. The purpose of this research is to create a unity-based mandarin quiz educational game application that is useful as an alternative media in the learning process to make it easier to learn. which is useful for a. Help make it easier for tutors in learning activities teaching by utilizing media technology in the form of Android-based educational games. Help students learn Chinese HSK material with a happy feeling and don't feel bored, because the content in the educational game "Mandarin Quiz" is displayed in an attractive way with audio, animation, and games on an Android smartphone. Helping children's enthusiasm for learning to know Mandarin. System development for users will be developed using the Multimedia Development Life Cycle (MDLC) methodology. Each step or stage of this method is suitable for system development in multimedia applications and these stages can swap positions according to research needs. It is hoped that the results of testing and designing the Mandarin Quiz educational game application using Unity 2D can be further developed so that this application can help increase interest in learning. The test results and feasibility of this educational game used the Usability Scale System (SUS) which consisted of 46 functions with 10 questions, the final test result was obtained with a score of 88, so that the mandarin quiz educational game was declared acceptable.

Changing Demand for Gaming Content among Young People under the Influence of Sanctions Restrictions

At present, information technologies are an integral part of many spheres of life of a modern person, and the market for digital products is rapidly developing. An important segment of the digital market is gaming content. However, the sanctions policy against the Russian Federation, which intensified in the third decade of the 21st century, has imposed serious restrictions on the possibility of consuming foreign-made game content for domestic consumers. The purpose of the article is to identify changes in the demand for gaming content among Russian gamers in the face of increased sanctions pressure. The relevance, as well as the scientific novelty of the study, lies in the verification of trends in the consumption of gaming content by Russian consumers. This will allow using the information obtained in the development of new and transformation of old digital gaming products, the formation of product and marketing policies of the creators of gaming and entertainment content. In addition, the study of gamers as a social group in modern society is currently an important area of scientific research. The object of the study were young people aged 16 to 22 living in Irkutsk. The data obtained by the authors during the field study, as well as their comparison with the results other studies of a similar nature, made it possible to identify a number of changes in the consumption of gaming content among young people that occurred under the influence of sanctions. The authors come to the conclusion that the impact of sanctions, although it had an impact on Russian consumers of gaming content, nevertheless could not significantly change the popularity of this form of entertainment among young people.

Gamefication in Communications

The article studies the phenomenon of gamefication as a current communication means for goods and service promotion to the market. Today’s customer is not a passive observer but a participant of the promotion process ready for testing. The article shows gamefication as a communication tool that can attract and retain customer, gives its definition and reveals pre-conditions of its arising among marketing tools. Key trends in gameficationon on global market were studied and feasibility of using interactive advert forms was analyzed. The article demonstrates trends in volume growth on global market of gamefication and identifies spheres of using game mechanics both on global market and in Russia. The author shows key tasks, where game content can be used. The focus is made on studying principles and requirements that should be followed to get a certain effect of introducing gamefication. The article reveals principle difference between computer games and gameficated communications, which allows developers to use game content. In conclusion the author puts forwards recommendations for companies that do not use gamefication or use it in a limited volume.

A Video Game to Teach Young Adults the Brain Basics of Addiction

While we struggle to find effective ways to prevent drug-related harm in young people all around the world, families and communities continue to get hurt. World-renowned experts on addiction believe if people understand its basics, they will make better decisions regarding drug use. Nonetheless, addiction happens in the brain, and the bases of brain function involved in addiction are quite complex. I asked whether young adults could learn with a video game some important basics of synaptic function in the brain related to addiction. My team and I developed ‘You VS Drugs’, a 3D video game beta which, through an adventure that takes place inside a synapse between two cells, explains some of the complex bases of brain function different drugs alter to produce their effects, including addiction. I ran an online questionnaire in which, as 340 young adults aged 18-25 viewed the video game content, answered five multiple-choice and two true-false questions which sought to measure their learning. Then, we ran a simulation with a thousand hypothetical participants who would answer the questionnaire at random. We found that, on average, participants had significantly greater performance on the questionnaire than the simulation group (p &lt;.00001, r = .77). Also, the average of correct responses participants gave over the course of the video game (5.644) corresponds to a group performance of 80.63% in the questionnaire. Results show young adults understand complex bases of neurobiological function related to the effect of psychoactive substances and addiction while playing ‘You VS Drugs’, and they also highlight the potential video games have to teach complex subjects in an engaging way. If we want to reduce the misery drug addiction imposes on families in our societies, we should educate young people in any effective way possible.

Case Study of Video Game Marketing under the Context of New Media: Taking "Genshin Impact" as an Example

This paper takes the popular video game Genshin as a case study to analyze its online marketing strategy in the context of new media. Through case studies combined with the characteristics of the Internet+ era and new media, this paper mainly discusses the online marketing strategy of Genshin from three aspects. Firstly, this article analyzes the PEST background of the Chinese game industry and the SWOT background of the game, and secondly, this article explores the specific marketing methods of Genshin. Genshin has gained high popularity through game content marketing, user marketing, cultural marketing, and cross-border co-marketing. Finally, this paper briefly describes the results and reference the significance of the effect of online marketing, and points out that Genshin still needs to make progress in breaking the circle. Based on the above three aspects, this paper concludes with a summary of online marketing strategies for video games in the context of new media, that is, giving full play to the role of online marketing for games. These strategies have been applied in the marketing of Genshin and also provide certain experiences and references for the online marketing of other games.

Game Transfer Phenomena in a Clinical Case with Psychosis and Gaming Disorder

Little is known about the interplay of Gaming Disorder (GD) with psychotic processes in schizophrenia. Only a few clinical cases involving video game playing and psychotic symptoms have been previously reported in literature. This case report describes a 24-year-old male diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and GD. Our case, Patient G, had premorbid excessive video game playing and Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) prior to the onset of his schizophrenia illness. GTP are common among gamers and are characterised by abnormal perceptions, intrusive thoughts, and temporal change on behaviours related to the content of video games. However, GTP are not necessarily of delusional intensity for meeting the threshold of psychosis. The relapse in Patient G’s paranoid schizophrenia was associated with recent cannabis use, social withdrawal, and excessive video game playing. Patient G’s psychotic symptoms were influenced by video game themes and the movie “Matrix”, including the delusion that he was in a video game and that people around him were “non-playable characters”. Awareness of GTP can help clinicians to demarcate GTP from psychotic features and identify their interactions, given the ensuing treatment implications. Our case report highlights the importance of GTP, which in some cases may be an early sign of developing mental illness and could have implications for early intervention and prevention of illness onset and complications.

ANALYZING THE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS IN THE ONLINE-GAME DEVELOPMENT: A FRAMEWORK PROPOSAL USING THE DELPHI-TOPSIS METHOD

The online-game industry has increased exponentially in the last years, boosted by the global pandemic crisis, and it´s expected to continue growing. Moreover, specialized software (game engines) is used to develop online-games. This fast growth of both, online-game industry and game engines, shows the convenience for a better understanding of online-games´ development. Thus, this paper aims to define a critical success factors (CSF) framework in developing online-games, and it combines the Delphi and TOPSIS methodology. Concretely, its application follows. First, CSF were recognized from the literature. Second, they were verified by contacting software developers of the game engine Unity using Delphi methodology. Then, a numerical example of the TOPSIS methodology is shown. This method allowed to generate a framework of 21 critical factors, grouped in 3 dimensions: (1) Game content design, (2) Value added and (3) Game motivation. The results revealed that competition is the most important factor in the Social motivation construct. Also, Mission and tasks, and User interface are the most important factors in the Game content design dimension. Definitely, this framework provides a tool for decision making in the online-game development process. Keywords: TOPSIS, Delphi, online-games, video-games, game engine, critical factors, web software

DESIGN AND BUILD VR HORROR GAMES WITH PROCEDURAL CONTENT GENERATION USING CELLULAR AUTOMATA ALGORITHM

The development of video games is very fast according to data obtained by ESA in 2021, about 226 million people on American played video games and in Indonesia 105 million people play video games and this will continue to increase, it is predicted that in 2025 video players gaming in Indonesia will reach 127 million people, this causes the need for game content continues to increase while for making game content it is not something that cheap, one way to reduce costs in making content in the game is to implement procedural content generation, procedural content generation is one way of creating content game automatically by using an algorithm. This research aims to design and build a virtual reality horror game using use cellular automata algorithm, cellular automata algorithm in research This research is used for map making, besides that this research also aims to measure the level of player satisfaction with the game that has been made. Game created using the Unity 3D game engine and the C# programming language. After game has been successfully built, will measure the level of satisfaction through cakes. questionnaire using GUESS-18, based on tests that have been carried out with GUESS-18, the results obtained are 77.1 percent, which can be concluded that the level of player satisfaction is categorized as good.

Consideration of features in the content of various games in the organization of extracurricular activities in biology

Consideration of features in the content of various games in the organization of extracurricular activities in biology