Context Of Games Research Articles

Hardcore coaching and hardcore fitness-oriented preservice teachers delivery of teaching games for understanding

ABSTRACT Purpose: The study purpose was to investigate how preservice teachers’ (PTs) socialization orientations influenced their interpretation and delivery of the teaching games for understanding (TGfU) model. Method: Participants were 14 undergraduate PTs enrolled in a games methods course in the Northeastern United States. Qualitative data were generated through autobiographical essays, peer-teaching lesson observations, document analysis, and stimulated-recall interviews. NVivo software was used to manage and store data, with analytic induction and constant comparison techniques being utilized to code data. Results: Findings from this study suggest that PTs who possessed hardcore fitness and hardcore coaching orientations could deliver a full- version of TGfU. Socialization influences included sporting expertise, youth coaches, initial modified game, game context, and peer teaching. Discussion: The findings provide a positive outlook for the field of occupational socialization and TGfU and may inspire individuals possessing hardcore non-teaching orientations to employ high-quality versions of the model.

Personalised Learning through Context-Based Adaptation in the Serious Games with Gating Mechanism

When the traditional "one size fits all" approach is used in designing educational games, the game context is usually arranged in a fixed sequence. However, the designated content may not effectively support the diversity of players. The player's ability and characteristics should be considered and supported with an appropriate learning context embedded in the game to facilitate personalised experiences. Adapting game scenarios to a player's characteristics can boost motivation and ultimately improve learning outcomes. This research applies a context-aware design approach and the Learner-Centered Design approach to establish a personalised adaptation framework for designing educational serious games and enhancing personalised knowledge delivery. The proposed framework decouples the game logic implementation and adaptation mechanism. It dynamically adapts the designed game objects and activities to personal learning objectives, learning levels and learning progress to achieve a non-linear learning sequence. Through synchronous real-time xAPI message exchange mechanisms, system components and learning content adaptation are enabled. The adaptation aims to fit personal learning objectives and provide a non-linear learning sequence in a game environment. The framework provides students with personalised learning experiences. A game named GhostCoder is implemented and used to evaluate the framework. Based on the externalised adaptive mechanism, the game content is adapted to the player's performance by adjusting the difficulty of the learning content within the game. Testing of the game in the lab environment has been performed. At the next stage, an evaluation will be conducted with the target groups of students.

An Examination of Memory Performance in a Fearful Virtual Reality Gaming Context

Background The emotion of fear bears a survival significance enabling animals to be highly vigilant in contexts of uncertainty. Expectedly, not all information available in the environment can be processed. Given that a major goal is to get rid of the source of fear in a fearful situation, the current study therefore hypothesized that information relating to the fear source would be better attended to and recalled than contextual information, which was validated by comparing participants’ recall of different types of information presented in a fearful VR gaming context. Methodology Fifty-four participants were divided into two groups and finished a specific segment of a VR game with different fear levels. Results No significant difference in recall performance on the questions about the appearance of the fear source and the questions about the interaction with the source was observed between the fear and less-fear groups. Yet, contextual information was better recalled than information related to the fear source in both groups. Regardless of whether the contextual information was provided beforehand or not, participants still tended to focus primarily on the environment in the gameplay. Also, the immersiveness of the gameplay was positively related to participants’ fear level. Discussion The tendency of attending to contextual information was speculated to be unconditional, in line with the risk calculation observed in prey when situated in less familiar contexts. It was suggested to further validate the present primarily findings by adopting VR headset with eye-tracking function in future studies. Lastly, an understanding of fear’s effect on memorization might also provide some information for developing future survival horror games.

Intelligent Decision-Making and Human Language Communication Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning in a Wargame Environment

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in games has been significantly developed and attracted much attention over the past few years. This article not only leverages the reinforcement learning multiagent deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm to realize the dynamic decision-making of game AI but also creatively incorporates deep learning and natural language processing technologies in the wargame field to transform game context situation maps into textual suggestions in wargame confrontation. In this article, we effectively integrate reinforcement learning technologies, deep learning technologies, and natural language processing technologies to generalize the semantic text output at state-of-the-art accuracy, which plays an important role in human understanding of game AI behavior. The experimental results are promising and can be used to verify the feasibility, accuracy, and performance of our proposed model in extensive simulations against benchmarking methods.

Understanding the current global regime shift and the standing of the macro-financial system resilience

Understanding the current global regime shift and the standing of the macro-financial system resilience

Toward Defining and Assessing Creativity in Sandbox Games

ABSTRACT Digital sandbox games such as Minecraft can be used to assess and support creativity. Doing so, however, requires an understanding of what is deemed creative in this game context. One approach is to understand how Minecrafters describe creativity in their communities, and how much those descriptions overlap with the established definitions of creativity in the literature. Based on prior work, we used a modified rubric for assessing a creative product in this study. We investigated the evaluation of a total of 52 Minecraft builds (i.e., structures that are created by the Minecrafters) from five YouTube videos. In addition to qualitatively coding the video transcripts, we also used natural language processing (NLP) for automatic coding of our data at scale. Our qualitative analysis of the YouTube transcripts revealed evidence for all but one dimension (i.e., humor) of the creativity rubric we used in our dataset. In addition, two new dimensions of creativity emerged in our qualitative coding process (i.e., realism and effort). Finally, the NLP model that we developed achieved about 80% accuracy in distinguishing the sentences that showed evidence of creativity. This study provides insights for research and educational practices of creativity in Minecraft or similar game or simulation environments.

The role of feedback in the robotic-assisted upper limb rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Introduction Robotic-assisted upper limb rehabilitation might improve upper limb recovery in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) with moderate-to-severe disability. In the few existing studies, the training effects have been related to the type of intervention, if intensive, repetitive, or task-oriented training might promote neuroplasticity and recovery. Notably, most of these devices operate within a serious game context providing different feedback. Since feedback is a key component of motor control and thus involved in motor and cognitive rehabilitation, clinicians cannot desist from considering the potential contribution of feedback in the upper limb robot-assisted rehabilitation effects. Area covered In this systematic review, we reported the rehabilitation protocols used in the robot-assisted upper limb training in PwMS to provide state-of-the-art on the role of feedback in robotic-assisted Upper Limb rehabilitation. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database databases were systematically searched from inception to March 2022. After a literature search, the classification systems for feedback and the serious game were applied. Expert opinion There is a need for sharing standard definitions and components of feedback and serious game in technologically assisted upper limb rehabilitation. Indeed, improving these aspects might further improve the effectiveness of such training in the management of PwMS.

Games for experiential learning: triggering collective changes in commons management

As resource users interact and impose externalities onto each other, institutions are needed to coordinate resource use, create trust, and provide incentives for sustainable management. Coordinated collective action can play a key role in enabling communities to manage natural resource commons more sustainably. But when such collective action is not present, what can be done to foster it? We contribute to the understanding of how experiential learning through games can affect behavioral change, potentially leading to more sustainable commons management. We present a conceptual framework describing the most important processes involved in experiential learning games. The framework highlights the importance of the game context for achieving game outcomes. We list game features that have been argued to influence learning and behavioral determinants, focusing on the game narrative and experience, game rules, and attributes of players. We briefly describe how each game feature influences the processes in the framework. Next, we apply the conceptual framework to examine design features that were particularly important for influencing behavioral drivers in commons management in three intervention cases from India relating to groundwater, surface water, and forests. Our conceptual reflections underpin the need to debate about underlying assumptions in using games as intervention tools. Making assumptions transparent can help to understand why or under what conditions experiential learning works or fails. There is a critical need for more systematic choices of the right tools for the right purpose. This includes participants of the experiential learning who must be able to relate the game to their real life. A social dilemma in the game should at least, in its basic structure, represent a real-life dilemma. We close by highlighting future research needs both from the conceptual behavioral change as well as the game design perspective.

An Ecosystem Framework for the Meta in Esport Games

This paper examines the evolving landscape of modern digital games, emphasizing their nature as live services that continually evolve and adapt. In addition to engaging with the core gameplay, players and other stakeholders actively participate in various game-related experiences, such as tournaments and streaming. This interplay forms a vibrant and intricate ecosystem, facilitating the construction and dissemination of knowledge about the game. Such knowledge flow, accompanied by resulting behavioral changes, gives rise to the concept of a video game meta. Within the competitive gaming context, the meta represents the strategic and tactical knowledge that goes beyond the fundamental mechanics of the game, enabling players to gain a competitive advantage. We present a review of the state-of-the-art of knowledge for game metas and propose a novel model for the meta knowledge structure and propagation that accounts for this ecosystem, based on a review of the academic literature and practical examples. By exploring the dynamics of knowledge exchange and its influence on gameplay, the review presented here sheds light on the intricate relationship between game evolution, player engagement, and the associated emergence of game meta.

The teaching of offensive skills against different defensive scenarios in handball: analysis of coaches' perspectives in different categories.

As it is observed that the selection of teaching approaches takes an important role in youth players' development, investigations regarding teaching handball at this age reveal a gap due to this theme. This study aimed to identify and analyze the coaches' preferred offensive skills through different defensive scenarios and how they are taught in youth handball teams. Twenty-two Brazilian coaches from teams U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 were interviewed (semi-structured interview). Data analysis was performed through the Collective Subject Discourse and presented according to the teams and defensive systems faced. The coaches' discourses showed an increasing expectation throughout the age groups, and the expectation the players can deal with different situations based on their analysis. In addition, it was also found that teaching approaches are based on a technocratic way with further attempts to transfer the learned skills to the game context for all age groups. Therefore, it is suggested that greater attention must be paid while choosing skills and teaching approaches at each stage of the sports training process, in a way to stimulate youth players to deal critically and autonomously with game situations.

Välikatsaus pelimusiikin tutkimuksen moniäänisyyteen

Abstract
 As videogames are being increasingly recognized as a prominent cultural force, there is also a growing interest in the study of video game music within academia. Published in 2021, The Cambridge Companion to Video Game Music is the most recent milestone in establishing video game music research as a credible field of research. The book situates itself naturally on the same continuum with the founding of the Ludomusicology Research Group in 2011 and the launch of the Journal of Sound and Music in Games in 2020. With twenty-four chapters and over four hundred pages, the Companion is probably the largest and most comprehensive collection on game music studies so far. The overarching ethos of the editors Melanie Fritsch and Tim Summers could be described as a warm welcome to a plurality of views on videogame music and indeed, the diversity of perspectives is perhaps the most notable feature of the book: The chapters, divided into six sections each with an overall introduction, discuss a multitude of themes such as chiptune and the early history of videogame music, creation of videogame music, analytical approaches and psychological perspectives, questions relating to culture and identity and finally also game music beyond the context of gaming. Moreover, the list of writers includes not only researchers from a variety of backgrounds, but also people working within the game music industry. As a flipside to the plurality, several chapters appear more like overviews of the theme or suggestions for an approach rather than fully developed perspectives on videogame music. Especially some essential issues pointed out throughout the chapters, such as the concept of interactivity and centrality of player's perspective, would merit further and integrative theoretical discussion. Likewise certain broad themes, such as aesthetics and philosophy of videogame music, empirical research, and personal uses and functions of videogame music, are left to lesser regard. Despite this, the Companion is valuable as an approachable and comprehensive overview of videogame music studies that could prove insightful to not only those interested in the subject but, due to its inclusive and open approach, also to music researchers more broadly.

Pelimusiikin käyttötavat ja funktiot suomalaisten arjessa

The uses and functions of game music in everyday life
 The premise of this article is the idea that games and their music do not only relate to playing, but are also part of people’s musical practices outside of the actual gameplay situation. However, so far very little research has been done on the meanings of game music outside of gaming. In this study, we aim for a broader understanding of people’s relationship with game music by examining how game music is used outside of the context of gaming. The empirical analysis of the article is based on two datasets collected in Finland. The primary material consists of written stories (N=183) about personally meaningful game music memories. In addition to this, we use survey data (N=785) concerning people’s activities with their favorite game music outside of the game. In the study, we investigated (1) how varied and common the activities of using game music are, (2) what different types of game music use can be discerned, and (3) what psychological functions of game music are disclosed in the personal stories.
 According to both datasets, musical practices with game music in people’s everyday life were common. The ways of using game music were also diverse. In general, digital games appear to be a viable resource for engaging in musical practices and acquiring musical experiences. Through cluster analysis, three different types of game music use were outlined from the survey answers: performing/reproducing, reminiscing and appreciating the game experience, which refer to preferences for interacting with game music. Regarding the functions of music, the results imply that the functions of music documented in music psychology literature (mood management, aesthetic pleasure, self-enhancement, memory connection, social bonding) are well suited for analyzing the personal meanings of game music. In all, from the results, it can be established that the aesthetic value of game music for people, at least to some extent, seems to be conditioned by the gameplay experience, even if the music is separated from gaming.

OPPORTUNITIES, FEASIBILITY, AND CHALLENGES OF USING IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY IN AGING RESEARCH

Abstract Immersive virtual reality (iVR), that is, 3D-scenarios presented in head-mounted displays, is rarely used in aging research, although it gained much popularity recently in medical, educational, consumer, and gaming contexts and offers advantages such as real-life scenarios under experimental control. Still, iVR might be less suited for older adults, if they do not experience realism (i.e., presence) or feel strong cyber-sickness (e.g., nausea, headaches). The current preregistered project (osf.io/ryz2c) examined the opportunities, feasibility, and challenges of immersive Virtual Reality for studying age differences in socio-emotional processes. Up to now, 50 younger (age M = 23.5) and 50 older adults (age M = 67.9) saw different socio-emotional situations in iVR using a HTCvive headset, which included eye tracking, and then rated experiences of presence and cyber-sickness. Results showed that feelings of being present in the virtual reality were moderate to high, while cyber-sickness was generally low, and did not differ significantly between younger and older adults. Further analyses explore associations with technology acceptance, health, and personality. The findings suggest that using iVR with older adults is feasible, and creates similar levels of realism and low cyber-sickness as among young adults. The discussion highlights the opportunities and challenges of using iVR for studying age differences in cognitive, emotional, or social processes in experimentally controlled, real-life scenarios.

Distributive behavior, cooperation and gender differences: evidence from Dictator experiments

The aim of this work was to investigate if men and women differed significantly in the distribution of endowments in a dictatorial game context, after the accomplishment of a cooperative task, when interacting directly one with another (Study 1), and when interaction is intermediated by the researcher (Study 2). The experimental task consisted of putting together a puzzle, and then distribute vouchers tickets in the model of a Dictatorial Game. One hundred twenty undergraduates (80 in Study 1 and 40 in Study 2) were organized into three types of pairs: men only, women only, or mixed. The distribution and expectation of receiving vouchers were not influenced by gender and, in general, participants tended to equality in all experimental conditions. Results suggest that participants appraise their partners’ work and try to compensate them, thus contributing to egalitarianism and pro-sociability, even in a context of a Dictator Game.

The Impact of Story Structure, Meaningfulness, and Concentration in Serious Games

This contribution analyzes the impact of factors related to story structure, meaningfulness, and concentration in the design of Serious Games. To explore them, the authors carried out an experimental evaluation aiming to identify relevant aspects affecting the cognitive-emotional impact of immersive Virtual Reality (VR), specifically Educational Environmental Narrative (EEN) Games. The experiment was designed around three main research questions: if passive or active interaction is preferable for factual and spatial knowledge acquisition; whether meaningfulness is a relevant experience in a serious game (SG) context; and if concentration impacts knowledge acquisition and engagement also in VR educational games. The findings highlight that passive interaction should only be encouraged for factual knowledge acquisition, that meaningfulness is a relevant experience and should be included in serious game design, and, finally, that concentration is a factor that impacts the experience in immersive games. The authors discuss potential design paths to improve both factual and spatial knowledge acquisition, such as abstract concept-oriented design, concluding that SGs should contain game mechanics explicitly supporting players’ moments of reflection, and story structures explicitly aligned to educational facts.

Pedagogy, Hyperreality, and Agency—To Sound Out Education Effects Ascribed to a Video Game

Abstract Whereas utopia is the vision of an ideal community, dystopias create the image of a cataclysmic decline of society and environment. This article deals with the construction of personal agency and the analysis of digital simulation that is reflected in an online commercial for a first-person survival horror video game. Agency is understood here as the capacity to act in the virtual environment that is ascribed to the actor by the marketing strategy. Applying approaches from phenomenology, simulation theory, and sound studies, the analysis proceeds in reference to a corresponding educational political agenda. The findings show a certain discrepancy between the more utopian education political rhetoric and the more dystopian construction of personal agency in the video game context, a discrepancy from which specific educational challenges emerge. Finally, even if a case study generally cannot be seen as representative, its results present a direction for the further investigation of virtual reality from the education perspective as suggested by international policies.

Time Spent Gaming, Device Type, Addiction Scores, and Well-being of Adolescent English Gamers in the 2021 OxWell Survey: Latent Profile Analysis.

The shift in the last decades to screen-based and increasingly web-based gaming activity has raised concerns about its impact on the development of children and adolescents. Despite decades of research into gaming and related psychosocial effects, the question remains how best to identify what degree or context of gaming may be a cause for concern. This study aimed to classify adolescents into gamer profiles based on both gaming behaviors and well-being. Once we distinguished the different gamer profiles, we aimed to explore whether membership to a specific profile could be predicted based on a range of personal characteristics and experiences that could then help identify those at risk. We explored gaming and well-being in an adolescent school population (aged 12-18 years) in England as part of the 2021 OxWell student survey. Self-report measures of time spent playing games on computers or consoles, time spent playing games on mobile phones, the Game Addiction Scale, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used to classify adolescent heavy gamers (playing games for at least 3.5 hours a day) using latent profile analysis. We used multinomial logistic regression analysis to predict the profile membership based on a range of personal characteristics and experiences. In total, 12,725 participants answered the OxWell gaming questions. Almost one-third (3970/12,725, 31.2%) indicated that they play games for at least 3.5 hours a day. The correlation between time spent playing video games overall and well-being was not significant (P=.41). The latent profile analysis distinguished 6 profiles of adolescent heavy gamers: adaptive computer gamers (1747/3970, 44%); casual computer gamers (873/3970, 22%); casual phone gamers (595/3970, 15%); unknown device gamers (476/3970, 12%); maladaptive computer gamers (238/3970, 6%); and maladaptive phone gamers (79/3970, 2%). In comparison with adaptive computer gamers, maladaptive phone gamers were mostly female (odds ratio [OR] 0.08, 95% CI 0.03-0.21) and were more likely to have experienced abuse or neglect (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.34-7.55). Maladaptive computer gamers, who reported gaming both on their mobile phones and on the computer, were mostly male and more likely to report anxiety (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.23-4.12), aggressive behavior (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.65-4.88), and web-based gambling (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.24-3.81). A substantial number of adolescents are spending ≥3.5 hours gaming each day, with almost 1 in 10 (317/3970, 8%) reporting co-occurring gaming and well-being issues. Long hours gaming using mobile phones, particularly common in female gamers, may signal poorer functioning and indicate a need for additional support. Although increased time gaming might be changing how adolescents spend their free time and might thus have public health implications, it does not seem to relate to co-occurring well-being issues or mental ill-health for the majority of adolescent gamers.

Comparing semi-professional and amateur game contexts via Football Competence (Procedural Tactical Knowledge)

This study aimed to analyze the game context of the same task (a reduced game P+4 vs. 4+P) in two groups (8 semi-professionals and 8 amateurs), comparing the procedural tactical knowledge of the players. 1377 tactical behaviors were analyzed through the Football Competition Observation System (FOCOS), evaluating the volume and efficiency of 67 variables. Student's t-test for independent samples and Cohen's d effect size were calculated. Using the Bonferroni correction to control for the family error rate in each criterion of the observation tool, significant differences were found in 13 variables (volume, n = 1; efficiency, n = 12), with the following sizes of effect (very large = 4; large = 9). The results revealed that game contexts differ mainly in the efficiency of tactical behaviors that take place outside the game center. Based on this finding, variables focused on the relationship with the ball, widely used to assess performance in team sports, must be carefully judged when comparing players from different divisions and categories; and coaches must prioritize their attention on what happens away from the ball, instead of focusing feedback on those tactical behaviors that occur in the heat of the action.Keywords: performance, decision making, comparative analysis, observational methodology, reduced games

Práxis de consumo: um estudo sobre a busca da libertação da opressão de gênero no contexto dos jogos on-line

Abstract The article theorizes how women face the gender oppression present in consumption. Using data from the context of online games in Brazil collected through 15 in-depth interviews and netnography, we introduce the concept of consumer praxis, defined as a reflective action that seeks liberation of the oppressed and is performed in consumer environments that reinforce the subordination of the other. The results reveal that women seek liberation through dialogical action in the face of gender oppression, mobilization, and market occupation. The research advances in the cultural studies of consumption, demonstrating how a consumption practice can help in the search for liberation from the oppressive relations existing in our society.

An Analysis of the Social Context of Video Games, Pathological Gaming, and Depressive Symptoms.

This study addresses the relationship between the social context in which individuals play video games, pathological gaming, and depressive symptoms. A sample of 265 participants recruited through local gaming communities completed an online survey asking questions pertaining to demographics, the most common social context of their gaming, depressive symptoms, and pathological gaming. Participants also responded to the open-ended question "How do you feel gaming has impacted you socially? Why?" Many participants felt gaming helped to expand their social circle, maintain existing relationships, develop social skills, and connect with others during Covid-19 lockdowns. A small minority of participants reported that gaming displaced time they could have spent with friends and family, and sometimes damaged their social skills. Using an Ordinary Least Squares regression framework, quantitative results indicate that those who gamed primarily in-person with friends displayed lower levels of pathological gaming than all other contexts. Those who gamed in-person with friends also displayed lower levels of depressive symptoms, although this was found to be somewhat a function of time spent gaming. These results indicate that perhaps in-person gaming with friends is a protective context for gaming compared with online gaming, or solitary gaming.