Simulation Game Research Articles

Historical Overview: Playable Female Athlete Characters in Sport Simulation Videogames

Historically, female athletes have been marginalized in both the fields of sport and videogames, and there is limited work that examines how female athletes have been represented in sport simulation videogames. In this article, this gap is addressed by tracing the history of playable female athlete characters in sport simulation videogames from the 1980s to the present. Unlike esports, which are sporting competitions, sport simulation games represent an element of sport such as gameplay or management. Playable athlete characters are important in these games because they are at once the equivalent of protagonists in a film or novel and are also the avatar through which videogame players interact with that storyworld. To illustrate the key insights that can be drawn from the study of such characters, the trajectory of playable female athletes in sport simulation games is traced across three periods: 1980–1995, 1995–2010, and 2010–2023. Analyzing this history through the lens of hegemony and intersectionality illuminates the general arc of playable female athletes within the sport simulation genre and also demonstrates how representations of female athletes in videogames register historical trends from the fields of both sports and videogames.

Temperament structures and the effectiveness of individual play in football.

Regulatory Theory of Temperament distinguishes two traits involving the time course of responses and four relating to how energy is distributed and stored. This theory enables the presentation of entire structures of temperament traits and it is relevant for assessing an individual's ability to process stimulation and influence their performance during competitions. In our cross-sectional study, these structures are examined in relation to the offensive, defensive, and comprehensive effectiveness of an individual player's actions. The study included 91 football players aged between 20 and 31 years, who had approximately 10 years of training experience. The Formal Characteristics of Behavior - Temperament Inventory was utilized to assess temperamental traits, while a simulation game was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of each individual player's actions. Research demonstrated that football players possessing a temperament structure that is closely aligned harmonized structure with a high capacity to process stimulation showed higher levels of individual efficacy in attack, defence, and comprehensive effectiveness of performance compared to football players with a harmonized temperament structure but a low capacity to process stimulation. The obtained result emphasises the significance of specific temperament structures in terms of matching the individual's stimulation levels and the their ability to process it.

Encouraging training skills in the furniture and woodworking industries through an innovative simulation-based approach

The article presents the results of the project aimed at applying gamification in education. ENCOURAGING SUnRISE ERASMUS+ project builds on the emerging needs of companies in the Wood and Furniture Industry to give employment to young graduated generations (in HE and VET) including: students prepared technically and students motivated to work in this specific sector. To achieve this challenge, the project explored the use of gamification and the Simulation Learning Environment. In particular, ENCOURAGING SUnRISE introduced gamification to the Wood and Furniture Sector training program. The project is a step to trigger modernisation in initial and continuous VET in the sector through gamification and simulation tools. Therefore, the objective of this research was to prepare and investigate the influence of gamification and the Simulation Learning Environment in improving competencies in the furniture and wood sector, as an innovative educational solution. After identifying the needs and challenges, a selection of skills (soft and hard) was made to perform various tasks in the scenario-based simulation game. The quality assessment of the course has been highly rated by students, teachers, and workers As well as the rate of improvement of technical and non-technical knowledge at the end of the course. This creates a chance to respond to needs and opportunities of traditional industries by offering innovative didactic approaches. ENCOURAGING SUnRISE may in a modern and attractive way reinforce the top skills that the most outstanding workers of the sector usually display.

Personalized rehabilitation approach for reaching movement using reinforcement learning

Musculoskeletal disorders challenge significantly the performance of many daily life activities, thus impacting the quality of life. The efficiency of the traditional physical therapy programs is limited by ecological parameters such as intervention duration and frequency, number of caregivers, geographic accessibility, as well as by subjective factors such as patient’s motivation and perseverance in training. The implementation of VR rehabilitation systems may address these limitations, but the technology still needs to be improved and clinically validated. Furthermore, current applications generally lack flexibility and personalization. A VR rehabilitation game simulation is developed, which focuses on the upper-limb movement of reaching, an essential movement involved in numerous daily life activities. Its novelty consists in the integration of a machine learning algorithm, enabling highly adaptive and patient-customized therapeutic intervention. An immersive VR system for the rehabilitation of reaching movement using a bubble popping game is proposed. In the virtual space, the patient is presented with bubbles appearing at different locations and is asked to reach the bubble with the injured limb and pop it. The implementation of a Q-learning algorithm enables the game to adjust the location of the next bubble according to the performance of the patient, represented by his kinematic characteristics. Two test cases simulate the performance of the patient during a training program of 10 days/sessions, in order to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm, demonstrated by the spatial and temporal distribution of the bubbles in each evolving scenario. The results show that the algorithm learns the patient’s capabilities and successfully adapts to them, following the reward policy dictated by the therapist; moreover, the algorithm is highly responsive to kinematic features’ variation, while demanding a reasonable number of iterations. A novel approach for upper limb rehabilitation is presented, making use of immersive VR and reinforcement learning. The simulation suggests that the algorithm offers adaptive capabilities and high flexibility, needed in the comprehensive personalization of a rehabilitation process. Future work will demonstrate the concept in clinical trials.

Simulation of street landscape design based on machine learning and entertainment design robots: An interactive entertainment design experience

Traditional design methods usually present design ideas through plans and models, but this method can not truly simulate the design effect. Therefore, this research aims to use computer game simulation and virtual robotics technology to provide a more interactive and realistic design experience. The study creates a virtual street environment with elements such as streets, buildings and vegetation through computer game simulation. Participants can move and interact in this environment through virtual robots, experience the process of street landscape design, adjust the street layout, add landscape elements, and observe the design effect in real time according to their own design intentions. Compared with traditional design methods, the experimental results show that the design experience using computer game simulation and virtual robot technology is more vivid, creative and interactive. Participants can better perceive the design effect and adjust the design scheme in real time. This interactive entertainment design experience method can help designers and participants better understand and evaluate the design scheme, and improve the design effect and participation.

Emerging Advanced Technologies for Game Engineering

In this paper, the outcomes of the 8th International Workshop on Games and Software Engineering (GAS 2024)1 are reported. The one-day workshop has been held as part of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2024) in Lisbon, Portugal on April 14, 2024. The workshop programme includes two exciting keynotes discussing topics related to harnessing video game simulations to generate content and locate bugs, and the experience of maintaining a popular FOSS library, raylib. There are three research paper sessions. The first relates to automation in game engineering; the second explores testing and quality assurance; and the third discusses specification and quality of service. The conclusion of the workshop is anchored by a panel of four researchers, educators, and practitioners discussing the current strengths and limitations of large language models in game engineering.

Enhancing Student Active Engagement in Class through Game-Based Learning: A Case of Civil Engineering Education

Students are rapidly losing interest in STEM education due to the minimal incorporation of media into learning and the complexity of teaching methods, which ultimately results in a lack of motivation. However, despite these challenges, incorporating active learning methods in STEM can ultimately reignite students’ interest in STEM education. This paper reports a case study presenting the effects of simulation games on enhancing the learning experiences of civil engineering students through an intervention method. It develops a framework for enhancing learning through game-based learning. Intervention included the following two groups: a control group exposed to conventional teaching methods and an experimental group introduced to the simulation game. Following the learning sessions, a survey was conducted to gauge students’ perceptions about the proposed framework. Results indicated a strong positive response from students toward the game-based learning approach. They expressed satisfaction with its effectiveness in improving their understanding. Independent t-tests found that the mean score (4.13) for entertainment via the game exceeded that of traditional teaching methods (3.72). Furthermore, 85% of students acknowledged the game’s utility in reinforcing civil engineering concepts, compared to 67% for traditional methods. Many students suggested expanding the game to cover a wider range of topics in future versions to enable a more comprehensive learning experience.

Adaptive strategy optimization in game-theoretic paradigm using reinforcement learning

Parrondo's paradox refers to the counterintuitive phenomenon whereby two losing strategies, when alternated in a certain manner, can result in a winning outcome. Understanding the optimal sequence in Parrondo's games is of significant importance for maximizing profits in various contexts. However, the current predefined sequences may not adapt well to changing environments, limiting their potential for achieving the best performance. We posit that the optimal strategy that determines which game to play should be learnable through experience. In this Letter, we propose an efficient and robust approach that leverages Q learning to adaptively learn the optimal sequence in Parrondo's games. Through extensive simulations of coin-tossing games, we demonstrate that the learned switching strategy in Parrondo's games outperforms other predefined sequences in terms of profit. Furthermore, the experimental results show that our proposed method can be easily adjusted to adapt to different cases of capital-dependent games and history-dependent games. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Using business games in administration teaching: A case study of the entrepreneurial Matrix Game

Business games, also known as business simulation games, are educational tools used in teaching business administration that simulate real-life business scenarios. They provide a controlled environment for students to practice decision-making, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills in a risk-free environment. In this article we applied the Entrepreneurial Matrix Company Game to a sample group of undergraduate business students. This game is a learning methodology that simulates the step-by-step creation of a new business model in a controlled environment. It is an interactive tool that allows participants to experience different situations and challenges that may arise when opening a new business. Our objective was to identify the importance of such a tool for entrepreneurial motivation, and at the end of this research we identified that the company game Matriz Empreendedora can help identify potential obstacles and opportunities, allowing student-entrepreneurs to better prepare themselves to launch a new business.

"You can push these conversations, but don't push your patient away": healthcare learner perspectives on virtual simulation games as an educational approach to address vaccine hesitancy.

Vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to public health. Healthcare providers (HCPs) can address hesitancy during routine patient conversations; however, few multidisciplinary education tools exist for HCPs to learn to engage in vaccine discussion especially considering new vaccine technologies such as mRNA vaccines. The objectives of this study were to explore HCP learners' experiences with COVID-19 vaccine communication, and qualitatively evaluate an online learning module composed of virtual simulation games (VSGs) which utilize the PrOTCT Framework for HCP vaccine communication. Three virtual focus groups were conducted from December 2022 to January 2023 with Canadian healthcare learners in nursing (N = 6), pharmacy (N = 9), and medicine (N = 7) who participated in a larger study measuring the effectiveness of the VSGs. Using a pragmatic approach, a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo to identify themes and subthemes. A total of 22 HCP learners participated in this study and three key themes were identified. Across all three disciplines, participants expressed that (1) their prior education lacked training on how to hold vaccine conversations, resulting in uncomfortable personal experiences with patients; (2) the VSGs increased their confidence in holding vaccine conversations by providing novel tools and skills; and (3) participants also provided feedback to improve the VSGs which was implemented and supported the dissemination to all HCP professions. Although HCPs are a trusted source of vaccine information, participants in this study felt they received little training on how to engage in challenging conversations regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The introduction of the PrOTCT Framework and presumptive statements provided novel strategies for HCP to initiate vaccine conversations, especially considering new vaccine technologies and participants appreciated the emphasis on coping strategies and resilience. It is essential that HCP are provided both opportunities to practice managing these conversations, and tools and skills to succeed at an early point in their careers to prepare them for future roles in vaccine advocacy, delivery, and promotion.

Virtual Reality Technology in Rural Sports Sustainable Development Reform Research

Rural sports support unity among communities, encourage physical exercise in natural environments, and preserve regional traditions all of which are beneficial to sustainable development. Villages frequently encourage environmental stewardship and conservation initiatives, highlight cultural history, and promote local economies. By providing realistic practice environments and simulated games, we used virtual reality (VR) technology to improve rural sports and lessen the demand for substantial development infrastructure. A potential disadvantage of adopting VR technology for rural sports is the possibility of insufficient facilities and supplies available in remote areas. In this paper, we propose a novel World Cup Search-driven Quadratic Support Vector Machine (WCS-QSVM) method to enhance the performance of VR in rural sports. We use one of the Chisnese traditional games dragons boating. We employ an immersive setup that replicates the kinematic and sensory subtleties of dragon boating through the use of virtual reality. To allow users to participate in real-world paddling activities, such as moving iron rods on a boat with a reasonably replicated resistance to water, we use a controller-based approach. As a result, we evaluate the performance of our proposal. According to the findings, the use of VR can enhance the growth of sustainable development in rural sports.

Increasing pitch count is associated with increasing elbow flexion angle at ball release in youth baseball pitchers

Baseball is one of the most popular sports among youth athletes in the United States, and among these players, pitchers are at a particularly high risk of sustaining an injury. Overuse of the arm from repetitive pitching is a common mechanism for injury. Despite the attention that overuse injury has received, little is known regarding the mechanism that leads to elbow injury. This study aims to determine the effect of increasing pitch count on elbow flexion at ball release in a youth pitching cohort. The authors hypothesize that elbow flexion would increase as pitch count increases. Study subjects included volunteers from youth baseball players from local teams and public advertisements. Retroreflective markers attached to bony landmarks were placed on the players according to International Shoulder Group recommendations. Pitchers threw an indoor simulated game. Three-dimensional marker trajectories were collected using a 12-camera optical motion capture system, and ball velocity was captured using a radar gun. Voluntary maximal isometric strength of the internal and external rotators was evaluated before and after pitching. Paired 2-tailed t tests were performed to determine if a significant change occurred between the fresh and fatigued sets. Twelve adolescent male pitchers were recruited. Eleven of 12 pitchers completed the prescribed 6 sets of 15 pitches, culminating in a 90-pitch simulated game. The ball speed in the second set was found to be the highest in all pitchers and was considered the "peak set" (P=.021), whereas ball speed was the slowest in the sixth set of pitches and was therefore considered the "fatigue set" (P=.001). There was a moderate but statistically significant inverse correlation between elbow flexion at ball release and maximum internal rotation velocity (P=.005). Elbow flexion at ball release was also significantly positively correlated with shoulder abduction at ball release (P=.004). Elbow flexion at ball release was not significantly correlated with ball velocity (P=.108). In a simulated game laboratory setting, increasing pitch count was associated with increasing elbow flexion angle at ball release in youth baseball pitchers. These findings demonstrate that pitching with fatigue may cause biomechanical changes that have been associated with increased rates of elbow injury in the adult throwing population. Further investigation on the association between elbow flexion angle and elbow injury in the youth baseball population is needed.

Changes in Countermovement Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics During a Game in Professional Male Basketball Players.

Cabarkapa, D, Johnson, QR, Cabarkapa, DV, Philipp, NM, Eserhaut, DA, and Fry, AC. Changes in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics during a game in professional male basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 38(7): 1326-1329, 2024-As technology within elite basketball advances and is more available to sporting organizations, novel approaches for assessing and addressing athletic performance during practice or competition are being continuously explored. The aim of this investigation was to examine changes in neuromuscular performance during live basketball play. Eight professional male basketball players volunteered to participate in this study. The testing procedures were conducted during a pre-tournament camp over a span of 2 days. During the first day, the athletes were familiarized with the testing procedures, and baseline measurements were obtained. Using a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz, each athlete performed 3 countermovement vertical jumps (CVJ) without an arm swing before proceeding with their regular training activities. During the second day of the pre-tournament camp, the athletes repeated identical CVJ testing procedures before the start of the first quarter and post-first, second, third, and fourth quarter of a simulated 5-on-5 basketball game. Repeated-measures testing design was used to examine statistically significant differences in various force-time metrics of interest in comparison to the baseline levels (p < 0.05). Besides a trivial decrease in eccentric mean force, the findings of this study revealed no statistically significant changes in any force-time metrics of interest within both eccentric and concentric phases of the CVJ (i.e., mean and peak force and power, jump height, impulse, velocity, and contraction time). Thus, we can conclude that these variables were not sensitive to acute fatigue, suggesting that the neuromuscular performances of professional male basketball players tend to remain unchanged throughout a 5-on-5 simulated game.

Disgust in the mating context – choosing the best and the least bad self-presentation option in a date simulation game

In order to achieve interpersonal goals, people manipulate their self-image: they manifest their most favourable traits and avoid exhibiting the most aversive ones. Disgust is one of the most powerful turn-offs in a mating context. Here, we explored which disgust domain −pathogen, sexual, or moral − is considered the most damaging for self-image. We also revisited the importance of various positive traits in a potential partner. The participants (N = 1,017) played a date-simulation game. They chose which one of five positive characteristics, and which one of three disgust norm transgressions they want to manifest. We analysed the influence of one’s biological sex, sexual orientation, and culture on self-presentation during a date.Women more often manifested morally disgusting behaviours and artistic abilities than men, while men more often manifested pathogenically disgusting behaviours and kindness. Homosexual orientation predicted lower frequency of admitting to moral disgust transgressions, and higher frequency of exhibiting artistic abilities.

Nursing Students' Experiences of Empathy in a Virtual Reality Simulation Game: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Empathy is significant in nursing, and showing empathy toward a patient positively impacts a patient's health. Learning empathy through immersive simulations is effective. Immersion is an essential factor in virtual reality. This study aimed to describe nursing students' experiences of empathy in a virtual reality simulation game. Data were collected from nursing students (n = 20) from May 2021 to January 2022. Data collection included individual semistructured interviews; before the interviews, the virtual reality gaming procedure was conducted. Inductive content analysis was used. Nursing students experienced compassion and a feeling of concern in the virtual reality simulation game. Students were willing to help the virtual patient, and they recognized the virtual patient's emotions using methods such as listening and imagining. Students felt the need to improve the patient's condition, and they responded to the virtual patient's emotions with the help of nonverbal and verbal communication and helping methods. Empathy is possible to experience by playing virtual reality simulation games, but it demands technique practicing before entering the virtual reality simulation game.

A Randomized Controlled Simulation Trial of a Neonatal Resuscitation Digital Game Simulator for Labour and Delivery Room Staff.

Healthcare providers (HCPs) working in labour and delivery rooms need to undergo regular refresher courses to maintain their neonatal resuscitation skills, which are shown to decline over time. However, due to their irregular schedules and limited time, HCPs encounter difficulties in readily accessing refresher programs. RETAIN is a digital game that simulates a delivery room to facilitate neonatal resuscitation training for HCPs. This study aims to ascertain whether participants enjoyed the RETAIN digital game simulator and whether it was at least as good as a video lecture at refreshing and maintaining participants' neonatal resuscitation knowledge. In this randomized controlled simulation trial, n = 42 labour and delivery room HCPs were administered a pre-test of neonatal resuscitation knowledge using a manikin. Then, they were randomly assigned to a control or a treatment group. For 20-30 min, participants in the control group watched a neonatal resuscitation lecture video, while those in the treatment group played the RETAIN digital game simulator of neonatal resuscitation scenarios. Then, all participants were administered a post-test identical to the pre-test. Additionally, participants in the treatment group completed a survey of attitudes toward the RETAIN simulator that provided a measure of enjoyment of the RETAIN game simulator. After two months, participants were administered another post-test identical to the pre-test. For the primary outcome (neonatal resuscitation performance), an analysis of variance revealed that participants significantly improved their neonatal resuscitation performance over the first two time points, with a significant decline to the third time point, the same pattern of results across conditions, and no differences between conditions. For the secondary outcome (attitudes toward RETAIN), participants in the treatment condition also reported favourable attitudes toward RETAIN. Labour and delivery room healthcare providers in both groups (RETAIN simulator or video lecture) significantly improved their neonatal resuscitation performance immediately following the intervention, with no group differences. The findings suggest that participants enjoyed interacting with the RETAIN digital game simulator, which provided a similar boost in performance right after use to the more traditional intervention.

The Effect of the Drill Like Game Situation Training Program on Forehand and Backhand Shots in Pickleball Sports

One of the increasingly popular sports is Pickleball, which offers a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis. Pickleball emphasizes control, accuracy, and good reflexes, while still being easy to learn and play for beginners to experienced players. Mastery of basic techniques, including forehand and backhand shots, is essential in playing Pickleball effectively. The drill method, with simulated game situations similar to actual matches, is an effective approach to improve players' skills in this sport. This study aims to determine the effect of the Drill Like Game Situation Training program on Forehand and Backhand shots in Pickleball. The motede of this research is an experiment with a quantitative approach. The population of this study were members of the JPOK pickleball club. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling and obtained a sample of 18 people. The results showed that the Drill Like Game Training Program has a significant effect on forehand and backhand shots in the Pickleball game because this program provides structured and repetitive training, which allows players to improve technique and reliability in performing both shots. The Drill Like Game Training Program also not only improves the technical skills of forehand and backhand shots, but also helps players hone their mental and tactical abilities in the game of Pickleball.

Promoting sustainability through competencies? An explorative case study on sustainability education in Norway

ABSTRACT This study aims to assess possible pathways to implementing sustainability through higher education. The focus is on teaching and learning the competencies deemed necessary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We link the topic of education to theories of sustainability transitions. Against this theoretical backdrop, we present the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) approach. Following this concept, a practice-orientated education can help students to acquire the competencies needed to act as change agents throughout their future careers. With a case study on sustainability education in Norway, we aim to identify potential bottlenecks for changes towards a competence-based mode of education for future change agents and offer a possible solution by presenting the outcomes of using a novel simulation game.

Sports Performance Analysis of Wheelchair Basketball Players Considering Functional Classification

Wheelchair basketball (WB) is a sport modality adapted for people with disabilities who present functional classification (FC) according to their mobility, from 1.0 for players with lesser functional capacity up to 4.5 for great mobility and trunk control players. This study aimed to analyze and compare the external load (EL) and the internal load (IL) of the WB players according to their FC in 5 × 5 simulation game tasks. The main objective of this task was to develop a simulated game in which two teams of five players faced each other to resemble the physical demands of an official match. The development of these tasks allowed for the players to learn the different systems of play, and to improve tactical skills. To conduct the study, 12 (male) national professional WB players (years: 30.7 ± 4.82 and WB experience: 5 ± 1.43) participated in the study and were grouped according to FC. WIMU PROTM devices monitored the EL manufactured by RealTrack Systems in Almería, Spain, and to measure the player’s IL, GarminTM Heart Rate (HR) bands were used (GarminTM in Olathe, KS, USA). The EL variables were divided as kinematic (distance, explosive distance, acc, dec, max. acc, max. dec, average speed, max. speed) and neuromuscular (player load, impact). The IL variables were average HR, max. HR and %max. HR. The main results show that players with greater functional capacity (FC = 4.0) developed higher values in the IL and neuromuscular variables analyzed (p &lt; 0.05), as well as in some kinematic variables like distance, dec and average speed (p &lt; 0.05). This information is relevant because it helps to personalize the training load based on competitive demands and create a gradual and adaptable training program. This information helps athletes to develop better performance during training and prevent injuries caused by overexertion.

Evolution game simulation study on Asia–Europe grain trade cooperation network

There has unavoidably been a problem for international grain cooperation in the Asia–Europe region as a result of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict. Analysis of the impact of Russian–Ukrainian conflict on the evolution of grain trade cooperation, identifying key influencing factors and formulating corresponding measures are of practical value for safeguarding grain security in the Asia–Europe region. In this paper, a grain trade network is constructed according to grain trade data from the Asian–European grain trade cooperation countries. A grain trade network game (GTNG) model of grain trade cooperation is established in order to investigate the elements that influence trade cooperation. The reciprocal preference is introduced. Through simulation experiments, the effects of cooperation costs, neighboring countries’ incentives, and punitive pressures, the degree of goodwill perception, the types of game, and the proportion of initial cooperators on trade cooperation are examined. This study may give useful policy recommendations for promoting Asia–Europe grain trade cooperation under the influence of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict.