Set Of Games Research Articles

Role of fine-grained uncertainty in determining the limit of preparation contextuality

The optimal success probability of a communication game sets fundamental limitations on an operational theory. Quantum advantage of parity oblivious random access code (PORAC), a communication game, over classical resources reveals the preparation contextuality of quantum theory [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 010401 (2009)]. Optimal quantum advantage in the N-dit PORAC game for finite dimensions is an open problem. Here, we show that the degree of uncertainty allowed in an operational theory determines the amount of preparation contextuality. We connect the upper bound of fine-grained uncertainty relation to the success probability of PORAC game played with the quantum resource. Subsequently, we find the optimal success probability for the 2-dit PORAC game using MUBs for the decoding strategy. Finally, we also derive an upper bound on quantum advantage for the N-dit PORAC game.

Video Game Development in India: A Cultural and Creative Industry Embracing Regional Cultural Heritage(s)

Game development and production practices are complex and highly reflected processes—worldwide. This explorative article discusses video game development as a cultural and creative industry in India, including the industry’s history and introducing recent trends which indicate profound transformations—the use and implementation of Indian cultural heritage in game settings. In the rather short history of Indian game development as compared to other countries—a significant number of games made in India first were produced around 2010—the industry has already lived through big changes and challenges. This article aims at introducing Indian game development and argues that especially independent (so-called indie) game studios in their search for their own, region-specific game development and stand-alone characteristics for Indian games increasingly turn to what they perceive as their own cultural heritage, including, for example, elements from history, art (music, dance, dress styles, and others), and architecture.

Perceptions of Non-English Major College Students on Learning English Vocabulary with Gamified Apps

As gamified English vocabulary learning Apps are increasingly popular among Chinese English learners, this study explores how non-English major college students, who may lack initiatives in foreign language learning, perceive those Apps. Following a qualitative approach, this study analyzed interview data from fifty-three students who have used gamified English vocabulary learning Apps in latest 12 months. The major findings of this study include: (1) the preferred game settings included challenge, team, leaderboard, competition, coins, and badges; (2) students perceived the motivation activation effects of the apps by receiving instant feedback, enjoyment, and sense of achievement, and inactivation effects considering the attention distraction, additional competitive pressure, and imperfect words matching; and (3) students believed that the apps helped to form vocabulary learning habits because of its convenience, rewarding mechanism, and group setting, while others did not because they had fixed learning routines. Then, this study explained and discussed the findings considering factors from or related to both the gamified Apps and students. This study explored the potential of the popular vocabulary learning Apps in enhancing students’ English learning motivation and learning habits and extended the scopes of research on gamification in foreign language education.

Age-friendly regeneration of urban settlements in China: Game and incentives of stakeholders in decision-making

The age-friendly regeneration of urban settlements has been promoted in China to meet older people's demand for "aging in place". However, there are some contradictions among stakeholders in the decision making, hindering the regeneration process. Therefore, after identifying the stakeholders and their contradictions and clarifying their benefits and strategies, this paper established an evolutionary game model of the local government, investors and residents and then explored the stable strategy set of the evolutionary game of stakeholders. A case simulation method was used to test the theoretical results. This paper found the incentive measures that improve the efficiency of the decision making regarding the age-friendly regeneration of urban settlements. This paper also found that under limited conditions, the only stable strategy set of the stakeholder game was the local government, investors and residents implementing active intervention, coordinating opinions and agreeing on benefits strategies, respectively. The evolutionary sequence of the stable strategy set is "local government → investors → residents", which was very important to the application of incentive measures and the proposal of policy implications and suggestions. The effective incentive measures to improve the age-friendly regeneration decision-making efficiency included the following: direct subsidies, indirect subsidies and direct punishment for investors and passive compensation and sharing coefficient optimization for residents. Some policy implications and suggestions for improving decision-making efficiency and promoting the age-friendly regeneration of urban settlements in China are proposed in this paper. The local government can appropriately increase direct and indirect incentives and apply moderate punishment. It is very important that the local government pays attention to the design and operating principles of incentive measures. Otherwise, the wrong design and operation might lead to the failure of incentive measures. The higher-level government should supervise the local government carefully and propose relevant policies and regulations to clearly punish the negative attitudes of the local government. Investors can share more incremental income with residents to promote the development of corporations and the recognition of the local government and residents. Residents should make a good balance of advantages and disadvantages in the decision-making of age-friendly regeneration.

Nonzero-Sum Stochastic Games and Mean-Field Games with Impulse Controls

We consider a general class of nonzero-sum N-player stochastic games with impulse controls, where players control the underlying dynamics with discrete interventions. We adopt a veri?cation approach and provide su?cient conditions for the Nash equilibria (NEs) of the game. We then consider the limiting situation when N goes to in?nity, that is, a suitable mean-?eld game (MFG) with impulse controls. We show that under appropriate technical conditions, there exists a unique NE solution to the MFG, which is an ϵ-NE approximation to the N-player game, with [Formula: see text]. As an example, we analyze in detail a class of two-player stochastic games which extends the classical cash management problem to the game setting. In particular, we present numerical analysis for the cases of the single player, the two-player game, and the MFG, showing the impact of competition on the player’s optimal strategy, with sensitivity analysis of the model parameters.

Map Symbols in Video\xa0Games: the Example of \u201cValheim\u201d

The main focus of this article is to examine the interpretation of twelve cartographic symbols on the map in Valheim. The authors set the research goal: to investigate how players and non-players interpret the symbols. The Valheim video game, which was released in 2021, is a survival game set in an open world. The authors noticed that game developers did not provide a direct explanation of the map symbols used, which could result in a different interpretation and experience of the game. The authors adopted a survey on the LimeSurvey platform as research methodology. This survey tool was used to gather information on experiences and interpretations of map symbols among a diverse group of respondents. Using online forums allowed one to disseminate the survey to a large audience of players from all over the world. Then, using the categorisation method for individual questions, a large database of respondents’ answers was created. Through the analysis, the authors checked the interpretation of symbols and presented the results in the form of graphs. Then, using statistical tests, they analysed the relationship between individual symbols. The study reveals that there are intergroup differences in responses to symbols directly related to the game. With more complicated symbols that did not emphasise an unambiguous answer, both groups of respondents had a problem with indicating the meaning of the symbol. For future research, it is worth continuing research on the interpretation of various map symbols not only in games, but also in all cartographic products.

A preliminary randomized, controlled trial of executive function training for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Executive function, which is a set of thinking skills that includes stopping unwanted responses, being flexible, and remembering information needed to solve problems, is a challenge for many children on the autism spectrum. This study tested whether executive function could be improved with a computerized executive function training program under the guidance of a coach who reinforced the use of executive function skills. Seventy children with autism spectrum disorder from age 7 to 11 years of age participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to receive training or to a waiting group. The tests most likely to determine whether the training may be effective were chosen from a larger battery before the study started and included one task measuring brain responses, two measures of executive function in the lab, and a parent questionnaire. Changes in social functioning and repetitive behaviors were also explored. All children assigned to training completed the program and families generally reported the experience was positive. Brain responses of the training group changed following training, but not within the waiting group during a similar time period. Children who received training did not exhibit behavioral changes during the two the lab-based tasks. Parent report on questionnaires indicated that neither group showed a significant change in their broad use of executive function in other settings. Yet, children who received training were reported to have fewer restricted and repetitive behaviors following training. These initial findings suggest that short executive function training activities are feasible and may improve some functioning of school-aged children on the autism spectrum.

Match and Game Performance Variables in Elite and Junior Men Singles Tennis Players

Junior players although easier approachable in terms of running tests and measurements, are less studied and examined particularly in such popular field of sports science as Performance Analysis. Most of the studies are focusing on elite athletes, whereas juniors are left without attention. This does not help them to successfully progress from junior to senior division. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference of the game struc- ture between Elite Level (EL) and Junior Level (JL) single tennis players. A total of 14 matches were analyzed including semi-finals and finals of International tennis tournaments. The game structure variables selected for this study included match duration (MD), game (set) duration (SD), rallies per game (set) (RPS), shots per rally (SPR), rally length (RL), rest time between rallies (RT), ball in play in seconds (BLs) and ball in play in percentage (BP%). Independent Sample T-test and Mann-Whitney test depending on the normality of data distribution were used for the comparison of game variables between Elite Level and Junior Level. Number of rallies, rest time between rallies, ball in play in percentage, and match duration were tested using Independent Sample T-test. Mann-Whitney test was used for comparing set duration, ball in play in seconds, rally length and shots per rally. There were statistically significant differences among the two categories in number of rallies, ball in play in percentage, ball in play in seconds and rally length (all at p<0.05).

Buyer’s strategic demand information sharing with an upstream echelon for entry promotion

Nowadays, because of the prevalence of information technology, the question of whether or not a firm should share various information vertically with outside firms constituting a supply chain has become a critical issue. Given this environmental change, this paper investigates the information sharing problem of whether a buyer purchasing products from a supplier should disclose its demand information in a noncooperative game setting. To date, a number of game-theoretic studies have shown that the optimal strategy for the buyer pursuing only its own profit is to disclose no demand information, because information disclosure causes a portion of the profit to be drained vertically from the buyer to the supplier. Contrary to this conventional insight in the literature, we demonstrate that the buyer can increase its own profit by fully disclosing information when there exists not only an incumbent supplier currently operating, but also a potential alternative supplier who waits for the chance to enter the upstream market. This finding means that the well-known result in the information sharing game in a supply chain can be reversed when there is an entry threat at the upstream supplier level. This result provides the practical implication that a buyer in a supply chain can strategically reveal demand information, which is seemingly disadvantageous to the buyer, to improve its profit through promoting the entry of another supplier as an alternative source of products. Consequently, we gain managerial insights that differ significantly from existing ones, which is the unique contribution of this study.

Active Video Gaming Using an Adapted Gaming Mat in Youth and Adults With Physical Disabilities: Observational Study.

BackgroundA common leisure-time activity amongst youth and adults in the United States is video gameplay. Playing video games is typically a sedentary endeavor; however, to encourage an increased level of physical activity in an engaging and enjoyable way, active video gaming has become popular. Unfortunately, the accessibility of gaming controllers is often an issue for persons with disabilities. A commercial off-the-shelf (OTS) gaming mat was adapted to facilitate use by individuals with mobility impairments to address this issue.ObjectiveOur study aimed to examine energy expenditure, enjoyment, and gameplay experience in youth and adults with mobility impairment during active video gaming using an OTS and adapted versions of a gaming mat.MethodsThe study used an observational design. During visit 1, physical function was assessed, and participants were given a familiarization period with the gaming system. For visit 2, based on observation during the physical function tests and discussion with the participant, it was decided whether the participant would play in a standing or seated position. For standing gameplay, the mat was placed on the floor, and for seated play, the mat was placed on a height-adjustable and tilt-adjustable tabletop. Metabolic data were collected during a 20-minute baseline and four 10-minute bouts of Wii Fit Plus gameplay, with 2 bouts on each of the mats (adapted and OTS). During gameplay, the research staff observed and rated participants’ ability to use the game controller (mat) and the quality of gameplay. At the end of each game set, participants reported their rating of perceived exertion on a scale from 0 to 10. During rest, participants completed the physical activity enjoyment scale. Participants also answered additional questions regarding the system's usability with each controller (adapted mat and OTS mat). Statistical analyses were computed using Stata 16 (version 16.1; StataCorp). Linear mixed-effects maximum likelihood regression was performed separately for individuals who could play standing and for those who played seated.ResultsA convenience sample of 78 individuals with mobility impairments between the ages of 12 and 60 years (mean 39.6, SD 15.8) participated in the study. Of the sample, 48 participants played the video games in a seated position, while 30 played the games standing. Energy expenditure and heart rate tended to be higher in the OTS mat condition for seated players, while values were similar for both conditions among standing players. However, seated participants reported greater gameplay experience, and both groups exhibited a higher quality of gameplay during the adapted mat condition.ConclusionsActive video gaming using an adapted gaming mat provided an enjoyable exercise activity for individuals with mobility impairments. The use of the adapted controller provides a means by which this population can engage in light to moderate intensity active video gaming, thereby reducing sedentary leisure time.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02994199; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02994199

Myopic and Farsighted Stable Sets in 2-Player Strategic-Form Games

This paper revisits analysis of stable sets in two-player strategic-form games. Our two main contributions are (i) to establish a connection between myopic stable sets and stable matchings of an auxiliary two-sided matching problem and (ii) to identify a structural property of 2-player games, called the block partition property, which helps characterize strategy profiles that are indirectly dominated by a fixed profile. Our analysis also generalizes and unifies existing results on myopic and farsighted stable sets in 2-player games.

An industrial symbiosis simulation game: Evidence from the circular sustainable business development class

AbstractThis study presents the industrial symbiosis (IS) business game developed in the “circular sustainable business development” (CSBD) class at the University of Twente. The game was designed by the instructors to allow students to experience the strategic business dynamics of IS. Spreading knowledge regarding IS dynamics is fundamental for fostering circular business development and equipping students, “the managers of tomorrow,” with the skills of circular economic thinking. In this paper, the rules of the IS business game are presented along with the game settings. Further, the results of the gameplay are presented and discussed from a dual perspective, that is, through the theoretical lenses provided by the IS literature and the intended learning outcomes. Overall, we aim to spread this experience and the related results to promote teaching activities focused on IS.

Nomenclature of Cyclic and Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Educational Games: OrgChemGame

Educational games can be used as an effective means of transferring knowledge in a fun way to complement education and training. The aim of the study was to develop a game and get students' opinions on the game that can be played in Organic Chemistry courses in order to teach the names of commonly used organic compounds with cyclic and aromatic structure. The game, which is called OrgChemGame can be played with at least 3 individuals, one of whom is the referee. The game set includes 48 pcs of 3 cm diameter styrofoam balls with structural formulas of organic compounds identified. OrgChemGame was played by 20 students taking the organic chemistry lecture and studying in the 2nd grade of the Science Education program at a state university in Turkey. The opinions of the students about the game were taken with the opinion form prepared by the researchers. As a result of the research, it was determined that the sizes and colors of the balls and cubes used in the game were appropriate, and the texts used were readable. As a result, OrgChemGame has been designed as an educational game having a purpose and rules. It aims to acquire target behaviors and appropriate to the level of the students, allowing the students to learn with fun, and having sufficient duration and comprehensibility.

Financial incentives to poor countries promote net emissions reductions in multilateral climate agreements

Financial incentives to poor countries promote net emissions reductions in multilateral climate agreements

IMPROVING DECISION MAKING IN PRODUCT MODULARIZATION BY GAME-BASED MANAGEMENT TRAINING

AbstractTo deal with the complexity caused by a constantly increasing need for product customization many companies have adopted a product modularization strategy. Product modularization has the potential to give benefits both in the design of products, in manufacturing as well as in the supply chain. But, it poses great challenges in its implementation, which includes complex decision-making that will affect the whole value-chain. The purpose of this paper is to describe how a game-based approach can be used for academic education, and management training, with the aim of improving decision-making in product modularization. This by visualizing, and practice, the complex interplay between product, manufacturing and supply chain architecture. The paper describes the development of the LEGO Exploratorium game set up, based on the LEGO minifigures, and how it has been used for both teaching engineering students and in company workshop. Using this game set up will increase companies' possibilities to develop modularized products that are designed for both efficient manufacturing and supply chain management.

“No One is Ever Ready for Something Like This.” – On the Dialectic of the Holocaust in First-Person Shooters as Exemplified by Wolfenstein: The New Order

Abstract For almost three decades, the depiction of the Holocaust was considered taboo in digital games. While World War II became a popular historicizing setting for digital games, the crimes of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust in particular remained conspicuously absent. In this article we show that discussions about the fundamental suitability of specific media or media forms for dealing responsibly with the memory of the Nazi regime’s crimes have already taken place several times and that similar arguments can now be applied to the digital game. With this in mind, we pursue the question of whether only so-called serious games are suitable for this purpose, or whether, on the contrary, mainstream blockbuster games – here specifically the first-person shooter Wolfenstein: The New Order – can find ways to maintain the memory of the Holocaust without trivializing it. We approach this question by analyzing chapter 8 of Wolfenstein: The New Order, in which protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz allows himself to be deported to a Nazi concentration camp. We discuss this camp scene dialectically, on the one hand, as an encouragement to rethink the first-person shooter and, on the other hand, as a reproduction of a superficial iconography of the Holocaust.

Development of a Search Task Using Immersive Virtual Reality: Proof-of-Concept Study.

BackgroundSerious games are gaining increasing importance in neurorehabilitation since they increase motivation and adherence to therapy, thereby potentially improving its outcome. The benefits of serious games, such as the possibility to implement adaptive feedback and the calculation of comparable performance measures, can be even further improved by using immersive virtual reality (iVR), allowing a more intuitive interaction with training devices and higher ecological validity.ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop a visual search task embedded in a serious game setting for iVR, including self-adapting difficulty scaling, thus being able to adjust to the needs and ability levels of different groups of individuals.MethodsIn a two-step process, a serious game in iVR (bird search task) was developed and tested in healthy young (n=21) and elderly (n=23) participants and in a group of patients with impaired visual exploration behavior (ie, patients with hemispatial neglect after right-hemispheric stroke; n=11). Usability, side effects, game experience, immersion, and presence of the iVR serious game were assessed by validated questionnaires. Moreover, in the group of stroke patients, the performance in the iVR serious game was also considered with respect to hemispatial neglect severity, as assessed by established objective hemispatial neglect measures.ResultsIn all 3 groups, reported usability of the iVR serious game was above 4.5 (on a Likert scale with scores ranging from 1 to 5) and reported side effects were infrequent and of low intensity (below 1.5 on a Likert scale with scores ranging from 1 to 4). All 3 groups equally judged the iVR serious game as highly motivating and entertaining. Performance in the game (in terms of mean search time) showed a lateralized increase in search time in patients with hemispatial neglect that varied strongly as a function of objective hemispatial neglect severity.ConclusionsThe developed iVR serious game, “bird search task,” was a motivating, entertaining, and immersive task, which can, due to its adaptive difficulty scaling, adjust and be played by different populations with different levels of skills, including individuals with cognitive impairments. As a complementary finding, it seems that performance in the game is able to capture typical patterns of impaired visual exploration behavior in hemispatial neglect, as there is a high correlation between performance and neglect severity as assessed with a cancellation task.

Senior preschool children’s speech development through dialogue with peers

The article is devoted to the relevant problem of speech development, specifically its dialogic component. The development of coherent dialogic speech as a means of forming communication skills plays an important role in the process of preschoolers’ speech development. As a form of speech interaction with other people, dialogue requires special social and speech skills from the child, the development of which occurs gradually. Dialogue for a child is the first school of mastering speech, the school of communication; it is, in fact, the base of personal development. Through dialogue children learn the grammar of their native language, its vocabulary, phonetics, and draw useful information. The topic is relevant, since the development of dialogue in preschool childhood affects the formation of speech and communicative abilities, which are one of the aspects of individual success in modern society. The article focuses on the cooperative type of activities that are particularly important for the development of dialogic speech, primarily in which children jointly create a subject-game environment, come up with a theme and develop a plot, role-play dialogues and in the course of them enter into a variety of real relationships. The program that includes a set of didactic games for older preschoolers and is aimed at improving the level of dialogic communication skills is proposed. An experiment was conducted and described in which a set of didactic games was tested. The experiment showed growth in the skills of dialogic speech.

Desirable characteristics of games for older adults

This study addresses the interests of the elderly when it comes to digital games, to know the characteristics that must be observed when developing games for them. To achieve this objective, characteristics of interest to the elderly were obtained using the Repertory Grid Technique. This technique allows one to understand and discover the personal constructs of individuals. The use of this technique aims to facilitate the discovery of characteristics that please the target audience by exposing them to products that they do not know well and getting their opinion about these products, with a focus on fun. Volunteers were invited to play a set of games giving their opinion on the characteristics that they like the most. During the survey of the desired characteristics, it was also possible to discover the personal values of this public using Laddering, which leads to new characteristics that may not have been mentioned. The study identified 44 constructs related to characteristics of games that may be relevant to the elderly and presents complementary forms of analysis that allowed the understanding and description of the collective constructs.

Personalized Adaptive Training Improves Performance at a Professional First-Person Shooter Action Videogame.

First-Person Shooter (FPS) game experience can be transferred to untrained cognitive functions such as attention, visual short-term memory, spatial cognition, and decision-making. However, previous studies have been using off-the-shelf FPS games based on predefined gaming settings, therefore it is not known whether such improvement of in game performance and transfer of abilities can be further improved by creating a in-game, adaptive in-game training protocol. To address this question, we compared the impact of a popular FPS-game (Counter-Strike:Global-Offensive–CS:GO) with an ad hoc version of the game based on a personalized, adaptive algorithm modifying the artificial intelligence of opponents as well as the overall game difficulty on the basis of individual gaming performance. Two groups of FPS-naïve healthy young participants were randomly assigned to playing one of the two game versions (11 and 10 participants, respectively) 2 h/day for 3 weeks in a controlled laboratory setting, including daily in-game performance monitoring and extensive cognitive evaluations administered before, immediately after, and 3 months after training. Participants exposed to the adaptive version of the game were found to progress significantly faster in terms of in-game performance, reaching gaming scenarios up to 2.5 times more difficult than the group exposed to standard CS:GO (p < 0.05). A significant increase in cognitive performance was also observed. Personalized FPS gaming can significantly speed-up the learning curve of action videogame-players, with possible future applications for expert-video-gamers and potential relevance for clinical-rehabilitative applications.