Computer games technology and higher education

The motivation of this paper is to debate the issue of how we should treat computer games technology in higher education. Certainly it is the case that computer games technology is a new and demanding profession. It is also the case that there has been a slow realisation within the academic community of both the depth and the importance of the topic. The issues are obvious. What exactly comprises computer games technology and should it be considered as a separate academic topic for a degree course or be a set of options within an established undergraduate degree structure? And who is responsible for pushing forward research in the subject? Within the framework of this debate we will present our work at the University of Sheffield.     

The role of Game Discourse Analysis and curiosity in creating engaging and effective serious games by implementing a back story and foreshadowing

A challenge for serious games designers is to integrate learning with entertainment. For this purpose, the generation of curiosity using the foreshadowing/back story technique is promising. To implement this technique we propose the Game Discourse Analysis (GDA) which discerns between information flow (i.e. the sequence of information elements in a chronological order) and game discourse (i.e. the manipulation of the information flow to make the game more engaging and effective). We elaborate on the GDA and describe how two of the authors applied it in order to implement foreshadowing/back story in the game ReMission. The GDA was found to have potential as a communication tool for multidisciplinary design teams. Also, two problems were signaled: (1) creating an information flow is laborious and designers may benefit from automating parts of the GDA; (2) substantial deviations from the optimal information flow by players’ actions may interfere with the intention of the game discourse. Additionally, in an experiment we tested the impact of this GDA supported manipulation on engagement (curiosity) and learning. We found that the GDA-supported foreshadowing/back story yielded more curiosity, but that it did not yield learning.     

Playful public participation in urban planning: A case study for online serious games

The aim of this paper is to study the implementation of online games to encourage public participation in urban planning. Its theoretical foundations are based on previous work in public participatory geographical information systems (PP GISs), play and games, with a special focus on serious games. Serious games aim to support learning processes in a new, more playful way. We developed the concept of playful public participation in urban planning, including playful elements such as storytelling, walking and moving, sketching, drawing, and games. A group of students designed an online serious public participatory game entitled NextCampus. The case study used in NextCampus was taken from the real-world question of a possible move of a university campus to a new location in the city of Hamburg, Germany. The development of the serious public participatory game NextCampus resulted in a physical prototype, user interface design, and a computational model of the game. The NextCampus game was tested with the help of two groups of urban planning students and presented to three external experts who provided valuable recommendations for further development. The critical comments questioned the level of complexity involved in such games. The positive comments included recognition of the potential for joy and the playfulness a game like NextCampus could evoke.     

A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games

This paper examines the literature on computer games and serious games in regard to the potential positive impacts of gaming on users aged 14 years or above, especially with respect to learning, skill enhancement and engagement. Search terms identified 129 papers reporting empirical evidence about the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games with respect to learning and engagement and a multidimensional approach to categorizing games was developed. The findings revealed that playing computer games is linked to a range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioural, affective and motivational impacts and outcomes. The most frequently occurring outcomes and impacts were knowledge acquisition/content understanding and affective and motivational outcomes. The range of indicators and measures used in the included papers are discussed, together with methodological limitations and recommendations for further work in this area.     

Solutions and properties of multi-stage stackelberg games

The inducible region concept is used to solve multistage, deterministic Stackelberg games, and to study properties of the solutions. We first delineate the inducible region by using a process similar to dynamic programming. A desired outcome is then selected from the region. To construct a Stackelberg strategy, we move forwards in time to cover various contingent situations. This approach gives a distinct picture about the nature of the problem. In particular, two aspects of the principle of the optimality are discussed. A design procedure is presented to construct a relatively robust Stackelberg strategy. The issue of credibility is also addressed.     

A Synthetic Actor model for long-term computer games

Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence provide suitable techniques to improve computer games quality. While the former offers mechanisms to model environment and characters' physical features, the latter provides models and tools for building characters, namely Synthetic Actors or Believable Agents, which can exhibit intelligent social behaviour and express personality and emotions. The current architecture proposals for Synthetic Actors do not fully meet the requirements for long-term games development, such as strategy and adventure ones, it is necessary to guarantee both personality stability and reactive emotional responses, which may be contradictory. In this work, we propose a new Synthetic Actor model that tightly connects emotions and social attitudes to personality, providing a long-term coherent behaviour. This model has been applied to two games presented here as case studies.     

博弈树并行搜索算法

本文分析了博弈树并行搜索算法中的主变量分裂算法的同步开锁问题。     

A concept of cooperative equilibrium for dynamic games

The paper proposes an equilibrium solution concept for dynamic games where players can communicate with one another, but cannot make contractual agreements. In such games, unlike the static problems without contracting possibilities, the cooperation between players is possible due to the fact that the realization of negotiated agreements can be enforced by suitably-defined strategies. The definition presented combines dynamic programming, the theory of bargaining and the notion of enforceable agreements to produce a class of cooperative solutions defined in the form of memory Nash equilibria satisfying the principle of optimality along the equilibrium trajectory. The choice of a particular solution in this class depends on players' expected actions in case of disagreement, and on an adopted negotiation scheme formalized in the form of a bargaining model. Possible formulations of disagreement policies and bargaining models are discussed in some detail.     

Computerized notation analysis in field games

Abstract

Notation analysis can enhance the coaching process, and can provide information for virtually all decisions made with respect to long term and short term strategies, training, selection and scouting for talent. This applies to analysis of movement, actions and skills of individuals and teams.

Notation systems in sport developed rapidly from racket games to team sports. Initially all systems were manual. The development and growth in power and sophistication, together with a decrease in cost, of the micro-computer in the early 1980s has enabled sports analysts to use this tool to simplify data handling. Far greater amounts of data can now be handled, processed and analysed in a fraction of the time taken previously.

Computerized systems, for analysing team games, from Canada and Britain are described. Applications to association football, hockey, Rugby Union and American football have provided insights into successful patterns of play in these games. Recent work, in both these countries, gives a clear indication of likely trends in sport notation systems, given the pace of developments within the microelectronics industry. These may be extended to include applications to areas outside sport.     

A metric for positional games

We define an extended real-valued metric, ρ, for positional games and prove that this class of games is a topological semigroup. We then show that two games are finitely separated iff they are path-connected and iff two closely related Conway games are equivalent. If two games are at a finite distance then this distance is bounded by the maximum difference of any two atoms found in the games. We may improve on this estimate when two games have the same form, as given by a form match. Finally, we show that if ρ(G,H)=∞ then for all X we have G+X H+X, a step towards proving cancellation for positional games.     

The effect of violent and non-violent computer games on cognitive performance

Two studies were conducted in order to determine the impact computer games had on the cognitive performance. Study 1 evaluated a measure of cognition, which incorporates aspects of short-term working memory, visual attention, mathematical decision making, and auditory perception. Study 2 measured the cognitive performance between those who did not play video games versus those who played either a violent or non-violent video game. Results from Study 1 indicate participants needed approximately four trials to reach asymptotic performance on the cognitive measure. Results of Study 2 showed that participants who did not play any video game did not have a change in their cognitive performance, while those who played either a violent or non-violent video game had an increase in their cognitive performance.     

Implicit learning as a design strategy for learning games: Alert Hockey

Concussion education and prevention for youth hockey players has been an issue of recent concern amongst sport medicine practitioners and hockey’s administrative bodies. This article details the assessment of a sports-action hockey video game that aims to reduce the aggressive and negligent behaviours that can lead to concussions. The game, termed Alert Hockey, was designed to modify game playing behaviour by embedding an implicit teaching mechanism within the gameplay. In Alert Hockey, participants were expected to learn by simply playing to win, in contrast to playing to learn. We studied learning in an experimental simulated environment where the possibility to win the game was exaggerated as a consequence of desirable safety behaviours (positive learning group) and effectively reduced as a consequence of undesirable (negative learning group) behaviour. The positive learning group significantly improved their mean score on a composite behavioural indicator compared with no significant change amongst control group participants. The results demonstrate that implicit learning embedded in a sports-action game can lead to changes in game-play behaviour.     

Machine learning in digital games: a survey

Artificial intelligence for digital games constitutes the implementation of a set of algorithms and techniques from both traditional and modern artificial intelligence in order to provide solutions to a range of game dependent problems. However, the majority of current approaches lead to predefined, static and predictable game agent responses, with no ability to adjust during game-play to the behaviour or playing style of the player. Machine learning techniques provide a way to improve the behavioural dynamics of computer controlled game agents by facilitating the automated generation and selection of behaviours, thus enhancing the capabilities of digital game artificial intelligence and providing the opportunity to create more engaging and entertaining game-play experiences. This paper provides a survey of the current state of academic machine learning research for digital game environments, with respect to the use of techniques from neural networks, evolutionary computation and reinforcement learning for game agent control.     

Search in games with incomplete information: a case study using Bridge card play

We examine search algorithms in games with incomplete information, formalising a best defence model of such games based on the assumptions typically made when incomplete information problems are analysed in expert texts. We show that equilibrium point strategies for optimal play exist for this model, and define an algorithm capable of computing such strategies. Using this algorithm as a reference we then analyse search architectures that have been proposed for the incomplete information game of Bridge. These architectures select strategies by analysing some statistically significant collection of complete information sub-games. Our model allows us to clearly state the limitations of such architectures in producing expert analysis, and to precisely formalise and distinguish the problems that lead to sub-optimality. We illustrate these problems with simple game trees and with actual play situations from Bridge itself.     

Digital games target social change.

The field of games aimed at social change is young and ripe with opportunity, and several recent announcements of corporate/public-sector partnerships to develop such games are further fueling hopes for its success. These games raise awareness of important social issues in two ways: through engaging and meaningful game play and innovative, successful, and often large-scale distribution techniques. Such games are typically low-budget, grassroots creations distributed virally. The focus is on reaching new audiences, exploring innovative distribution options, and drawing attention to an issue.     

Teaching computer game design and construction

Computer gaming is a key component of the rapidly growing entertainment industry. While building computer games has typically been a commercial endeavor, we believe that designing and constructing a computer game is also a useful activity for educating students about geometric modeling and computer graphics. In particular, students are exposed to the practical issues surrounding topics such as geometric modeling, rendering, collision detection, character animation and graphical design. Moreover, building an advanced game provides students exposure to the real-world side of software engineering that they are typically shielded from in the standard computer class. In this paper, we describe our experiences with teaching a computer science class that focuses on designing and building the best game possible in the course of a semester. The paper breaks down a typical game into various components that are suited for individual student projects and discusses the use of modern graphical design tools such as Maya in building art for the game. We conclude with a rough timeline for developing a game during the course of a semester and review some of the lessons learned during the three years we have taught the class.     

On the complexity of constrained Nash equilibria in graphical games

A widely accepted rational behavior for non-cooperative players is based on the notion of Nash equilibrium. Although the existence of a Nash equilibrium is guaranteed in the mixed framework (i.e., when players select their actions in a randomized manner) in many real-world applications the existence of “any” equilibrium is not enough. Rather, it is often desirable to single out equilibria satisfying some additional requirements (in order, for instance, to guarantee a minimum payoff to certain players), which we call constrained Nash equilibria.In this paper, a formal framework for specifying these kinds of requirement is introduced and investigated in the context of graphical games, where a player p may directly be interested in some of the other players only, called the neighbors of p. This setting is very useful for modeling large population games, where typically each player does not directly depend on all the players, and representing her utility function extensively is either inconvenient or infeasible.Based on this framework, the complexity of deciding the existence and of computing constrained equilibria is then investigated, in the light of evidencing how the intrinsic difficulty of these tasks is affected by the requirements prescribed at the equilibrium and by the structure of players’ interactions. The analysis is carried out for the setting of mixed strategies as well as for the setting of pure strategies, i.e., when players are forced to deterministically choose the action to perform. In particular, for this latter case, restrictions on players’ interactions and on constraints are identified, that make the computation of Nash equilibria an easy problem, for which polynomial and highly-parallelizable algorithms are presented.     

Serious games for higher education: a framework for reducing design complexity

Abstract Serious games open up many new opportunities for complex skills learning in higher education. The inherent complexity of such games, though, requires large efforts for their development. This paper presents a framework for serious game design, which aims to reduce the design complexity at conceptual, technical and practical levels. The approach focuses on a relevant subset of serious games labelled as scenario‐based games. At the conceptual level, it identifies the basic elements that make up the static game configuration; it also describes the game dynamics, i.e. the state changes of the various game components in the course of time. At the technical level, it presents a basic system architecture, which comprises various building tools. Various building tools will be explained and illustrated with technical implementations that are part of the Emergo toolkit for scenario‐based game development. At the practical level, a set of design principles are presented for controlling and reducing game design complexity. The principles cover the topics of game structure, feedback and game representation, respectively. Practical application of the framework and the associated toolkit is briefly reported and evaluated.