This paper presents the latest version of the Machinations framework. This framework uses diagrams to represent the flow of tangible and abstract resources through a game. This flow represents the mechanics that make up a game’s interbal economy and has a large impact on the emergent gameplay of most simulation games, strategy games and board games. This paper shows how Machinations diagrams can be used simulate and balance games before they are built.
Videogames have become educational, communicative and social tools among the young, favouring the acquisition of skills, abilities and values, encompassing an endless number of themes, and helping them to experience and to face, in the first person, a great diversity of environmental situations and ecology problems. Thus, the present article aims: (a) to evaluate a sample of 20 educational videogames about water, making use of some empirical criteria of quality; and (b) to design, validate and apply an integrated quality indicator of educational videogames on water, based on the aspects of narrative, gameplay and education, which allows us to obtain a ranking. The findings reflect a ranking of games allowing us to suggest that the nature of the game (simulation, adventures, platforms or questions) does not determine the quality of the game, although generally simulations and adventure games are placed in a range of medium- or high-quality, as well as those games that pursue objectives related to the design and management of a territory in a sustainable way. The paper provides teachers with quality criteria based on narrative and gameplay that complement and enrich the pedagogical dimension.
Electronic Sports (esports) is a form of digital entertainment, referred to as "an organised and competitive approach to playing computer games". Its popularity is growing rapidly as a result of an increased prevalence of online gaming, accessibility to technology and access to elite competition.Esports teams are always looking to improve their performance, but with fast-paced interaction, it can be difficult to establish where and how performance can be improved. While qualitative methods are commonly employed and effective, their widespread use provides little differentiation among competitors and struggles with pinpointing specific issues during fast interactions. This is where recent developments in both wearable sensor technology and machine learning can offer a solution. They enable a deep dive into player reactions and strategies, offering insights that surpass traditional qualitative coaching techniquesBy combining insights from gameplay data, team communication data, physiological measurements, and visual tracking, this project aims to develop comprehensive tools that coaches and players can use to gain insight into the performance of individual players and teams, thereby aiming to improve competitive outcomes. Societal IssueAt a societal level, the project aims to revolutionize esports coaching and performance analysis, providing teams with a multi-faceted view of their gameplay. The success of this project could lead to widespread adoption of similar technologies in other competitive fields. At a scientific level, the project could be the starting point for establishing and maintaining further collaboration within the Dutch esports research domain. It will enhance the contribution from Dutch universities to esports research and foster discussions on optimizing coaching and performance analytics. In addition, the study into capturing and analysing gameplay and player data can help deepen our understanding into the intricacies and complexities of teamwork and team performance in high-paced situations/environments. Collaborating partnersTilburg University, Breda Guardians.
Psychosocial problems related to social isolation are a growing issue for wellbeing and health and have become a significant societal problem. This is especially relevant for children and adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and those spending extended periods in hospitals or permanently living in assisted living facilities. A lack of social relationships, social connectivity, and the inability to travel freely leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Loneliness interventions often use mediated environments to improve the feeling of connectedness. It has been proven that the utilization of haptic technologies enhances realism and the sense of presence in both virtual environments and telepresence in physical places by allowing the user to experience interaction through the sense of touch. However, the technology application is mostly limited to the experiences of serious games in professional environments and for-entertainment-gaming. This project aims to explore how haptic technologies can support the storytelling of semi-scripted experiences in VR to improve participants’ sense of presence and, therefore, the feeling of connectedness. By designing and prototyping the experience, the project aims to obtain insights and offer a better understanding of designing haptic-technology-supported storytelling and its potential to improve connectedness and become a useful tool in isolation interventions. The project will be conducted through the process of participants’ co-creation.
Urban Sports is een verzamelnaam voor sporten die in de stedelijke omgeving - niet in clubverband - worden uitgeoefend. Het is een van de snelst groeiende takken van sport, ter illustratie: bmx- en skateparken zijn t.o.v. 2014 qua bezoekersaantallen met 326% gestegen. Tevens zijn dit sporten die een meer individuele en vrije benadering vragen én die bovenal een enorme groeimarkt zijn. In een eerder project uit 2015 is er bottom-up onderzoek gedaan naar wat urban sporters willen op het gebied van gamificatie met de vraag: Wat gebeurt er wanneer we elementen van digitaal gamen toevoegen aan de fysieke gameplay van urban sports? Dit heeft een veelbelovend concept opgeleverd, waar op dat moment de technologie en markt nog niet rijp voor waren. Ondertussen is de Urban Sports markt flink geprofessionaliseerd, is de technologie toegankelijker en goedkoper geworden. Urban Sports Performance Centre, Fontys ICT en GameSolutionsLab zien daarom kansen om het genoemde concept door te ontwikkelen voor de urban Sports markt. Maar ook voor zowat alle sporten in een hal én markten in revalidatie, zorg, fitness en scholen. Playful Layer for Urban Sports, ofwel het PLUS-concept voegt een interactieve speelse laag toe aan bestaande sportfaciliteiten. Door een combinatie van dynamische projecties en detectie van mensen en objecten. Wordt de urban sporter in een mixed-reality game omgeving gebracht met echte en geprojecteerde elementen. Kenmerken van de beoogde oplossing zijn: 1. Het projecteren en detecteren van personen op een bestaande omgeving voor (urban) sports inclusief objecten; 2. Het wordt een mobiel systeem dat overal (tijdelijk) te installeren is en geen hoge installatiekosten heeft; 3. End-user-programming, de gebruiker kan zelf game-elementen aan een bestaande ‘low-tech’ omgeving toevoegen.
