Game Design Commons^™

Escaping The Cyberstorm: A Gamified Social Engineering Training Program, Noah Mcclanahan, Fadi Abu-Amara, Ali Khattab, Travis Jett, Andre Jackson

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

In this research work, we explored the effectiveness of gamification in improving cybersecurity awareness and training users on targeted social engineering attacks. Traditional cybersecurity training focuses on lectures and videos. These training methods may not actively engage employees, which reduces their knowledge retention and ability to recognize social engineering attacks. This lack of involvement is a concern, as social engineering continues to be one of the most prevalent attack methods faced by end-users. A gamified training program, Escaping the Cyberstorm, was developed using the Godot game engine to address key challenges in spreading cybersecurity awareness. The game includes real-life …

Remaking The Red Death: An Interactive Fiction Post-Mortem, Kenton T. Howard

ELO (un)supervised 2026

This individual talk provides a post-mortem discussion of an interactive fiction game the author created, ReMasque of the Red Death, for the Electronic Literature Collection Volume 5. The game is a web-based interactive fiction recreation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story “The Masque of the Red Death” built using ink and Inky, an interactive fiction scripting engine, with 2D art assets created in Sketchpad, a mobile-based digital drawing app. The game was produced entirely without the usage of AI tools. This talk will cover the initial ideation for the game, creating a basic prototype of the game’s core systems, …

Cooperation, Collaboration, And Community In Horror And Suspense Games, Rachel Kerr, Monica Evans, Cameron Irby, Cheri Tang

ELO (un)supervised 2026

Cooperation has been a staple in video and analog games since their inception. From couch co-op to social deduction games, there are few games that cannot be enjoyed cooperatively in some way. Even games that are not inherently cooperative can be played collaboratively, from single-player games enjoyed by multiple people in the same room to PvP games where players opt for teamwork despite explicitly competitive mechanics. In horror and suspense games, cooperation tends to form strong communicative bonds between players. The four papers in this panel examine how communities form in and around horror and suspense games, and how those …

Making The Writer’S Project, Alex Calderwood

ELO (un)supervised 2026

The Writer’s Project is a series of playful text editors which intervene in the act of writing in unexpected, challenging, and unusual ways. Some of the editors are conceptual experiments in user interface design: What if the editor asked you if you were sure before committing to each word? What if the delete key was not functional? Others editors are provocations that take aim at the conditions and AI-mediated writing, built to create a tension between writerly agency and system resistance. These involve placing writers into different configurations with text streams, for instance by turning prior writings into a Tetris-like …

From Grid To Freedom: A Comparative Analysis Of Canva’S Guardrails And Adobe Illustrator’S Design Flexibility, Caroline Wilmes

Theses

This project focuses on graphic design software becoming increasingly accessible and questions emerging regarding the role of professional designers and the value of industry-standard design tools. This project examines the differences between Canva, a widely used template-driven design platform, and Adobe Illustrator, a professional vector-based design application. Through a hands-on, project-based research approach, the same brand identity was developed in both programs, including a style guide, business card, website homepage mock-up, and tri-fold. The comparison focused on workflow efficiency, creative freedom, typography, color management, scalability, and production readiness.

Findings revealed that Canva excels in accessibility, speed, and ease of use …

Quiet Relief: Voice In Migraine Packaging, Nicole Allgeyer

Theses

This paper explores typography as a form of nonverbal communication in pharmaceutical branding for a fictional medication called Neura by investigating how font choice, visual hierarchy, spacing, and color function as communicative tools to its viewers. This paper combines the studies of semiotics and branding to create a brand that evokes trust, calm, and clarity through a visual branding system. This study investigates visual signifiers (semiotics) such as color and type through visual analysis and implements the findings into the brand. By researching branding, I was able to create a brand that has a focused demographic and image. In creating …

Beyond Affection Meters: A Framework For Relationship Repair Mechanics And Meaningful Play, Christopher B. Del Gesso

Theses

This thesis develops and tests a repair-centered framework for relationship mechanics in narrative games, positioned as an alternative to the affection-meter model that reduces relationships to a single accumulating score. Drawing on eudaimonic media research, relational repair theory, and interpretive-attribution research, the framework argues that meaningful relationship play depends on tracking multiple, potentially divergent relational dimensions; distinguishing repair attempts from repair outcomes; modeling interpretation of player actions rather than fixed action-to-effect mappings; and treating stable, non-restorative endings as legitimate outcomes rather than failure states. A comparative survey of five commercial games, Fallout 4, Tell Me Why, Life is Strange Remastered, …

Lab Escape, Peter Brauninger

Theses

The core subject of this paper focuses on several key traits of effective horror games. Using a paper and prototype level, the project conducts a thorough examination of horror in the medium to better understand how to develop effective games in this genre. Looking at examples from different media, the objective of this research is to identify key components of effective horror games. Going through the research, we can identify three key traits that are critical to the genre. Within horror games, accuracy of these elements is even more essential. Having the player be constantly tense, and enjoying the game …

Prompted Props, Human Pipelines: Evaluating Ai-Generated 3d Assets For Game-Ready Environments, Andrew Begemann, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Generative AI systems increasingly promise rapid 3D asset production for game development, yet their practical viability depends on whether generated models can move beyond visual preview into editable, optimized, engine-ready workflows. This article presents a practice-led comparative case study of a stylized fantasy tavern environment produced through two workflows: a human-authored Blender pipeline and an AI-assisted pipeline using Meshy 6 and Hunyuan 3D. Using a fixed asset list, shared visual theme, documented prompts, production-time tracking, visual comparison, topology inspection, UV-map analysis, and post-generation labor accounting, the study evaluates whether text-to-3D tools function as production substitutes, ideation accelerators, or conditional asset …

A Thesis By An Art Student Trying To Find Meaning In Simulation Games, Yichuan Wang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores a strange question: what happens if meaning is no longer written by an author, but emerges from the behavior of a system itself?

Beginning with observations of the Providence River and inspired by Conway’s Game of Life, information theory, and artificial life research, the project investigates simulation as a space where language, memory, and collective meaning can evolve without central control. Rather than treating video games as vehicles for storytelling, this research approaches them as dynamic systems capable of generating unpredictable forms of organization and perception.

The thesis proposes a closed spherical computational world populated by simple …

In Transit, Ziqi Xu

Masters Theses

The train moves continuously, yet it never seems to arrive. Inside, light shifts, sound repeats, and space unfolds from one carriage to the next. There is a persistent sense of forward motion, but no clear destination. The experience is familiar, yet difficult to locate within a fixed point in time. We often understand time as something that flows—a linear progression from past to present to future. However, what we perceive may not be time itself, but changes in our environment. A light turns off. A door opens. A sound fades. These events create the sensation of movement, allowing us to …

Domestic Travelers: Transparent Machines, Hollow Bodies, Hanyi Wang

Masters Theses

Digitization is not a modern invention. Derived from the concept of fingers, this mindset of packing information into quantifiable, interchangeable units sounds mechanical, yet eerily physical. Try to imagine: a ghostly hand with millions of fingers with the same length, likeness, and function. Under the worldview of Digital Narrative, we live in a digital simulation: everything is representable with quantifiable units, fluid across media. Yet under this spectacle of convenient abundance, something is missing. The Unknowables are replaced with arbitrary symbols, while the Uncategorizables are omitted. This is a framework that cannot accommodate human subtleties and complexities. One needs to …

Art Foundations In Student Digital Game Projects Within Online Learning, Isabelle John

Art 895 Research Papers

This qualitative study examined how traditional art foundations are reflected in student-created digital game projects developed within an online learning environment. As digital game-making becomes increasingly prevalent in art education, students engage in complex, visual decision-making that extends beyond technical execution. Through the analysis of student digital game artifacts, this study explored the presence of foundational art concepts, such as composition, color, spatial organization, visual hierarchy, and visual culture. Using a constructivist qualitative approach and visual artifact analysis, the study identified patterns in how art foundations were applied within online learning contexts.

Findings indicate that while art foundations were consistently …

Clue In The Roman Style House: A Twist On The Classic Board Game Featuring A Fusion Of Ancient And Modern Roman Influences, Madelyn Junk

Honors Projects

Throughout time, games have been used to convey how society functions. They hint at societal structure, behavioral patterns, and roles of community members. Specifically, board games are excellent ways to teach players about attention to detail and how to synthesize information.

This unique and functional honors project finds its strength as a detail-oriented game that stresses the importance of critical thinking and deduction as it further rewards those skills through play and friendly competition. It combines art history, education, and graphic design disciplines to result in a creative output alongside a research paper. Its final product is a playable game …

Augmented Reality In Fashion Retail: A Walmart Unlimited Study, Chloe A. Mcpherson

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

As technology continues to evolve, augmented reality (AR) has become increasingly common within the retail and fashion industries. This study explored Gen Z consumers’ perceptions of immersive AR shopping experiences through Walmart Unlimited, an interactive digital shopping platform. The purpose of this research was to better understand how younger consumers respond to AR-enhanced shopping environments and whether these technologies influence attitudes toward convenience, engagement, and sustainability in retail.

A quantitative research design was used for this study. Participants completed the Walmart Unlimited shopping experience and then responded to a Qualtrics survey measuring areas such as immersion, satisfaction, ease of use, …

Depicting Cultural Nuance Through Level Design, Sydney A V Fleming

All Theses

As the audience for gaming grows and expands, gamers consistently crave new stories that are interesting and that immerse them. The ability of gamers to relate to the characters is solely dependent on conscious choices made by developers. For the story to be enjoyable and immersive, It helps to understand the character’s motivation. Why would they act this way? Would they make this choice? Understanding a character culturally is a step in the right direction to gaining this needed understanding. Conveying culture respectfully in games is always a challenge. The goal of this project is to use the Unreal Engine …

Visual Development For Descent To Paradise, Rowyn Porterfield

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is a study in the process of concept development for video games within the format of a video game pitch. This includes concept designs for important characters, relevant settings, and other supplemental material deemed necessary within my research for a complete pitch. The content shown within this paper includes visual research, creative writing, 3D setting design, and 2D artworks for character, setting, and prop design. All of this is then put into context through two 2D illustrations of key art.

Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence To Launch An Independent Game Studio, Douglas Evans

Theses

This project report examines how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) can be integrated into the early formation and operations of an independent/indie game studio. Using a qualitative, practice-based single-case study approach, the project focused on Boar’s Head Studio, LLC. A human-in-the-loop approach was maintained with Generative AI used to support company formation, ideation, planning, documentation, analysis, coding assistance, marketing preparation, and community-building preparation

The report concludes that Generative AI can serve as a meaningful system integrated into the studio pipeline when used with structured, repeatable, human-in-the-loop processes. The project contributes a practical, case-based framework that may be useful to other …

Alternative, Ashlynn M. Stroud

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

A series of illustrations, sculptures and comic book issues designed to introduce a series of stories and characters that represent the history and members of a fictional mythology depicting the cultural social group often referred to as the “alternative” community. Alternative takes place in a world that combines high fantasy and science fiction with elements of pop culture and music. This world uses iconography of the various genres of the alternative subculture and music, metal, post-punk, and the evolving scene of the underground with varying visuals from both gothic and industrial time periods. Viewers are encouraged to read and follow …

Prototyping For Game Design With Unlv Libraries, Silvey Benson, Amber Sewell

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Involving students in a hands-on creative way to implement ideation, design, and prototyping skills gives students the opportunity to apply the theory of iterative design. Students analyze and reverse engineer current game designs prior to beginning their own innovations. They are then encouraged to apply innovation and creativity to their own game designs, test the games’ effectiveness through having others play their game and provide feedback, and fail safely in a controlled environment. Students will ideally increase their tolerance for failure through the implementation of the iterative design process while gaining a variety of skills that will serve them outside …

Minecraft: A Retrospective, Kylie Salinger

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

This speech explores Minecraft as more than a popular sandbox video game, framing it as a creative, narrative-rich, and culturally influential platform that has shaped how players interact with virtual worlds. Beginning with the game’s simple mechanics and origins, the work examines Minecraft’s deeper lore, including its progression through multiple dimensions and the philosophical implications of the End Poem. It also highlights fan-driven theories suggesting a complex, hidden history within the game’s world-building. Finally, the piece analyzes the reasons behind Minecraft’s enduring success, emphasizing its multiplayer connectivity, resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, and immersive musical design. Ultimately, the essay argues …

Solarvale: Exploring Australian Ecology And Culture Through Serious Game Design, Ping-I (Adam) Ho, Elliot Birch

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This research examines how a serious game: Solarvale: Tale of the Sun Root (Birch et al., 2024), developed by students from SAE University College addresses the importance of ecological conservation and cultural awareness specifically in relation to the Australian landscape. While some Australian serious games, such as Catchment Detox (2008), Paperbark (2018), and Bleached Az (2019) engage with similar themes, few titles integrate storytelling with interactive ecological environments and cultural awareness in a way that encourages players to reflect on their own role and actions—which is the central focus of Solarvale. Drawing on the concepts from serious game (Gee, 2007), …

So You've Landed In A Fantasy World By Josiah Lebowitz, Nancy Martsch

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

So You've Landed in a Fantasy World by Josiah Lebowitz; book review.

Sae What? Magazine - Issue 1 - 2026, Sae University College

SAE What? - Student Magazine

No abstract provided.

Pachisi Go! Making A Video Game Older Than Writing, Tony C.E. Lucy None

ASPIRE 2026

Pachisi Go!: Making a Video Game Older Than Writing explores the process of recreating one of the world’s oldest board games as a modern digital experience using the Godot game engine. Beginning with minimal programming knowledge, this project focused on learning GDScript, experimenting with 2D and 3D design approaches, and translating traditional game mechanics into functional systems. Through iterative development, debugging, and problem-solving, a working prototype was created while addressing challenges such as scope limitations and mechanical accuracy. Although the game was not fully completed, the project emphasizes growth through failure, demonstrating how experimentation and adaptability are essential to game …

Fallen Light, Joshua Do

Posters - 2026

Lucifer is often portrayed in popular media as purely evil; however, this interpretation overlooks the more complex idea of gradual moral corruption through deception and pride. The purpose of Fallen Light is to explore how doubt, pride, and subtle deception can lead even a highly exalted being away from God over time.. The game emphasizes the internal struggle between obedience and self-exaltation rather than immediate rebellion, and the problems with Being overly prideful.

Finding Light, Jose Enrique Martinez Melgar

Posters - 2026

Finding Light is a narrative driven RPG that follows the journey of Hop, a protagonist who is navigating a fragmented world of lost memories. By exploring diverse environments and interacting with environmental puzzles, you can uncover a story of existentialism and self-discovery. This project aims to explore how interactive media can represent the process of reclaiming one's identity in moments of darkness. Moreover, Finding Light aims to promote mental health awareness.

Is Nostalgia The Hidden Mechanic Of Mmorpgs?, Zoee Sowders

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Since the advent of online gaming, MMORPG video games have allowed players to socialize and collaborate within the bounds of a virtual world. For many, these online worlds were an escape from their daily lives, a place where they could meet people with similar interests and embark on adventures impossible in real life.1 While many of the early MMORPG games faded into obscurity after the genre lost its shiny new sparkle, there are still a handful today that maintain player counts in the millions even after nearly two decades of operation. Specifically, World of Warcraft, Runescape, and Final Fantasy XIV …

Voice And Pain: Representations Of Disability In Adaptations Of “The Little Mermaid”, Ace Molloy

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story, “The Little Mermaid,” is a popular fairy tale that has been adapted several times by writers, filmmakers, and game developers. It is one of the few fairy tales with explicit portrayals of disability; the mermaid in the tale is nonspeaking and experiences chronic pain, as well as being a mermaid—a nonnormative figure who is aligned with disability. This paper looks at the ways that the mermaid is portrayed in literary, film, and new media adaptations from a disability-justice perspective. Examining multiple representations of the character, I argue that while feminist adaptations erase her disability and …

Investigating The Viability Of A Shared Skill System Between Enemies And Players, Andrea Ng

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Over time, Japanese light novels and media inspired by it have been heavily influenced by RPGs in implementing skill systems, with one common trope arising from this being the ability to copy or steal others’ skills. However, there aren’t many games that implement this familiar trope despite how it takes advantage of an integral system to RPGs. Rather than treating enemies as simply obstacles, having to copy skills from enemies turns them into a resource. This project aims to implement the skill copy mechanic while also minimizing player-side specific handling so that skills are interchangeable between both players and enemies.