Game Design Commons^™

Best Practices For Teaching Shifting Gameplay Styles, Matthew Grabowski

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores four different methods (Golden Path, Punishers & Reinforcers, Teaching in Threes, and Forced Teaching) for teaching players how to engage with shifting gameplay styles within video games using Nico Fridja’s Valence Theory [1]. Using the Far Cry 5 Arcade Editor, the researcher created a single-player video game level in which all four teaching methods were tested in tandem with one another. The goal of creating this level was to evaluate the validity of the teaching methods and their ability to shift gameplay valences, specifically between stealth-focused gameplay and push-forward firefight combat gameplay.

Using Spatial Composition To Influence Player Tension, Canny Yuan

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on how space and level geometry in a video game influence a person’s tension. The researcher explored a few potential best practices, which a level designer might utilize when employing spatial composition in video games. By modifying a space's density, size, and openness, a designer can effectively increase or decrease the player’s spatial tension. To explore the effectiveness of the best practices and the related spatial methodology, the researcher recruited playtesters to play the thesis artifact, a customized game level in Dying Light called, “A Way Out.” The researcher then analyzed the heart rates and experiences of …

Playing To Win: The Effects Of Implementing Gamification Strategies In Product Marketing, Sabrina Stone

CMC Senior Theses

Let’s play a game. What effect do you think video games have on twenty-first-century marketing? In this age defined by its nature of digitality, capturing the attention of consumers is an arduous competition. Through market segmentation, research, and the observable variables of consumer behavior, product marketing has turned to video games as a solution to appeal to younger demographics. Gamification is an increasingly applied product marketing strategy employed to increase favorable metrics. Of those key performance indicators (KPIs), boosted measures such as click-through rates, impressions, and engagement rates suggest that gamification is a strategic opportunity to persuade consumers to take …

Rabbit Hole, Olivia Wiebe

Scripps Senior Theses

Rabbit Hole explores an alternate reality which erupts within moments of insomnia, and posits it as a place of self-discovery. Though this Rabbit Hole is a personal one, the work implies that these worlds can be found within any person when they are alone. Digital spaces have become tools of absolute availability and distraction, capitalized on by companies who profit when our eyeballs are stuck to our screens. However, cyberspace was once dreamed of as a place of self-discovery and experimentation. Rabbit Hole is an attempt to reclaim digital space, and turn towards ourselves within technology. These individual “Rabbit Holes” …

“It's So Normal, And … Meaningful.” Playing With Narrative, Artifacts, And Cultural Difference In Florence, Dheepa Sundaram, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This article considers how player interactions with religious and ethnic markers, create

a globalized game space in the mobile game Florence (2018). Florence is a multiaward-

winning interactive novella game with story-integrated minigames that weave

play experiences into the narrative. The game, in part, explores love, loss, and

rejuvenation as relatable experiences. Simultaneously, the game produces a unique

experience for each player, as they can refract the game narrative through their own

cultural, identitarian lens. The game assumes the shared cultural space of the player,

the player-character (PC), and the non-player-character (NPC) while blurring the

boundaries between each of these …

Choice-Based Games And Resilience Building Of Gender Non-Conforming Individuals: An Exploratory Study, Yuri M. Cantrell

Masters Theses

Research on gaming and user experience of the general population has been abundant, but gender non-conforming (GNC) individuals’ experiences had been largely overlooked until recent years. Using a phenomenological approach, the goal of this study is to find deeper understanding of this phenomenon by exploring what gaming experiences shape the identity of the participants. The exploration of gaming and gender non-conforming experiences through interviews can fill a gap in the current literature on gaming culture regarding this specific population. By taking a closer look at this topic, patterns and themes within games may provide insight to potential resilience building activities …

Psychological Effects Of Video Games, Myles Johnson

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Through the birth of the computer, our world has seen a rapid advancement in the multi-faceted use of this technology. The advancements in computers brought about the invention of video game consoles. Basically a different type of computer. Game consoles today are all basically computers, they contain a hard drive and operating system just like a computer (Daniel, 2012). Without even looking into the harmful effects of what a regular computer has on the brain and eyes of a person, one can assume that it is not beneficial to spend hours on one every day or even every other day. …

Indie Developers And The Queer Content Renaissance In Video Games, 2013-2017, Shane Michael Hansaruk Mr.

Major Papers

Queer content in video games has existed since the 1970s, but as time and technology have progressed, so too have the potential for queer content in video games. During the mid-2010’s, a sudden increase in the number of games with queer content began, lasting between the years 2013 and 2017. This research project examines this period in great detail to determine the cause of this drastic increase. Through examining queer games literature, two queer games databases, and two select titles from this period, I determine that independent, or “indie” developers, have a substantial impact on the increase of queer games …

The History Of Nintendo: The Company, Consoles And Games, Laurie Takeda

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

From the start, Nintendo has evolved overall as a company; from a playing card manufacturer to developing a wide variety of video game consoles and video games that are played worldwide, they continue to research and expand upon what the company can offer.

Usage And Effects Of Video Games In Education, Kevin Sagara

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

In modern society, the act of playing games entices certain prejudices towards those who decide to participate in such activities. Those prejudices normally revolve around negative stereotypes where games are meant for non-social adults and are seen as something akin to addiction if gone too far. But how much gaming is needed to be considered as an addiction and what actual effects does it have on mental growth, social capabilities and academics? As a community revolving around technology as much as we are, understanding how video games play a role in our social space is an important aspect to growth. …

Gaming Art History: A Study Of Game-Based Pedagogy And Its Applications In Art History, David Desouto

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Today, high school and college students are likely to be exposed to famous architecture through video games that feature historical settings before learning about it in an academic setting. Architecture plays a fundamental role in these games, and they often include sites that are relevant to art history. This paper investigates how video games can be used as pedagogical tools in art history. Accurately-replicated historical sites in video games are accessible to audiences who may not be interested otherwise, and scholars suggest that their use in the classroom can enhance students’ understanding and push more advanced material. Drawing from the …

How Do We Deal With Cheaters?, Colin Kyle

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Ever since computer games have existed, the people who have played them have found ways to modify the game in order to change the way it plays or break the rules in the hopes of appearing to be better at the game. The concept of changing took on a whole new idea when online multiplayer games were created, now people not only cheated to beat the game, they also were able to cheat in order to compete better against other real people. Cheating in multiplayer online games has become very commonplace and most competitive games now have some sort of …

God Of War: Masculinity And Fatherhood Through Procedural Rhetoric, Andrew A. Morgan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Video games and academia have a long history with one another. Academic researchers have continued to debate the extent to which video games can materialize real world effects. In this thesis, I employ procedural rhetoric and feminist scholarship to analyze the rhetorical power of God of War. I focus on the game’s immersive procedures and the performances of masculinity from Kratos, Atreus, and Baldur. These three characters all perform different masculinities, and their interactions with one another inform the game’s portrayal of masculinity and fatherhood. By engaging in violence and depicting nuanced performances of masculinity, God of War positions the …

Plausible Expositions With Possible Expeditions, Nikolaus D. James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Influenced by video games and cinema, in this body of work, Plausible Expositions with Possible Expeditions, I use objects to create scenarios that suggest a narrative. The scenes are then photographed and displayed through cathode-ray tube televisions and viewers use their own knowledge and ideas about the objects to create that narrative. Each of these objects has is own data set, and the most common have a universal data set—information surrounding the object that is widely recognized, much like how a crowbar is commonly associated with crime. Similar to playing a video game, an algorithm is used when viewing my …

Rhythm Quest: Creating A Music Video Game, Tanner Daniel Cohan

Senior Projects Fall 2019

This project was the creation of a music-centric video game named Rhythm Quest. Rhythm Quest is a combination of two very distinct video game genres, in a way that has not yet been done in the mainstream, particularly taking inspiration from the rhythm game Rhythm Heaven and the turn-based roleplaying-game (RPG) Paper Mario. It was a joint project between the computer science and music divisions, and involved the creation of all assets necessary to create a video game, including sprite creation, software development, writing, music, and sound effects. The game’s tutorial, as well as the battle system, is complete.

No Player Is Ideal: Why Video Game Designers Cannot Ethically Ignore Players’ Real-World Identities, Erica L. Neely

Philosophy and Religion Faculty Scholarship

As video games flourish, designers have a responsibility to treat players and potential players justly. In deontological terms, designers are obliged to treat all of them as having intrinsic worth. Since players are a diverse group, designers must not simply focus on an idealized gamer, who is typically a straight white male. This creates a duty to consider whether design choices place unnecessary barriers to the ability of certain groups of players to achieve their ends in playing a game. I examine the design implication of this for the gameworld, avatar design, and accessibility to players with disabilities. I also …

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment In Procedural Content Generation, Charles Joseph Calder

Senior Projects Fall 2017

The world of game development has gone through many chapters since its birth. Many complex techniques, designed to give every player a personal game experience, have been developed by those who love to create. This project explores modern Procedural Content Generation and Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment techniques. The algorithm developed in the course of this project is designed to increase developer and player quality of life. Through adaptive generation, this project will explore how players engage with games and what developers can do to add to the player experience.