Video game experts and game studies researchers came up with the top 10 most unexpected findings for video game designers over the past year. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, audience members -- both at the panel and via Twitter -- ranked the findings in order of their importance. Topics include everything from advances in game design to the very fundamentals of gaming and competition as a cultural value.
"Asking the audience to order the top 10 gave us an opportunity to get their feedback on which design problems feel more and less relevant to them. So not only can game designers learn what researchers are thinking about games, but game researchers can also look at the list and gain an understanding of the issues at the front of the minds of game developers," said game studies researcher Ian Bogost, associate professor at Georgia Tech.
The topics as ranked by audience members are:
10. Ground rules: The social contract and the magic circle
9. Play to win or win to play? The material culture of gaming
8. Game sound: An introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design
#7-1 after the jump
From the article:Thursday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, game studies researchers presented their list of the top 10 most unexpected findings for video game designers over the past year. This marks the fourth year that researchers Ian Bogost, associate professor at Georgia Tech; Jane McGonigal, director of games research and development at the Institute for the Future; and Mia Consalvo, associate professor at Ohio University, have presented their list. But this year audience members -- both at the panel and via Twitter -- ranked the findings in order of their importance.
"Asking the audience to order the top 10 gave us an opportunity to get their feedback on which design problems feel more and less relevant to them. So not only can game designers learn what researchers are thinking about games, but game researchers can also look at the list and gain an understanding of the issues at the front of the minds of game developers," said Bogost. Click here for the slide presentation of the top 10 research findings: http://www.slideshare.net/avantgame/game-studies-download-2009-top-10-research-findings
The findings of the Game Studies Download 2009 are:
10. Stewart Woods: "(Play) Ground rules: The social contract and the magic circle" http://obs.obercom.pt
9. Jose Zagal and Amy Bruckman: "Novices, gamers, and scholars: Exploring the challenges of teaching about games" http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/zagal_bruckman
8. Karen Collins: "Game sound: An introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design"
7. Charlie Briendahl: "Play to win or win to play? The material culture of gaming"
6. Gareth Schott: "Relating the pleasures of violent game texts"
5. Jesper Juul: "Fear of failing: The many meanings of difficulty in video games"
4. Matt Barton: "How's the weather: Simulating weather in virtual environments" http://gamestudies.org/0801/articles/barton
3. Betsy James DiSalvo, Kevin Crowley and Roy Norwood: "Learning in context: Digital games and young black men"
2. Michael Nitsche: "Video game spaces: Image, play, and structure in 3D worlds"
1. Susana Tosca & Lisbeth Klastrup: "Because it just looks cool!' Fashion as character performance--the case of WoW" http://www.jvwresearch.org
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Game Studies Download 2009: Top 10 Big Ideas In Gaming
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Top Story: Effects of Educational Video Games on Student Achievement
Educational video games have gained acceptance as an instructional tool in our nation's schools, prompting researchers to examine the direct effects on student mathematical achievement.
Therefore, lead researcher Albert Ritzhaupt and his team at the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson School of Education will observe nearly 500 middle school students, 15 teachers, technology trainers, and administrators using standards-based educational video games produced by Tabula Digita, an educational gaming company.
The DimensionM instructional video games being used in the study help students absorb the complexities of math by presenting them in a format that is fun and engaging.
"We hope our research will serve to explain further how playing serious, high quality, interactive games influences mathematics achievement and self-efficacy in math," said Ritzhaupt.
From the article: The rapid growth of educational video games as a viable instructional tool has prompted academic researchers at the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson School of Education to implement a comprehensive study designed to learn more about the direct effects of educational video games on student mathematical achievement.
Initiated earlier this month, the research effort, led by Albert Ritzhaupt, assistant professor in the Watson School of Education, will observe nearly 500 middle school students and 15 teachers, technology trainers and administrators using Tabula Digita's DimensionM(tm) standards-based educational video games. The participating middle schools in the eastern North Carolina region include: West Pender Middle School and Cape Fear Middle School in Pender County and Trask Middle School and D.C. Virgo Middle School in New Hanover County. "We hope our research will serve to explain further how playing serious, high quality, interactive games influences mathematics achievement and self-efficacy in math," said Ritzhaupt. "Equally important will be to gain a greater understanding of how students react to and interact with gaming in the classroom and how teachers respond to those unique student actions."
The DimensionM instructional video games being used in the study are designed to teach and reinforce key math concepts through a series of cutting-edge, first-person action adventure missions that incorporate three-dimensional graphics, sound, animation and storylines comparable to those in popular video games. Students practice and master math concepts previously discussed in class by successfully navigating a myriad of middle school level math and algebra lessons embedded in the game. The purpose of the game is to help students absorb the complexities of math by presenting them in a format that is fun and engaging.
Joining Ritzhaupt in the research endeavor will be assistant professor Heidi Higgins and technology coordinator/lecturer Beth Allred, both in the Watson School of Education. The study is expected to run until the end of May, with the findings disseminated in a full report in late summer.
Photo opportunities of the research taking place are available.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Wii Fit A Promising Tool For All Ages, Game Health Measurements Flawed
While some emerging technologies can create environments that require very little physical effort, one Kansas State University researcher thinks games like Nintendo's Wii Fit can help promote physical rather than sedentary activities for people of all ages.
"I think there is a great potential to develop ways to promote physical activity through technology," said David Dzewaltowski, professor and head of the department of kinesiology at K-State and director of the university's Community Health Institute. "Kids innately like to move, so I believe that there is a big future in games that use emerging technologies and require movement because the games will be enjoyed by children and also be more healthy than existing games."
In a commentary published in the October 2008 Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, Dzewaltowski discussed how technology is changing our everyday life and affecting our health.
Wii Fit has games that incorporate yoga, strength training, balance and aerobics. The games are interactive and require the player to physically move, which is better than nothing, Dzewaltowski said. It uses a balance board and allows gamers to simulate challenges like snowboarding down a mountain.
"Anything that gets people to move more than they have in the past is positive, but if people are trying to replace physical activity that demands more movement with the Wii, then that will be negative," Dzewaltowski said.
He said it is difficult in a small indoor space to replicate the intensity of some real-life physical activities, though dance video games are effective at demanding physical movements that require caloric expenditure.
"The caloric expenditure demanded by an activity depends on the energy necessary to move the body's weight to complete the task and how long you perform the task," Dzewaltowski said.
He added that different activities demand different amounts of caloric expenditure, like playing a game of soccer, which demands much more energy expenditure than bowling or playing the outfield in baseball.
Dzewaltowski said Wii Fit can be an effective tool to create or maintain a healthy lifestyle for some people because it follows the basic principles for adhering to an exercise program, like having physical activity goals, tracking those goals and evaluating the progress.
Wii Fit measures players' body mass index, or BMI, which is a weight evaluation based on height and weight. Dzewaltowski said this a good screening tool for adults, meaning if the game categorizes them as being overweight or obese, they should seek more information from a health professional who can better evaluate the level of body fat. However, he said the calculation is unsuitable for children.
"For children, the BMI calculation has to be expressed based on age and gender growth charts, and it doesn't do that," Dzewaltowski said. "Due to children's age and gender differences in growth, the adult BMI calculators don't work. My use of the Wii BMI calculator showed that it was inappropriate for children and would categorize children incorrectly."
The game also gives players a Wii Fit Age, which is measured by the player's BMI and their center of gravity and balance testing. However, Dzewaltowski doesn't think the measurement is credible.
For personal goals, he said it is more important to focus on behaviors such as physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption rather than the game's BMI and fitness age measurements.
Dzewaltowski said it could be healthy for gamers to solely rely on Wii Fit for exercise if they are meeting the guidelines for physical activity set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He said future technologies should continue to promote physical activity if they make exercise enjoyable, especially for adults.
"I also believe that adults enjoy movement if they are at a fitness level where they can perform the activity comfortably," Dzewaltowski said. "The problem is most adults have very poor fitness levels. So, I believe there is a future in developing games that include movement and demand caloric expenditure at the level of the participant."
