Academic literature on the topic 'Rhythm video games'

This essay situates game design and development within the domain of sociotechnical research and reviews the results of a case focusing on the design and development of an original video game level with platformer mechanics. Using a case history methodology with autoethnographic methods, the work studies the context in which small game components are authored and methods by which knowledge is exchanged and applied within rapidly developed software systems. It argues that the designer experience is a critical phenomenon to understand within the study of user experience in video games given the iterative nature of development and the necessity of frequent, in-house playtesting. The video game was designed by the authors and developed using preexisting assets from prior projects. Results suggest ideas for incorporating UX strategies into micro-project management techniques that are useful for small and large projects alike. The work closes by calling for future areas of research in related areas.

Motivations for, and outcomes of, playing rhythm-based music video games have had little direct study. The current research showed that fantasy-seeking motivations combined with self-esteem to create either unregulated game play habits or an incentive to play a musical instrument in real life. We obtained measures from adult players of rhythm-based music video games (N = 421), regarding their gaming habits, fantasy-seeking motivations, and self-esteem. Regression analyses showed that the interaction of low self-esteem with high fantasy-seeking motivation predicted unregulated game play. Self-esteem was negatively related to habitual and solitary game play. Fantasy-seeking motivations positively predicted a player’s desire to learn or play a musical instrument in real life. These results suggest that fantasy-seeking motivations reflect escapism under certain conditions and a desire to develop game-related skills in real life under other conditions. We discuss potential educational benefits of fantasy seeking and the implications for theory and scholarship regarding video game motivations.

Despite a large body of evidence suggests positive effects of playing action video games and practising sports on various visual attentional skills, the impact of these activities on the ability to maintain attention over prolonged periods of time (i.e., sustained attention) has been largely neglected. Here, we first explored free-time habits on a group of 310 adolescents by means of a self-reported questionnaire. We found an inverse relationship between the time spent with sports and video games, but not with other extra-scholastic activities: the time spent practising sports and playing video games clearly competed with each other, with the more-intensive-sport practitioners being less involved in video game play. Next, we directly measured sustained attention and other attentional skills in a subgroup of 76 participants, divided as a function of their time spent in sports and action video games. In particular, sustained attention was assessed by means of two tasks: a classic exogenous task, requiring participants to attend to a flashing visual stimulus; and an internal (endogenous) sustained attention task, requiring participants to synchronise their manual responses to the rhythm of auditory pulses presented in an earlier phase. As previously documented, we found that action video game players displayed worse ability to maintain attention over time, as compared with non-action players. In striking contrast, intensive sports practice was associated with an increased ability to maintain attention over time. Overall, these findings unveil distinct cascading effects on sustained attention induced by doing sport and playing action video games.

Video gaming, the experience of playing electronic games, has shown several benefits for human health. Recently, numerous video gaming studies showed beneficial effects on cognition and the brain. A systematic review of video gaming has been published. However, the previous systematic review has several differences to this systematic review. This systematic review evaluates the beneficial effects of video gaming on neuroplasticity specifically on intervention studies. Literature research was conducted from randomized controlled trials in PubMed and Google Scholar published after 2000. A systematic review was written instead of a meta-analytic review because of variations among participants, video games, and outcomes. Nine scientific articles were eligible for the review. Overall, the eligible articles showed fair quality according to Delphi Criteria. Video gaming affects the brain structure and function depending on how the game is played. The game genres examined were 3D adventure, first-person shooting (FPS), puzzle, rhythm dance, and strategy. The total training durations were 16–90 h. Results of this systematic review demonstrated that video gaming can be beneficial to the brain. However, the beneficial effects vary among video game types.

Role-playing games merupakan merupakan salah satu genre utama dari sebagian banyak game dan ada dalam bentuk dan format yang berbeda. Dalam sebuah game cenderung menggunakan musik cinematic yang mampu membawa suasana dan emosi kepada pemain game tersebut. Pemilihan soundtrack Genshin Impact pada “Main Theme: from The Wind and The Star Traveler” sebagai objek penelitian dikarenakan penataan musik cinematic yang megah. Penelitian kualitatif deskriptif ini memiliki tujuan untuk menganalisis teknik pengolahan komposisi dari soundtrack tersebut. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi diskografi, studi literatur, dan observasi. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa soundtrack “Main Theme” pada Genshin Impact dimainkan dakam tonalitas D Mayor dengan tempo 82 bpm. Dalam soundtrack Main Theme terdiri dari beberapa bagian yaitu, intro, verse, chorus, dan outro. Elemen musik pada soundtrack Main Theme juga diketahui berdasarkan ritme, dinamika, harmoni, tekstur, dan bentuk. Musik soundtrack tersebut mengandung suasana yang sederhana tapi megah dari penggunaan tonalitas mayor, poliritme, dan pengembangan motif utama yang memperkaya. Role-playing games are one of the main genres of many games and come in many different forms and formats. A game tends to use cinematic music that can bring atmosphere and emotions to the game's players. The selection of the Genshin Impact soundtrack on "Main Theme: from The Wind and The Star Traveler" as the object of research is due to the magnificent cinematic music arrangement. This descriptive qualitative study aims to analyze the compositional processing techniques of the soundtrack. The method used is discography study, literature study, and observation. The results show that the “Main Theme” soundtrack on Genshin Impact is played in a D Major tonality with a tempo of 82 bpm. The Main Theme soundtrack consists of several parts: intro, verse, chorus, and outro. The musical elements in the Main Theme soundtrack are also known based on rhythm, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form. The soundtrack's music contains a simple but majestic atmosphere of the enriching use of major tonality, polyrhythm, and development of central motifs.

Active video games (AVG) increase energy expenditure (EE) with respect to sedentary video games. Although several AVG consoles allow playing in single-player (SP) or multiplayer (MP) mode, few studies investigated differences in relation to game modality in men and women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate gender-related psycho-physiological responses during Zumba Fitness Rush (ZFR) played in SP vs. MP mode. Twenty-four college students (women: 14, men: 10; age: 24.6±2.0 years; body weight: 60.2±12.5 kg; body height: 167.8±11.5 cm; BMI: 21.2±2.1 kg·m-2) participated in two experimental sessions: SP (a subject playing ZFR alone) and MP (two subjects playing ZFR simultaneously). Heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2) and EE (MET and kcal∙min-1) were continuously measured and averaged every 10 seconds, while Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was recorded 30 minutes after the end of each session. A two (gender: women vs. men) by two (modality: SP vs. MP) ANOVA for repeated measures was applied. No differences emerged in relation to gender and game mode for %HRmax, VO2, MET, and RPE. Conversely, a main effect (p=.0007) for gender was found in EE, with significantly (p<.004) higher values in men in SP (women: 5.5±0.6 kcal·min-1; men: 8.3±1.4 kcal·min-1) and MP (women: 5.3±0.7 kcal·min-1; men: 7.6±1.9 kcal·min-1). Present findings suggest that ZFR could be classified as a moderate physical activity, proving to be an alternative form to traditional exercise. Although an effect of number of players could be expected, different player modes did not affect EE, probably because the rhythm of the music imposes a time constraint, independently of the presence of other players.

Background: Video games are very well known for their intrinsic adaptivity; as they adapt the gameplay to the player’s preferences and rhythm. In addition to adapting the gameplay, educational games should also adapt the learning content to match the learner’s competencies, preferences, playing and learning styles. Determining the playing style in an educational game is made possible by collecting certain metrics and information susceptible of monitoring the player’s interactions in the game. However, it is still a challenge to assess the learner’s learning style. Aim: This study examines the correlation between learning and playing styles. It has been acknowledged that both playing and learning styles are related to personality. After examining the personality traits of each style of both Kolb’s learning styles and Bartle’s playing styles, it was hypothesized that there would be a correlation between the two. In that purpose, a quantitative research was conducted to explore the relationship between the two taxonomies. Method: One hundred high school students majoring in science in Morocco have completed Kolb’s learning style inventory (version 3.1) as well as the Bartle test questionnaire developed by Andreasen and Downey. The statistical correlation between the two taxonomies was investigated using cross-tabulation, Chi-square/Fisher’s exact test and Pearson coefficient. Results: Results revealed a relevant interdependency between Kolb’s learning styles and Bartle’s playing styles. The ‘convergent’ type was found to correlate with Bartle’s explorer type; the majority of assimilators adopt the killer type in a game; accomodators tend to be achievers and divergers prefer to be socializers. In terms of learning styles, it was noticed that the majority of participants adopted the converging and the assimilating learning styles; which is in line with what it is indicated in Kolb’s inventory. Results have also shown that learning and playing styles are gender independent. It was concluded that the learning style can be predicted, based on the playing style.

RESUMO: Este artigo destina-se a identificar as marcações no enunciado do jogo de videogame Super Mario World, de 1990, que permitam enxergar o fluxo da ação de controle operada pelo jogador visado pela enunciação. Para tanto, deve-se estabelecer a distinção entre a instância enunciada do enunciatário, o narratário, a quem o narrador instrui e comanda, e a instância do enunciado enunciado, em que se localiza o herói Mario, aquele comandado pelo narratário. As categorias narrativas e discursivas ora são comuns, ora diversas para esses sujeitos, estruturando graus de sincretismo de suas identidades e de seus percursos. É no percurso do narratário em que são encontradas as dinâmicas sensíveis que demarcam o ritmo do processo de jogo, o tempo necessário para se tornar hábil e vencer.
 PALAVRAS-CHAVE: semiótica; videogames; narratividade.
 
 ABSTRACT: In this article, our goal is to identify the syntax of control which a video game player plays, in the game Super Mario World, from Nintendo (1990), basing our notes on the many marks left in the audiovisual text, in the form of figures and narrative programs. Therefore, two levels must be distinguished: one concerning the player, referred in the text as a naratee, and another concerning the enounced hero, Mario. The discursive categories and narrative patterns are sometimes the same and sometimes different for each actor, proposing syncretism degrees for their identities and their syntaxes. It is in the course of the naratee that the sensitive dynamics that mark the rhythm of the game process are found, besides the time needed to become skilled and to win.
 KEYWORDS: semiotics; video games; narrativity.

This article engages with the fabrication of experiences in first-person shooter video games. On one hand, it explores the forms of affective and cognitive engagement this novel type of immersive imagery demands of the player. On the other hand, the article speculates on how video games images resonate and coincide with other key practices and imaginations defining the political reality of life today. What (at least according to some accounts) matters most in the politics of life today is a particular locus of mediation – the brain. The ways we imagine ourselves are today characterized by a figure of the ‘cerebral subject’. The article presents an attempt to chart video games imagery in relation to this key contemporary image of who we are, and to consider how the rhythms of the console screen might be seen as emblematic of a more general anthropology of subjectivity today.

Au-delà des symptômes cardinaux qui caractérisent la maladie de Parkinson (MP) – tremblement, akinésie, et rigidité – des déficits rythmiques se manifestent dans différents domaines de coordination motrice, comme au niveau du membre supérieur, de la sphère oro-faciale, ou de la marche. Des altérations rythmiques sont également mises en évidence sur des tâches de perception de rythme (i.e., sur des tâches n’impliquant pas de production motrice). Face à l’étendue des dysfonctionnements rythmiques dans la MP, l’hypothèse d’une dysrythmie généralisée a été formulée. Cette hypothèse implique que l’ensemble des altérations rythmiques qui s’observent au travers de diverses tâches et dans différents systèmes effecteurs partage des mécanismes causaux communs. Néanmoins, cette proposition n’a pas été confirmée à ce jour, et nombre de questions demeurent, tant sur le plan théorique que clinique : les déficits rythmiques caractéristiques de la MP sont-ils réellement liés ? Une source commune aux manifestations rythmiques déficitaires est-elle envisageable ? Si tel est le cas, quels en sont les corrélats cérébraux, et les retombées cliniques ? Élaborée autour de deux principaux axes de recherche, cette dissertation avait pour objectif principal de tester l’hypothèse d’une dysrythmie généralisée dans la MP, au travers de deux questions : i) existe-t-il des liens entre trois domaines de production rythmique (i.e., coordinations oro-faciale, manuelle, et de marche) et un domaine perceptif dans la MP ?; et ii) quel est l’impact d’un entraînement rythmique d’un domaine moteur (i.e., coordination rythmique manuelle) sur d’autres domaines de coordination motrice (i.e., oro-faciales et de la marche) ? L’ensemble des résultats confirme l’hypothèse d’une dysrythmie généralisée dans la MP, et l’existence très probable d’altérations de mécanismes en lien avec une fonction prédictive générale qui, lorsqu’elle est la cible d’un entraînement rythmique, pourrait permettre de réduire certains troubles moteurs dans la MP<br>Beyond the cardinal signs that characterize Parkinson's disease (PD) – rest tremor, akinesia, and rigidity – Parkinsonian individuals often manifest rhythmic deficits in various areas of motor coordination, such as movements of the upper limb, the orofacial sphere, or in gait. Rhythm impairment is also found in rhythmic perception tasks (i.e., tasks that do not involve motor production). For explaining this variety of rhythmic deficits, the hypothesis of a generalized dysrhythmia was proposed. This hypothesis implies that all rhythmic alterations observed across various tasks and in different motor systems may stem from a common central dysfunction. Nevertheless, this proposal was not confirmed so far, and many questions remained, both theoretically and clinically: are PD rhythmic deficits actually related? May a common source explain those rhythm-impaired manifestations? If so, what are the associated brain correlates and clinical perspectives? Designed upon two main research axes, the main objective of this dissertation was to test the hypothesis of generalized dysrhythmia in PD, by means of two research questions: i) are there links between three domains of rhythmic production, (namely orofacial, manual, and gait coordination) and a perceptual rhythmic domain in PD?; and ii) what is the impact of a rhythmic training provided to a motor domain (i.e., manual rhythmic coordination) on other motor coordination domains (i.e., orofacial and walking)?All our results confirm the hypothesis of a generalized dysrhythmia in PD, and the most likely existence of malfunctioning mechanisms that may serve a general predictive function that, when trained, could alleviate some motor symptoms in PD

This article appears in theOxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aestheticsedited by John Richardson, Claudia Gorbman, and Carol Vernallis. This chapter examines multichannel sound—specifically 5.1-channel surround sound—in video games, using gaming genres to explore the varying ways that games structure the three-way relationship among a multichannel sound track, onscreen visuals, and the game play itself. This approach uncovers distinct strategies of multichannel usage in platformers, first-person shooters, third-person 3D games, and rhythm games, and shows how these differ from traditional cinematic multichannel uses, especially in the way they problematize the relationship between image and sound. These differing approaches to game aesthetics illustrate different ways of conceiving the relationship among players, their in-game avatars, and the game world, with the sound mixing “rules” programmed into a game revealing the type of immersion and interactivity the game can promote. For example, some strategies reinforce the player–avatar connection, whereas others increase the distance between them. The chapter concludes by considering how industrial and technical factors unique to gaming impact multichannel sound usage.

This chapter examines three case studies of music videos within video games. Each of the three examples employ differing types of nostalgia. Rhythm Heaven Fever (2011) channels retro nostalgia by showcasing costumes and settings of rap videos from the 1990s and 2000s in its minigame, “Love Rap.” Yakuza 0 (2015) launches the player into an alternate reality based in a music video world during a music minigame involving singing at a karaoke bar. These videos are realized from the avatar’s imaginative episodic nostalgia. Omega Quintet (2014) is a role-playing game that tasks the player with directing promotional videos for the titular idol group of avatars. The dystopian setting of Omega Quintet narratively binds the consumption of these music videos with human survival in type of future nostalgia referred to as the “never ending every day.”

Stroke basically consists in brain-cells death due to lack or excess of blood. Stroke has many important consequences and falls are one of the most concerning. Falls can produce several injures from minor lacerations to fractures and death. It has been found that balance and gait impairments after stroke are important risk factors for fall. Hence, improving balance and gait ability in stroke survivors can significantly reduce falls rate. In this literature review, we review the main characteristic and the therapeutic results of different therapeutic interventions aimed at improving balance and walking ability. The main therapeutic interventions included are the Bobath therapy, exercise-based interventions, orthotic and assistive devices, modality treatments, alternative therapies, robotic-assisted training, and computational-based interventions. The parameters considered as evidence of balance and/or gait recovery after a specific intervention are: walking speed (WS), cadence, endurance, stride/step length, weight/walking symmetry, and sway. Our main findings are: 1) The wide use of the Bobath concept is not well supported by evidence due to its performance has been found to be inferior to some exercises-based interventions such as walking training; 2) exercises-based interventions were classified as strength and task-specific training. The former improves muscular and bone health, aerobic capability, and prepares the patient to perform a more demanding activity. The latter is designed as a repetitive training of a functional activity, mainly walking, and sit to stand exercises, which improve both gait and balance. Orthotic and assistive devices have effects on balance and gait but only while they are worn or used; 3) robotic assisted walking-training presented similar results to overground or treadmill walking training in terms of walking speed and balance recovery. However, the most important advantage lies on the reduction of burden for therapists; 4) thee most important use of motion analysis is as a tool for identify the causes deficits in a patient and the to design a therapy in accordance; 5) motion synthesis can be used as a tool to answer very specific questions related to capabilities/limitations of a patient. For instance, “what would be the effect of increasing hip-torque capability of a stroke survivor on the walking-symmetry?” The answer to this question would either help to design an exercise/intervention or to discard such intervention due to low impact; 6) some treatments are added to a main therapy to increase its effect on a given parameter. Functional electrical stimulation, which is added to cycling training to improve motion patterns. Biofeedback is used during balance training to reduce weight-asymmetry. And virtual reality and video games are used to increase motivation and permanence of patient on a therapy; 7) we found some alternative or no widely used therapies. Among the most promising we can mention Tai-Chi exercises, which integrates physical and mental activities to improve balance and gait and rhythmic auditory stimulation that improves WS and weight-symmetry; and 8) orthotics devices help to reduce falls by extending the base of support but the effect appears only while they are worn. In general, there is not an ultimate therapy able to fit to every patient. The choice should depend on patient’s goals and conditions. Moreover, falls can not be eliminated but they can be substantially reduced by improving balance and gait.