Dissertations / Theses: 'Video game theory'

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Beck, Michael J. "Shall We Play a Game?: The Performative Interactivity of Video Games." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2014. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700111/.

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This study examines the ways that videogames and live performance are informed by play theory. Utilizing performance studies methodologies, specifically personal narrative and autoperformance, the project explores the embodied ways that gamers know and understand videogames. A staged performance, “Shall We Play a Game?,” was crafted using Brechtian theatre techniques and Conquergood’s three A’s of performance, and served as the basis for the examination. This project seeks to dispel popular misconceptions about videogames and performance and to expand understanding about videogaming as an embodied performative practice and a way of knowing that has practical implications for everyday life.

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Beale, Matthew Carson. "Playing the Writing Game: Gaming the Writing Play." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32006.

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My studies consider the application of digital game theory to the instruction of writing in the first year composition classroom. I frame my argument through dialectic of representation and simulation and the cultural shift now in progress from the latter to the former. I first address the history of multimodal composition in the writing classroom, specifically noting the movement from analysis to design. In the third chapter, I examine several primary tenants of video game theory in relation to traditional academic writing, such as the concept of authorship and the importance of a rule system. My final chapter combines the multimodal and digital game theory to create what I term â digital game composition pedagogy.â The last chapter offers new ways to discuss writing and composing through the theories of video games, and shows how video games extend the theories associated with writing to discussions that coincide with an interest that many of our students have outside of the classroom.
Master of Arts

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Merriner, Ashley. "Aural Abjections and Dancing Dystopias: Sonic Signifiers in Video Game Horror." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/22733.

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For centuries, the horror genre has ensnared audiences across generations and genre lines: ballet, opera, literature, poetry, film, and, most recently, video games have all utilized the power of terror to shock, horrify, and, perhaps most disturbingly, attract. But what does fear sound like? This thesis will focus on that question as it explores both the twin worlds of Konami’s survival-horror title Silent Hill and the underwater-nightmare city of Rapture in 2KGames’ 2007 hit Bioshock. Offering a deeper understanding of the agency video game sound employs, this thesis will engage critical gender, race, and feminist theory, confront issues of social and cultural fears evoked through sound, and offer an in-depth analysis of each game’s soundscape in order to discuss the ways video game soundtracks can serve as vehicles for both signifying and unpacking complicated social and political topics that prevail in modern society.

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Braaf, Adele. "A grounded theory for active video game design to promote gamer engagement and immersion." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2724.

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Thesis (MTech (Information Technology)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.
Active Video Games (AVGs) are a form of video games that rely on gamer motion as the main source of interaction between the AVG and the player. These AVGs serve a number of purposes, such as medical rehabilitation, education, social development, and motor skill development, among others. Prolonged play of AVGs is not sustainable as gamers lose interest in playing AVGs after the initial period of acquiring them. Therefore, the following research question was posed: “What design factors contribute to an engaged and immersed AVG experience?” The aim was to explore the inhibiting and enhancing factors influencing engagement and immersion among AVG gamers, as well as to develop a theory of AVG design. Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) was used as the methodology to carry out this study, which adopted an inductive approach towards the research to construct a theory firmly grounded in the data. Play Active Theory (PAT) is the outcome of this process, which explores the engagement and immersion factors related to AVG design as well as the abandonment and replayability of AVGs. PAT was compared to existing engagement and motivation theories as part of the CGT process, and further refined. In closing, the research question was answered and the aims of the study were met. A reflection account of the research journey concludes the thesis.

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Vollbach, Alexander Michael. "Diversity and Inclusivity in Video Game Advertisements: An Exploration of Video Game Console Commercials from 2003 to 2017." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1522968361672216.

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Yakobi, Maxine J. "The Economic and Behavioral Success of Riot Games In an Undifferentiated Video Game Market." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/349.

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The vast success of Riot Games is relatively undisputed amongst financial analysts as well as online communities despite there being little information publicly available that specifically addresses how their game has differentiated itself in a homogenous market. Additionally, there is little information that addresses the opportunity cost of paying money for components within this specific server for advantages within the game. I believe there to be something functionally unique about Riot’s business in particular that allows for it to acquire steady fiscal growth from people investing their money into effectively a “free” online game and I would like to explore what that is. Therefore I wish to answer the question of why is it that Riot, despite having a relatively undifferentiated product within the MOBA game industry, exceeds all other companies in both player commitment and financial investment to their free-to-play product. My surveys will aim to address the reasons why players choose to invest both their time and money into the game and shed more light on the efficacy of the incentive structures in place. Through survey data and information gained through interviews I will form base comparisons between player preferences and then track the incentive structures across the MOBA industry. Using comparative analysis between the player-reported incentives which drive their behavior, the information gained through conducting personal interviews with Riot Representatives, and careful analysis of consumer trends with regards to League of Legends and the eSports franchise as designed by the Riot Games industry, I will attempt to find correlations between the player’s perceptions of Riot’s product and the incentives within the game. If consumption and growth patterns show correlations to the growth exhibited by the company that prove to be significant when compared with player preferences, those points could potentially explain the success that Riot has seen over the duration of the past five years of the company’s existence.

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Gifford, Ben. "Reviewing the critics: Examining popular video game reviews through a comparative content analysis." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1377089044.

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Smal, Pieter. "Constructing a model musical idiom for award-nominated video game soundtracks." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/59069.

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My research will attempt to determine how award academies choose their nominations through the analysis of select musical aesthetics. As a trained musician (pianist) and avid gamer, I will bring my two passions together, contributing to the field of ludomusicology (the study of video game music). My research consists of an overview of video game scores spanning a decade (2004 – 2013) with a select sample of three soundtracks per year (a total of thirty soundtracks). The samples will be taken from the BAFTA- (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), VGX- (formerly known as Spike), and D.I.C.E. awards (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain). Through engaging a music theory macro analysis, I will discuss melodic themes used in each soundtrack, the setting of the score (instrumental or electronic), and whether the soundtrack samples contain the epic musical idiom. At the end of my dissertation my research reveals what kind of music these award academy panels favour. If the award academies are a reflection of popular taste, my research indicates what the audiences like to hear in video game music.
Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Music
MMus
Unrestricted

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Hagström, Anders. "Poetically Man Dwells in Game Space : A Phenomenological Investigation of Video Games as Art." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för speldesign, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-326132.

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The studies of digital games is a young scientific field notable for its interdisciplinary nature that seeks to unite several epistemological positions in order to properly encompass the wide array of questions raised by the subject matter. During the last two decades strides have been made towards the introduction of a unified game theory, with several of the more recently suggested methods coalescing towards a similar end. This paper posits a phenomenological game theory which circumvents the usual aesthetic arguments for a focus on game as space, and analyses what it means to be in that space. The result of the initial reading of mainly three well-known and critically acclaimed digital games strongly indicates that using Heideggerian phenomenological thought reveals things about games as art that a) reinforces the validity of commonly held beliefs in current game theory, and b) suggests new ways forward for game design to improve games through enhancing the player’s comportment into their spaces by means of phenomenological game theory.

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Alhidari, Abdullah. "Co-Creating Value in Video Games: The Impact of Gender Identity and Motivations on Video Game Engagement and Purchase Intentions." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc799485/.

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When games were first developed for in-home use, they were primarily targeted almost exclusively at children and males. However, today’s marketplace manifests a more diverse population plays Internet-enabled games that can be played virtually anywhere. The average gamer is now 30 years old. Many gamers, obviously, are much older. Yet more strikingly, and more germane to this study’s purpose, 47% of the U.S. gamer population is female, as compared to 40% in 2010. Despite these trends the gaming industry remains a male-dominated culture. The marketer’s job is to facilitate game engagement and to motivate gamers to play. The notion of “engagement” is not new in business. The term was developed in the last decade. Many studies were devoted to understand, explain, and define the term. It suggests that within interactive, dynamic business environments, consumer engagement (CE) represents a strategic position that companies can use to enhance their sales growth, competitive advantage, and profitability. Moreover, there are three levels of engagement in any experiential consumption (i.e., playing video game): presence, flow, and psychological absorption. The findings of this study affirm that consumer engagement, including presence, flow and psychological absorption are explanatory factors that impact gamer’s purchase intentions. Our results show that consumers experience different mental engagement in an interactive environment (i.e., playing video games) compared to passive environments (i.e., visiting a website). These findings change our understanding of consumers’ engagement and flow state. We also found that male and female gamers experience different engagement level. However, we did not find a significant result that masculinity and femininity traits impact gamers’ engagement or intention. We argue that macroeconomic factors results in sales fluctuation may have resulted in reject in this hypothesis. Thus, marketers shed a light into the consumer’s interactive environment and flow states in that environments. Consumers not only determine the value in using a product as Vargo and Lusch suggested, but they also create that value. Also, consumer experience is an ongoing process that does not have a specific point to start, making the value creation a temporally accumulative process that includes past, present, and future experience. Therefore, the value created by consumers is not created while physically interacting with a device to play, but it may include imagined and indirect interaction with the product. Therefore, consumers (i.e., gamers) need to maintain a balance between presence and psychological absorption (i.e., flow) to get the best experience in play video gaming. Empirical evidence suggest that consumers’ flow state engagement is the most important variable in determining their ensuing purchase intention for video games, regardless of game genre.

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Paustian, Shane William. "Designing an interactive visualization for intrusion detection systems with video game theory and technology." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.

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Zagal, José Pablo. "Supporting learning about games." Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24814.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
Committee Chair: Bruckman, Amy; Committee Member: Guzdial, Mark; Committee Member: Juul, Jesper; Committee Member: Kolodner, Janet; Committee Member: Mateas, Michael.

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Hansen, Jared Capener. "Why Can't Zelda Save Herself? How the Damsel in Distress Trope Affects Video Game Players." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2018. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7304.

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Research has unearthed an abundance of objectification and hypersexualization of female characters within video games. However, the recurring element of the damsel in distress trope is also harmful to the medium. This clichÃ© of a helpless princess in need of a man to save her is a recurring element of The Legend of Zelda series. This experimental design tested the effects of a prototypical <&hyphen>œsave the princess<&hyphen> mission on players<'> agreement to sexist statements on gender roles, objectification, and female dependency, and examined the factors of self-efficacy and gamer status as potential mediators. Participants played a modified version of a classic Legend of Zelda game, where the genders of the hero protagonist and damsel are manipulated. This 2 x 2 study included male and female heroes rescuing male and female victims in the four different cells. Immediately following the experiment, participants then took a post-test survey to gauge if there was any difference on their agreement to sexist statements. These results were also compared to their previous responses on their self-efficacy scores and their gamer status.

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Zagal, José Pablo. "Supporting learning about games." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24814.

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It seems like teaching about games should be easy. After all, students enjoy engaging with course content and have extensive experience with videogames. However, games education can be surprisingly complex. I explore the question of what it means to understand games by looking at the challenges and problems faced by students taking games-related classes. My findings include realizing that extensive prior videogame experience often interferes with students abilities to reason critically and analytically about games, and that students have difficulties articulating their experiences and observations about games. In response to these challenges, my research explores how we can use online learning environments to support learning about games by (1) helping students get more from their experiences with games, and (2) helping students use what they know to establish deeper understanding. I explore these strategies through the design and use of two online learning environments: GameLog and the Game Ontology Wiki. GameLog is an online blogging environment designed to help students reflect on their game playing experiences. The Game Ontology wiki provides a context for students to contribute and participate legitimately and authentically in the Game Ontology Project. The Game Ontology Project is a games studies research project that is creating a framework for describing, analyzing and studying games. GameLog and the Game Ontology Wiki were used in university level games-related classes. Results show that students found that participating in these online learning environments was a positive learning experience that helped them broaden and deepen their understanding of videogames. Students found that by reflecting on their experiences playing games they began to understand how game design elements helped shape that experience. Most importantly, they stepped back from their traditional role of gamers or fans and engaged in reasoning critically and analytically about the games they were studying. With GameLog, I show how blogging about experiences of gameplay can be a useful activity for supporting learning and understanding about games. For the Game Ontology Wiki, I show how it is possible to design learning environments that are approachable to learners and allow them to contribute legitimately to external communities of practice.

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Schrank, Brian. "Play beyond flow: a theory of avant-garde videogames." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/42865.

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Videogame tinkerers, players, and activists of the 21st century are continuing, yet redefining, the avant-garde art and literary movements of the 20th century. Videogames are diverging as a social, cultural, and digital medium. They are used as political instruments, artistic experiments, social catalysts, and personal means of expression. A diverse field of games and technocultural play, such as alternate reality games, griefer attacks, arcade sculptures, and so on, can be compared and contrasted to the avant-garde, such as contemporary tactical media, net art, video art, Fluxus, the Situationists, the work of Pollock or Brecht, Dada, or the Russian Formalists. For example, historical avant-garde painters played with perspectival space (and its traditions), rather than only within those grid-like spaces. This is similar in some ways to how game artists play with flow (and player expectations of it), rather than advancing flow as the popular and academic ideal. Videogames are not only an advanced product of technoculture, but are the space in which technoculture conventionalizes play. This makes them a fascinating site to unwork and rethink the protocols and rituals that rule technoculture. It is the audacity of imagining certain videogames as avant-garde (from the perspective of mainstream consumers and art academics alike) that makes them a good candidate for this critical experiment.

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Hess, Taryn. "COMPARISON OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES BETWEEN A SERIOUS GAME-BASED AND NON-GAME-BASED ONLINE AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2010. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/2108.

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The use of online courses continues to increase despite the small amount of research that exists on the effectiveness of online educational environments. The little research that has been conducted has focused on evaluating factors taken into consideration during the adoption of online learning environments. One notable benefit often cited is the ability to incorporate multimedia such as video games. Although game researchers and developers are pushing for the use of video games for educational purposes, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of serious video games. When paring the increasing use of online educational environments, the push to use serious video games, and the lack of research on the effectiveness of online learning environments and video games, there is a clear need for further investigation into the use of serious video games in an online format. Based on current literature, no other known study has conducted an analysis comparing a serious game-based and non-game based online course; making this a unique study. The purpose of this study was to compare student learning experiences and outcomes between a serious game-based and non-game based online American History course. The data sources were data provided from Florida Virtual School (FLVS) and student and teacher interviews. Random samples of 92 students were statistically analyzed. A group of 8 students and 4 teachers were interviewed. FLVS data provided were analyzed using an independent t-test and the Mann-Whitney test and the student and teacher interview were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results of an independent t-test revealed that there was a significant (p < .01) difference in the mean number of days necessary to complete the course (MGB = 145.80, SDGB = 50.64, MNGB = 112.63, SDNGB = 49.60). The Mann-Whitney results indicated a significant difference between course performance and the type of American history course (Z = -5.066, p < .01); students in the serious game-based online course had an A average whereas students in the non-game-based online course had a B average. The thematic analysis of the relationship between student performance and motivation in both courses indicated that students and teachers of the game-based online course provided more reasons for student motivation than the students and teachers in the non-game-based online course. The thematic analysis of what aspects do students perceive as helpful and/or hindering to their learning indicated that students and teachers of the game-based online course provided more desirable, more helpful, less undesirable, and less hindering aspects for their course than the students and teachers in the non-game-based online course. As a result of the unique nature of this study, the findings provide new information for the fields of research on online learning, serious video gaming, and instructional design as well as inform instructional-designers, teachers, education stakeholders, serious video game designers, and education researchers.
Ph.D.
Other
Education
Education PhD

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Whelan, Sean B. "Bridging the Gap: Transfer Theory and Video Games in the Writing Classroom." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1596105943440043.

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Fernandez, Vara Clara. "The tribulations of adventure games integrating story into simulation through performance/." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31756.

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Thesis (Ph.D)--Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.
Committee Chair: Murray, Janet H.; Committee Member: Bolter, Jay; Committee Member: Montfort, Nick; Committee Member: Nitsche, Michael; Committee Member: Pearce, Celia. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

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Mänder, Leili. "Life Is Strange a mediated game reception analysis." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Etnologi, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-147340.

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In this essay a mediated video game reception of the game Life Is Strange is made, with the purpose of examining the players' meaning-making processes from a gender perspective. The materials of this essay consist of videos from six different YouTube channels where each player film themselves whilst playing through Life Is Strange as a way to review and share the gaming experience. The results show how the meaning-making processes are littered with gender discourses and affects. The affects offset discourses by amplification or by revealing discord between available cultural narratives and the simulated reality of the game. Even though the game highlights themes like female-centric relationships, suicide, euthanasia, lesbianism, socio-economic circumstances, social accountability and men's violence against women, it successfully delivers highly involving, enjoyable and appreciated gameplay experience. The game is shown to provide players with a platform around which they can connect and continue to discuss, raise awareness and produce knowledge around these important topics. The fan generated culture will in turn, reach a much larger audience than the game sales numbers reflect.

Treated in seminar at Stockholm University

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Smith, Nathan J. "Does Video Game Content Matter? An Examination of Two Competing Ideas." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2015. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6026.

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The current paper addresses the associations between video game content (i.e., physically aggressive, relationally aggressive, and prosocial) and physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in two distinct developmental periods. The purpose of the paper is to test whether playing video games with a particular type of content influences behaviors over time, or whether individuals who have higher levels of physical aggression, relational aggression, or prosocial behavior prefer to play games with similar content. Two theories will be simultaneously examined and tested in order to determine the relative merit in using each in research examining the relationships between video game content and positive and negative behaviors. More specifically, this paper will address the General Aggression Model/General Learning Model (GAM/GLM) and the Uses and Gratification Theory. The GAM/GLM, at their core, predict that exposure to video game content will build a cognitive schema which will guide how an individual should behave when confronted with a later social encounter (Anderson & Bushman, 2002). Contrarily, Uses and Gratification would suggest that a person chooses to play video games with a particular type of content, and that video games should not influence behavior. Specifically, according to the theory, individuals should seek out video games in order to fulfill their inward feelings and motivations (e.g., an individual with aggressive tendencies would play games with more violent and aggressive content) (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973; Whiting & Williams, 2013). A careful analysis showed a significant relationship between each type of video game content and its' corresponding behavior among adolescents, which supports the assumptions of the GAM and GLM. There was no relationship between video game content and behavior among preschoolers. With the exception of relational aggression of physically aggressive content, there was no support for Uses and Gratification Theory, in that preschoolers' and adolescents' levels of physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior were not related to the preference for video games with different types of content. The analysis adds significantly to the current literature by showing a relationship between video game content and behavior over a four year period.

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Courtney, Joshua. "Using Ant Colonization Optimization to Control Difficulty in Video Game AI." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2010. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/147.

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Ant colony optimization (ACO) is an algorithm which simulates ant foraging behavior. When ants search for food they leave pheromone trails to tell other ants which paths to take to find food. ACO has been adapted to many different problems in computer science: mainly variations on shortest path algorithms for graphs and networks. ACO can be adapted to work as a form of communication between separate agents in a video game AI. By controlling the effectiveness of this communication, the difficulty of the game should be able to be controlled. Experimentation has shown that ACO works effectively as a form of communication between agents and supports that ACO is an effective form of difficulty control. However, further experimentation is needed to definitively show that ACO is effective at controlling difficulty and to show that it will also work in a large scale system.

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Burke, Benjamin M. S., James M. Ph D. Duncan, Nick Ph D. Frye, and Mallory Ph D. LMFT CFLE Lucier-Greer. "Sense of (Online) Community? The Social Organization Theory of Action and Change and Adult Video Game Players." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/secfr-conf/2020/schedule/45.

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Much investigation has explored the potential effects of video games in adolescence. However, limited research has been conducted on the effects of social video game play and individual and relational well-being in adults. The Social Organization Theory of Action and Change (SOAC) may be a helpful way to examine social behaviors (like gaming) and how they relate to well-being. This exploratory study will utilize the SOAC to examine social gaming behaviors in adults, and examine the relationships between these behaviors and adult individual and relational outcomes (e.g., loneliness, relationship satisfaction). Descriptive statistics and correlations are provided. Regression analyses will be performed. Results will be used to discuss the viability of applying the SOAC to online, social gaming contexts. Implications for social video game play in adults will be provided.

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Velez, John A. "A Test of Bounded Generalized Reciprocity and Social Identity Theory in a Social Video Game Play Context." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397671422.

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Young, Lois Alison. "A Gender Role Theory Examination of the Relationship between Gender Identity and Video Game Players' Avatar Choices." Thesis, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10743235.

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This study had two purposes: to determine whether or not biological sex and/or gender identity impacted the way an individual would customize a video game avatar, and to focus on the components—length of time and number of customizations—of avatar design. In addition, an individual’s experience with video games—novice, casual, and hardcore—was considered throughout this study to determine a relationship between individuals and their avatars. This study was based on previous studies about how gender identity impacted individuals in virtual worlds. The video game Dark Souls (2011) was used for the stimulus and the (30-item) Bem Sex Role Inventory—a scale that measures gender identity—was used as the measure. While the research questions provided resulted in no correlation between sex, gender, and player experience, further research is needed to determine how the evolution of the gaming community and the gaming industry continues to impact both players and gaming research.

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Westerdahl, Matilda. "Challenges in video game development - What does Agile management have to do with it?" Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för teknik och samhälle (TS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-20026.

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The video game industry has gone through a dramatic change over the last few decades, yetseveral reports show that there are currently many challenges that developers face in their dailywork. A major challenge includes difficulties of getting projects to close within set time andresource restraints. This is something that indicates a connection to the management methodsbeing used, among which Agile management is a popular framework that many turn to. Thisthesis searches for connections between challenges in video game development and the usage ofagile methods like Scrum and Kanban. For this, a qualitative research strategy was used in orderto look into the experiences of video game developers. Five semi-structured interviews with atotal of eleven respondents were conducted. As a complement, a quantitative web-based surveywas made where 23 people participated. The results of this study show that challengespreviously defined within the video game industry, including feature creep, crunch periods anda stressful work pace can also be identified in the industry in southern Sweden to some extent.Underlying patterns indicate the industrial culture as an explanation for an incorrectimplementation of agile methods, which could eventually lead to issues surrounding riskmanagement in projects.

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Perkins, Kyle Eric. "Lifesigns: Successful Storytelling in Open-World Games." Ohio University Honors Tutorial College / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1290205847.

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Poland, Kristofer P. "A NATION OF GAMERS." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1180537228.

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Piller, Yulia. "Factors influencing parental attitudes toward digital game-based learning." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2016. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc849636/.

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The purpose of this non-positivistic mixed-methods study is to examine parental attitudes towards the use of computer and video games in their child’s classroom and to investigate how the sociocultural contexts in which parents live affect those attitudes. The research was conducted using a mixed-methods triangulation design, including both quantitative and qualitative techniques. First, the study tried to identify which groups of parents were better positioned to accept and support digital game-based learning and which groups were less likely to have a positive attitude toward integrating digital games into the classroom. This study tried to determine if socioeconomic status, age, education level, and/or cultural background could serve as a predictor of parental attitudes toward digital game-based learning. Second, the study tried to recognize how social and cultural contexts in which parents live affect their attitudes toward digital games in the classroom. Many researchers agree that parents play an important role in students’ and eventually, educators’ attitudes toward gaming. It has been argued that if parents accept a certain non-traditional (digital) learning tool, then their children would most likely have a similar attitude toward it. Parents might be the support system that educators need in order to ensure that students are able to see the educational value of video games and are willing to think critically and draw connections between what they learn in a gaming environment and core subject areas.

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Alexander, Joseph R. "An Interpretive Phenomenological Inquiry Into Fulfillment Of Choice Theory's Four Basic Psychological Needs Through Console Video Game Engagement." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1425243488.

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Fedchun, Kathryn. "A Feminist Autoethnography: On Hegemonic Masculinity, Failure, and Subversive Play in League of Legends." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/40968.

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League of Legends is one of the most popular video games in the world, and yet it is also infamously known as being filled with harassment and failure. Why do I continue to play? In this project, a critical autoethnography is used to illustrate what it is like to play in this male-dominated space as a woman. Using feminist and queer game studies as my theoretical framework, this project investigates three distinct, but interconnected concepts: hegemonic masculinity, weaponized failure, and subversive play. In chapter one, I use Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity to analyze League of Legends. I argue that gameplay elements such as champion selection, communication, and role-play make it difficult to challenge hegemonic masculinity in League of Legends. However, I do acknowledge that it is possible to challenge through playing the role of support properly – by concentrating on teamwork and sacrifice. In chapter two, I use queer video game studies, including key texts by Bonnie Ruberg and Jesper Juul, to consider failure in League of Legends. While queer failure can be fun in single-player video games, I argue that failure in League of Legends can be used as a weapon to intentionally hurt your teammates. Finally, in chapter three I consider my own subversive playstyle. While some academics have argued that woman who play masculine video games using male-coded skills cannot challenge the patriarchy, I argue that embracing my femininity in League of Legends allows me to persevere and push against the patriarchy. I argue that my feminine visibility in the form of my gamertag, SJW Queen, my communication style that emphasizes positivity and mediation, and how I play League of Legends are all examples of subversive gameplay. I bring my femininity into League of Legends uncompromised and I embrace it, rather than try to escape from it.

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Cornell, Michael. "Simplifying an Infinitely Complex State-Space: Real-Time Strategy Optimization in Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1123.

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Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is considered to be among the most complex real-time strategy games that exist today. I am testing whether or not players can gain meaningful strategic value through statistical analysis. In particular, I have focused my analysis on how players can redefine their path from their initial-state to their goal-state in one versus one games, how players can optimize their chance of winning through faction selection, and how players ought to evaluate balance in team games. Through regression analysis, I have concluded that there is potential for statistics to inform player behavior when it comes to each of these strategies.

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Cipollone, Maria. "Motivation to Mine: An Analysis of the Motivation for Extended Video Game Play among Preadolescents in a Physical Learning Environment." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/352314.

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Media & Communication
Ph.D.
The relationship between video games and learning is a topic of interest for academic fields. But how can a voluntary activity, like playing video games, motivate students to be academically productive? This dissertation used the popular video game, Minecraft, to measure the intrinsic motivation of 7th and 8th grade students in mathematics class, using a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) framework. The results demonstrated that intrinsic motivation remained at high levels, as long as students are competent in game controls and were relatively free to do what they wanted within the general guidelines in the video game environment. Second, the role of social presence contributed to immersion in the video game environment and played a role in the continued motivation to play. Third, although there was no impact on rote measures of learning, such as memorizing vocabulary definitions, the Minecraft video game environment affected students’ ability to problem solve, as was evidenced by pre- and post-tests of rote and conceptual learning.
Temple University--Theses

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Liblik, Karl-Chris, and Berlo Kevin van. "The Business of Micro Transactions : What is the players' motivation for purchasing virtual items?" Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-30578.

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Walbrou, Sonny. "Pour une histoire critique au prisme des rapports du corps à la machine, entre le cinéma, jeu vidéo et culture spectaculaire fin-de-siècle : continuité critique, innervation, attraction." Thesis, Lille, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018LIL3H037.

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Entre hier et aujourd’hui, entre la culture spectaculaire de la fin du XIXe siècle, le cinéma et la pratique des jeux vidéo, cette thèse explore les enjeux critiques d’une pensée des rapports du corps à la machine au prisme de la notion benjaminienne d’innervation. A partir d’une notion historiographique élaborée au sein de la thèse, celle de « continuité critique » qui consiste à déterminer des phénomènes de permanence à travers l’histoire, notre travail vise à définir une critique opératoire des nouveaux médias. Depuis les notions d’innervation et de continuité critique, nous étudions dans une perspective historique et théorique deux « états du corps » déterminant des points de résonance manifestes entre passé et présent. L’un se situe au tournant du siècle, l’autre au cours des années 1980. Le premier concerne le devenir-attraction des machines autour de 1900. Dans le prolongement de Tom Gunning nous pensons une telle attraction dans les termes d’un corps à corps entre le spectateur et la machine. À travers la culture visuelle et spectaculaire fin-de-siècle, nous identifions un motif récurrent : le voyage immobile. Nous étudions alors l’actualité critique d’un tel motif jusqu’à nos jours comme quelque chose qui, en dépit des innovations techniques, n’a pas changé. Le second état s’intéresse cette fois-ci aux transformations qui concernent les rapports du corps à l’écran dans la pratique du jeu vidéo. Il s’agit d’étudier cette fois-ci un ensemble de représentations qui apparaissent entre le début des années 1980 et le milieu des années 1990 et attestant la récurrence d’un autre motif : l’écran traversé. L’étude de ces deux motifs nous permet, par le biais de l’histoire, de formuler une critique des nouveaux médias sur le terrain-même de la nouveauté
Between past and present, between the turn-of-the-century spectacular culture, cinema and video games, our thesis explores the critical aspects of body-machine relationships understandings regarding Walter Benjamin’s concept of innervation. From a historiographical concept formulated within this work, i. e. “critical continuity” which consists in crafting permanencies though history, our purpose is to delineate an operating critic of the new media. From the concepts of innervation and critical continuity, we explore two defining “state of body” to draw resonances between past and present. One takes place at the turn of the century while the other takes place during the 1980’s. The former concerns the becoming-attraction of the machines circa 1900. Extending Tom Gunning’s concept, we understand such an attraction as a corporeal relationship between the spectator’s body and the machine. Through 1900’s visual and spectacular culture, we examine a recurring topos: the immobile voyage. We find and explore the critical topicality of such a topos up to present day as something that has never changed despite technical innovations. The latter state explores the transformations regarding the body-screen relationships in video game practice. We study a collection of representations appearing between the early 1980’s up to the middle of the 1990’s featuring another recurring topos: the screen crossed whether by the game’s universe whether by the player. These two topoi help us to conceive a critic of the new media on the very basis of novelty

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Degardh, Anton, and Poian Shafiee. "Spelindustrins Paradox : En eventstudie om lansering av tv-spels påverkan på aktiekursen." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för samhällsvetenskaper, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-24102.

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Purpose: To examine how video-game releases affect the share price, and if video-game reviews have any impact on the share price of gaming corporations. Method: A quantitative deductive research approach is applied with event study methodology used as basis. The investigated companies were the five largest gaming companies listed on the U.S. NASDAQ exchange. A total of 29 video-game launches and 85 reviews where examined. Theory: The study is based on The Efficient Market Hypothesis, Agent Theory, Public Relations Theory, Nextopia and previous research. Results: The result contains 114 observations in five companies. The result accounts for the cumulative abnormal return for each video-game. It also accounts for the cumulative average abnormal return for each company ten days after release. Analysis: The hypothesis test accounts for a statistical significant correlation between negative abnormal return and the release. It is also accounted for a cumulative average abnormal return of -2,29 % of the video-game companies stocks. Conclusion: There is a negative abnormal return for shareholders ten days after a video-game release. The result and the analysis dose confirm a direct correlation between video-game reviews and the abnormal return.

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Dymek, Mikolaj. "Industrial Phantasmagoria : Subcultural Interactive Cinema Meets Mass-Cultural Media of Simulation." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Industriell ekonomi och organisation (Avd.), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-13084.

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The video game industry has in three decades gone from a garage hobby to a global multi-billion euro media industry that challenges the significantly older and established cultural industries. After decades of explosive growth the industry surprisingly finds itself in a crisis – in terms of sales, future trajectories and creative paradigms. The global gaming culture receives substantial attention from society, media and academia – but the industry itself appears in comparison as an enigmatic terra incognita with astonishingly little dedicated research. This thesis aims to amend this situation by presenting a study at the cross-section of the video game industry, game studies, literary theory, cultural industries and business studies. It deals with the following question: how does the global game industry relate to its own product, in terms of communication and media dimensions, and what are the (business) consequences, in terms of production, strategy and commercial/creative innovation, of this relationship? This study’s departure point is constituted by a comprehensive description of the industry’s structure, dynamics and processes, based on extensive interviews with industry professionals. It is followed by an examination and comparison of the game industry with other media/cultural industries in relation to their economy and business dynamics. With inconclusive answers regarding the medium-industry relation, this study proceeds by exploring literary theories from the field of game studies, in order to gain insights into the dynamics of medium and industry. Literary theories from ludology and narratology provide rewarding perspectives on this inquiry, since it is found that the ontological dichotomy of simulation vs. respresentation present in the interpretational realm of the game medium is also reflected in the industry and its dynamics. This has pivotal consequences for the analysis of the game industry. This study concludes by positing the current critical condition of the industry as an extremely decisive moment in its history: will it become a truly universal mass-medium, or will it continue down its subcultural path? Subcultural “interactive cinema” meets mass-cultural media of simulation – how will the industry evolve?
QC20100708

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Blake, Greyory. "Good Game." VCU Scholars Compass, 2018. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5377.

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This thesis and its corresponding art installation, Lessons from Ziggy, attempts to deconstruct the variables prevalent within several complex systems, analyze their transformations, and propose a methodology for reasserting the soap box within the display pedestal. In this text, there are several key and specific examples of the transformation of various signifiers (i.e. media-bred fear’s transformation into a political tactic of surveillance, contemporary freneticism’s transformation into complacency, and community’s transformation into nationalism as a state weapon). In this essay, all of these concepts are contextualized within the exponential growth of new technologies. That is to say, all of these semiotic developments must be framed within the post-Internet sphere.

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Norman, Fredrik. "The Late Modern Hero’s Quest for Meaning : A case study on the psychological construction of meaning and play, ritualization, and, quests in video games in late modern Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Religionspsykologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-172378.

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This essay focuses on two cases studies that include two game designers’ views of meaning-making construction in games and an analysis of their corresponding games. This isplaced in relation to the late modern Sweden context. The study examines how the designersconceive purposeful play by employing a multi-disciplinary approach consistingof Pruyser’s three-world model, Bell’s ritualization framework, and, Howard’s quest theory.Such a study is relevant due to the new ways meaning-making is actively producedwithin games and contributes to the understanding of meaning-making in late modernSweden. The two designers work at DICE and Starbreeze Studios and were interviewedusing a semi-structured methodology. The data is analyzed with a qualitative narrativetechnique applying an inductive theoretical lens to analyze the data thematically. Bothrespondents illustrate patterns of meaning-making in their construction of games wherefunctionality is central and vital to produce purposeful play. The construction of illusionisticgame worlds encloses on feelings of authenticity to the world’s structure. Realistic,autistic, and, object symbolism operate to mold the world structure and are connected tothe designers’ genre. The designer from DICE promotes realistic worlds and the designerfrom Starbreeze Studios autistic representations. Ritualized practice within the worldfocuses on combat differentiation techniques to legitimize violent practice. The designers’realistic world construction makes combat plausible within its border and autistic worldsare empowered by back-stories. Opposition is seen as essential in both cases. The correspondinggame shows similar tendencies except that many of the quest themes are intactalthough the designers themselves consider the games to use less of the mythologicalformulae. Characters, themes, and, allegorical imagery was used to amplify the sense ofdialectic oppositions and logical opposition where the enemy is always darker. However,the hero and heroes are considerably grimmer compared to the stereotypical hero. Meaningis maintained through non-allegorical quests where the player and hero are motivatedby functionality linked to opposition or emotional elements. An anti-heroic concept isemployed to construct a practical and credible hero-character that has ambivalent attributesand convincing behavior. An alteration to dark-light symbolism can also be seen inone of the cases. In relation to other studies, this essay has broaden the spectrum of thepsychology of religion in terms of fields for meaning strategies; confirming ritualizedstrategies in video games; displayed altered ways of using mythological symbols in theSwedish context; presented cultural differences in hero structures that might be based onthe Swedish context.

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Washburn, Megan E. "Dynamic Procedural Music Generation from NPC Attributes." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2020. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2193.

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Procedural content generation for video games (PCGG) has seen a steep increase in the past decade, aiming to foster emergent gameplay as well as to address the challenge of producing large amounts of engaging content quickly. Most work in PCGG has been focused on generating art and assets such as levels, textures, and models, or on narrative design to generate storylines and progression paths. Given the difficulty of generating harmonically pleasing and interesting music, procedural music generation for games (PMGG) has not seen as much attention during this time. Music in video games is essential for establishing developers' intended mood and environment. Given the deficit of PMGG content, this paper aims to address the demand for high-quality PMGG. This paper describes the system developed to solve this problem, which generates thematic music for non-player characters (NPCs) based on developer-defined attributes in real time and responds to the dynamic relationship between the player and target NPC. The system was evaluated by means of user study: participants confront four NPC bosses each with their own uniquely generated dynamic track based on their varying attributes in relation to the player's. The survey gathered information on the perceived quality, dynamism, and helpfulness to gameplay of the generated music. Results showed that the generated music was generally pleasing and harmonious, and that while players could not detect the details of how, they were able to detect a general relationship between themselves and the NPCs as reflected by the music.

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Huskey, Richard Wayne. "Does Signaling Theory Account for Aggressive Behavior in Video Games?" Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1555260.

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Signaling theory originated in evolutionary biology and explains the mechanisms behind the honest communication of information between organisms. Communication scholars are increasingly turning to signaling theory as a way to test evolutionary explanations for human behavior. The present study tests if receiver-dependent costly signals can be used to predict the moment of aggressive behavior in video game environments. High status (but not high trait aggression) male subjects were fastest to engage in combat against a low voice pitch male opponent - but only when subject skill was high. This result underscores the importance of video game skill as a variable of interest as well as the need for video games researchers to tease out when real-world behaviors map to video game contexts.

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Stinson, Samuel D. "Writing with Video Games." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1525803463021262.

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Hamidi, Bijan Alexander. "An Analysis of Virtual Economics in Video Games." Thesis, California State University, Fullerton, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10808086.

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Bijan Hamidi explores economic systems in video games and expands on the definition of virtual economics to include economic behavior. Gamers commonly look to gain advantages over their opposition during game play. This thesis performs an analysis of how those decisions are constructed and provides insight on where economic principles are found in game play.

This body of work is based upon preexisting virtual economic works from Edward Castronova, Zachary Simpson, and Richard Bartle. However, this work does not focus purely on economic markets, but extends to study economic behavior exhibited during play.

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Watson, William R. "Formative research on an instructional design theory for educational video games." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3278250.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2007.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3816. Adviser: Charles M. Reigeluth. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).

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Levieux, Guillaume. "Mesure de la difficulté des jeux vidéo." Phd thesis, Conservatoire national des arts et metiers - CNAM, 2011. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00612657.

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Cette thèse a pour objectif de donner une définition générale et mesurable de la difficulté du gameplay dans un jeu vidéo. Elle propose une méthode et un outil pour mesurer cette difficulté. La méthode de mesure couramment employée est en effet principalement heuristique et propre au contexte de chaque jeu. Nous proposons une approche générique d'analyse du gameplay qui prend en compte l'apprentissage du joueur et permet une évaluation statistique de la difficulté d'un gameplay. Dans un premier temps, la thèse explore les liens entre difficulté, game design, et plaisir de jouer. Nous étudions diverses formes de difficultés : sensorielles, logiques et motrices. Après diverses expérimentations d'analyse automatique de gameplay, nous détaillons notre modèle de mesure de la difficulté, et l'analyse en challenges et capacités d'un gameplay, ainsi que le logiciel associé. Finalement, nous présentons une expérience, dont l'objectif est de tester la faisabilité et la précision de notre modèle.

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Swan, Richard Heywood. "Deriving Operational Principles for the Design of Engaging Learning Experiences." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2008. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2573.pdf.

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Flores, Diego Gonzalo. "Asymmetry of Gains and Losses: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Measures." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2016. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6578.

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The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of small monetary or economic gains and/or losses on choice behavior through the use of a computerized game and to determine gain/loss ratio differences using both behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Participants (N=53) played the game in several 36 minute sessions. These sessions operated with concurrent variable-interval schedules for both rewards and penalties. Previously, asymmetrical effects of gains and losses have been identified through cognitive studies, primarily due to the work of nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1979). They found that the effect of a loss is twice (i.e., 2:1) that of a gain. Similar results have been observed in the behavioral laboratory as exemplified by the research of Rasmussen and Newland (2008), who found a 3:1 ratio for the effect of losses versus gains. The asymmetry of gains and losses was estimated behaviorally and through event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and the cognitive (Kahneman and Tversky) and behavioral (Rasmussen and Newland) discrepancy elucidated. In the game, the player moves an animated submarine around sea rocks to collect yellow coins and other treasures on the sea floor. Upon collecting a coin, one of three things can happen: The player triggers a penalty (loss), the player triggers a payoff (gain), or there is no change. The behavioral measures consisted in counting the number of clicks, reinforces, and punishers and then determining ratio differences between punished (loss) and no punished condition (gain) conditions. The obtained gain/loss ratio corresponded to an asymmetry of 2:1. Similarly ratio differences were found between male and female, virtual money and cash, risk averse versus risk seeking, and generosity versus profit behavior. Also, no ratio difference was found when players receive information about other player's performances in the game (players with information versus players without information). In electroencephalographic (EEG) studies, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and ERPs components (e.g., P300) were examined. I found increased ERP amplitudes for the losses in relation to the gains that corresponded to the calculated behavioral asymmetry of 2:1. A correlational strategy was adopted that sought to identify neural correlates of choice consistent with cognitive and behavioral approaches. In addition, electro cortical ratio differences were observed between different sets of electrodes that corresponded to the front, middle, and back sections of the brain; differences between sessions, risk averse and risk seeking behavior and sessions with concurrent visual and auditory stimuli and only visual were also estimated.

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Vaughn, Robert Craig. "Aggression Predictors in Video Games: Is Catharsis to Blame?" UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm_etds/39.

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The majority of research tends to focus on the effects of violent video games, and as a result the motivations to play games are understudied. This study used the uses and gratifications theory as a framework for investigating game player’s motivation to play video games for the purpose of catharsis. This study also proposed that in-game variables, such as level of difficulty and content of the video game, all be investigated to see the effects they have on the achievement of catharsis or the development of aggression through other mediating variables such as enjoyment, control, and frustration with the game. It was found that difficulty of the game predicted frustration with the game and that those with more game playing experience reported greater feelings of catharsis, enjoyment, and feelings of control. None of the independent variables were found to attribute to feelings of aggression, including game content. Feelings of control within the game were found to be predicted by game type. Although there were relatively few main effects with the independent variables, correlations show trends in the data between variables that would support the achievement of catharsis through greater feelings of control, enjoyment, and decreased frustration.

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McKernan, Brian. "Interactivity, Interdependence, and Intertextuality| The Meaning of Video Games in American Civil Society." Thesis, State University of New York at Albany, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3591689.

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In recent years the video game community has undergone a drastic transformation. What began as a communal pastime for programmers in federally-funded research laboratories during the late 1950s and 1960s has erupted into a multi-billion dollar industry enjoyed by millions of Americans. Reflecting this transformation, social scientists from a wide variety of fields have begun to explore video games' social significance. Sadly, so far very little work has examined video games from a sociological viewpoint. In this work I attempt to remedy this serious omission by adopting a cultural sociology framework to study video games' social meanings in three different mediated spaces, including The New York Times, the popular video game media outlet Kotaku, and the internet discussion forum NeoGAF. Consistent with recent work on entertainment commentary's capacity to function as an aesthetic public sphere, my analysis demonstrates that discussions occurring in all three spaces address broader sociopolitical concerns. However, the frequency in which these spaces engage in sociopolitical discussions, the type of topics they address, and the manner in which they do so vary. Consequently, my work adds new insight to the literature by highlighting how aesthetic public spheres are not isomorphic, but instead assume a variety of forms. Moreover, my work demonstrates how the particular type of aesthetic public sphere that an entertainment public facilitates is influenced by that entertainment public's position in civil society, the specific meaning the space attaches to the entertainment form under discussion, and civil society's overarching cultural structure. In this sense, my work strengthens the literature's understanding of entertainment's role in civil society by revealing the multiple forms entertainment commentary can assume and the sociological factors that influence the shape of these discourses.

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García, Ling Carlos. "Graphical Glitch Detection in Video Games Using CNNs." Thesis, KTH, Matematisk statistik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-273574.

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This work addresses the following research question: Can we detect videogame glitches using Convolutional Neural Networks? Focusing on the most common types of glitches, texture glitches (Stretched, Lower Resolution, Missing, and Placeholder). We first systematically generate a dataset with both images with texture glitches and normal samples. To detect the faulty images we try both Classification and Semantic Segmentation approaches, with a clear focus on the former. The best setting in classification uses a ShuffleNetV2 architecture and obtains precisions of 80.0%, 64.3%, 99.2%, and 97.0% in the respective glitch classes Stretched, Lower Resolution, Missing, and Placeholder. All of this with a low false positive rate of 6.7%. To complement this study, we also discuss how the models extrapolate to different graphical environments, which are the main sources of confusion for the model, how to estimate the confidence of the network, and ways to interpret the internal behavior of the models.
Detta projekt svarar på följande forskningsfråga: Kan man använda Convolutional Neural Networks för att upptäcka felaktiga bilder i videospel? Vi fokuserar på de vanligast förekommande grafiska defekter i videospel, felaktiga textures (sträckt, lågupplöst, saknas och platshållare). Med hjälp av en systematisk process genererar vi data med både normala och felaktiga bilder. För att hitta defekter använder vi CNN via både Classification och Semantic Segmentation, med fokus på den första metoden. Den bäst presterande Classification-modellen baseras på ShuffleNetV2 och når 80.0%, 64.3%, 99.2% och 97.0% precision på respektive sträckt-, lågupplöst-, saknas- och platshållare-buggar. Detta medan endast 6.7% av negativa datapunkter felaktigt klassifieras som positiva. Denna undersökning ser även till hur modellen generaliserar till olika grafiska miljöer, vilka de primära orsakerna till förvirring hos modellen är, hur man kan bedöma säkerheten i nätverkets prediktion och hur man bättre kan förstå modellens interna struktur.

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Neill, Frederick Vance. "Interface Rhetoric, or A Theory for Interface Analysis: Principles from Modern Imagetext Media -- Late 18th Century to Present." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194179.

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This study sought to determine the principles of interface rhetoric through a review of the relevant history and theory involved in imagetext media. Defining interface as the surface that limits the view of an artifact’s content, it focuses on the media of the illustrated book, comics, and the video game, particularly artifacts of those media inspired by the content of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. Methodologically, it used the history of aesthetics and technology related to imagetext and the theories of these media in order to discern the rhetorical principles of interface distinctive to each medium. It takes the perspective of W. J. T. Mitchell’s concept of "imagetext," Umberto Eco’s sense of semiotics, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception, and Don Ihde's phenomenology of technology in its analysis of the media’s artifacts. The results of the analyses are a group of rhetorical principles for each medium that explain the operation of logos, pathos, and ethos in each medium’s interface. The explanations refer to Wayne Booth’s “implied author” and Kenneth Burke’s "terminological screens." In the final analysis, this study argues for understanding the relative ubiquity of imagetext in media stemming from the 1830s to present. It takes the stance that changes in aesthetics and technology enabled the rise of imagetext interfaces and the media that had them. More importantly, it formulates the architectonic principles of interface rhetoric regardless of the specific media.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Video game theory'

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