Recent theorizing around games and notions of play has drawn from a pool of mid-20th century scholars including such notables as Johann Huizinga, Gregory Bateson, Roger Caillois and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Through his articulation of the concept of language as a type of game, Wittgenstein has been both adopted and critiqued for purposes of circumscribing what are now commonly held as the necessary constituents of games including their systemic nature and the acquiescence of their participants to an agreed-upon rule structure: a set of rules which Wittgenstein likens to the ‘grammar’ of language (Salen and Zimmerman, 2001;Suits, 1978; Juul, 2005; Wittgenstein, 1953; Finch, 2001; Brenner, 1999). Although thus far Wittgenstein has served as a pillar of 20th and 21st century game theory canon, this paper adopts Wittgenstein’s notion of language-games not for purposes of examining games, but for purposes of examining the design of games. The pursuit of this paper is to utilize Wittgenstein’s lens of the language-game to investigate what it is that informs and consequently shapes and reinforces game design epistemologies in an attempt to encourage a reflexivity about the design practices behind the games we create. Read more...

Little is known about the underlying neural processes of playing computer/video games, despite the high prevalence of its gaming behavior, especially in males. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study contrasting a space-infringement game with a control task, males showed greater activation and functional connectivity compared to females in the mesocorticolimbic system. These findings may be attributable to higher motivational states in males, as well as gender differences in reward prediction, learning reward values and cognitive state during computer video games. These gender differences may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become "hooked" on video games than females. \copyright2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more...

Epic Games provides a free game level editor with titles based on its Unreal engine. The editor provides a rich set of authoring tools that can be used to create fully interactive environments. This paper describes a tool that converts Unreal levels to web-ready environments in VRML and X3D, The paper also examines the similarities between first-person-shooter games and web 3D worlds, and discusses the implications of having a low-cost, fully featured virtual world authoring environment available for creating web 3D content. Read more...

In this paper a semiotic approach to video games will be presented. Structuralist semiotic notion of text will be crit-icized for being unable to account for the nonlinear and un-stable nature of interactive ludic objects, and Rastier's [9] paradigm will be adopted. Integrating it with recent pro-posals in semantic of perception [4], a sketch for a semantic and semiotic analytic methodology for computer games will be outlined. Such methodology will be field-tested on the computer game flOw [1]. Read more...

The world-wide explosion of video games and the attendant problems have been unnoticed by the medical profession, except by doctors who are addicted to these games and deny that such a problem exists. Single cases of Space Invader wrist tendonitis and Space Invader epilepsy have, however, recently been reported. We describe a case of highly selective 'Space Invader epilepsy'. Read more...

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A presente investigação de mestrado apresenta uma proposta de análise das estruturas interativas em jogos realizados em ambientes digitais, e sua possível reutilização em novos processos comunicacionais em cooperação com as ciências da computação e a hipermídia. Analisa os processos de autoria de games do ponto de vista histórico, conceitual e as perspectivas interdisciplinares presentes atualmente, dentro das pesquisas realizadas na academia, no que diz respeito às matrizes da linguagem e pensamento. O modelo referencial multi-jogador (Counter-Strike) estudado envolve estratégias de reutilização e interatividade complexas. A pesquisa identificou como elementos fundamentais do processo o trabalho em equipes qualificadas, seja no planejamento, desenvolvimento e mesmo na condução das práticas de utilização ao nível de usuário. O conceito de equipe utilizado é o de interdisciplinaridade, o que torna a pesquisa interessante para os contextos do entretenimento e educação. O conceito de reutilização se torna operativo quando é incrementado pelas investigações atuais sobre a interatividade, a qual é apresentada a partir das pesquisas em semiótica e hipermídia, deixando a possibilidade aberta de sua extensão para a área da educação.The present inquiry presents a proposal of analyzes of the interactive structures in games carried through in digital environments and its possible reuse in new communication processes in cooperation with the computer sciences and the hypermedia. It currently analyzes the processes of authoring of games of the historical, conceptual point of view and the perspectives of interdisciplinary concept gifts inside of the research carried through in the academy in that it says respect the matrices of the language and thought. The referencial model multi-player (Counter-Strike) studied involves strategies of complex reuses and interactive. The research identified as basic elements of the process the work in qualified teams, either in the planning, same development and in the conduction of the practical ones of use to the user level. The used concept of team is of interdisciplinary concept, what it becomes the interesting research for the contexts of the entertainment and education. The reuses concept if becomes operative when it is developed by the current inquiries on the interactive, which is presented from the research in semiotics and hypermedia, leaving the open possibility of its extension for the area of the education. Read more...

Researchers interested in the associations of gender with spatial experience and spatial ability have not yet focused on several activities that have become common in the modern digital age. In this study, using a new questionnaire called the Survey of Spatial Representation and Activities (SSRA), we examined spatial experiences with computers and videogames in a sample of nearly 1,300 undergraduate students. Large gender differences, which favored men, were found in computer experience. Although men and women also differed on SAT scores, gender differences in computer experience were still apparent with SAT factored out. Furthermore, men and women with high and low levels of computer experience, who were selected for more intensive study, were found to differ significantly on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). Path analyses showed that computer experience substantially mediates the gender difference in spatial ability observed on the MRT. These results collectively suggest that the "Digital Divide" is an important phenomenon and that encouraging women and girls to gain spatial experiences, such as computer usage, might help to bridge the gap in spatial ability between the sexes. Read more...

This paper details a research methodology that emerged during an inquiry into game design aimed at promoting conceptual learning in physics. The methodology, Research as Design-Design as Research (RADDAR), is outlined and a case study example is provided as means to illustrate its application. Read more...

How to design effective learning opportunities? Why is learning by experience often more efficient than learning by studying? How to provide the learning experiences needed to respond to current challenges? Using computer games and games in general for educational purposes offers a variety of knowledge presentations and creates opportunities to apply the knowledge within a virtual world, thus supporting and facilitating learning processes. An innovative educational paradigm such as game-based learning, which is considered suitable for the given purpose, is described in this article. The connection of the collaborative social context of education with game-based learning is discussed in the first part of the paper. The second part of the paper introduces the game concept of "UniGame: Social Skills and Knowledge Training". Game ideas along the educational background of the UniGame game concept are outlined. UniGame scenarios presented and possible use cases should stimulate users to apply game-based learning approach in the future for their classes. Read more...