This paper discusses how learning material in the form of computer games in the area of ICT security affect ICT security usage. The findings from a conducted user-study show that computer games can be efficient learning environments when using security tools in terms of accessibility, safety, and speed. By replicating an earlier usability study, in which the participants utilised security tools to send and receive encrypted emails, the practical consequences of learning via a Game-Based Instruction were evaluated; the findings show that none of the participants who were given the chosen computer game as an instruction before the actual assignment did make any serious error when applying their security knowledge in contrast to the participants who did not receive any instruction in forehand. They also finished the assignment faster than the corresponding participants. To be able to evaluate the "practical knowledge" acquired, a model for Vital Security Functions was created that allows for comparison of security usage between high-level security applications. Read more...

Computer games may be an effective tool for teaching health-related knowledge and skills. This study evaluates the effect of a novel computer game about the glycemic index (GI) on knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention for adopting a lower GI diet. A pretest-posttest, nonequivalent control group design was employed. Students aged 18-30 years (n = 65) either completed the GI computer game or reviewed US Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid Web site regarding healthy eating guidelines. Participants completed a GI knowledge test, a self-efficacy instrument, and a questionnaire that assessed intentions to choose lower GI food choices. The computer game group showed greater gains than the control group in knowledge (P < .001) and self-efficacy scores (P < .01). Scores regarding behavioral intention also were significantly higher (P < .001) for the game group. A game-based approach may be effective in facilitating the adoption of lower GI food choices. Read more...

While numerous studies have reported learning of perceptual- motor skills by amnesic patients, few if any have documented the eventual acquisition of expertise on a given task. This paper recounts the learning of the computer game Tetris by a hippocampal amnesic,whose acquisition of the task in a formal evaluation was somewhat slower than that of a comparison group, but who after many hours of self-paced practice achieved expert-level play. Read more...

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Player-created game movies have been an outlet for creative expression by World of Warcraft (WoW) players since the beta version of the game. The proliferation of players, clans, Web sites, and community forums for creating, consuming, and commenting on WoW movies is remarkable. Linking multiplayer game communities and the making of animated movies is not unprecedented. It has been a characteristic of machinima for more than a decade. In this article however, the author hopes to show that the context, content, and consumption of game movies based on massively multiplayer games raises new questions about contributions game-based performances make to player communities. The author connects the brief history of WoW movies to the history of machinima and other game movies, illustrates the variety of impulses behind WoW movies through three quickly recounted examples, and gathers together salient themes around one movie in particular: Tristan Pope's Not Just Another Love Story. Read more...

A chorus of proclamations have arisen in recent years about the potential of games and simulations to facilitate learning. Yet few discussions focus on the fundamental issue surrounding the implementation of games and simulations: to what learning objectives and pedagogical strategies are they most relevant? Through an examination of perspectives on the suitability of games for learning, as well as recent examples of digital game-based training in two vocational settings, this paper examines the design of authentic learning experiences as a way of thinking about the appropriateness and unique potential of games and simulations in a range of educational and training settings. Read more...

Entertainment software developers face significant challenges in designing games with broad appeal. One of the challenges concerns creating nonplayer (computer-corn rolled) characters that can adapt their behavior in light of the current and prospective situation, possibly emulating human behaviors. This adaptation should be inherently novel, unrepeatable, yet within the bounds of realism. Evolutionary algorithms provide a suitable method for generating such behaviors. This paper provides background on the entertainment software industry, and details a prior and current effort to create a platform for evolving nonplayer characters with genetic and behavioral traits within a World War I combat flight simulator. Read more...