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We experiment with mood-expressing, procedurally generated music for narrative foreshadowing in videogames, investigating the relationship between music and the player's experience of narrative events in a game. We designed and conducted a user study in which the game's music expresses true foreshadowing in some trials (e.g. foreboding music before a negative event) and false foreshadowing in others (e.g. happy music that does not lead to a positive event). We observed players playing the game, recorded analytics data, and had them complete a survey upon completion of the gameplay. Thirty undergraduate and graduate students participated in the study. Statistical analyses suggest that the use of musical cues for narrative foreshadowing induces a better perceived consistency between music and game narrative. Surprisingly, false foreshadowing was found to enhance the player's enjoyment.

Boardgames exist that explicitly address Computational Thinking (CT for short) concepts and practices. Some are actual games, while others are more akin to gamified learning activities. And since CT has been formalized only recently, many existing boardgames unknowingly might support aspects of CT. To help educators and game practitioners navigate this complex landscape, we analyze a selected sample of analog games, and propose to categorize their features with respect to CT concepts and practices. The main contribution of this paper is a novel way to identify potential CT-relevant games, that leverages on the authors' experience with digital and analog games, playful and game-based learning. Although limited, this approach appears promising and practical for CT teachers and game designers interested in adapting existing games to the classroom or developing better CT-supporting boardgames.CCS Concepts: • Applied computing → Interactive learning environments; • Theory of computation → Models of computation;• General and reference → Surveys and overviews.

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