For over a decade now game research has aimed at describing the game experience by attempting to see it from one perspective. In this paper, we collect, analyse, and merge together this work. As a result, we claim that a game experience is composed of three pairs of elements, none of which can be removed, or the system in question is no longer a game. These elements are: (1) the game mechanics and action, (2) storyworld and narrative, and (3) aesthetics and sensory stimulus. This model can be illustrated in the form of a gem that encloses the fantasy and immersion of a game. Apart from games, this model is applicable to all kinds of storytelling, particularly interactive kinds. Beyond games, the different facets of the gem can be used by ignoring elements absent in the given narrative media.

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Although the significance of a positive social classroom climate in face-to-face learning has been established, its role within online and technology-enhanced learning environments is unclear. The central aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the findings of empirical studies which have examined any aspect of the social classroom climate in online and technology-enhanced learning environments in primary and secondary schools. Appropriate search terms were entered into ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC in November 2021. Articles were included if they were relevant for the aim, reported primary data, sampled primary/secondary school students and/or teachers, and were published in journals, conference proceedings, or book chapters in English. Furthermore, articles were excluded if they focused on the development/testing of measurement tools. The thematic narrative synthesis includes 29 articles, comprising of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. A quality assessment checklist was completed for all. The findings encompass examinations of the social classroom climate in online learning before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, in blended learning environments and a comparison between them. Furthermore, associations between the online social classroom climate and academic variables is explored, as is the fostering thereof through synchronous/asynchronous discussion groups and social media. We discuss the theoretical framing of the studies, the impact of a positive classroom climate in online and technology-enhanced learning environments on students, as well as practical approaches and new opportunities in leveraging technologies. Based on the findings and the studies’ limitations we outline implications and future research, such as the need to consider students’ voices and diversity, technology perspectives, a transdiciplinary approach and the reconceptualization of boundaries.

Interactive digital storytelling (IDS) allows a human user to become an active part in a story and to affect how the story unfolds. To understand IDS systems, we need to consider the partakers present in them as well as their roles and interconnections. In this chapter, the authors discern four partaking entities—interactor, author, developer, and storyworld—and describe both their affiliated sub-entities as well as their relationship to one another. Based on both reviewing relevant literature and analyzing existing IDS systems, the ontology presented here provides a cohesive view into the current state of both theoretical and practical research.

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