GameFlow heuristics for designing and evaluating real-time strategy games

Sweetser, Penelope; Ozdowska, Anne

doi:10.1145/2336727.2336728

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…These are notable results due to the fact that more enjoyable pursuits increase motivation to engage further with them, which has been noted as the first step toward learning (Paras and Bizzocchi, 2005). Indeed, a game that is deemed "fun" is more likely to be played and thus more likely to have an effect than the opposite (Sweetser et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the Phylo Card Game to advance biodiversity conservation in an era of Pokémon

Callahan

Echeverri

et al. 2019

Palgrave Commun

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Broader realization of both increasing biodiversity loss and pressures on ecosystems worldwide has highlighted the importance of public perceptions of species and the subsequent motivations towards improving the status of natural systems. Several new proposals have arisen in reference to environmental learning, including mimicking popular gaming media. Inspired by the popular game Pokémon, the Phylo Trading Card Game (Phylo game) is one such emerging possibility. It was invented as an open-source, competitive, and interactive game to inform players' knowledge of species, ecosystems, and negative environmental events (e.g., climate change, oil spills, wildfires). The game has now achieved global reach, yet the impact of this game on conservation behavior has never been tested. This study used a randomized control trial to evaluate the Phylo game's impact on conservation behavior (i.e., Phylo condition). This was compared to an information control condition with a more traditional learning method using a slideshow (i.e., Slideshow condition). A second card game was used to control for the act of playing a game (i.e., Projects condition). We found that ecological perceptions (i.e., the perceived relationship of species to their ecosystems) and species knowledge increased after both the game and the slideshow, but the Phylo Game had the added benefit of promoting more positive affect and more species name recall. It also motivated donation behavior in the direction of preventing negative environmental events instead of directly aiding an individual species or ecosystem. Our findings highlight the potential value of this game as a novel engagement tool for enhancing ecological literacy, motivations, and actions necessary to meet ecological challenges.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the Phylo Card Game to advance biodiversity conservation in an era of Pokémon

Callahan

Echeverri

et al. 2019

Palgrave Commun

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“…Because such functions are regular, users may become uninterested and quit the game. Part of the fun of games comes from their unexpected nature [45]. In order to make game scores less predictable, we introduced a new function using an exponential progression.…”

Section: Designing the Score Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring a Points Scoring Mechanism for Crowd-Based Knowledge Pooling

Richter

Raban

Rafaeli

2018

Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

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“…Developers of entertainment games use these opening cinematics to establish a context and begin the narrative, create plot hooks, and motivate individuals to play the game (Dickey, 2006). They can be used as a way to involve the players emotionally in the story line (Freeman, 2004), and can be used to create an enjoyable experience when they are used to provide overall goals for the game (Sweetser, Johnson, Wyeth, & Ozdowska, 2012). Modern opening cinematics tend toward flashy, full-motion videos and they are geared toward attracting new customers and generating buzz, which justifies the costly development expense of the cinematic (Freeman, 2004;Newman, 2002).…”

Section: Context and Opening Cinematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opening Cinematics

Procci

Lakhmani

Hussain

et al. 2013

Simulation & Gaming

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For the development of serious gaming, it is necessary to articulate the specific features that lend themselves best to the creation of effective learning games. Given the limited resources of the typical serious games developer, time and money should be spent in a way such that features with the greatest return on investment take priority. Opening cinematics, a popular feature of games, was examined through the lens of three major theoretical perspectives that promote learning, specifically situated learning, emotional arousal, and goal orientation. A series of three experiments was conducted to determine if the inclusion of opening cinematics was able to change the goal orientation of players as well as improve the effectiveness of a serious game used to train U.S. Navy recruits shipboard damage control procedures. The data suggest that opening cinematics were not worth the immense development investment. Game design suggestions and potential topics for future research are provided.

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GameFlow heuristics for designing and evaluating real-time strategy games

Cited by 25 publications

References 10 publications

Using the Phylo Card Game to advance biodiversity conservation in an era of Pokémon

Using the Phylo Card Game to advance biodiversity conservation in an era of Pokémon

Tailoring a Points Scoring Mechanism for Crowd-Based Knowledge Pooling

Opening Cinematics

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