Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Recent years have seen a rapid proliferation of mass-market consumer software that takes inspiration from video games. Usually summarized as "gamification", this trend connects to a sizeable body of existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction and game studies, such as serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, or playful design. However, it is not clear how "gamification" relates to these, whether it denotes a novel phenomenon, and how to define it. Thus, in this paper we investigate "gamification" and the historical origins of the term in relation to precursors and similar concepts. It is suggested that "gamified" applications provide insight into novel, gameful phenomena complementary to playful phenomena. Based on our research, we propose a definition of "gamification" as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.

/pdf/from-game-design-elements-to-gamefulness-defining-1wnas1kptm.pdf

From game design elements to gamefulness: defining "gamification"

From the Publisher: 
A Question of Identity 
Life on the Screen is a fascinating and wide-ranging investigation of the impact of computers and networking on society, peoples' perceptions of themselves, and the individual's relationship to machines. Sherry Turkle, a Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT and a licensed psychologist, uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, "bots," virtual reality, and "the on-line way of life." 
Turkle's discussion of postmodernism is particularly enlightening. She shows how postmodern concepts in art, architecture, and ethics are related to concrete topics much closer to home, for example AI research (Minsky's "Society of Mind") and even MUDs (exemplified by students with X-window terminals who are doing homework in one window and simultaneously playing out several different roles in the same MUD in other windows). Those of you who have (like me) been turned off by the shallow, pretentious, meaningless paintings and sculptures that litter our museums of modern art may have a different perspective after hearing what Turkle has to say. 
This is a psychoanalytical book, not a technical one. However, software developers and engineers will find it highly accessible because of the depth of the author's technical understanding and credibility. Unlike most other authors in this genre, Turkle does not constantly jar the technically-literate reader with blatant errors or bogus assertions about how things work. Although I personally don't have time or patience for MUDs,view most of AI as snake-oil, and abhor postmodern architecture, I thought the time spent reading this book was an extremely good investment.

스크린 위의 삶 = Life on the screen : identity in the age of the internet

Cooperation is needed for evolution to construct new levels of organization. Genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, social insects, and human society are all based on cooperation. Cooperation means that selfish replicators forgo some of their reproductive potential to help one another. But natural selection implies competition and therefore opposes cooperation unless a specific mechanism is at work. Here I discuss five mechanisms for the evolution of cooperation: kin selection, direct reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, network reciprocity, and group selection. For each mechanism, a simple rule is derived that specifies whether natural selection can lead to cooperation.

/pdf/five-rules-for-the-evolution-of-cooperation-2bpocasc6i.pdf

Five Rules for the Evolution of Cooperation

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

We describe how the frames of document windows can be used as areas for visualizing information about a document. A number of design examples are presented as illustrations of how users can be supported with contextual information about a document in a way that does not interfere with the visual presentation of the document itself. A ChangeIndicator is used as an example of how information can be mapped to basic design variables of a frame, such as its color. More complex visualizations can be achieved by mapping information about parts of documents to parts or details of the frame. This is illustrated with a Readability-Viewer. Finally, the ScrollSearcher is presented as an example of how the results of processes and functions can be visualized in the frames of a document.

/pdf/window-frames-as-areas-for-information-visualization-22sj59ob2e.pdf

Window frames as areas for information visualization

In this paper, we describe The Rooms – a horror game that uses projected augmented reality to enable a new type of immersive gaming experience. Interviews and questionnaires from 20 players of the game showed that projected augmented reality games can support immersion and can avoid the problem of nausea that VR experiences can invoke. However, since players experienced different types of immersion the study suggests that a model that allows different and parallel types of immersion may provide more informative results when used in play tests. The Rooms also suggested that a new type of immersion, spatial immersion, might be a relevant addition to such models.

http://www.fdg2014.org/papers/fdg2014_wip_12.pdf

The Rooms - Creating immersive experiences through projected augmented reality

This paper uses a framework of player virtues to perform a
theoretical exploration of what is required to make a game
good. The choice of player virtues is based upon the view
that games can be seen as implements, and that these are
good if they support an intended use, and the intended use
of games is to support people to be good players. A collection of gameplay design patterns, identified through
their relation to the virtues, is presented to provide specific starting points for considering design options for this type of good games. 24 patterns are identified supporting the virtues, including RISK/REWARD, DYNAMIC ALLIANCES, GAME MASTERS, and PLAYER DECIDED RESULTS, as are 7 countering three or more virtues, including ANALYSIS
PARALYSIS, EARLY ELIMINATION, and GRINDING. The paper concludes by identifying limitations of the approach as well as by showing how it can be applied using other views of what are preferable features in games.

/pdf/on-making-good-games-using-player-virtue-ethics-and-gameplay-40wzspyqbe.pdf

On Making Good Games - Using Player Virtue Ethics and Gameplay Design Patterns to Identify Generally Desirable Gameplay Features

In this paper, we investigate different types of collaborative interaction that children in special education may engage in when playing co-located collaborative games. The work used a qualitative approach for studying three different games (2 digital, 1 boardgame) to understand how they provide opportunities for collaborative interaction to children (aged 12 years) in special education. To analyse the gameplay sessions, we used the three levels of collaborative interaction from Activity Theory (AT) as a frame of reference, and we combined this model with gameplay design patterns (GDPs) to express and encode the differences in collaborative interaction between and within the playtests. An important finding is that children do indeed display different levels of collaborative interaction. Furthermore, our paper demonstrates how the three levels of collaborative interaction as defined in AT combined with GDPs can be used to analyse and describe collaborative gameplay actions between children in special education, and it provides insight in a number of gameplay design elements that may support the occurrence of higher levels of collaborative interaction.

Evaluating Co-located Games as a Mediator for Children’s Collaborative Interaction

As everyday Internet use has become pervasive and natural, people use it effortlessly to find new acquaintances and nurture existing relationships. In this sense, Internet use can mimic and expand everyday social behavior from real life. However, in real life we often participate in gatherings with others not only as individuals but also as part of a group, for instance a family. Social gatherings involving several groups reinforces not only the individual network, but also the group-to-group relationships, adding another layer to social life. Our social identities, our "us"-feelings, are thus developed and enhanced. While there are numerous Internet-based tools and services for nurturing the individual's network, in analogy to real life, group-level interactions are barely touched upon. We explore some basic considerations for how computer-mediated communication systems could help nurturing group-to-group relationships, and how group, rather than individual, interaction with devices can be addressed in interaction design. Finally, we explore why games and gameplay might particularly well suited to motivate use of such systems. These issues will be the main focus of the TA2 (Together Anywhere, Together Anytime) research project.

Staffan Björk

Papers

Window frames as areas for information visualization

The Rooms - Creating immersive experiences through projected augmented reality

On Making Good Games - Using Player Virtue Ethics and Gameplay Design Patterns to Identify Generally Desirable Gameplay Features

Evaluating Co-located Games as a Mediator for Children’s Collaborative Interaction

Supporting group relationships in mediated domestic environments