invest(ment)igation

Gostava de ter acesso ao artigo “Lights! Dance! Freeze!: An interactive installation for exploring dance-musicals using embodied search” de Theodoros Papatheodorou e Jessica Wolpert, em que:

“Traditionally, movie watchers absorb content passively. This paper describes an immersive film installation where participants use their whole body to browse and interact with a large database of musical films in a novel manner. Combining an RGB camera, machine learning-based body tracking techniques, and a unique system for indexing poses and films, the proposed installation tracks a participant’s movements and mirrors them in real-time by finding matching poses among hundreds of thousands from well-known musicals. When the participant holds a pose, the system begins playback of the corresponding film snippet that starts with the same pose, immersing them into the music and choreography from different eras. This approach explores themes of tangible interfaces and the new possibilities that emerge from employing embodied interaction to traverse the dance pose space, which is traditionally difficult to index and interact with in real time. The proposed pose indexing system and whole-body interaction open new pathways for cultural participation, as they lend themselves to different datasets and require no technical skills from participants.”

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Gostava de ter acesso aos seguintes artigos:
The Impact of Tutorial Design on the Novice Gaming Experience de Sara Czerwonka e Victoria McArthur
“We present results of a survey conducted to identify differences in gaming behaviours between novice and intermediate/expert video game players. A survey study was conducted with the goal of identifying differences in gaming behaviours between novice and intermediate/expert video game players, particularly in the context of tutorials. We surveyed 29 participants, six of them self-identifying as novice gamers, on their experiences with tutorial sequences in games that they have played in the past. We conducted a thematic analysis in order to identify prominent themes in the participant responses. Participants indicated strong desire for optional hands-on tutorials which require player input to support contextual learning of mechanics and deepen their understanding of the game’s interface. Major participant-identified barriers to entry for novices included controller familiarity, game complexity, assumed knowledge of gaming conventions, and social stigma surrounding being a novice gamer. This research provides a starting point for further research into the specific requirements of novice players in video game tutorials and onboarding materials. We present the findings of a survey study on the self-reported gaming behaviours of players with various skill and experience levels, and provide recommendations on how video game tutorials can be designed to minimize barriers for new players and ensure that the gaming community is as inclusive to new players as possible.”
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Research on the Application of Coding Art in Creative Products de Ziyang Li e HaoYue Sun
“The field of coding art has been experiencing a fast growth in recent years and has become a noticeable worldwide phenomenon that is directly connected with the popularization of mobile Internet. This modern form of art has been affecting designers’ creative methods as well as the preferences of users that are now increasing the demand for personalized products. This study analyzes the expression techniques of coding art and users’ perceptions of this creative form according to four key study cases. A discussion on the development prospects of coding art as a new art form is proposed, also considering the means to combine the standardization of tools, the popularization of applications and the personalization of art into the creative products that result from this programming style.”
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Master Multiple Real-Time Strategy Games with a Unified Learning Model Using Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning de Bo Ling, Xiang Liu, Jin Jiang, Weiwei Wu, Wanyuan Wang, Yan Lyu e Xueyong Xu
“General artificial intelligence requires an intelligent agent to understand or learn any intellectual tasks like a human being. Diverse and complex real-time strategy (RTS) game for artificial intelligence research is a promising stepping stone to achieve the goal. In the last decade, the strongest agents have either simplified the key elements of the game, or used expert rules with human knowledge, or focused on a specific environment. In this paper, we propose a unified learning model that can master various environments in RTS game without human knowledge. We use a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm that uses data from agents in a diverse league played on multiple maps to train the deep neural network model. We evaluate our model in microRTS, a simple real-time strategy game. The results show that the agent is competitive against the strong benchmarks in different environments.”
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Use of Educational Applications, Including Video Games, by Public Entities during the Pandemic de Konrad Radomiński
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Asymmetric Gameplay: Types and Perspectives de Abel Neto, Pedro Cardoso e Miguel Carvalhais
“Asymmetric gameplay allows players to engage with a game in different ways, resulting in unique experiences for each player. From slight variations to completely distinct experiences, asymmetric mechanics create fertile ground for interesting gameplay to occur. Asymmetric gameplay is prevalent in modern games, and yet there has been little discussion about it, the mechanics that generate it, and its repercussions. In this paper, we analyse six types of asymmetry described in the literature: Ability, Challenge, Goal, Responsibility, Information, and Interface. We examine how different games employ gameplay mechanics in order to create unique experiences by framing our discussion on a definition of asymmetry in games. Furthermore, we define six other types of asymmetry: Operation, Location, Time Frame, Interdependence, Outcomes, and Feedback; and how they exist or may exist in games. We conclude by hinting that asymmetry is not solely generated by a game’s mechanics but also by differences in the players themselves, be they human or non-human.”
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Gostava de ler este artigo “Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in second language and education research: Guidelines using an applied example” d eDiego Fellipe Tondorf, e Marcelo da Silva Hounsell

“Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is an alternative method to the historically more commonly used covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) when analyzing the data using structural equation modeling (SEM). The article starts by introducing PLS-SEM to second language and education research, followed by a discussion of situations in which PLS-SEM should be the method of choice for structural equation modeling. It is argued that PLS-SEM is appropriate when complex models are analyzed, when prediction is the focus of the research – particularly out-of-sample prediction to support external validity, when data do not meet normal distribution assumptions, when formative constructs are included, and when higher-order constructs facilitate better understanding of theoretical models. The most up-to-date guidelines for applying PLS-SEM are provided, and step-by-step guidance is offered on how to apply the method using an R statistical package (i.e., SEMinR) that is available. An example is provided that shows how the results of PLS-SEM are interpreted and reported. We also make the data publicly available for readers to start learning PLS-SEM by replicating our findings. The paper concludes with important considerations for the utilization of SEM, especially PLS-SEM, in future L2 research.”

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