Oct 282023
 

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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Oct 112023
 

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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Sep 082023
 

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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Aug 222023
 


Synplant: Cymatics Visualization of Plant-Environment Interaction Based on Plants Biosignals
Synplant is an installation consisting of multiple hybrid plant sensing units. By analyzing biosignals, it can interpret the natural environment from the perspective of plants and translate their experiences into audiovisual expressions that can be experienced by humans. This work is based on a supervised learning system that analyzes the changes in biosignals when plants receive environmental stimuli. The analysis results are used to control acoustic-lighting devices to generate variable cymatics patterns. Through the utilization of wind and rain as vehicles to bridge different sensing units, it creates an immersive audiovisual field that represents the trajectories of the invisible interaction between plants and different elements in the natural environment. This work combines an intelligent machine with botanical perception to extend our understanding of the natural environment and to connect with the land from a non-human perspective.”

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Lights! Dance! Freeze!: Exploring the dance-musical filmic space using embodied search in an interactive installation
Conventionally, spectators enjoy films passively. This paper describes an interactive film installation that invites participants to use their entire body as a query to search and explore a large corpus of musical films in a novel way. Using an RGB camera, ML-based skeleton tracking technology and a unique pose and film indexing system, this 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 freezes in a pose, the installation instantly plays back the short film clip that begins with that pose, immersing them in the music and dance from musicals of 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 pose indexing system and whole-body interaction we propose in this paper open new pathways for cultural participation, as they lend themselves to different datasets and require no technical skills from participants.”

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Streamlined approach to 2nd/3rd graders learning basic programming concepts
There is a growing need to teach schoolchildren programming at an increasingly younger age. The goal of this study is to determine if it is possible to teach schoolchildren basic programming concepts in a streamlined manner. In order to present the new knowledge in a way schoolchildren could understand easily, analogies between basic programming concepts and traffic were used. A simple video game was developed with this in mind and an effort was made to avoid design pitfalls commonly found in edutainment titles. The study involved 112 schoolchildren ages 7 to 9. Test group and control group were given a pre-test, a re-test and a post-test. The re-test and the post-test respectively showed 16% and 7% score difference in favor of the test group. Focusing on questions featuring content analogous to basic programming concepts showed 36% and 20% difference in scores.”

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Jul 012023
 

“A Mixed Method Approach for Evaluating and Improving the Design of Learning in Puzzle Games”
resumo: “Despite the acknowledgment that learning is a necessary part of all gameplay, the area of Games User Research lacks an established evidence based method through which designers and researchers can understand, assess, and improve how commercial games teach players game-specific skills and information. In this paper, we propose a mixed method procedure that draws together both quantitative and experiential approaches to examine the extent to which players are supported in learning about the game world and mechanics. We demonstrate the method through presenting a case study of the game Portal involving 14 participants, who differed in terms of their gaming expertise. By comparing optimum solutions to puzzles against observed player performance, we illustrate how the method can indicate particular problems with how learning is structured within a game. We argue that the method can highlight where major breakdowns occur and yield design insights that can improve the player experience with puzzle games.”
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May 022023
 

Gostava de ler este artigo “The Pursuit of Fun in Digital Games: From the Sandpit to the Console and Beyond” d eDiego Fellipe Tondorf, e Marcelo da Silva Hounsell

“Fun has long been considered inherent in the act of playing. Some authors argue that it is an element always present in games, and others that it is not, that there are several types of fun and several factors that change the perception of fun, but fun has always been associated with positive effects on players. As a subjective concept, and dependent on context and player experience, understanding fun in games is a challenge for developers. With the development of the industry and the research on digital games, it became necessary to create new artifacts for the design and validation of fun. Understanding fun is also essential for serious games, which have been criticized for not being fun. Thus, better understanding fun and how to achieve it is a big challenge where crucial outcomes could benefit application areas such as education, health, and others. But the roadmap for such an area of research has not been established. This chapter presents fun as a grand challenge in games and digital entertainment and proposes a path for future research.”

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Gostava de ler este artigo “Platform for Interactive Audiovisual Productions and Generative Art Using Processing” de P. D‘Amato e Diana Karina Leon

“Through computers, artists have found a way to enhance their production, discovering new ways for communicating their productions and devising new forms of expression. Being able to make the most of these facilities requires interdisciplinary groups that seek to enhance creativity and at the same time generate new forms of creation. In particular, an artist takes advantage of the different tools available, from sound to draws in order to provide immersive experiences. This paper presents a platform that implements image and audio processing algorithms, to facilitate the artist’s task, in what is called generative art. With the platform it is possible to create animated digital images in real time that adapt to the sound’ properties and that can be used in live audiovisual performances.”

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Dec 282022
 

Gostava de ler este artigo “Video Game Play Any Association With Preteens’ Cognitive Ability Test Performance?” de May Jadallah, C. Shawn Green, e Jie Zhang

“This exploratory study examined the video gaming experience of 160 urban public-school preteen-age students as well as the association between video game play and students’ performance on a standardized cognitive ability test (CogAT), which includes verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal/spatial batteries. Overall, neither duration of play nor video game genres played had significant correlations with the CogAT measures. Similarly, when using an “extreme-groups” approach to examine relations with playing a subset of games previously linked with certain enhancements in cognitive skill (i.e., action video games), no significant effects were observed. These results are thus inconsistent with theories that predict diminished cognitive performance in children who play a great deal of video games, but they are also inconsistent with previous work suggesting possible enhancements in those who play certain types of games. The potential contribution of this null finding and an alternative explanation are discussed..”

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Sep 242022
 

Gostava de ler este artigo “Introduction on THINKING: Bioengineering of Science and Art” de Nima Rezaei e Amene Saghazadeh

“THINKING: Bioengineering of Science and Art is inclusive of the philosophy of thinking by using different knowledge works. This chapter is, therefore, no longer an attempt to introduce the book. Rather, we notice thoughts of different contexts and many relations among them, giving rise to various sets of integrations. One important result of this introduction is that integrated thinking represents the highest level of development, and scientific thinking may be only one of many integrant elements and a range of integrative relations—the point to which we devote our attention in THINKING: Bioengineering of Science and Art.”

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Sep 242022
 

Um Journal que publica online as contribuições de vários âmbitos!

“IxD&A aims to offer an interdisciplinary arena where everybody can present top level researches and discuss ideas on the future of technology mediated experiences in the field of communication, learning, working, entertainment, healthcare, etc…) a future that can be made possible by a joint effort in research and education.
IxD&A, indeed, offers the ideal forum for meeting among frontier research, education, cutting edge technology development and application.
Indeed, there will be no future if research and education will not be able to meet the world of production, or, in other words if we will not be able to transfer the ‘lab’ into real life.”
“IxD&A is an open access journal that implements the Gold Open Access (OA) road to its contents (full, short, position papers, interviews and reviews) with no charge to the authors.”

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Aug 272022
 

The War on Terror beyond the barrel of a gun: The procedural rhetorics of the boardgame Labyrinth
Thomas Ambrosio, Jonathan Ross

“Utilizing Bogost’s procedural rhetoric framework in his book Persuasive Games, this article examines Labyrinth, a boardgame that simulates the conflict between the United States and global terrorism. The authors systematically integrate ludology (rules/gameplay) and narratology (narratives/representations) to illustrate how Labyrinth was intentionally designed so that players became active participants in a narrative about how good governance undermines the sources of terrorism and the counterproductive nature of militarized counterterrorism, as well as bear witness to the agency of the Muslim world and the region’s political dynamism on the tabletop. This is a very different account of the War on Terror than has previously been studied in the literature, which has focused overwhelmingly on first-person shooter videogames and, in turn, has provided a very limited range of how this conflict can be represented in ludic form. However, Labyrinth is not alone, and the wargames that many players grew up with have given way to a variety of boardgames which approach complex historical or contemporary situations and environments beyond simply killing one’s enemies. This represents a diverse, but largely untapped, resource already in the public space and ready to be investigated. Media studies can therefore benefit from considering how boardgames similar to Labyrinth present alternative ways in which the ‘real world’ has been, and indeed can be, translated through popular culture objects.”

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