In this study we pose the question if you through finding patterns in implementation of checkpoints can find ways to tailor the experience of the game A Story About My Uncle to hardcore gamers. To find out the answer we had hardcore players playing a modified level from the game A Story About My Uncle that was used as stimulus material for the following focus group interview. The analysis of the gathered material resulted in four patterns that can be used when implementing checkpoints to tailor the experience of the game A Story About My Uncle to hardcore gamers. Elements of checkpoints that our study showed to be important when it comes to how the game is experienced are density, placement and clearness..

Detta arbete har utformats för att besvara frågeställningen: ?Kan Game Approachability Principles (GAP) upptäcka användbarhets-, spelbarhets- och åtkomlighetsproblem i tidiga stadier av utvecklingsprocessen av ett spel??. Teorier om användbarhet, åtkomlighet, spelbarhet, olika utvärderingsmetoder och användartestning samt Game Approachability Principles studerades för att skapa en teoribildning inom området. Två prototyper av ett spel skapades: en hi-fi prototyp och en lo-fi prototyp. Den första representerar det senare stadiet i utvecklingen av ett spel och den andra representerar det tidigare stadiet.

This study examines the in-game encyclopaedia Codex as it appears within the videogame Mass Effect. The purpose of this study is to analyse the Codex with emphasis on how the reading process is affected by the videogame medium. In this regard the study seeks to uncover what characterises the Codex as a fictional encyclopaedia, what it entails and how it interacts with the rest of the game. The theoretical basis of this study is derived from a combination of the writings of Wolfgang Iser concerning the process of reading, Jesper Juul's writings on the relationship between games and narratives, and the concept of intermediality as discussed by Hans Lund and Jørgen Bruhn.      This study is based on a close examination of the PC and Playstation 3 versions of the videogame Mass Effect, created by Bioware, with particular emphasis placed on the Codex. Mass Effect is a science fiction third-person shooter and RPG set in a future where mankind has begun interacting with aliens civilizations and colonising new planets.

I denna text diskuterar jag produktionen av Hearty Horrors, ett spel programmerat och designat helt i flash. Jag diskuterar svårigheterna för de olika delarna i att skapa ett spel. Tankar och jämförelser mellan onda och goda karaktärer och vad man, som speldesigner, bör och inte bör göra för att få spelare att känna sig manade att spela vidare. In this text I discuss the production of Hearty Horrors, a game programmed and designed completly in flash. I discuss the difficulties of diffrent parts in the making of a game.

Denna rapport har undersökt om game metrics genom heat maps kan användas för att hitta en choke point i en bana gjord till spelet Team Fortress 2. Game metrics och kvantitativa  metoder  erbjuder  ett  objektivt  och  nästan  automatiserat  alternativ  till kvalitativa metoder när det kommer till balansering. En bana har konstruerats med en choke point och har speltestats för att generera en heat map. För att undersöka om det går att hitta en choke point med hjälp av en heat map så har en enkät gjorts där respondenter   bads   hitta   choke   pointen   med   hjälp   av   den   heat   mapen   som genererades från speltestningen av banan. Alla respondenter lyckades hitta mitten av choke  pointen  med  hjälp  av  heat  mapen.  I  framtiden  skulle  arbetet  kunna  utökas genom  att  undersöka  om  användandet  av  bottar  eventuellt  skulle  helt  kunna automatisera  balanseringsprocessen.  Det  skulle  också  gå  att  undersöka  hur  olika klasser rör sig i en bana..

This one-year master's thesis investigates the late part of the Middle Neolithic on the island of Gotland. This thesis has been written without the influence of a singular theoretical pespective, and has therefore seen input from the processual, and postprocessual theories. By using several perspectives, an attempt is made to view the material remains used in the most objective manner possible. The specific aim of this thesis is to investigate whether the Mid-Neolithic inhabitants of Gotland were a part of the Corded Ware culture (or as it is called in Sweden, the Battleaxe culture or the Boataxe culture). Most recent literature has concluded that Gotland was never a part of the Battlexe culture, though this thesis has discovered many parallels with the mainland culture, including the production of similar objects and ritual practices.

This paper deals with the difficulties of applying user-centered design practices as an independent developer, based on the visualization of a game concept in the form of a prototype. The aim is to evaluate the usability of user-centered design practices, specifically in the field of games development. Throughout this paper, I will give an account of the methods used for testing, as well as a review of previous research done in this field of study. Finally, I will end with a discussion regarding the pros and cons of user-centered design, as well as some thoughts about its importance in similar projects..

The aim of this essay is to study how the Sami are presented in four textbooks about religion and history that are used in the schools of the majority culture of Sweden today and one book of ideas asto how a textbook could look like from a Sami's perspective. Its aim is not only to study how the Sami are presented but also to discuss how students who read these books could interpret what it means to be a Sami and what their culture is about. It is also meant to discuss how the Sami identitycould be formed. In order to be able to discuss this the essay uses three different kinds of theories about identity and culture. The analysis showed that there is little information about Sami culture, identity, religion and historypresented in the four textbooks used in schools of the majority culture and that these books seem to want students to think that the Sami are troublemakers but are and should be assimilated into the majority culture..

An alternate reality game, often abbreviated as ARG, is a mix between a game and a crossmedia interactive story using mainly the Internet as a platform. The game is built around the idea of teamwork among its participants. The players cooperate to solve puzzles allowing them to go forward in the story of the game. The marketing element is in different ways included in the story.A few Alternate Reality Games such as The Beast, The Art of the H3ist and The Lost Ring have previously been launched as marketing campaigns. This bachelor thesis aims to examine the possibilities of Alternate Reality Games as an alternative marketing tool for profit-driven companies.

To contribute to understanding of how Thai cultural context affects the leadership of expatriates in management positions. Instead of modifying the leadership styles to fit the local (Thai) context, the expatriates tried to push and influence their culture and leadership styles to Thai employees..

Time changes, so also in sport. The small venues become larger and more modernized. As stadiums grows, so also does sponsorship and its popularity, around them. Is it enough as a sponsor only to expose yourself these days, or does the new times require more creativity to stand out from all the media?This work is done for Stadium AB in Norrköping, and treats questions such as; what type of sposnorcummunication that is proper to use around the soccer stadium, and if it is possible for new ideas in the future when Stadium is hosting a game? To answer these questions theory has been read about sponsorship and data has been gathered through qualitative interviewswith soccer clubs and sponsorship consultants.The work result shows that there are some general rules that the company should follow tosucceess when hosting a game.

In this study the author attempts to identify factors that are determinants for why some pupils in Swedish grade school have high status in comparison with their peers. The study takes on the characteristics of both an ethnographic and a literature study by comparing the findings of interviews carried out with students of a first grade class with previous research. The study identify several tools for analyzing of how status may be understood in specific situations.The study also finds that important factors for gaining high status amongst children in aschool classes might be the ability to apply access strategies to get accepted in social interactions, such as game play, have the ability to create games that are enjoyed by peers and social skills, to name a few. Overall the study shows that children's game play with each otherare crucial for their social interactions and their social position. The study also show that children that have earlier established relationships with other children in a specific group alsohave a better opportunity to establish a high status position..

Dataspelsproblematik är ett eskalerande problem som har visat sig påverka många unga människors utveckling och välbefinnande. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka ungas dataspelsproblematik, vilka konsekvenser ett överdrivet dataspelande medför samt vilken behandling som ges till unga med dataspelsproblematik. Empirin erhölls genom kvalitativa intervjuer med professionella som arbetar med denna typ av problematik vid verksamheterna Game Over och Theory in Action. Resultatet visade att dataspelsproblematik idag inte har en bestämd definition och att det är ett problem som inte är tillräckligt uppmärksammat. Synen på orsaker till dataspelsproblematik hos unga är komplext då det kan tänkas bero på många olika faktorer.

Abstrakt Under vårt kandidatarbete arbetade vi under 20 veckor med att utveckla ett webbaserat spel riktat mot Facebook. Vi använde Agile/Scrum som projektmetod för vårt arbete och förändrade metoden och utvecklade verkyg för att effektivisera den för vårt syfte. Vi kom fram till att det är svårt att göra ett socialt spel och att det viktigaste i produktionen är att se till att det finns en tydlig koppling mellan spelarnas interaktion med varandra och den grundläggande spelmekaniken. Vi tappade fokus under utvecklingen och lärde oss den hårda vägen vikten av att planera realistiskt och börja ifrån grunden när man utvecklar ett spel. Spelet vi skapade använder sig av slumpässigt genererad terräng, är skrivet i JavaScript och utspelar sig i en viktoriansk miljö. Nyckelord: Facebook, spelutveckling, webbutveckling, internet, sociala spel Abstract During our bachelor thesis we worked for 20 weeks with the development of a web-based game for Facebook. We used Agile/Scrum as our project planning method, changed the method to make it more effective for our purpose and developed tools for the method. We came to the conclusion that it's hard to make a social game and that the most important thing in the production is to make sure that there's a clear connection between the players' interaction with each other and the foundations of the game mechanics. We lost focus during the development and learned the hard way the value of planning realistically and to start from the core when developing a game. The game we created uses a random generated terrain, is written in JavaScript and takes place in a Victorian environment. Keywords: Facebook, game development, web development, internet, social games.

The purpose of this essay is to illuminate in what aspects IKEA?s organizational culture in Ümraniye in Turkey differs alternatively resembles with IKEA?s organizational culture in Örebro in Sweden. The aim with organizational culture is to analyze the relationships between the leaders and co-workers and the relationships between the co-workers.The study is based on a combination of interviews and questionnaires. We have interviewed people in leading positions and made surveys among IKEA co-workers in two different stores located in two different countries. This combination of the methods gave us a better understanding for how the organizational culture is experienced from two different perspectives.