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.

This bachelor thesis is an exploratory investigation about the phenomenon 'Gamification', which by some definitions is about implementing game elements into non-game contexts. For example exercise services as Runkeeper and Nike Plus who both are available on android and iOS platforms. This study is mainly about the potential value of gamified systems and services for companies and its users and how such a system or service is developed. The thesis also discusses the development aspect of gamified systems in order to give the reader a more ?in depth? understanding about the phenomenon.

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.

I det här arbetet undersöker vi hur retrotrenden påverkat digitala spel. Vi undersöker hur retro blivit en erkänd stil och varför den har blivit det. Vi undersöker dess koppling med nostalgi, hur nostalgi fungerar och varför man kan tänkas vilja använda sig av det när man ska utveckla ett digitalt spel. Retro är inte ett fenomen som är medie exklusivt till digitala spel, vi undersöker hur retro verkar i andra medier och hur medierna blandar retroelement med varandra. Det är inte ovanligt att samtida digitala spel influeras av retrospel eller rent av utvecklas i syfte att bli ett nyproducerat retrospel, detta är något som vi gestaltar i vår produktion av ett digitalt spel.

This essay is about the use of narrative in video games, and the discussion surrounding it. For years ludologists (game researchers) and narratologists (narrativity researchers) have been arguing about how to analyze narrativity in games. While ludologists have chosen to see games as a product by itself, and therefore something to be analyzed separately, narratologists instead see games as a narrative medium alongside film, theater and books. This essay starts by taking a look at the arguments from both sides, and then introduces three questions regarding narrative in games, and how this phenomenon has changed over the past 13 years. To answer these questions, five case studies are carried out, analyzing games with the help of a new framework built on narrative theory.

With the digital revolution within video games, the need for Digital Rights Management (DRM) has increased significantly, alongside with the increasing problem of copyright pirates. To counter pirates, DRM was created to prevent illegal copying of software, this to ensure that the Distributors received an income for their work. DRM has, since the start of its use, been getting, a lot of bad criticism from the users of the software protected by DRM. The main function of this paper is to describe the creation and development of DRM by analysis of the vision of different groups on this phenomenon. The main questions are as follows, is it possible to define the very reason for why DRM was created and if so, can its development through time be defined too? What differences in opinions are there when it comes to DRM, counting the two major groups of creators, sellers, distributors (referred to as distributors) versus individual users (referred to as consumers)? In what way will the research results suggest that the future DRM will develop?The development has gone from solving puzzles in a handbook to start the game each time the user wants to play, to serial numbers that is needed during the installation of the 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..

In an ever more competitive environment Sandvik Materials Technology,SMT, runs a large-scale program to improve their processes for product development.The purpose with the program is to increase the company?s profitability by increasingthe number of new products in their product portfolio. The strategies SMT is usingfor reaching their goals are to change the way they work with product development byreducing lead time and learning how to prioritize products with the highestprofitability. In the R & D Department the work of improvement pursue by adaptingLean R & D to their way of working. Lean R & D encourages working withcontinuous improvements and eliminating waste.The main purpose for this Master?s Thesis is to develop didactic support to make iteasier to implement Lean in SMT R & D department.

Propose/Aim: The aim of this thesis is to examine the professional role of the Community Manager working for gaming companies. The thesis will examine which background and previous experience a Community Manager should have and the tasks included in the assignment to see how this new role can contribute to the development of gaming companies.Material/Method: The method used in this study is of a qualitative character. The data has been gathered through e-mail interviews with five people working as Community Managers in the gaming business and in addition, through a textual analysis of five job advertisements. The results were analyzed on the basis of carefully selected theories in the field of strategic communication.Main results: The main result of this study is that the Community Manager's most important task is to act as a link between the players and the game developers by communicating with both sides. The Community Manager can receive important feedback from the players which can contribute to the Game development. .

This is a qualitative study that explores how bilingual children develop their language through play. The study is based on observations and interviews conducted in a preschool located in a multicultural area of Stockholm.The purpose of using two qualitative methods; observations and interviews, was to get a bigger picture of the study area. The results of the study, illustrated through observations and interviews that I have conducted, shows that the game has great role for bilingual children's language development. Furthermore, the results show that the informants are aware of the importance of play for bilingual children's language development especially when they are talking about investing in the promotion of children's language by using different methods and materials in their pre activity for various games and activities.One of my conclusions is that bilingual children learn the language during both free play and structured play especially when educators are present and aware of the activities that they perform. It is also important to see children as individuals to cover all the needs of children at different activities.

Vad är val? Är de val vi har våra egna? Spelutvecklare idag kämpar med spelares fria vilja då detta kan orsaka problem. Till exempel när spelare gör val som spelutvecklare inte har räknat med, vilket som följd kan skapa frustration hos båda parter. Problemet med spelares oförutsägbarhet i sina val är något som spelutvecklare ständigt har försökt lösa. Idag finns det flera tekniker som syftar till att diskret manipulera möjligheten till val inom spel och samtidigt låta spelare vara ovetande om detta.

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.

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.