This essay is a narrative analyze of the computer game Halo. The purpose of the essay is to see what function the narrative elements have in a computer game of the action genre. The analyze is done with a neo-formalistic approach according to the theory of David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. The choice of game was based on it's positive reviews mentioning the story. The essay tries to give a picture of research in the field and researchers views on narratives and computer games.

The aim of this essay is to investigate the function and development of non-player characters (NPC) in the TV/computer game Dragon Age: Origins. The NPCs are analysed in order to see if their development is affected by the player character?s (PC) background and interactions. The game?s ethics is also investigated by studying how the NPCs treat the PC and what significance they give to his background and actions.The results show that the NPCs are affected by the PC?s interactions, and furthermore, that they are round characters, which is unusual in TV/computer games.

Rapporten handlar om programmet Game Maker som prototypverktyg, och vänder sig till personer och företag som skulle kunna vara intresserade av detta. Syftet med arbetet var att skapa ett spel i Game Maker, "Ittle Dew", samt skriva om Game Makers egenskaper och egenheter. Spelet färdigställdes i tid, och rapporten tar även upp en mängd designfrågor som dök upp under skapandet av detta. Med hjälp av två brev från personer med erfarenhet av Game Maker som prototypverktyg och för skapandet av färdiga spel, och diskussion av dessa brev, hävdar jag till sist att programmet väl duger för prototyper, så länge användaren känner till de begränsningar som rapporten tar upp..

Game balance can be considerd complex - there are many factors that play a role in the perception of balance. This thesis examines complexity, game theory and intution in an effort to disconver more about the perception of balance. The findings are that tactical and strategical choices that are presented for a player need to be interesting, not to complex and not to obvious. The importance lies in the estimation of the result that the player does when making a choice..

Todays board game manuals have many shortcomings. One of them is that they are not always adapted to the game's target audience.Adapting the language and shape of a game manual for the the target group children, can save time for both parents and teachers, and give the children a chance to conquer the game by themselves. In addition, playing board games can lead to children developing other important properties such as problem solving and independence.This study found that the game manuals inconsistency, tone and the way they adress the reader makes it difficult for children to grasp the content. Many game manuals do not speak directly to the reader, and often describes gameplay in a passive way, which has been shown by this study.This study has resulted in 12 guidelines for writing game manuals for children. In addition, they have been tested with a sample study.

Immersion is a construct that measures how deeply engrossed a user is with any mediated situation. In the field of game design, immersion is a significant aspect of what makes a game enticing, and as such it is of pivotal importance to create and maintain it to keep the player's mind off the real world while inside the confines of a game framework. According to the GameFlow theory, it is one of seven key tenets of evaluating and implementing a successful game design. Yet, certain multiplayer online games are designed in a fashion that in some cases seem to break immersion, where the player is frequently put out of action, sometimes for minutes on end. In this study, using online questionnaires, we discover that players, despite claims otherwise, seem to be in several ways affected negatively by this breaking of immersion.

Immersion is a construct that measures how deeply engrossed a user is with any mediated situation. In the field of game design, immersion is a significant aspect of what makes a game enticing, and as such it is of pivotal importance to create and maintain it to keep the player's mind off the real world while inside the confines of a game framework. According to the GameFlow theory, it is one of seven key tenets of evaluating and implementing a successful game design. Yet, certain multiplayer online games are designed in a fashion that in some cases seem to break immersion, where the player is frequently put out of action, sometimes for minutes on end. In this study, using online questionnaires, we discover that players, despite claims otherwise, seem to be in several ways affected negatively by this breaking of immersion.

Dice is one of Sweden's largest game manufacturers. They have produced a game series called ?Battlefield?, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, releasing it gradually over the years. In order to create a game some form of work structure is required. In this essay we discover what the Dice work process looks like today and how it has changed over the years.Game development is progressing and market changes require game developers to constantly adapt to the current situation.

The diegetic game world places high demands on how it is designed. It is common that game developers wants to create a deeper player immersion and some developers believe to achieve this by integrating HUD elements into the game world. To find out how digital games can rely on the design of the game world, we performed user studies on beginners who have very limited experience of playing digital games. By observing the beginners, we could discern the visual aspects in the diegesis that helps players understand the game rules and objectives because the beginners won`t make their choices based on previous gaming experiences. If players encounter a variety of difficulties to understand the rules of a game, then it will less likely be a successful game.

This paper explains the basis for impartial games and the classicgame Nim. Nim is complicated by a modular Muller twist and thesolution for this game is described by a simple theorem. The modularMuller twist means that at the end of each move the player selects a kand the number of sticks the next player leaves in the pile, where thedraw is made, must be congruent with k modulo m. The number m isfixed throughout the game..

The aim was to evaluate and suggest improvements for the prototype TIVOLI (sign-learning via computer-based playful interaction). The game purposed to give children who need signing as augmentative and alternative communication enhanced signing skills. Three children in need of signs played TIVOLI at home during 4-5 weeks. Data contained parental interviews, Talking Mats interviews, assessment of signing competence before and after the evaluation period and game protocols. One game interaction per child was filmed.

The goal of this work has been to create a flexible strategic group-based artificial intelligence for the Arrowhead Game Studios-game Magicka, by implementing, using and examining different AI-techniques that's used in many commercial games in more or less extent. C# is the programming language that has been used in the development, and the implementation has been made as flexible as possible to make further development and extending AI-rules etc. easier..

This degree project is made for Sundbyholms Golf&Country Club in Eskilstuna. The aim of the report is to produce a website which include a golf course interactive guide and an online game. Programs that have been used during the project are Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Director, Discreet 3DS Max and the plug-in 3DS Max Exporter. The choice of programs are based on experience and knowledge from the university education Media and Communication Engineering at Linköping University. The golf course guide contains a 2D-guide (image) and a 3D-guide (interactive image).

To explore greatly varied opinion between player and reviewer, in relation to new products in ongoing digital game series, an analytic perspective is suggested, that takes the entire game series into account, instead of analyzing games (who are part of a series) as individual productions. This is explored further by introducing a model to support this perspective, based on the game theories by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, as well as Gordon Calleja. This model and chosen perspective is applied against three separate cases to see whether or not it can give insight into the approach of players (of continuing game series) and the differing opinions of players and reviewers..

Immersion is a construct that measures how deeply engrossed a user is with any mediated situation. In the field of game design, immersion is a significant aspect of what makes a game enticing, and as such it is of pivotal importance to create and maintain it to keep the player's mind off the real world while inside the confines of a game framework. According to the GameFlow theory, it is one of seven key tenets of evaluating and implementing a successful game design. Yet, certain multiplayer online games are designed in a fashion that in some cases seem to break immersion, where the player is frequently put out of action, sometimes for minutes on end. In this study, using online questionnaires, we discover that players, despite claims otherwise, seem to be in several ways affected negatively by this breaking of immersion.