A game designer has to consider several aspects when he or she is designing a game. One of those aspects is the perceived freedom in the game by the player. There exist several methods to facilitate this perceived freedom in the design phase of the game. This thesis presents, in a qualitative methodology, a number of these methods a game designer might utilize to give the player a heightened sense of freedom for an improved gaming experience. Included herein are such elements as indirect control, linearity, storytelling and level design..

This thesis deals with the problems you face as a new game developer for the mobile platform Android when developing a 3D game and presents solutions to these problems. It also explores which optimizations should be made to increase performance and how well suited for game development the Android platform is. A simple 3D game for version 2.2 of Android was developed to examine this. The conclusion was that a good game structure for Android separates logic and rendering by running these separately in different threads. Solutions to rendering and updating of game logic were presented and optimizations were implemented for performance, although fewer optimizations were needed than was anticipated.

This paper presents a study of the computer game ?Minesweeper?. The aim of the game is to search through a rectangular area of mined squares without hitting any mines. By using a strategy based on making every operation as safe as possible, series of the game have been simulated. The size of the playground is four times four squares.

This report describes my degree project. For my degree project I made a demo for a game idea that I've developed, and implemented for use with Xbox 360. The idea was about converting the feeling and gameplay of old 2D side-scrolling platform games into 3D, viewed from a first-person perspective. The Xbox 360 version of the demo was also submitted for the game competition Swedish Game Awards. In the report, I explain this idea more extensive, what software I used to implement it, and how I implemented it. Finally, at the end I clarify the results and discuss fulfilled tasks and future improvements.

The aim of this studyhas been to capture preschool children's strategies, when they include and exclude each other in play. My aim was also to find out how children choose to integrate into an already existing game. My questions were: What strategies are used by the children at the preschool when they want to exclude or include each other? How to integrate the children when they want to be involved in an ongoing game and how they will be received during the time of play? My theoretical starting points are from Vygotsky's theory of proximal development zone, and Michel Foucault's perspective on power, and also research on the subject.The empirical study was conducted using the observations at two preschools. The children I observed were between four to five years old.The results show that children used different strategies, and when the strategy did not work so the child could switch to another.

This bachelor´s thesis analyzes the video game Red Dead Redemption and the historical use of the environment and atmosphere in the game. The theory and method used is media research and social memory studies. Two questions were asked: how does Red Dead Redemeption convey and produce the historical environment and the historical atmosphere. Furthermore subqueries/criterias were used to help answer the main questions.The analysis was divided into two parts, the first part we analyze and discuss the games historical environment and the second part analyzes and discusses the historical atmosphere of the game.The conclusion is that both the historical environment and the historical atmosphere is present in the game through picture and sound, the text only works as a guide. The picture and sound live in a symbiotic relationship and depend on each other to fully immerse the player to the game.

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..

Digital games are today avaliable on all kinds of different platform. Games and game thinking is also increasingly being applied within non-traditional contexts. This thesis explores the term "gamifiation" which can be defined as "the use of game design elements in non-game contexts". The purpose of the study was to identify and give perspective on the discourse surrounding the use and applicability of the term today. More specifically, it explores the possibilities of the potentially value creating ability in the context of work, and focused on the application of gamified software in the context of project work.

To have motivated employees is important for companies so that they are able to keep valuable competence within the organization. This report treats a relatively new concept for increasing the motivation of employees. It is however, a concept that gets more and more attention. It is called gamification.Gamification is defined as ?using game design elements in non-gaming contexts?, i.e.

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.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the strategic importance of Central Asia as a whole and interests of great powers in the region in particular within the theoretical framework chosen. The work shows Central Asia as an area of the New Great Game, analogue of the original Great Game which was played out between the British Empire and Tsarist Russia in XIX century. The parallels between the original Great Game and the New Great Game are drawn in order to understand the scope and the true intentions of the players of the latter one. Also, the security issues in the contemporary Central Asia are explored and analyzed to provide with the background for future predictions. Furthermore, the indirect purpose of the thesis is to examine whether the international system has changed from that of two centuries ago by comparing the structure of the international systems at the time of two Games.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the representation of race, social class and gender in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V. Postcolonial theory, including terms such as cultural hegemony, whiteness and Michel Foucaults definition of power, has served as the basis for the analysis. The postcolonial theory has been combined with class theory and gender theory for an intersectional analysis. Semiotic analysis has been used as the method in the thesis, and a total of nine story missions ? three for each protagonist in the game ? have constituted the material.

Electromyography (EMG) is a technique that measures muscle activity, whichmeans detecting the electrical signals that travel through the muscle in connectionwith muscle contraction. This project deals with how EMG can be used tocontrol a computer game.The project is centered around the game 'EMG Track Game' which has beenconstructed as part of this work. 'EMG Track Game' is controlled by twoelectrodes fastened on the player. These are attached to two selected musclesand control the motion in one direction each, one up and the other one down.The game is constructed in the purpose of being used in several elds of application.Among these are as entertainment, training equipment and a tool inresearch related to EMG and muscles.To highlight a possible application a study concerning muscle control has beenconducted. It answers the question of whether players score better with theirdominant arm in comparison with their non-dominant one.

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.