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.

During the last years the need for real-time database services has increased due to the growing number of data-intensive applications needing to enforce real-time constraints. The COMponent-based Embedded real-Time database (COMET) is a real-time database developed to meet these demands. COMET is developed using the AspeCtual COmponent-based Real-time system Development (ACCORD) design method, and consists of a number of components and aspects, which can be composed into a number of different configurations depending on system demands, e.g., Quality of Service (QoS) management can be used in unpredictable environments. In embedded systems with requirementson high up-time it may not be possible to temporarily shut down the system for reconfiguration. Instead it is desirable to enable dynamic reconfiguration of the system, exchanging components during run-time.

Sweden will, in accordance with the EU-directive 2003/54/EC, move from post-regulating the electricity power grid-tariffs by using a fictitious grid, to a regulation in advance which uses the actual power grid as a starting point. For this purpose a component breakdown of the grid needs to be made to determine the value of the network and by that the tariff price that is reasonable for the network business in question to charge.The primary breakdown criteria is the voltage-level and type of region. Voltage-level is crucial for the cost and complexity of a grid-part, because the higher the voltagelevel is, there are more and stricter laws and rules to follow. This work is limited to the distributionpart of the grid, in other words voltage levels from 20 kV and below.The type of region is crucial to the type of components you can and want to use. In city environments both overhead-wires and independent substations are undesirable for both practical, safety and aesthetic reasons.

Denna studie har undersökt hur en användares motivation att samla mynt i ett serious game påverkas av att dessa är sammankopplade med spelets gameplay. För att undersöka detta har två versioner av ett serious game skapats, ett där mynt endast kan användas för att köpa kosmetiska uppgraderingar och ett där uppgraderingarna som kan köpas, utöver kosmetiska förändringar, även påverkar spelets gameplay. 12 personer har deltagit i testet och värderat hur mycket motivation de känt då de spelat spelen. Resultatet tyder på att det inte existerar någon markant skillnad mellan hur mycket motivation testdeltagarna kände inför att samla mynt i de båda versionerna. Undersökningen skulle kunna utvecklas genom att fler tester utförs på flera olika typer av mjukvaror..

The purpose with this qualitative interview study was to try to describe, through a phenomenological viewpoint, the meaning that Counter-Strike players put on there contemporary world. We started to explore this Game World with field research studies on the world?s biggest Game exhibition Dreamhack in the city of Jönköping. This helped us to develop our main question for this study.The thirteen participants of the interview were selectively chosen from a Game Café in the city of Karlstad. They were interviewed with five questions that dealt with their experiences of playing Counter-Strike and their experience of time perception in their world.

This thesis conducted at the University of Uppsala investigateshow well a prefabricated building component from the manufacturerMasonite Lättelement AB can be incorporated into ahouse projected to accomplish the demanding criteria of a passivehouse. The thesis is organized as a comparison betweenthe prefabricated elements and an on-site built component fromthe passive house area of Oxtorget in Värnamo, Sweden. Theaspects investigated were air leakage, energy, moisture, economyand noise conditions.Results of the comparative analyzes shows that the prefabricatedproducts were capable of accomplishing the requirementsof passive houses and therefore this thesis should beviewed as a basis to confirm that the technology of prefabricatedbuilding components today in Sweden are mature enoughto be a significant part of the passive houses that are to be builtin the near future. The development of prefabricated technologyis of crucial significance if we are to accomplish the goalsof reduced energy consumption by the year 2020..

Uppsatsen syftar till att diskutera och jämföra tre olika metoder för karaktärsutveckling och diskutera dessa i förhållande till The Female Assassin; ett spelmanuskript som utspelar sig under Franska Revolutionen. För att få en god bakgrund för examensarbetet valde jag att läsa ett antal böcker om Franska Revolutionen, karaktärsutveckling och Game Writing. Jag har använt mig av personlighetsdiamanter och mallen Character Template för att skapa karaktärer till manuskriptet. I rapporten diskuterar och jämför jag dessa två metoder samt arketyper. Jag kom fram till att de tre metoderna för att utveckla spelkaraktärer fungerar utmärkt och kan kombineras för att få fram mer avancerade karaktärer.Spelmanuskriptet är skrivet utifrån mitt High Concept om spelet La Meurtrière (se Bilaga 2) framtaget för kursen Modellkonstruktion för Interagerbara Medier/Spel A11.

This essay focuses on the construction of so called "computer game addiction" or "computer game abuse" in the Swedish press during 2000-2006. During this period computer game addiction went from an obscure phenomenon to a legit reason for the involuntary commitment of a fourteen-year-old.The study's theory is based on several social constructionist ideas. Kitsuse and Spector's theories about constructing social problems as claims-making activities are used for understanding the actions of the individual and groups involved. Hewitt and Hall's article about quasi-theory is used to explain the construction of explainations for the new social phenomenon. Blumer's five-stage model is used for categorizing the construction of the new social problem.

Contents:The evolution of today?s computer influenced society has taken giant steps towards virtual reality, game addictions and the possibility of not having to meet the people we communicate with. What is a reality today?To give a more concrete image of our question we?ve chosen the online game World of Warcraft as an example and to describe our connection to an alternative reality. We have performed different investigations, interviewed both gamers and non gamers, all this to give us the opportunity to see if the term reality has started to change in a direction that will allow us to call this alternative world a reality, or if it?s just a world wide phenomena of for example gaming addiction.

This thesis aims to examine the phenomenon of gambling and consequences that may result from having a gambling problem. The thesis also intends to investigate opportunities for support and a few explanatory- and treatment models. Games are taking on new shapes and access to gambling for money is on the rise. Studies on gambling have primarily been focusing on epidemiological factors rather than factors increasing or decreasing the risk of developing gambling-related problems. The empirical material is based on eight qualitative semi-structured interviews.

To create multifunctional buffer strips along a watercourse in an economically sustainable way requires consideration of many different factors. In this plan we have selected pollutant reduction as the main purpose of the buffer strip. We have also strived to achieve minimal income loss due to reduced production, increased biological diversity, good game preservation that leads to higher income from hunting, aesthetical satisfaction and possibility to profit from available subsidies. This is done mainly to make landowners/farmers more interested in creating buffer strips along water courses.As sand is the dominant type of soil in the area, the water course is less affected by surface runoff compared to if the soil would be clay or some other finer texture. Game preservation and subsidies have therefore been the main factors when establishing the width of the strip, because these require wider buffer strips in some cases.

AbstractA continuous improvement of products and production is an important goal for a modern industrial company. A small engineering group located in Sweden came in touch with the authors of this report during the spring semester of 2014. The aim of this report is, as part of the group´s ambition of improvement, to analyse ways in which the quality of component casted parts can be verified. Non-destructive testing (NDT), and methods to use it for quality control, is the main focus of this report. However, fields such as material standards, component casting and quality engineering are analysed as well.

The gaming market is growing and the number of people, men and women, who play computer games, is also increasing every day. In addition, computer games are also interactive media which leads to the fact that product placement in computer games attracts and is used more frequently by marketers. It is therefore important for marketers and game developers to understand how product placement in computer games affects players' attention and attitude towards the brand or product that is product placed. We therefore examine how product placement in computer games affects players' recall of and attitude towards the brand. The aim is to help companies and game developers to see the effect of product placement in computer games on players and thus product place more efficiently.

For this essay we used pattern theory from interface design and applied it in an analysis of touch games. In order to make full use of the patterns, we selected five of them and adapted these slightly with the help of game related patterns to be useful for the framework of this essay. The selection of games were the top eight games on the App Store?s ?What?s Hot?. The results showed, among other things, that the games had a clear focus on getting a pleasant apperance, and they did it relatively well.

The question formulation for this work has been "is an ice-hockey audience influenced by music during time-outs in a game?". The method was to observe one period with Färjestads BK and Mora IK, but a recording was also made, together with a conversation with the arena DJ. From the recording, the audience reactions were graded from a given scale. The grades were compilated to a diagram that shows the audience reactions in relation to the time, from the first face-off to the final whistle.