The aim of this report is to see whether the graphic design of a game influences children?s will to play games. I am especially looking at minimalist graphic design and how well it works for a game aimed at children age 7-9. Does the style of the Game design have any impact at all concerning the children?s wish to play the game or is the game mechanic all that matters.

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..

The process of producing a video game is one that goes through a number of phasesduring the span of the entire production. One of these phases is the concept design phase,which is part of the pre-production. This phase is an important aspect of the productionas it is where all the different parts and ideas concerning the game are brought togetherto define what the game is going to be. Though a clearly important part of the videogame production surprisingly little research have been done on the subject of conceptdesign. This thesis presents what place concept design has in the overall game productionand how the design process is handled.

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..

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.

Starting out as a minor form of amusement, the game industry has become one of the most lucrative andsuccessful in the entertainment business competing against giants such as television, movies and music.As the internal competition within the developer community grows companies work hard at discoveringnew ways to attract and keep customers. By having a playcentric approach focusing on user experiencethey hope to achieve that goal. This thesis describes the process of designing a game with focus on theplayer. We apply the concept of flow on game development and investigate through research throughdesign if we are able to create a game that keeps the player in flow.Play tests showed several elements such as control issues and too difficult challenges early in the game,affecting the possibility for players to experience flow while playing. These negative factors came to becalled flowleakers.

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.

In this thesis I will propose and test a pipeline for creating in-game animations using motion capture technology, with the aim to export to a 3D game engine, such as UDK or similar. Even though there are already established pipelines for creating in-game animations in the game industry, they are not of public knowledge and dissemination of information is hindered by the severe NDA (non-disclosure agreements) imposed on the studios and artists. I will therefore use my experience with game production and as a student, to research and propose an optimal pipeline for developing in-game animation that may be used by other students, researchers and independent game developers. The methodology used to test the pipeline will be a case study based on the student project Synergy, which I am developing with other third year students also attending the Game design Education at Gotland University..

This final-year project has been performed at Strix production Efterlyst. The task has been to make a page under their homepage, with a game application that?s supposed to be interesting and also have a strong connection to the TV- program. In the first part of the report, the reader will learn about the preparing work that was done before the work with the final game began. It is in these two test versions all the technical problems were tested, to finally be used or thrown away.

My aim in this case study has been to create a method for creature design to test this method in a production and evaluate the results. To achieve this I studied and analyzed the methods of three concept artists and illustrators named James Gurney, Neville Page and Iain McCaig. From the analysis of these artist´s methods, combined with my own personal experience, a new method was formed. To test this method a creature was designed based on directives given by a Game design group in the process of creating a table top role playing game in a fictitious world. These directives where given for the creature´s role and its living conditions.

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.

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..

In order to attract talented consultants, Sigma, a consultant company, wanted an online game for recruitment. In the game, potential employees? skills could be tested to determine whether they are qualified for the job. This paper presents a general technique for creating such a recruitment game. The report generalizes the recruitment game to a level-based game for the web, where a player should be able to progress from one level to the next by solving a given problem.