Counter-Strike has established itself as one of the most popular computer gaming phenomenon the last decade with a major online community and loyal fan base. Within the world of e-sports it has also become one of the most lucrative games to compete in. In order to keep up with the competition it has always been important to use the best hardware available for the task. This thesis is about these tools that Gamers use to play - gaming gear - and how pro Gamers train to increase their chances of winning. We investigate various factors that might be important in their choice of gaming gear when they play, and how they train to use these artifacts more efficiently to get maximum performance.

This paper aims to investigate how Helsingborg?s city library?s visi-tors feel about computer games being available for lending and in which way computer Gamers see Helsingborg?s city library as a resource. This was examined first with a study of 100 of the library?s visitors and then with five interviews with computer Gamers and an interview with the librarian responsible for purchasing games.The study showed that most visitors were neutral to having games at the library and of the ones that were not neutral many more were positive than negative. Of the five Gamers who were inter-viewed, there were several who had borrowed games in the past.

The purpose of this bachelor?s thesis is to examine video games, Gamers and gaming from an information science perspective. The purpose of the study is partly to study video games as a type of information system and partly to study Gamers information use, information seeking and also the experience of gaming. A selection of five games have been analysed using a topology for video game analysis created by Espen Aarseth. A quantitative investigation has also been made, in the form of a web survey distributed through four Swedish online forums, the result of which was analysed using Carol Collier Kuhlthaus model of the information seeking process.

The aim of this thesis is to fill a knowledge gap regarding how online players use libraries, their attitude towards libraries and what they want out of future libraries. We see it as a problem that the library world of today does not have much knowledge about an audience that is so prevalent in society.The theory used in the thesis is Henrik Jochumsen, Casper Rasmussen Hvenegaard & Dorte Skot-Hansens model that divides libraries into four functions. The four functions are meetings, knowledge, inspiration and experiences. In the analysis we added a suggested fifth function, a digital space, giving the digital interaction and information needs of today´s society. The method was focus groups on online forums for Gamers.

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..

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.

Games offer a safe and motivational environment that allows and encourages trial and error. A gamer can act in the game without any real consequences in real life. Thereby a gamer is offered the opportunity to develop a broad set of skills. Games have earlier been proven to develop gamer?s problem-solving skills.

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..

Computer games is a growing market with over millions of players that are playing and/or enjoying the play of games on a daily basis. The nerdy Gamers that once were, are now becoming professional athletes in the virtual world called eSport. We have identified a lack of studies in this area which implies that there is little data of what it is. In this paper we have focused on the phenomena that is eSport and more closely on the game series Starcraft made by Blizzard Entertainment. Our focus lies in the game series Starcraft and eSport organisations mainly outside South Korea.

My choice of topic for this essay is the habits of television and computer gaming among young men; mostly their opinion of male and female objectives. My vision of this, being a woman, I often think of the possibilities men have of choosing games where the female characters, in my opinion, often are exposed in a degrading way. To my help I have earlier works on the topic by media scientist Mary Flanagan as the leading authority. She writes much of the character of Lara Croft, and the way she could be an icon for the computer gaming girls of today, despite she is having a stereotypical body shape. I even want to briefly share my thoughts of the always imminent discussion about media panicking; and whether gaming giving the players positive or negative influences.

The phenomenona MMORPG-games ? a qualitative study on MMORPG-games effects on the players lifeThe aim of this study was to shed lights on what it is that makes some people play MMORPG-games, get a insight in how a Gamers social network can look like and how the game can change the players everyday life. To acchieve this aim the authors carried out four individual interwievs with MMORPG-players. These interwieves was hermeneutic interpreted with the socialantropology networkstheory, roletheory, social identitytheory and the entirety was interpreted with the concept: ?the late modern society?.The conclusions that was found were that the games helps the players to handle their everyday life and has a condition for the players to produce relationships with other players.

Denna reflekterande text behandlar utvecklingen av ett spel som har skapats för att spelas med en delaktig industrirobot. Verket är en digital prototyp som har skapats efter ett antal krav och förutsättningar som ett fysiskt spel till en robot har och fungerar som en hjälp, för att visa hur ett spel till en robot kan utvecklas. Målet har varit att skapa ett underhållande spel till casual Gamers och har under spelets utveckling testats i viss omfattning för att se hur det har tagits emot av målgruppen.Innehållet i denna text beskriver verkets syfte och mål samt problemställning. Sedan följer information om vad casual games är och en reflekterande text om de olika delarna i både det fysiska spelet och den digitala prototypen. Den går även igen utvecklingsprocessen och testningen som utfördes till spelet.Resultatet är ett digitalt spel som har tagit emot relativt väl av målgruppen och de flesta ansåg det vara underhållande.

Nedladdade spel har blivit mer förekommande än vad de var fo?r ett årtionde sedan. Bredbandets framgång har gjort det möjligt att snabbt ladda ner spel och marknaden fo?r digitala spel växer stadigt. I denna studie undersöker vi om konsolspelarnas attityd mot digitala konsolspel skiljer sig från fysiska konsolspel i och med den växande digitala marknaden.