Francisco Luis Gutiérrez Vela

Analysis and application of gamification

In this paper we present a method for analysis and application of gamification as a tool to assist the participation and motivation of people in carrying out various tasks and activities. We analyze what are the psychological and social motivations of human beings, and how game mechanics can help when it comes to satisfy these needs. Likewise, it is proposed a method for analyzing the effectiveness of gamification based on a quality service model and the metrics associated with the properties of the playability as a measure of fun induced by the process of gamification.

Playability: analysing user experience in video games

Currently, few studies focus on analysing the degree of the Player eXperience (PX) in video games. Video games have now become interactive entertainment systems with a high economic impact on society; these are interactive systems characterised by their subjectivity, which differ from other systems in that their main objective is to entertain and amuse the user (player). This work discusses the analysis and evaluation of the User eXperience (UX) in interactive entertainment systems, exploring how usability, given its definition, objectives and the fact it is one of the main dimensions of UX, is not sufficient to characterise the PX, giving rise to a new concept: Playability. In this paper, we present a framework for the analysis and evaluation of the UX in video games. The results show the need and importance of a framework to help us understand and measure the experience that players feel using these types of interactive systems, in order to improve the experience during play time. The proposed framework characterises the experience using attributes to identify and properties to measure UX. It thus provides a multifaceted analysis mechanism to assess the impact of the gaming experience and its relationship with the elements of a video game. We therefore present a system to represent UX based on this framework, with the aim of ensuring and measuring a satisfactory experience of the entertainment system. Finally, we discuss a practical experiment in which an evaluation of the playability of a commercial video game was carried out using the methods proposed in this work.

Enriching evaluation in video games

One of the greatest challenges to the evaluation of UX in video games is to ascertain if the experience is appropriate for the game. Thus, it is necessary to know how to measure Playability in order to analyze, optimize and adapt it to the players preferences. However, it is also important to remember that the final satisfaction of the user depends on his or her emotional response, social and cultural influences and hedonic properties of the interaction process with a video game. In this paper we present a way to perform a UX evaluation based on Playability by adding hedonic factors. The aim is to easily and costeffectively analyze the UX in an agile video game development process.

Enriching UsiXML language to support awareness requirements

Awareness support in model-driven architecture approaches is almost nonexistent. Although it is a required feature for the development of collaborative applications, the consideration of awareness in development methodologies and tools has been hindered by the lack of model-driven oriented conceptual models. This work presents an extension to the user interface description language UsiXML for describing generic awareness support in software development, with special focus on requirements level, and keeping a traceable path throughout the development stages. UsiXML describes multimodal and multicontextual user interfaces by following a model-driven approach to software development, and one of its purposes is to enable the development of highly interactive user interfaces, where awareness plays an important role. Furthermore, a template to gather awareness information requirements is provided to help designers explore and describe them in the early design stages.

Natural interaction techniques using Kinect

The work presented focuses on the study of interaction techniques in 3-dimensional (3D) and its implementation with the device Kinect. We analyze this device and its operation in order to know their characteristics and limitations. The main objective is to study how to adapt the classical 3D interaction techniques to Kinect. For this, we have made a study of several modes of interaction that are currently using this device and videogames that use this device. We conclude presenting a case study which use Kinect to implement a system of cognitive rehabilitation.

A Pattern-based Approach for Conceptual Modeling of Cooperative Systems

Current society demands the construction of systems that provide support for cooperative work (CSCW). However, the inherent complexity of this kind of systems hinders the specification of the real requirements, as well as the quick and cheap development. To analyze, design and develop systematically these systems, our research group has created a methodology called AMENITIES. We found similar scenarios in the conceptual modeling of a system that are repeatedly modeled. This paper shows the application of software patterns which capture these common situations, improving and facilitating the conceptual modeling (conceptual patterns) of cooperative systems with AMENITIES. For that purpose, we define a UML profile that facilitates the representation of these patterns. Using a uniform template, we describe and model two examples of patterns which can be used in different stages of the methodology.

Introducing an interactive story in a geolocalized experience

Pervasive games are one of the types of gaming experiences that currently causes the most impact on players. They break the usual environment of the game in a spatial, temporal or social dimension. The integration of the narrative with the interactivity and the geolocalization of these games requires a model that represents and structures the story and its integration with the rest of the elements of the game. In addition, this model should allow us to analyze the effectiveness of the story and how it helps to create a good user experience. In this paper, we propose a strong structuring of the narrative that includes geolocalization support. Through an example of the design of an interactive geolocalized story, we explain several characteristics of the model that make possible the creation of a good interactive narrative.

A Systematic Review of Geolocated Pervasive Games: A Perspective from Game Development Methodologies, Software Metrics and Linked Open Data

Pervasive games are a new way of social interaction through new technologies such as sensors, software applications and network communication that can be found in mobile devices. Those games allow us to do daily activities in a natural way and arise as a new option of entertainment. For that reason, we decided to do a systematic literature review to identify the methods and metrics used in the development of pervasive games and how they relate to Linked Open Data (LOD). This review presents findings to confirm the need of methodologies to develop applications related to games and entertainment of pervasive nature, and incorporate all its characteristics, which make them different from traditional software.

Implementation of continuous assessment in educational video games what, how and where to evaluate

In order for educational video games to continue aiding in the teaching / learning processes it is necessary to continue advancing, first, in their educational effectiveness and, secondly, in their ease of use for the teacher. This ease of use is multifaceted; one aspect is the assessment of learning achieved by students. In an educational environment where continuous assessment is a requirement and the acquisition of skills becomes element analysis, teachers have had to greatly increase the amount of work related to the assessment of students. And this problem grows when the number of students is very high, since the time available to meet the needs of the learning process decreases with the increasing time spent taking notes and analysing data in order to give a rating. Therefore, in this paper we address the aspect of assessing competencies through continuing evaluation, presenting a proposal that includes such assessment as part of the game itself. This proposal is in line with the latest laws of Spanish education, and refers to what to assess at each point of the game, how to do it and where to perform the evaluation itself, showing that these three issues need not coincide in time.

Assessing the player interaction experiences based on playability

Abstract Nowadays, video games are the most economically profitable entertainment industry. The nature of their design means that user experience factors make design and/or evaluation difficult using traditional methods commonly used in interactive systems. It is therefore necessary to know how to apply Playability in order to design, analyse, optimise and adapt it to a player’s preferences. In this paper, a strong relationship between user experience (UX) and playability is introduced and justified, a characterisation of player experience (PX) is presented based on playability, and a practical method for player experience assessment is described by using the “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” video game to be a. The results offers a mechanism for the evaluation (validation and verification) of the quality of the experience and interaction process and acts as a complementary alternative to the traditional tests performed by the video game industry professionals during the Quality Assurance Process (QA Process) to help to share results, reports and have a global point of view to analyse the final game experience.