Licinio Roque

A deck for sound design in games: enhancements based on a design exercise

In the context of an initiative to empower non-expert practitioners to perform sound design in games, we have been working on a collection of design patterns and in a deck of cards that function as tokens to those patterns. The deck serves both practitioners and researchers. Practitioners may appreciate a presentation of potential sound explorations in a format that is literally handy, with no need to be familiar with the formalism of design patterns. Researchers who are willing to evolve such patterns may explore the usage of cards as part of a setting designed to be auditable. This paper presents the results of a first experiment with the deck in a scenario of a game design session. The goal is to evidence information supporting foremost enhancements to the deck itself, to the process in which it has being explored and audited, and to the inscribed collection of patterns.

A pattern language for sound design in games

Expertise in sound design for games is still a privilege of senior designers. The broad community of independent game developers remains mostly challenged by small budgets and lack of know-how, while trying to integrate sound in their games. The empowerment of a broad community of developers, by making practical guidance available, could improve the quality of their productions and unleash a massive creative potential, with results in the form of innovative sound design ideas and further development of the body of knowledge. Here we present the argument that there are favorable conditions for a collective authoring of a pattern language in sound design, to be achieved with the inventory, translation or resynthesis of current practice and academic know-how, in a format that is addressable by experts and non-experts alike. Learning from the effects such a methodology had in other domains where similar concerns were observed, we present a seminal pattern collection with the purpose of illustrating its feasibility and spark the interest of the broad community of sound design.

Towards a game experience design model centered on participation

In this paper we present a game design and evaluation model centered on the concept of participation, the way players take part in gameplay activity, from which gameplay experience emerges. The variety and subjectiveness of experiences enabled by the videogame medium lead us to consider the challenge of how to frame the notion of participation in a model of gameplay experience, that could serve as a guide for designers. The proposed model aims to contribute to an informed game design process by focusing on six perspectives of player participation: Playfulness, Challenge, Embodiment, Sociability, Sensemaking and Sensoriality. These perspectives are then exercised along three operational levels: Intention, Artifact and Participation - the setting of gameplay experience goals, the characterization of the videogame object, and the evaluation of the player experience.

Ludic content in multisensory stimulation environments: an exploratory study about practice in Portugal.

This article aims to document the use of multisensory stimulation environments and its related perceptions, concerning ludic content, play and the computer-mediated ludic activity, from the perspective of professionals organizing and delivering therapeutic activities in these spaces with children with developmental disabilities, in Portugal. Face-to-face open interviews with 12 professionals working in multisensory stimulation environments, selected by convenience criteria, were individually recorded, transcribed and submitted to content analysis. Three main themes emerged from the data: multisensory stimulation environments offer multiple possibilities for intervention, play is part of the intervention in multisensory environments and the computer-mediated ludic experience is perceived as useful for intervention. Data suggest that multisensory stimulation environments are used as versatile spaces, both considered and explored by the interviewed professionals in its ludic potential. This fact can renew the interest in multisensory environments, in particular for the area of play in Occupational Therapy, in which the use of the computer-mediated ludic experience is a recognized possibility. Limitations of this study are associated to the level of representativeness of the interviews in relation to the diverse universe of professionals using multisensory environments. The method for collecting data is also highly sensitive to the influence of the interviewer.

An inspection on a deck for sound design in games

In the context of an initiative to empower non-expert practitioners to perform sound design in games, assisted by a pattern language approach, it is helpful to hold an instrument that fosters the contact with the design patterns. With such purpose, we have been working on a deck of cards, which is also subject to an appreciation for sound explorations as an integral part of game design. We present the current rationale for the design of the deck, evidencing its suitability to maintain sound design opportunities at reach, in an expeditious and non-intrusive manner. We also report an exercise of inspection of the deck, aiming at a first refinement through the identification of foremost hindrances in terms of perception and content interpretation.

Looking for the heart of interactive media: reflections on video games' emotional expression

Ever since they first originated, video games have been perceived as an inferior form of media expression. One major concern has been that they do not seem able to elicit a wide spectrum of emotions, thus being perceived as emotionally shallow. Sustained by a theoretical overview of the nature of play activities and studies on emotion elicitation by video games, this paper hypothesizes on a relationship between certain elements of traditional games and subsequent elicited emotions. From these ensue concerns regarding the narrow spectre of emotions elicited by certain prototypical game structures employed by the game design process.

Designing Games with Procedural Content Generation: An Authorial Approach

This paper describes the design of a novel approach to procedural content generation, intent on supporting game design activities. The distinctive factor in this approach is that content generation is guided by a series of target experience indicators, which the designer can define freely according to his own agenda. We detail its underlying concepts and procedural logic, as well as its purported benefits, and outline early experiments in the design process of a prototype.

An approach to assessment of knowledge acquisition by using three-dimensional virtual learning environment

Virtual Reality (VR) systems are a trend in the educational field. We can observe in academic literature that VR applications are widely adopted as Three-Dimensional Virtual Learning Environments (3D VLEs) in different fields of knowledge. However, one of the discussions highlighted in this context refers to the contribution that these environments really offer for student knowledge acquisition. In this scenario, this paper presents the results obtained from an experimental study conducted with high school students interested in learning Plane and Spatial Geometry. The volunteers explored the 3D VLE applied in the experiment, in which it is possible to create and visualize spatial figures from selected plane figures. The interactions in the virtual environment were registered for statistic analysis of the interaction level of participants. To assess the level of knowledge acquisition, a Theoretical Model for Assessment of Knowledge Acquisition was applied The results of the experiment conducted in this research indicated that it is possible to evaluate learning in 3D VLE by applying the Model abovementioned and showed that participants gained knowledge about the object of study using the 3D VLE learning method. Thus, it was possible to verify if the 3D VLEs are really contributing to the learners knowledge acquisition.

A Preliminary Evaluation of a Participation-Centered Gameplay Experience Design Model

In this paper we report on evaluation experiments from a Participation-Centered Gameplay Experience Design and operationalising instrument following a Design Science Research approach. The proposed model aims to contribute to an informed game design process by giving center stage to the notion of participation - the way players take part in the gameplay activity - from which a gameplay experience emerges and is interpreted by players. In order to achieve such an outcome, the model proposes six lenses for participation: Playfulness, Challenge, Embodiment, Sociability, Sensemaking and Sensoriality, to be able to rationalize and reflect on different forms of playing. To operationalise the model we present a design instrument consisting of a set of guiding questions, designed to elicit the main gameplay experience features, which strengthen each form of participation. We report on the evaluation of the model and instrument based on their introduction and use by 15 teams of game design students during their conceptualization phases, on 8 different project themes. We further present an analysis of students classification of the instruments, on understandability, productiveness and relevance, crossed with an analysis of the notebooks produced during the concept creation, to discuss and decide different ways to improve the model.

The “Malha” project: A game design proposal for multisensory stimulation environments

Multisensory stimulation environments, also known as Snoezelen Rooms, were instituted years ago as an intervention context for severely disabled persons. These spaces have been brought to light, however, for reasons quite beyond their traditional usage, not only regarding the diversity of typical clients benefiting from the activities carried out, but also when the objectives of such activities are considered. The common exploration of the ludic potential of multisensory stimulation environments by occupational therapists presented us with the problem of how to design a computer game to combine with such context, in particular when delivering therapy to children with intellectual disability. In this paper we explore how the computer-mediated ludic activity can add value to an intervention focused on playfulness, having as background context the multisensory environment. We elaborate particularly around the translation of a set of design guidelines into a simulation of the Portuguese traditional game “jogo da malha”, expanded by fantasy elements, as an orientation for a near-future project.