Paul Toprac

Causing Fear, Suspense, and Anxiety Using Sound Design in Computer Games

Computer games are audio-visual entertainment media that provide an escapist experience (Grimshaw, 2007). That is, computer games utilize both audio and visual media to capture players’ attention and engage players’ motor and mental skills; thus immersing the players in the gameworld. This immersion provides an escape for players from everyday life. Immersion occurs when the game: (1) “monopolizes the senses” (Carr, 2006, p. 68), (2) engages the player psychologically, and (3) requires physical action (see Nacke & Grimshaw, 2011 for more on immersion). The authors of this chapter believe that all three components of immersion are highly linked and can be (and are) used to evoke emotions from players. Visuals and sound are often used to elicit specific emotions among the consumers of computer games. Currently, however, the computer game AbstrAct

Examining the Design of Media-Rich Cognitive Tools as Scaffolds in a Multimedia Problem-Based Learning Environment

This chapter examines the various cognitive tools embedded in a multimedia-enriched PBL environment for middle school science known as Alien Rescue and shares the research findings of the use of these cognitive tools in assisting young learners’ problem solving. The goal of this chapter is to illustrate strategies for designing media-rich cognitive tools to support learning.