Video game designers iteratively improve player experience by play testing game software and adjusting its design. Deciding how to improve gameplay is difficult and time-consuming because designers lack an effective means for exploring decision alternatives and modifying a game’s mechanics. We aim to …

The role of “mechanics” in the serious game design process. Presentation held during the Sino-Dutch conference, March 2015. In the last few years, there have been many developments in the design and application of serious games, particularly in the field of ‘games for health’. This is possible due …

A level designer typically creates the levels of a game to cater for a certain set of objectives, or mission. But in procedural content generation, it is common to treat the creation of missions and the generation of levels as two separate concerns. This often leads to generic levels that allow for various …

This qualitative interview study explores the practices of adult female gamers who play the videogame The Sims, focusing on the motivations they have for playing and how playing a video game might influence their digital competence. We address the wider context of leisure and the household, investigating …

For over thirty years, there has been a discussion about the effectiveness of educational games in comparison to traditional learning materials. To help further this discussion, we aim to understand ‘how educational games work’ by formalising (and visualising) the educational and motivational aspects …

Exergames, as one might infer from the name, are a combination of exercise and games. As such, they stimulate players to perform certain behaviours by providing them with engaging game mechanics (Whitehead, Johnston, Nixon, & Welch, 2010). While they can be used during physiotherapeutic rehabilitation …

Two trends can be witnessed in educational game design: Problem-Based Learning and Drill & Practice Training approach. The general assumption appears to favor Problem-Based approach above Drill & Practice, in regard to players' motivation. However, the differences between the approaches are seldom studied. …

For over thirty years, there has been a discussion about the effectiveness of educational games in comparison to traditional learning materials. To help further this discussion, we aim to understand ‘how educational games work’ by formalising (and visualising) the educational and motivational aspects …

In September 2010, Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (the Netherlands) started a 20-week international program titled GameOn! The object of this program is for students to develop serious games, that aim to help the youth become aware of social and/or health related issues. Since the …

Games zijn bedoeld voor vermaak, maar we kunnen ze ook opvatten als een vorm van cultuur. Ze vertellen iets over de samenleving waarin ze zijn gemaakt: al dan niet met opzet komen er via de verbeelding van de makers opvattingen over de samenleving in games terecht. Games zetten op hun beurt aan tot verbeelding, …