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Heroes of the Storm vs. League of Legends – A Game Design Breakdown & Comparison
An Introduction to MOBAs Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games are one of the most played genres of video games on the planet right now and they comprise a significant portion of modern e-sports. To understand how they developed, we should first examine one of the earliest examples. One of the most iconic early MOBAs is Defense of the Ancients (DotA) . . . (Read More)
The Use of Games and Play to Achieve Real-World Goals
In the last few years, there has been a growing interest in the application of game elements to real-life goals and tasks. These efforts are often directed towards self-improvement, encouraging positive lifestyle changes, and increasing motivation to complete work objectives. The idea of using games to modify activities that are not traditionally considered games is not new . . . (Read More)
The Shadows That Tug at the Edges of Your Apprehensions: A Reflection of How Stealth Games Affect the Mind.
Stealth games are rather common in today’s video game culture. Popular titles such as Metal Gear Solid, Thief, Assassins Creed, The Last of Us, Hitman, Sly Cooper, and Splinter Cell often come to mind when discussing challenging yet exhilarating games. These games provide an overwhelming sense of immersion as difficult tasks draw the player in, demanding concentration and purposeful decision making throughout the majority of the gameplay . . . (Read More)
Gamification: The Pursuit of Progression
Part of the article series Looking at Gamification: Personal Viewpoints. As a first-year wading (well, cliff-diving, really) into the depths of academic research reports last fall, I was struck with what you might call “jargon fatigue.” Though I was no stranger to general scientific reading, upon broaching the field of game research, I was quickly overwhelmed by a veritable tsunami of seemingly obscure terms related to the research fields surrounding statistics, sociology, and design theory . . . (Read More)
Hot Topic: Does Playing Video Games Help or Hinder Social Interactions?
It seems like an age old argument among educators, parents, caretakers and peers; are video games good or bad for social behavior? Parents often worry that participating in video games will give their children poor morals, increase aggression and decrease sociability. However, some find games to be an effective aid for social interactions, while others respond with decreased social capabilities . . . (Read More)
HCI Games Group at CHI 2014 in Toronto
This year, the annual ACM conference on Computer-Human Interaction (CHI), was held in Toronto, Ontario. The conference serves as a global summit of researchers, academics, and industry professionals in fields related to computer science, software development, user research, and interaction design. At the conference, the HCI Games Group was involved in the organization of both a workshop and a special interest group revolving around the role of games and games research in the field of computer-human interaction . . . (Read More)
IEEE GEM 2014
This year, the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society launched the Games, Entertainment, and Media (GEM) conference series, following the success of the previous International Games Innovation Conferences. Uniting the worlds of research and industry expertise, the conference serves as a platform for examining the current state of the art in game development and user research . . . (Read More)HCI Games group organizes the first CHI PLAY 2014 conference
For the first time this year, prestigious game researchers and designers from all over the world gather for an international conference exploring new developments in gaming technology and research applications. The conference, entitled Computer-Human Interaction in Play or CHI PLAY, was held in Toronto this past week . . . (Read More)