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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Evangeline Marlos Varonis and Maria Evangeline Varonis

The purpose of this paper is to explore four general design features of King Digital Entertainment’s game “Candy Crush Saga” – structural, social, cognitive, and emotional – that…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore four general design features of King Digital Entertainment’s game “Candy Crush Saga” – structural, social, cognitive, and emotional – that reflect the principles of Universal Design for Learning and discusses how these features can be applied to course design in order to motivate learner persistence and increase student success.

Design/methodology/approach

Both authors are casual Candy Crush game players intrigued by how the game motivates users to continue. The methodology began with participant observation and expanded to “deconstruction” of game features and application of research findings in multiple disciplines to build the argument that game design strategies can be applied to course design to enhance learning outcomes.

Findings

Many factors influence game play, but it is crucial for each level to provide increasing challenges that motivate increased mastery but do not frustrate a player to the point of quitting. Similarly, course design that provides the opportunity for learners to achieve a sense of “flow” through the opportunity to identify goals, meet challenges, and receive feedback may encourage them to persist even when they are working autonomously as in some online environments.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on an analysis of the design of a single game and has not been formally tested on course design. Some suggestions may be easier to implement in courses than others.

Practical implications

The paper offers 14 structural, three social, four cognitive, and six social design strategies that can be implemented in course design as a way to potentially enhance learner engagement and learning outcomes.

Originality/value

No published research exists that connects game design and course design in this fashion.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Videogames, Libraries, and the Feedback Loop: Learning Beyond the Stacks
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-505-9

Abstract

Details

Streaming Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-768-6

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 25 November 2019

Nathan Hulsey

Abstract

Details

Games in Everyday Life: For Play
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-937-8

Book part
Publication date: 25 November 2019

Nathan Hulsey

Abstract

Details

Games in Everyday Life: For Play
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-937-8

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 January 2021

Dieter Declercq

Abstract

Details

Satire, Comedy and Mental Health: Coping with the Limits of Critique
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-666-2

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Mauricio Mittelman and Eduardo B. Andrade

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of a variety bundle's product display order on consumer preferences. When forming a variety bundle, manufacturers, retailers and…

1012

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of a variety bundle's product display order on consumer preferences. When forming a variety bundle, manufacturers, retailers and advertisers need to decide on the order in which their products are displayed. The authors provide empirical evidence that this apparently trivial display decision can systematically affect consumer preferences.

Design/methodology/approach

Four experiments were performed with over a total of 1,000 participants. Logistic regressions were conducted on the collected data sets to provide support for the hypothesis and its underlying psychological mechanism.

Findings

Results showed that product attitudes systematically affect choices among variety bundles that differ only in the order in which their products are displayed. When choosing among flat and horizontal variety bundles, Western consumers preferred the one that had the product they like the most to the left. This phenomenon was observed in different product categories, among left-to-right readers from different Western countries and languages, and with both hypothetical and consequential decisions. The incremental weight given to the first piece of information (i.e. “first” product in the bundle) explains this product order effect.

Originality/value

Although a significant amount of research has been conducted to understand the factors that affect consumer preferences for product bundles, little attention has been devoted to the role of visual aesthetics. The research addresses this gap, and in so doing contributes both to the marketing and to the visual aesthetics literature. One simple yet key implication of the product order effect documented here is that the value consumers assign to a variety bundle depends on the order in which its products are displayed.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Satire, Comedy and Mental Health: Coping with the Limits of Critique
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-666-2

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2019

Rennie Naidoo, Kalley Coleman and Cordelia Guyo

The purpose of this paper is to adopt a critical relational dialectics framework to identify and explore gender discursive struggles about social inclusion observed in an online…

1639

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to adopt a critical relational dialectics framework to identify and explore gender discursive struggles about social inclusion observed in an online gaming community, in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a technique called contrapuntal analysis to identify and explore competing discourses in over 200 messages on gender struggles about social inclusion posted in the local community’s gamer discussion board, based on seven threads initiated by women gamer activists.

Findings

The findings show how four interrelated gender discursive struggles about social inclusion and social exclusion animated the meanings of online gamer relations: dominance vs equality, stereotyping vs diversity, competitiveness vs cooperativeness and privilege vs empowerment.

Practical implications

Game designers should reinforce more accurate and positive stereotypes to cater for the rapidly growing female gamer segment joining the online gaming market and to develop a less chauvinistic and more diversely representative online gaming community. Enlightened gamers should exercise greater solidarity in fighting for gender equality in online gaming communities.

Originality/value

The critical relational dialectics analysis adopted in this study offers a promising avenue to understand and critique the discursive struggles that arise when online gamers from the different gender groups relate. The findings highlight the unequal discursive power and privilege of many white male gamers when discussing social inclusion. Advancing our understanding of these discursive struggles creates the possibilities for improving social inclusion in online gaming communities.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2018

Jean Paul Simon

This paper aims to shed some light on the role of video games within the media industry and IT sector, on its contribution to the production and distribution of digital content in…

1939

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to shed some light on the role of video games within the media industry and IT sector, on its contribution to the production and distribution of digital content in emerging economies. It offers a case study on the role of mobile devices as a factor of transformation and shows how under changing socio–economic conditions, the transformations enabled the creation of digital ecosystems and innovative business models.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on desk research, a review of literature and trade press and comments from experts and industry players.

Findings

The paper argues that as the internet is going mobile, driven by data – mostly video – the new mobile platforms are becoming the key for the distribution of content and mobile games. Whether it is the history of browser games in China, mobile games in India or PC games in Russia, each national gaming industry has required a unique strategy for making money, building on some prominent cultural factors and adapting to the local economic conditions. The paper reveals that video games are now clearly a vital part of digital content production in these countries, while stressing upon the role of public policies.

Research limitations/implications

The paper relies mostly on industry and consultancy data, as in such a fast-changing environment official data even when accessible are in most cases too old to remain relevant to identify the trends and the fast changing stakes. This calls for some caution about the data. Therefore, the data used should be treated as just signals of potential trends, sufficient to provide an appropriate overview of the evolution of the global mobile ecosystem.

Practical implications

This paper shows that the video games industry can serve as a pivot for the ICT industry. Besides, this prompts upstream and downstream industries of the entire digital entertainment market to thrive.

Social implications

The paper shows that companies from emerging markets companies have been betting on a combination of factors: the development of the economies, the growth of the mobile market, emerging middle-classes and young customers. It provides a growth model that appears to be close to a “regular” industrial growth model.

Originality/value

Although there is a growing academic literature on the video games industry, few research have been devoted to specific issues of emerging economies and to the role of video games within the media industry and IT sector.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

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