GameFlow : a model for evaluating player enjoyment in games

Although player enjoyment is central to computer games, there is currently no accepted model of player enjoyment in games. There are many heuristics in the literature, based on elements such as the game interface, mechanics, gameplay, and narrative. However, there is a need to integrate these heuristics into a validated model that can be used to design, evaluate, and understand enjoyment in games. We have drawn together the various heuristics into a concise model of enjoyment in games that is structured by flow. Flow, a widely accepted model of enjoyment, includes eight elements that, we found, encompass the various heuristics from the literature. Our new model, GameFlow, consists of eight elements -- concentration, challenge, skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction. Each element includes a set of criteria for achieving enjoyment in games. An initial investigation and validation of the GameFlow model was carried out by conducting expert reviews of two real-time strategy games, one high-rating and one low-rating, using the GameFlow criteria. The result was a deeper understanding of enjoyment in real-time strategy games and the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the GameFlow model as an evaluation tool. The GameFlow criteria were able to successfully distinguish between the high-rated and low-rated games and identify why one succeeded and the other failed. We concluded that the GameFlow model can be used in its current form to review games; further work will provide tools for designing and evaluating enjoyment in games.

The covenant for quiet enjoyment : a potential nuisance to lessors

Under Australian law, a tenant complaining of nuisance caused by another tenant traditionally had no recourse to the lessor unless the lessor actively participated in the nuisance. A recent Queensland Court of Appeal decision, Aussie Traveller Pty Ltd v Marklea Pty Ltd, has found that a lessor who fails to take steps to control a tenant's nuisance may be liable to other tenants for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. This paper considers the recent decision in light of common law developments in Australia, England and the United States, including the American concept of constructive eviction.

Looking back : students' perceptions of the relative enjoyment of primary and secondary school science

This paper reports and discusses a contentious result from an Australia-wide study of the influences on students' decisions about taking senior science subjects. As part of the Choosing Science study (Lyons and Quinn 2010) 3759 Year 10 students were asked to indicate which stage of their schooling (lower primary, upper primary, lower secondary, middle secondary) they had most enjoyed learning science. Crosstabulations of responses revealed that around 78% of students indicated that they had enjoyed learning science more in secondary than in primary school, and 55% enjoyed it the most during Years 9 and 10. The perception that school science was more enjoyable in high school was also found among students who did not intend taking science in Year 11, though to a lesser extent. These findings are unexpected and significant, challenging the prevailing view that enjoyment of school science steadily declines after primary school. The paper elaborates on the findings and suggests that the different conclusions arrived at by studies in this field may be due to the different methodologies employed.

Perceptions of online learning in an Australian university: an international students’ (Asian Region) perspective – enjoyment

Several researchers have reported that cultural and language differences can affect online interactions and communications between students from different cultural backgrounds. Other researchers have asserted that online learning is a tool that can improve teaching and learning skills, but its effectiveness depends on how the tool is used. To delve into these aspects further, this study set out to investigate the kinds of learning difficulties encountered by the international students and how they actually coped with online learning. The modified Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES) instrument was used to collect data from the sample of 109 international students at a university in Brisbane. A smaller group of 35 domestic students was also included for comparison purposes. Contrary to assumptions from previous research, the findings revealed that there were only few differences between the international Asian and Australian students with regards to their perceptions of online learning. Recommendations based on the findings of this research study were made for Australian universities where Asian international students study online. Specifically the recommendations highlighted the importance of upskilling of lecturers’ ability to structure their teaching online and to apply strong theoretical underpinnings when designing learning activities such as discussion forums, and for the university to establish a degree of consistency with regards to how content is located and displayed in a learning management system like Blackboard.

Beatific Enjoyment in Scholastic Philosophy and Theology: 1240-1335

This dissertation examines the concept of beatific enjoyment (fruitio beatifica) in scholastic theology and philosophy in the thirteenth and early fourteenth century. The aim of the study is to explain what is enjoyment and to show why scholastic thinkers were interested in discussing it. The dissertation consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with Aurelius Augustine's distinction between enjoyment and use and the place of enjoyment in the framework of Augustine's view of the passions and the human will. The first chapter also focuses upon the importance of Peter Lombard's Sentences for the transmission of Augustine's treatment of enjoyment in scholastic thought as well as upon Lombard's understanding of enjoyment. The second chapter treats thirteenth-century conceptions of the object and psychology of enjoyment. Material for this chapter is provided by the writings - mostly Sentences commentaries - of Alexander of Hales, Albert the Great, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Peter of Tarentaise, Robert Kilwardby, William de la Mare, Giles of Rome, and Richard of Middleton. The third chapter inspects early fourteenth-century views of the object and psychology of enjoyment. The fourth chapter focuses upon discussions of the enjoyment of the Holy Trinity. The fifth chapter discusses the contingency of beatific enjoyment. The main writers studied in the third, fourth and fifth chapters are John Duns Scotus, Peter Aureoli, Durandus of Saint Pourçain, William of Ockham, Walter Chatton, Robert Holcot, and Adam Wodeham. Historians of medieval intellectual history have emphasized the significance of the concept of beatific enjoyment for understanding the character and aims of scholastic theology and philosophy. The concept of beatific enjoyment was developed by Augustine on the basis of the insight that only God can satisfy our heart's desire. The possibility of satisfying this desire requires a right ordering of the human mind and a detachment of the will from the relative goals of earthly existence. Augustine placed this insight at the very foundation of the notion of Christian learning and education in his treatise On Christian Doctrine. Following Augustine, the twelfth-century scholastic theologian Peter Lombard made the concept of enjoyment the first topic in his plan of systematic theology. The official inclusion of Lombard's Sentences in the curriculum of theological studies in the early universities stimulated vigorous discussions of enjoyment. Enjoyment was understood as a volition and was analyzed in relation to cognition and other psychic features such as rest and pleasure. This study shows that early fourteenth-century authors deepened the analysis of enjoyment by concentrating upon the relationship between enjoyment and mental pleasure, the relationship between cognition and volition, and the relationship between the will and the beatific object (i.e., the Holy Trinity). The study also demonstrates the way in which the idea of enjoyment was affected by changes in the method of theological analysis - the application of Aristotelian logic in a Trinitarian context and the shift from virtue ethics to normative ethics.

Effects of Small-Sided Games vs. Interval Training in Aerobic Fitness and Physical Enjoyment in Young Elite Soccer Players

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Small-Sided Games (SSG) vs. Interval Training (IT) in soccer training on aerobic fitness and physical enjoyment in youth elite soccer players during the last 8 weeks of the season. Seventeen U-16 male soccer players (age = 15.5 +/- 0.6 years, and 8.5 years of experience) of a Spanish First Division club academy were randomized to 2 different groups for 6 weeks: SSG group (n = 9) and IT group (n = 8). In addition to the usual technical and tactical sessions and competitive games, the SSG group performed 11 sessions with different SSGs, whereas the IT group performed the same number of sessions of IT. Players were tested before and after the 6-week training intervention with a continuous maximal multistage running field test and the counter movement jump test (CMJ). At the end of the study, players answered the physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES). During the study, heart rate (HR) and session perceived effort (sRPE) were assessed. SSGs were as effective as IT in maintaining the aerobic fitness in elite young soccer players during the last weeks of the season. Players in the SSG group declared a greater physical enjoyment than IT (P = 0.006; ES = 1.86 +/- 1.07). Coaches could use SSG training during the last weeks of the season as an option without fear of losing aerobic fitness while promoting high physical enjoyment.

An Event Driven Fusion Approach for Enjoyment Recognition in Real-time

Social signals and interpretation of carried information is of high importance in Human Computer Interaction. Often used for affect recognition, the cues within these signals are displayed in various modalities. Fusion of multi-modal signals is a natural and interesting way to improve automatic classification of emotions transported in social signals. Throughout most present studies, uni-modal affect recognition as well as multi-modal fusion, decisions are forced for fixed annotation segments across all modalities. In this paper, we investigate the less prevalent approach of event driven fusion, which indirectly accumulates asynchronous events in all modalities for final predictions. We present a fusion approach, handling short-timed events in a vector space, which is of special interest for real-time applications. We compare results of segmentation based uni-modal classification and fusion schemes to the event driven fusion approach. The evaluation is carried out via detection of enjoyment-episodes within the audiovisual Belfast Story-Telling Corpus.

Using HeadSprout Early Reading with a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An examination of phonological awareness, participant engagement, and participant enjoyment

This study examined the effectiveness of a 9-week reading program in improving the phonological awareness (PA) skills of a seven year old boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The study’s secondary goal was to describe how the participant engaged with and enjoyed the HeadSprout computer program. The participant attended a one hour reading program incorporating 30 minutes of HeadSprout Early Reading three days a week for 9 weeks. Results demonstrated that the participant’s PA scores increased from the 16th percentile at pre-test to the 35th percentile post program. Four of five measures of PA increased, segmenting nonwords decreased to the 2nd percentile post program. Momentary time sampling procedures revealed the participant was engaged with the computer program 94.5% of the time. Perceived ratings of enjoyment indicated the participant enjoyed using the program. Specific components of the program which may have influenced participant enjoyment and engagement are discussed. Study limitations and implications of these findings are discussed in reference to future research.

The Impact of Personal Trainer’s Leadership Style on Self-Presentational Concerns, Enjoyment, Task Self-Efficacy and Intention to Exercise in an Introductory Weight Training Orientation

The purpose of the present study was to examine two leadership styles of personal trainers (bland versus enriched) to evaluate their effects on exercise-related outcomes. Participants were 103 university women with no previous experience weight training. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two leadership style conditions. They completed primary measures prior to being introduced to the personal trainer. Next, participants completed an introductory weight training session, followed by post-manipulation measures. The leadership styles were successfully manipulated. Participants in the enriched leadership style condition reported significantly higher levels of enjoyment and intention to exercise. Participants in the bland leadership style condition reported significantly higher levels of social anxiety; no differences were found for task self-efficacy, self-presentational efficacy, social physique anxiety, or handgrip performance between groups. Thus, an enriched leadership style of personal trainers can increase positive psychological outcomes.

Predicting music enjoyment in cochlear implant users

Most cochlear implant (CI) users perceive music poorly. Little is known, however, about the musical enjoyment received by CI users. The author examined possible relationships between musical enjoyment and music perception tasks through the use of 1) multiple musical tests, and 2) two groups of listeners: normal-hearing (NH) listeners with a CI-simulation and actual CI users. The two groups’ performances are compared to determine whether NH participants listening to music via CI-simulation software are a good model for actual CI users for perceiving music.