Computer and video games are a maturing medium and industry and have caught the attention of scholars across a variety of disciplines. By and large, computer and video games have been ignored by educators. When educators have discussed games, they have focused on the social consequences of game play, ignoring important educational potentials of gaming. This paper examines the history of games in educational research, and argues that the cognitive potential of games have been largely ignored by educators. Contemporary developments in gaming, particularly interactive stories, digital authoring tools, and collaborative worlds, suggest powerful new opportunities for educational media. VIDEO GAMES IN AMERICAN CULTURE Now just over thirty years old, video games have quickly become one of the most pervasive, profitable, and influential forms of entertainment in the United States and across the world 1. In 2001, computer and console game software and hardware exceeded $6.35 billion in the United States, and an estimated $19 billion worldwide (IDSA 2002). To contextualize these

Abstract. Modern computer games show potential not just for engaging and entertaining users, but also in promoting learning. Game designers employ a range of techniques to promote long-term user engagement and motivation. These techniques are increasingly being employed in so-called serious games, games that have nonentertainment

Building upon research on motivation theory, we provide insights on how video games can be framed as expert tools that naturally reconcile learning and fun, a worthy goal since students are forced to where players volunteer, namely learning. Our main contribution is to suggest best practices rooted in psychology and motivation theory that we believe should be used when designing educational games.

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This paper proposes a conceptual framework for mobile learning applications that provides systematic support for mobile learning experience design. It is based on a combination of a game metaphor and several studies of mobile learning contexts. An account of the Ambient Wood project is used to explore the relationship between the framework and mobile learning design requirements in practice.

In this paper, we outline several ways in which the database community can contribute to the development of technology for computer games. We outline the architecture of different types of computer games, and show how database technology plays a role in their design. From this, we identify several new research directions to improve the utilization of this technology in computer games. 1.

Abstract — This report presents a survey of computer based simulators for unmanned vehicles. The simulators examined cover a wide spectrum of vehicles including unmanned aerial vehicles, both full scale and micro size; unmanned surface and subsurface vehicles; and unmanned ground vehicles. The majority of simulators use simple numerical simulation and simplistic visualization using custom OpenGL code. An emerging trend is to used modified commercial game engines for physical simulation and visualization. The game engines that are commercially available today are capable of physical simulations providing basic physical properties and interactions between objects. Newer and/or specialized engines such as the flight simulator X-Plane or Ageia PhysX and Havok physics engines, are capable of simulating more complex physical interactions between objects. Researchers in need of a simulator have a choice of using game engines or available open source and commercially available simulators, allowing resources to be focused on research instead of building a new simulator. We conclude that it is no longer necessary to build a new simulator from scratch. I

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This paper describes an evaluation of a new game concept, Lecture Quiz, which can be used in lectures in higher education to promote strong student participation and variation in how lectures are taught. The lecture game uses the equipment and infrastructure already available in lecture halls like the teacher’s portable PC, a large screen and a video projector, network connections, and the students ’ mobile phones. The main game runs on the teacher’s portable PC projected on a large screen, whereas the students will interact with the game using their own mobile phones. Lecture Quiz is a multiplayer quiz game, which offers a variation in game modes where unlimited number of players can play simultaneously. Games like Lecture Quiz are most useful for testing and rehearsing theory. As a bonus, the teacher will get quantitative data on how much of the theory the students actually have learned. The evaluation of Lecture Quiz was performed in a software architecture lecture where twenty students first played the game and then were asked to fill in an evaluation form. The focus of the evaluation was on usability of the system and the perceived usefulness of using Lecture Quiz in lectures. The results of the evaluation show that Lecture Quiz was easy to use and that it contributed to increased learning. Further, Lecture Quiz was perceived as entertaining, and half of the students claimed they would attend more lectures if such systems were used regularly.

The purpose of this paper is to describe current work in specification and development of Web-based 3D standards and tools. The paper presents a Web3D application for military education and training currently in progress for the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office and the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Web-based 3D content development tools continue to evolve. The Web3D Consortium