This paper describes an extensive evaluation of introducing a game project in a software architecture course. In this project, the students have to construct and design a software architecture, evaluate the architecture, implement an application based on the architecture, and test this implementation. In previous years, the domain of the software architecture project has been a robot controller for navigating a maze. In 2008, the students in the software architecture course got to choose between the two domains: Khepera robot simulation in Java and XNA game development in C#. Independent of the domain chosen, the students had to go through the same phases, produce the same documents based on the same templates, and follow the exact same process. This paper describes an evaluation where the effect of the choice of COTS (Commercial Of The Shelves) and domain is compared in relation to popularity of project type, how the students perceive the project, the complexity of the software architectures produced, the effort put into the project, and the grades achieved on the project, the written examination and the course. The results of the evaluation show that students that chose the Game project produced software architectures of a higher complexity, put more effort into the project, and got higher average project grades. However, students that chose the Robot project indicated that they learned more software architecture during the project and got higher average grades on the written examination.

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Unlike recreational games, serious games do more than entertain the player. Serious games promote acquisition of information and skills that are valued in both the virtual world and the real world. The challenge is to design and develop serious games that simultaneously create an enjoyable experience for the player as the player develops or improves her skill set as a result of game play and applies these newly developed skills in a real world setting. Because transfer of learning represents the primary goal of serious games, it is crucial that game designers understand the interactions associated with game tasks and their impact on players prior to game development. Borrowing heavily from interaction design, we introduce the user centered game design methodology as the framework for serious game design and apply this technique to the evaluation of the social interactions between Player Characters in a commercial Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Significant results from experimental studies suggest that this genre of games shows great promise as an unorthodox language learning tool for vocabulary acquisition and reveals the importance of social interactions in the virtual space of video games. Finally, we discuss the design implications for serious games that facilitate Second Language

Abstract — Educational games have been around for some time, but there are still many areas that need to be explored. One of the main challenges when developing educational games is that the highest educational value is gained from games developed for one specific subject. Such games are very expensive to develop and they cannot be reused in others subjects. In this paper, we suggest to utilize collaborative gameplay to improve the learning capabilities of educational games for more than one subject. More specific, we search for the answer to the following three research questions: which properties characterize a good educational game; how can collaboration improve learning in educational games; and how to classify educational games that also can take the multiplayer aspect into account? The results presented are based on analysis of previous research on educational games as well as our own experiences from developing a multiplayer educational game. The contribution of this paper is a characterization of what makes good educational games, a theoretical model for how collaboration can improve learning in games, and the Lecture Games taxonomy of educational games.

This paper describes a case study of how a game project using the XNA Game Studio was implemented in a software architecture course. In previous years, a main part of the software architecture course was a software development project where the students were to design the software architecture and implement a robot controller in Java. The robot controller was chosen for the project, as there exist several papers and descriptions on reference architectures to deal with mobile robots. This paper describes the changes we had to make to introduce an XNA game development project in the software architecture course, and our experiences from running a software architecture project focusing on game development and XNA. The experience described in this paper is based on feedback from the course staff, the project reports of the students, and a formal mandatory course evaluation. The evaluation shows that although there were some challenges related to using XNA in the software architecture course, the effect was mainly positive. Classification: D.2.11 [Software Architectures], K.3.2 [Computer and Information Science Education],

Abstract—In 2008, a game development project was introduced in a software architecture course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The motivation for introducing the project was to let students learn how software architecture practices and processes can improve the final product in an inspiring and practical way. In the project, students organized in groups had to establish functional and quality requirements, design the software architecture of the game, evaluate the architecture, implement the architecture and test the architecture. After completing the project, all groups had to perform a post-mortem analysis of the project to reflect on the positive and the negative issues related to the project. This paper summarizes and describes the results of this post-mortem analysis along with the students ’ experiences from performing a post-mortem analysis of a game development project. The results show that there are both positive and negative effects of teaching software architecture in the context of a game development project. Students found it motivating to learn about software architecture through game development, but some students found it hard to apply the theory when developing the game. Most students were very positive to learn about new game technology as a part of the course and it was very stimulating to create an actual product. The main complaints were shortage of time, that many found the evaluation of architecture (ATAM) worthless, and that the project demanded too much documentation. Most students commented positive on doing a post-mortem analysis as a part of a game development project. Game development project, software architecture, Post-mortem analysis, XNA.

Abstract — This paper describes motivation and application of a Microsoft XNA extended library- XQUEST (XNA QUick & Easy Starter Template) in a software architecture course, and further presents the evaluation of how well the XQUEST was to use in a software architecture course. XQUEST was designed and implemented to save students ’ time in project development with flexible components. The evaluation was based on research methods and questionnaires from the students in the software architecture course. Finally, the questionnaires results were analyzed in three aspects: suitability, usefulness and usability. In many aspects, the results show that XQUEST enhances XNA in suitability as a teaching aid in software engineering learning, and that it can be a useful and helpful extension to understand XNA. The results also show that XQUEST is easy to use and save students time in development, thus giving students more time to focus on the practice of course theory. Keywords- XNA; Software architecture; Software engineering education; Evaluation

Educational games have been around for some time, but there are still many areas that need to be explored. One of the main challenges when developing educational games is that the highest educational value is gained from games developed for one specific subject. Such games are very expensive to develop and they cannot be reused in others subjects. In this paper, we suggest to utilize collaborative gameplay to improve the learning capabilities of educational games for more than one subject. More specific, we search for the answer to the following three research questions: which properties characterize a good educational game; how can collaboration improve learning in educational games; and how to classify educational games that also can take the multiplayer aspect into account? The results presented are based on analysis of previous research on educational games as well as our own experiences from developing a multiplayer educational game. The contribution of this paper is a characterization of what makes good educational games, a theoretical model for how collaboration can improve learning in games, and the Lecture Games taxonomy of educational games.

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvlc

The popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has grown enormously, with communities of players reaching into the millions. Their fantasy narratives present multiple challenges created by the virtual environment and/or other players. The games ’ potential for education stems from the fact that players are immersed in a virtual world where they have the opportunity to manipulate and explore, thus motivating the construction of knowledge. The interaction and collaboration between participants allows students to exchange information, test their understanding and reflect on what they have learned. Given the promising results of using MMORPG technologies for educational purposes, this paper translates the multiplayer role playing game (MRPG) aspect, the essential concept behind MMORPGs, into the classroom context. We present the abstraction behind a Classroom Multiplayer Presential Role Playing Game (CMPRPG) and the development of a CMPRPG for teaching ecology. The game has a quest structure in which each result highlights a key teaching objective. It is implemented at a high level, with interaction between reusable game elements defined using triggers. It is observed that the implemented CMPRPG has appropriate usability levels, benefits the learning and application of the concepts of ecology and, in the interactive dimensions, it encourages participation and collaborative narrative structures among participants.