Shared Control, Shared Fun?

Room:

LE 333

Date:

Intro Session: 19.10.2016 / 10:00-12:00

Type:

Lab Course (Forschungsprojekt)

Description

Feelings of autonomy and competence as well as social relatedness are basic human needs, which can be addressed and satisfied by digital games, leading to fun, a positive experience and a high motivation to continue playing. But what happens if players have to control one single avatar simultaneously, thereby supposedly experiencing less competence and autonomy? This concept of Shared Control is an innovative game mechanic to control digital games, which bears both great potential and risks for designing appealing games. How can we implement shared control in order to achieve a great positive experience? Which forms of social interaction can be triggered? Which requirements come along with this form of control? An existing collaborative game called Shairit (implemented by Philipp Sykownik as part of his Master’s Thesis) will be used and extended in order to address those and further research questions in user studies. Hence, the project contains tasks related to game design and implementation (e.g. implementing networking) as well as evaluation tasks (planning, conducting and analyzing studies).

Hence, the main goals of the project are:

- Expansion of the basic game Shairit: implementing further game versions and playing modes using the Unity3D engine, e.g. integrating network functionalities, communication channels, forced control and more

- Evaluation of the impact of the implemented game mechanics on fun, need satisfaction, social player experience and team building

APPLICATION: If you are interested to participate in the project, please sent a mail to Katharina Emmerich (katharina.emmerich[at]uni-due.de) till the 12th of October. On the 13th of October (2:00 pm), there will be a first meeting in order to give some more information about the content of the project, the planned course of actions and the requirements. If you are interested in the project but not able to take part in this first meeting, you should also write a mail and explain your situation, then we will certainly manage to let you take part anyway. There will be weekly appointments, but the time and date are flexible and will be determined after consultation with all participants!

Requirements

- Knowledge about planning, conducting and evaluating user studies AND/OR

- Basic programming skills with C#/Unity3D (or the motivation to get familiar with the engine)

- Creativity, interest in digital games and ability to work in a team

Target Audience

Master Komedia, Master AI