Game Mastering in Collaborative Serious Games: A Novel Approach for Instructor Support in Multiplayer Serious Games
Key: WKG+15-1
Author: Viktor Wendel, Stefan Krepp, Michael Gutjahr, Stefan Göbel, and Ralf Steinmetz
Date: October 2015
Kind: @article
Keywords: Serious Games, Game Mastering, Collaborative Learning
Abstract: In collaborative learning scenarios, the role of the instructor is vital. This aspect directly carries over to the concept of collaborative multiplayer Serious Games, where a group of players is learning together using a Serious Game. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for integration and support of instructors in collaborative multiplayer Serious Game scenarios. Our approach considers instructor tasks and responsibilities. It defines an interface for 3D action adventure-like games, defining relevant game information and adaptation access. It further includes a Game Mastering framework for orchestrating and adapting such games at runtime via an instructor. The concept was implemented on top of an existing Serious Game (Escape From Wilson Island) and evaluated in a user-centric study with N=40 participants (age m=23.39; SD=3.05). Results show that an instructor using our framework in a collaborative learning scenario can positively influence players’ game experience (p&lt.05) and success towards the intended goals, as well as recognize and counteract problems at runtime.
Official URL

The documents distributed by this server have been provided by the contributing authors as a means to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work on a non-commercial basis. Copyright and all rights therein are maintained by the authors or by other copyright holders, not withstanding that they have offered their works here electronically. It is understood that all persons copying this information will adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.