TU Darmstadt / ULB / TUbiblio

Collaborative Game-based Learning - Automatized Adaptation Mechanics for Game-based Collaborative Learning using Game Mastering Concepts

Wendel, Viktor Matthias (2015)
Collaborative Game-based Learning - Automatized Adaptation Mechanics for Game-based Collaborative Learning using Game Mastering Concepts.
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Dissertation, Erstveröffentlichung

Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract)

Learning and playing represent two core aspects of the information and communication society nowadays. Both issues are subsumed in Digital Education Games, one major field of Serious Games. Serious Games combine concepts of gaming with a broad range of application fields: among others, educational sectors and training or health and sports, but also marketing, advertisement, political education, and other societally relevant areas such as climate, energy, and safety. This work focuses on collaborative learning games, which are Digital Educational Games that combine concepts from collaborative learning with game concepts and technology.

Although Digital Educational Games represent a promising addition to existing learning and teaching methods, there are different challenges opposing their application. The tension between a game that is supposed to be fun and the facilitation of serious content constitutes a central challenge to game design. The often high technical complexity and especially the instructors' lack of control over the game represent further challenges. Beyond that, the distinct heterogeneity of learners who often have different play styles, states of knowledge, learning speed, and soft skills, such as teamwork or communication skills, forms a pivotal problem. Apart from that, the vital role of the instructor needs to be taken into account.

Within the scope of this dissertation, the problems mentioned above are analyzed, concepts to solve them introduced, and methods developed to address them. The first major contribution contains the conceptualization of a framework for adaptation of collaborative multiplayer games as well as for the control of those games at run-time through an instructor using the Game Master principle. The core concept hereby addresses the design of a model to represent heterogeneous groups and to represent collaborative Serious Games.

Based on that, a novel concept for adaptation of collaborative multiplayer games is developed, implemented, and evaluated. Automatic recognition and interpretation of game situations, as well as determination of the most well suited adaptation based on the recognized situations, is a major challenge here. Further, a concept is developed to integrate an instructor in a meaningful way into the course of the game, giving him/her the necessary resources to recognize problems and to intervene and adapt the game at run-time. Therefore, it will be taken into account that the elaborated concepts are applicable in a generic way independent of the underlying game.

The second major contribution of this work is the conceptualization and design of a simulation of players and learners in a collaborative multiplayer game that behave realistically based on a player, learner, and interaction model. This is supposed to enable an evaluation of the adaptation and Game Mastering concepts using freely configurable player and learner types.

The concepts introduced and developed within this thesis have been thoroughly evaluated using a twofold approach. As a test environment, a collaborative multiplayer Serious Game was designed and implemented. Within that simulation environment, the developed Game Mastering and adaptation concepts were assessed and tested with large sets of virtual learners. Additionally, the concepts were evaluated with real users. Therefore, two different evaluation studies with a total of 60 participants were conducted.

The results of the conducted evaluations help to broaden the areas of application of Serious Games as well as to improve their applicability, hence raising acceptance among instructors. The models, architectures, and software solutions developed within this thesis thus build a foundation for further research of multiplayer Serious Games.

Typ des Eintrags: Dissertation
Erschienen: 2015
Autor(en): Wendel, Viktor Matthias
Art des Eintrags: Erstveröffentlichung
Titel: Collaborative Game-based Learning - Automatized Adaptation Mechanics for Game-based Collaborative Learning using Game Mastering Concepts
Sprache: Englisch
Referenten: Steinmetz, Prof. Dr. Ralf ; Effelsberg, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang
Publikationsjahr: 2015
Ort: Darmstadt
Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 17 April 2015
URL / URN: http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/4654
Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract):

Learning and playing represent two core aspects of the information and communication society nowadays. Both issues are subsumed in Digital Education Games, one major field of Serious Games. Serious Games combine concepts of gaming with a broad range of application fields: among others, educational sectors and training or health and sports, but also marketing, advertisement, political education, and other societally relevant areas such as climate, energy, and safety. This work focuses on collaborative learning games, which are Digital Educational Games that combine concepts from collaborative learning with game concepts and technology.

Although Digital Educational Games represent a promising addition to existing learning and teaching methods, there are different challenges opposing their application. The tension between a game that is supposed to be fun and the facilitation of serious content constitutes a central challenge to game design. The often high technical complexity and especially the instructors' lack of control over the game represent further challenges. Beyond that, the distinct heterogeneity of learners who often have different play styles, states of knowledge, learning speed, and soft skills, such as teamwork or communication skills, forms a pivotal problem. Apart from that, the vital role of the instructor needs to be taken into account.

Within the scope of this dissertation, the problems mentioned above are analyzed, concepts to solve them introduced, and methods developed to address them. The first major contribution contains the conceptualization of a framework for adaptation of collaborative multiplayer games as well as for the control of those games at run-time through an instructor using the Game Master principle. The core concept hereby addresses the design of a model to represent heterogeneous groups and to represent collaborative Serious Games.

Based on that, a novel concept for adaptation of collaborative multiplayer games is developed, implemented, and evaluated. Automatic recognition and interpretation of game situations, as well as determination of the most well suited adaptation based on the recognized situations, is a major challenge here. Further, a concept is developed to integrate an instructor in a meaningful way into the course of the game, giving him/her the necessary resources to recognize problems and to intervene and adapt the game at run-time. Therefore, it will be taken into account that the elaborated concepts are applicable in a generic way independent of the underlying game.

The second major contribution of this work is the conceptualization and design of a simulation of players and learners in a collaborative multiplayer game that behave realistically based on a player, learner, and interaction model. This is supposed to enable an evaluation of the adaptation and Game Mastering concepts using freely configurable player and learner types.

The concepts introduced and developed within this thesis have been thoroughly evaluated using a twofold approach. As a test environment, a collaborative multiplayer Serious Game was designed and implemented. Within that simulation environment, the developed Game Mastering and adaptation concepts were assessed and tested with large sets of virtual learners. Additionally, the concepts were evaluated with real users. Therefore, two different evaluation studies with a total of 60 participants were conducted.

The results of the conducted evaluations help to broaden the areas of application of Serious Games as well as to improve their applicability, hence raising acceptance among instructors. The models, architectures, and software solutions developed within this thesis thus build a foundation for further research of multiplayer Serious Games.

Alternatives oder übersetztes Abstract:
Alternatives AbstractSprache

Lernen und Spielen stellen zwei zentrale Aspekte der heutigen Informations- und Kommunikationsgesellschaft dar. Diese beiden Themen werden im Kontext von Serious Games unter dem Begriff 'digitale Lernspiele' zusammengefasst. Serious Games kombinieren spielerische Konzepte mit einem breiten Anwendungsbereich, darunter unter anderem der Bildungssektor, Training, Gesundheit und Sport, aber auch Marketing, Werbung, politische Bildung und andere gesellschaftlich relevante Themen wie Klima, Energie, oder Sicherheit. Im Fokus dieser Arbeit stehen dabei kollaborative Lernspiele, also digitale Lernspiele, die eine Kombination aus den Konzepten des kollaborativen Lernens und Spielekonzepten darstellen.

Obwohl digitale Lernspiele eine vielversprechende Ergänzung der existierenden Lehrmethoden darstellen, gibt es verschiedene Herausforderungen, die ihrem Einsatz im Wege stehen. Die Spannung zwischen einem Spiel, das Spass macht und der Vermittlung von Lernen durch ein Spiel stellt eine zentrale Herausforderung an das Game Design dar. Die oft hohe technische Komplexität oder insbesondere die mangelnde Kontrolle der Lehrenden über das Spielgeschehen sind weitere zentrale Herausforderungen. Darüber hinaus stellt die Heterogenität der Lernenden, die unterschiedliche Spielpräferenzen, Lernstände, Lerngeschwindigkeiten, sowie Soft Skills wie Teamwork und Kommunikationsfähigkeiten vorweisen ein wichtiges Problem dar. Außerdem muss der zentralen Rolle des Lehrenden in kollaborativen Lernszenarien Rechnung getragen werden.

Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation werden die oben genannten Probleme analysiert und Methoden und Konzepte zu deren Lösung erarbeitet und vorgestellt. Der erste Beitrag umfasst hierbei die Konzeption eines Frameworks zur Adaption von kollaborativen multiplayer Spielen sowie deren Leitung durch einen Lehrenden zur Laufzeit nach dem Game Master Prinzip. Dies beinhaltet die Modellbildung zur Darstellung heterogener Gruppen und kollaborativer Lernspiele.

Darauf aufbauend wird ein neuartiges Konzept zur Adaption von kollaborativen multiplayer Spielen entwickelt, umgesetzt und evaluiert. Die Herausforderung hierbei ist das automatische Erkennen und Interpretieren der im Spiel vorliegenden Situationen und basierend auf den vorliegegenden Situationen die am besten geeignete Adaption zu ermitteln, die den Charakteristiken der Spieler Rechnung trägt. Weiterhin wird ein Konzept erarbeitet, um einen Lehrenden sinnvoll in den Spielablauf zu integrieren, diesem die notwendigen Mittel zur Erkennung von Problemen und zum Eingreifen und Adaptieren des Spielablaufs zur Verfügung zu stellen. Dabei soll darauf geachtet werden, dass die erarbeiteten Konzepte m{\"o}glichst generisch einsetzbar sind unabhängig vom zugrunde liegenden Spiel.

Der zweite wesentliche Beitrag dieser Dissertation ist die Konzeption und das Design einer Simulation von Spielern und Lernern in kollaborativen multiplayer Spielen, die sich basierend auf einem Spieler-, Lerner, und Interaktionsmodell realistisch verhalten. Dieses soll es ermöglichen, die Adaptions- und Game Mastering-Konzepte mit frei konfigurierbaren Spieler- und Lernertypen zu evaluieren.

Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit vorgestellten und entwickelten Konzepte wurden auf zweifache Art und Weise evaluiert. Dazu wurde als Testumgebung ein kollaboratives multiplayer Spiel entworfen und implementiert und die entwickelten Game Mastering und Adaptionskonzepte in einer ersten Studie anhand dieses Spieles unter Verwendung einer großen Menge von virtuellen Lernern evaluiert. Darüber hinaus wurden zwei Evaluationsstudien mit insgesamt 60 Teilnehmern durchgeführt um die Konzepte mit realen Anwendern zu testen und bewerten.

Die Ergebnisse der durchgeführten Evaluationen tragen dazu bei, die Anwendungsgebiete von Serious Games zu erweitern und deren Anwendbarkeit zu verbessern und damit die Akzeptanz unter Lehrenden und Lernenden zu erhöhen. Die entwickelten Modelle, Architekturen, und Softwarelösungen stellen somit eine Grundlage für die weitergehende Forschung von multiplayer Serious Games dar.

Deutsch
Freie Schlagworte: Serious Games, Game Mastering, Adaptation
URN: urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-46541
Sachgruppe der Dewey Dezimalklassifikatin (DDC): 000 Allgemeines, Informatik, Informationswissenschaft > 004 Informatik
600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und Maschinenbau
Fachbereich(e)/-gebiet(e): 18 Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik > Institut für Datentechnik > Multimedia Kommunikation
18 Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik
18 Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik > Institut für Datentechnik
Hinterlegungsdatum: 26 Jul 2015 19:55
Letzte Änderung: 26 Jul 2015 19:55
PPN:
Referenten: Steinmetz, Prof. Dr. Ralf ; Effelsberg, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang
Datum der mündlichen Prüfung / Verteidigung / mdl. Prüfung: 17 April 2015
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