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New understandings of player agency used to improve digital games

Summary of the impact

Research on forms of agency in digital games has been directly applied to major game releases in Facebook and social-mobile development, demonstrating substantial and measurable commercial impact with global potential within a highly competitive industry. Specific research insights have affected key aspects of the design of individual games, resulting in higher than usual success rates for the titles involved. These insights have also improved the playing experiences of large numbers of players, as demonstrated by the level of take-up, creating a broader cultural impact. The impact is significant, in substantially improving the performance of games, and has extensive reach via the numbers of players who have benefited from an improved experience.

To date the research has had impact on more than one million players and helped to secure multiple contracts worth more than £2 million for the British game company Mediatonic. It has the potential (based on the user-bases of the companies involved) to reach more than 300 million users. Social-mobile games are at the forefront of the contemporary games industry. Mediatonic is a world leader in this form of gaming and this research has substantially influenced the company's design strategy.

Submitting Institution

Brunel University

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media
Language, Communication and Culture: Communication and Media Studies

Videogames and the cultures of play

Summary of the impact

This case study refers to a body of research on videogame studies conducted by James Newman. Since 2002, Newman's work has been at the forefront of international research on videogames. His work on fan cultures, media history and preservation led to collaborations with the international videogames industry and cultural heritage sector partners and the foundation of The National Videogame Archive (2008). Newman's public engagement and knowledge exchange activity have explicated the complexities of game studies and game preservation for a variety of audiences including the heritage and museums sector and development community.

Submitting Institution

Bath Spa University

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies

Serious Games Innovation and Business Engagement

Summary of the impact

The key impacts of the research into the non-entertainment use of computer games technology and virtual worlds at the Serious Games Institute (SGI) have been:

  • Economic and commercial impacts on various stakeholders
  • Impacts on practitioners, professional services, public understanding and public debate

The reach of these impacts extends to partners both within the UK and overseas. Beneficiaries include companies, health professionals, educators, young people and their parents.

Submitting Institution

Coventry University

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy

Making Games: empowering pupils to design their own digital games

Summary of the impact

MissionMaker is an innovative tool developed by IOE researchers in partnership with a software publisher which allows children and young people to make sophisticated 3D computer games without having programming knowledge. It has expanded thinking about games as an art form and children's ability to make and understand their structures, and has challenged stereotypes about games as `gendered' toys. It is endorsed by examination boards and used in hundreds of schools and centres throughout the UK and internationally. Designed in consultation with pupils and teachers, it encourages creative and strategic thinking in the English and Media curriculum in respect of games, which have received scant attention in school curricula.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media

Game Audio Research and Curriculum impact

Summary of the impact

The research of Richard Stevens and Dave Raybould has had significant worldwide impact on the curricula for, and teaching of, audio for video games. The research conducted by, and under the stewardship of, Stevens by the IASIG's education working group defines the scope of this new discipline and outlines the syllabi required to meet the needs of the economically powerful computer games industry. Based upon this framework, and including additional research into specific creative and technical practices, Stevens and Raybould's book `The Game Audio Tutorial' (Focal Press) has become a core text for both game audio and game design programmes.

Submitting Institution

Leeds Metropolitan University

Unit of Assessment

Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Information Systems
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media

Economic, Societal and Policy Impact of ICTE Research Centre

Summary of the impact

The ICTE Research Centre at UWS has transformed the way advanced technologies are used as tools within education and training, covering a range of sectors across Europe, and has contributed to policy formation, economic impact and benefits to society. Focussing on Web 2.0 technologies and specifically serious games, underpinning technologies have been applied to a range of educational disciplines at all levels of education and within organisations. External engagement has ranged from the level of individual teachers to the level of regional and national policy, and individual partner organisations have benefited economically from adopting and adapting these underpinning technologies.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of Scotland

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Designing Virtual Worlds

Summary of the impact

Professor Richard Bartle's `player types' model outlines the types of players who play Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Critically, his research shows that for MMORPGs to remain sustainable, the virtual worlds in which they are set must appeal to a balance of these different types of players. This insight enables commercial developers to design games that have broader and more sustainable appeal. Bartle's work has been widely adopted across the MMORPG industry and the principles of his research have informed the development of numerous games, a notable example being BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bartle's work is credited as a key influence in transforming the online games sector from niche to mainstream.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems

Transforming Theatre, Games and Television

Summary of the impact

The Mixed Reality Laboratory (MRL) has collaborated with the artists Blast Theory to transform UK theatre and drive innovation in games and television. The underlying research was published as a series of papers in ACM Transactions on CHI and at the ACM's CHI conference between 2003 and 2012, with two CHI papers winning best paper awards. By creating and touring a series of innovative and technically advanced performances, we have enriched cultural life and influenced a rising generation of UK artists. By then jointly collaborating with companies such as Microsoft, Sony, Nokia and the BBC, we have innovated new games and television formats. Evidence of this impact is to be found in: performances touring to 40 venues in 18 countries to be experienced by over 200,000 people; 160 reviews in international press; artistic and industry awards; direct involvement of industry partners in follow-on commercial projects; and consultancy.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Information Systems
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media

Impact in the games industry from practice based research in sound design and soundtrack

Summary of the impact

Baysted's creative research practice in composition and sound design culminated in a critically acclaimed and globally distributed commercial racing simulation game. The impacts of this research are worldwide commercial success, enhancement of the user (gamer) experience and the stimulation of public debate and discourse. Evidence is provided in terms of computer games sales, professional and amateur review.

Submitting Institution

University of Chichester

Unit of Assessment

Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
Medical and Health Sciences: Neurosciences
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media

Using interaction technologies to help people tackle the effects of stroke and other impairments

Summary of the impact

Our research studies demonstrate the efficacy of using Interactive Systems in cognitive and functional rehabilitation, including working memory, functional skills, choice reaction time, decision making and upper limb function. Stroke is the third most common disease in the UK with over 100,000 cases annually costing the UK economy £8.9 billion/year, and around 25/1000 people have mild or moderate Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in the UK. Our research has changed practice in schools, improved the employment skills of people with disabilities, informed standards, helped sustain a social enterprise, and has influenced the way practitioners across the EU conduct their own vocational training.

Submitting Institution

Nottingham Trent University

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

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