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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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.