https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/77108 2026-04-11T07:43:10Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78611 Title: Culture in play digitization of a traditional game Abstract: When approaching play and games. it is relevant to understand how their creation, consumption, and diffusior. can be influenced by broader contexts. Forerunners of game studies such as Johan Hunzinga and Roger Caillois hypothesized a very deep connection between play and culture, seeing them as complementary. Many other scholars investigated the topic since then, often recognizing that play and games can be expressions of different cultures, or that their effective understanding is rooted in socially shared meaning. Culture has been defined by Geert Hofstede as a mental programing, a software of the mind that includes all the patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting established within a person's mind. Description: M.SC.DIGITAL GAMES 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78609 Title: Using open data and player profiling to create data games catered to the player Abstract: In this study we set out to try and create an Adaptive Data Game. A data game is game that allows its players to explore open data by transforming that data into game content that the player is able to interact with. The problem with data games is that sometimes the data is too hard for the player to understand without some kind of prior knowledge of the dataset. To solve this problem we want the game to only present the player with data which that he/she can understand and prevent the player from becoming frustrated or bored. Description: M.SC.DIGITAL GAMES 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78213 Title: Spectrum : exploring the effects of player experience of game design Abstract: When dealing with game design there are a plethora of different aspects to consider. Amongst these influences of the subject of Player Experience, which as its name implies, is concerned with the resultant thoughts, sensations and emotions that a player feels while playing a game. Description: M.SC.DIGITAL GAMES 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78210 Title: Unfamiliar game design : using defamiliarization to provoke critical reflection in game design Abstract: Defamiliarization is the art of seeing things anew by making the familiar look strange. True to its name, defamiliarization has been applied under different guises in areas such as literature, theatre and domestic technologies, and while the methods applied differ in form, the aspiration to change the way we see things remains central to its premise. Reflection as understood by Schon is the belief that learning is achieved through active engagement, useful not only in pedagogical settings but also for design practitioners who want to expand their abilities and perception of their practice. Both of these concepts have been applied in some way or another to game design but rarely together, even less so as formal methodologies. Games are ideal incubators for change and reflection, however the globalised game landscape seems to favour mainstream values such as the commercialisation of creativity and designing for the "generic player", over the playful discovery of something new and different. Drawing on literature ranging from defamiliarization methods to game design strategies, an experiment I conducted with a card game especially designed for game ideation and the results obtained from two workshops, I propose unfamiliar game design an experimental practice of using defamiliarization to design reflective and playful exercises for game designers. Description: M.SC.DIGITAL GAMES 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z