Application Subject / Seminar Serious Games
The application subject / seminar Serious Games is offered jointly to students of computer science and psychology. The event allows students to develop and evaluate serious games themselves in interdisciplinary teams.
In the seminar part, relevant game development topics from computer science and psychology are compiled and presented. The subsequent project part will see the teams independently design ideas for serious games, which are then implemented and evaluated in the following semester.
Authority:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Weber
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Claudia Schrader
Julia Brich
Katja Rogers
Julian Frommel
Valentin Riemer
Duration: 2 semesters / Begin: summer term / 4 SWS
For more details, please look up the current teaching page at the Institute of Media Informatics.
Further information can be found the module guides of computer science and psychology.
Projects from the application subject 2014/15:
Lengua Drive: „Lengua Drive“ is a dexterity game that intends to support players in improving their knowledge of the Spanish language. The use of the newly learned vocabulary is practised and automated in a game-like and competitive environment. |
The player drives his game character - a car - on a three-lane street, and chooses from among three Spanish translations for a given German word. This valorizes the educational content which might otherwise be perceived as holding little entertainment value. The game offers a reward system for high amounts of correctly translated words, and a competitive mode. This motivates the player to continue playing, and to continually improve. "Lengua Drive" combines the learning aspect of vocabulary exercises with the proven motivation mechanics of many dexterity / casual games.
Link to the video
Link to the homepage
LeberDefense is a serious game in the style of the popular tower defense genre. The game focuses on a part of the human liver, wherein various chemical elements traverse the game field via a bloodstream. |
The player is responsible for assigning bordering liver cells a number of functions, i.e. breaking down or transforming the incoming chemical elements. The learning goal of LeberDefense consists of teaching the basic functionality of the human liver, for example the manufactore and storage of glucose, as well as the dismantling of ammonia or other harmful substances.
The game also examines the psychological research question in how far different grades of control influence the affective state and learning progress of players.
Link to the video Link to the homepage
UniRallye: The tool "Uni Rallye" allows players to explore and discover Ulm University competitively. Multiple players compete for a prize; augmented reality techniques are used to offer tips, rewards, and navigational help. |
The educational content consists of spatial orientation at the University, i.e. succesfully finding routes from points of departure to specific destination points, as well as important points of interest for everyday university life.