http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381876 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381876 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381876 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381877
The relationship between the brain and music represents a fundamental field for investigation in HCI (human-computer interaction), for example, in games, virtual reality, and digital entertainment, due to the impact of music on human experience, emotions, and cognitive processes. For a low cost and the possibility of real-time analysis, the brain computer Interface (BCI) offers the potential for using music in HCI-related applications, as in games and entertainment. In many studies related to music and the brain, BCI devices have been used both for psychological aims and for neuro-feedback-based therapy. In our work we focus on the possibility of enabling users to consciously play a specific musical note through low-cost BCI devices by reading subjects' brainwaves under a combined paradigm of audio, gesture, and visual stimuli.]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381877 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381878
This article describes the analysis of a simple, free-to-play real-time strategy (RTS) game called Pixel Legions. In developing this analysis, we worked with the developer to instrument, collect, and analyze telemetry data. The game design questions examined constitute macro- and micro-level analysis. We used pre-existing statistical and visualization tools to examine the macro-level questions. However, micro-level analysis was more game-specific, which required us to develop a novel visualization system to answer these questions in a way that is easy for the designer to understand.]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381878 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381879
Visual mixed and augmented realities have historically been applied to the gaming application domain. This article provides a survey of visual mixed and augmented reality gaming in both the academic and commercial contexts. There is an exploration of both indoor and outdoor mixed and augmented reality gaming. The different games are presented via the three major display technologies: head-mounted display, handheld display, and spatial immersive display. A number of academic mixed and augmented reality research projects are described that provide an overview of the current state of the art.]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381879 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381880
Modern massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) allow hundreds of thousands of players to interact with a large, dynamic virtual world. Implementing a scalable MMOG service is challenging because the system is subject to high workload variability, but nevertheless must always operate under very strict quality of service (QoS) requirements. Traditionally, MMOG services are implemented as large dedicated IT infrastructures with aggressive over-provisioning of resources in order to cope with the worst-case workload scenario. In this article we address the problem of building a large-scale, multitier MMOG service using resources provided by a Cloud computing infrastructure. The Cloud paradigm allows customers to request as many resources as they need using a pay-as-you-go model.]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381880 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2381881
In massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) there is a great demand for high bandwidth connections with irregular access patterns. Such irregular demand is because players, who can vary from a few hundred to several tens of thousands, often occupy the virtual environment of the game in different ways with varying densities. Hence there is a great need for decentralized architectures with multiple servers that employ load-balancing algorithms to manage regions of the virtual environment. In such systems, each player only connects to the server that manages the region where the player's avatar is located, whereas each server is responsible for mediating the interaction between all pairs of players connected to it.]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT 2381881