Finding relaxation in video games: Important Aspects and their Application to the Game 'Dream'

Hintergrund

When Sony released a new game called “Flower” in 2009, they introduced a new gaming genre called “Zen Gaming” which formed a new spectrum for gaming experience. Jehova Chen, creator of Thatgamecompany and also developer of „Flower“, created the game called flOw in 2006 which set a milestone for this new gaming genre. Since then, many successful games joined the new genre and brought with them the aspect of relaxation while playing. In this master thesis, the aspects which are important for developing a game which can suffice the combination of relaxation and entertainment shall be introduced, analyzed and applied to a short game. It shall be based on Mihaly Csikszentmihaly's introduction of the Flow Theory and include all factors which prevent the game from being boring or too challenging. A pre-evaluation in terms of an expert interview shall therefore find out the basic aspects for relaxation on which grounds the game will be developed. In addition, a concluding evaluation of this game shall be executed to either approve or disapprove the effect of relaxation.

Zielsetzung der Arbeit

In this master thesis, two main challenges shall be tackled: 1. Creating a game, which includes all three main factors of the Flow Chart of Csikszentmihaly in addition to being relaxing 2. Finding out important aspects who support relaxation in video games (e.g. sound design, colour schemes, level design…)

Konkrete Aufgaben

Nach Absprache mit dem Betreuer.

Erwartete Vorkenntnisse

Unity 3D-Modellierung

Weiterführende Quellen

Nach Absprache mit dem Betreuer.