a videogame perspective, decision-making is a crucial activity that takes place at all times and at different levels of perception. Moreover, this process influences the gamers' performances, which is an interesting feature for RPGs as they are games that are able to work as tools for increasing the improvement of the proximal development zones of players due to their inherent trait of cooperat...

Multi-player Role-Playing Games form rare examples of interactive, collaborative storytelling systems, especially within the tabletop format. However, despite recent advances in the theory and general knowledge of the field, models of the operation of the storytelling process in multi-player nondigital role-playing games remains relatively unspecific. In this paper, a critical synthesis of the ...

Bot detection is an emerging problem in social games that requires different approaches from those used in massively multi-player online games (MMOGs). We focus on mouse selections as a key element of bot detection. We hypothesize that certain interface elements result in predictable differences in mouse selections, which we call spatial game signatures, and that those signatures can be used to...

In this paper a collaborative game for children is used to explore touch-point overloading on a multi-touch tabletop. Understanding the occurrence of new interactional limitations, such as the situation of touch-point overloading in a multi-touch interface, is highly relevant for interaction designers working with emerging technologies. The game was designed for the Microsoft Surface 1.0 and du...

Online gaming is a convergence industry segment with a proven revenue model and an existing user base. Inserting advertisements in games provides another revenue opportunity for the game designer and service providers. Virtual advertisement is the method of inserting advertisements into the game in a non-obstructive way. For online game service providers, changing these virtual advertisement sc...

In this paper we present a novel hardware and software platform (STARS) to realize computer augmented tabletop games that unify the strengths of traditional board games and computer games. STARS game applications preserve the social situation of traditional board games and provide a tangible interface with physical playing pieces to facilitate natural interaction. The virtual game components of...

Tabletop role-playing games are a collaborative narrative experience. Throughout gaming sessions, Ambient music and noises are frequently used to enrich and facilitate the narration. With AmbiDice we introduce a tangible interface and music generator specially devised for this application scenario. We detail the technical implementation of the device, the software architecture of the music syst...

Careful character design is a way to strengthen a role-playing game experience. Well-defined characters that are consistently communicated to players are an important ingredient in a potentially successful game. In this paper I will explore the important aspects in a character, those that support and make character immersion possible. My starting point is that in a role-playing game posing as s...

In respect to a state-of-the-art on intelligent tabletop games, this paper introduces a novel challenge that is the creation of a flexible and interactive tabletop framework in which game rules are redefinable by players at any instant of the game. This article discusses the importance of this aspect in the acceptance and personalization of the game, which is a key feature for the players’ soci...