This thesis describes the process of creating 3D game characters intended for low-end devices such as tablets and smartphones. It was part of a project for a client of the company Conceptlicious.

Video games have the potential to educate and engage people—especially young people—in climate change and energy issues by facilitating the development of helpful thoughts, feelings, and actions. The objective of the present article is to propose a set of game attributes that could maximise the cognitive, …

Design research is used to develop a piano method for use by Cochlear Implant users. The method is designed to promote audiomotor integration rather than visuomotor integration, but will not involve singing. It is based on our current understanding of brain function, in particular the concepts of the …

Videogames have become educational, communicative and social tools among the young, favouring the acquisition of skills, abilities and values, encompassing an endless number of themes, and helping them to experience and to face, in the first person, a great diversity of environmental situations and ecology …

Deciding what kind of smart cities do we, as a society, want is not only a political question but also a matter of envisioning possible futures. The speculative narratives that designers produce to support their imagination are called "Design Fictions." We share SUBMERGED, a cross-platform project that …

There is an urgent need to curb emissions and mitigate climate change, and this fight requires a change in teenagers’ attitudes. In search of new approaches targeting youth, online games are seen as a promising tool for communication and education. Using the serious game 2020 Energy as a case study, …

If we want game-based learning to make learning enjoyable as well as effective and efficient, we need to increase learner's awareness of and ability in learning itself. At the heart of learning is metacognition: a learner's understanding of how knowledge is constructed through learning, and the repertoire …

In this work, we trace and analyze some production and design choices taken during the developing of Progetto Ustica: a serious game about memory. The game tells the story of the Itavia civilian flight shot down over the Mediterranean Sea, near the island of Ustica, on June 27th, 1980. We aim at discussing …

Playfulness intertwined with city-related themes, such as participatory planning and civic media are becoming more popular. In the last ten years, game designers have taken up the theme of play in relation to the urban environment. In this paper, we present a conceptual mapping of “urban play,” through …

Smart tangible toys, designed for hand manipulation, can transform fine motor skills assessment into enjoyable activities which are engaging for children to play (partially) unsupervised. Such toys can support school teachers and parents for early detection of deficiencies in motor skills development …