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‘Don’t feed the trolls’ is often seen around the internet. What is a troll? What is trolling? What’s the difference between a kudos troll and a flame troll? What do they eat and what should/shouldn’t we feed them? Join us as we chat to Dr Evita March to try and answer some of these questions. … Continue reading "S2E2: Trolling w/ Dr Evita March"

Gamification is a trendy topic at the moment with all sorts of companies ‘borrowing’ techniques from games, such as leaderboards, badges and points to motivate people to do things. We talk to Dr Zac Fitz-Walter who recently got his PhD in gamification. Show Notes: Zac’s website – Gamification Geek Black Mirror – Nosedive S3E1 – … Continue reading "S2E1: Gamification w/ Dr Zac Fitz-Walter"

Sea Hero Quest is a highly polished mobile game that aims to help researchers gather data to fight the onset of dementia by testing people’s sense of direction and spatial awareness. We talk through how the developers and researchers have managed to bring big data to the table while maintaining an enjoyable experience for gamers … Continue reading "S1E9: Sea Hero Quest"

This episode we jump down the rabbit hole and peer at our world through the lens of alternate reality games. Whether it’s celebrating and collaborating with a fandom or asking us to empathise with refugees, alternate reality games give us the opportunity to suspend our disbelief and step through the looking glass. Shownotes: Some ARG … Continue reading "S1E8: Alternate Reality Games"

This episode we explore simulations, an incredibly important scientific tool to explore answers to questions that may be dangerous, fiddly, or expensive to perform. Since games often pride themselves on being ultra-realistic, we take a look at where games have led to some interesting discoveries or behaviours through their sim success. Shownotes: TraumaFX Sim Bodies … Continue reading "S1E7: Simulations vs. Games"

Modern games have often made a point of pride in how well they can simulate environments. With climate science an increasing focus in our changing world, how are games encouraging players to engage in their world rather than taking it for granted? And what happens when researchers turn to games to simulate ecosystem outcomes? Shownotes: … Continue reading "S1E6: Virtual Ecosystems"

Think of a scientist, and what do you see? Are they an older person, male, with a white lab coat and frizzy hair? If so, you might be a game developer. Scientists have often suffered from the same narrow stereotyping that so often afflicts races, occupations, and entire cultures within games. In this episode we … Continue reading "S1E5: Scientists In Games"

Digital goods and virtual currency, but very real profits. Mobile gaming has lead a data-driven approach to figuring out exactly how to hook players into spending money. We look at some of the methods used to keep your eyes on the screen. Shownotes: Quantity Discounts on Virtual Good paper by Levitt et al. Drawing Causal … Continue reading "S1E4: Mobile Mind Games"

Virtual reality (VR) offers a lot: immersion, unrivalled interaction, and the promise of endless vistas to explore and enjoy. But could it also offer the cure for what ails you? We talk through some extremely surprising (and uplifting) medicinal applications for VR. Shownotes: VR as a distraction during operations; Overcoming phobias or PTSD with VR … Continue reading "S1E3: Medicinal VR"

Egg boxes and lasers and qubits, oh my! We talk about quantum mechanics and the basis of design of citizen science quantum computer simulator, Quantum Moves. Included in the discussion are the places where humans do well versus computers, failing forward, and the meta game of studying how we learn. Shownotes: Play Quantum Moves over at … Continue reading "S1E2: Quantum Moves"