Finding of the week #109

Veröffentlicht am 18. April 2015 von Sebbi

Falcon 9 First Stage – Second Landing Attempt

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about SpaceX’s second attempt of landing the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket on a barge.

After a one day weather delay, SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft on top of a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit on Tuesday. The Dragon cargo craft itself is loaded with 2.2 tons of supplies and experiments heading for the International Space Station. About 9 minutes after liftoff, the Dragon was deployed into a stable orbit around the Earth and unfurled its solar arrays.

While the Dragon cargo craft was deployed into its initial orbit, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket was descending back to Earth. Normally, the first stage of a rocket is used only once, falls back to Earth after it is burned out and plunges into an ocean. However, SpaceX works on a concept to reuse the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket to reduce the launch costs. SpaceX’s final goal is to return the first stage back to a safe landing area next to the launch pad after the stage has completed its job.

Currently, SpaceX evaluates the rocket’s descent system and tries to land the booster on a stationary platform in the Atlantic Ocean. For this purpose, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket was equipped with four landing struts, variable thrust engines and aerodynamic girder fins in order to control the descent back to Earth.

Tuesday’s launch marked the second time SpaceX has tried to land a Falcon 9 first stage on a barge. The first attempt to land the booster after a launch on January 10th worked nearly perfect until the aerodynamic girder fins ran out of hydraulic fluid just before the landing and, as a result of this, the first stage crashed on the barge.

This second attempt was almost successful and the first stage managed to land on the platform. However, the first stage had some lateral momentum at the moment of the landing. Although the thrusters tried to stabilize the rocket after touch down, the horizontal momentum was too strong and the booster flipped over resulting in an explosion.

SpaceX came one step closer to their goal of making the launcher’s first stage reusable.

Finding of the week #108

Veröffentlicht am 11. April 2015 von Sebbi

Game Control Standards

This week: This time, I continue think about the different ways of controlling a computer game and why it might be important to come up with a new control device.

In Finding of the week #107, I wrote about the innovative game mechanic of selectively controlling the arms of B.U.D. in Grow Home. Furthermore, I wrote about the control standards of computer games and how gamers got used to navigate through the virtual worlds by harnessing their mouses and keyboards.

These control standards are an ideal solution for the majority of the current games. It becomes almost natural to move through the virtual world via keyboard inputs, while looking around or focussing on one spot is performed with the mouse. Additionally, the mouse buttons are used to trigger certain events like activating switches or shooting a weapon. Some computer games are played from a static camera angle and can be even played without the mouse or with a game pad.

However, there are also some games that utilize different control standards that allow the precise control of special parts. These games are mostly simulation games such as flight simulators or racing simulations. Players of these simulation games like to accurately control their vehicles and enjoy playing these games with special devices like a joystick or a racing wheel. The simulation control standards allow the direct control of all the different elements of the simulated vehicle like all the different aerodynamic control surfaces of an airplane.

Apart from these simulation games, most games realize movement as a continous flow that is triggered by keeping one key pressed. Players do not need to seperately control the different body parts of their avatars. They just need to trigger a certain activity in order to fully perform it inside the game.

Innovative games like Grow Home demonstrate the limitations of the control standards. Controlling both arms of B.U.D. via the two main mouse buttons works well, but it is still a strange feeling of utilizing both of his arms with only one hand. The developers of this game recommend playing it with a game pad. This allows the control of each arm with the respective hand, but it is still a step away from becoming a natural feeling.

Grow Home has presented a new way of interacting with the game world. Now, I am looking forward how this approach will evoke some new control devices that allow a more realistic control of our virtual avatars.

Finding of the week #107

Veröffentlicht am 4. April 2015 von Sebbi

Arm Control

This week: This time, I think about the game mechanic of being required to selectively control the arms of B.U.D. in Grow Home.

Computer game players control the actions of their avatars during the gameplay of a computer game. In most of the cases, the avatars can walk, run, jump, croach, climb, carry around objects or activate switches in the game world. Instead of being required to control the avatar’s limbs, the players just have to press the respective key in order to perform these actions with the own avatar.

Although the avatar control is not a full body control, it never felt strange to me. The reason for this could be that all of these activities are daily life activities and they are normally performed without a conscious effort. Our own decision to perform one of these activities subconsciously triggers the execution of it. Controlling an avatar in a virtual world shares similarities with our own natural way of moving through the world.

Recently, I discovered the computer game „Grow Home“ and started playing it. In Grow Home, the player takes control over a droid called B.U.D. which has the task to grow a plant to a certain height by connecting its shoots with energy sources. The game is played from a third person perspective and follows to a certain degree the usual control standards. However, Grow Home introduces a new way of controlling the arms of B.U.D.. Players are required to selectively use the left or the right arm in order to climb up high walls or to carry around an item.

B.U.D.

Depending on the used peripherals, the player has to select the arm by pressing the respective key. In the case of playing the game with a keyboard and a mouse, the player has to press the left mouse button to activate the left arm and the right mouse button to activate the right arm. If the player likes to grab an item with B.U.D.’s left arm, he has to approach this item (pressing „W“ lets B.U.D. move forward) and then press the left mouse button in order to finally grab the item.

Climbing up a wall requires the timed combination of both armes while performing a forward motion which is initiated by keeping the W key pressed. Furthermore, the player has to make sure that B.U.D. has always a firm grip at the wall. In order to climb up a wall, the player starts with pressing the left mouse button when B.U.D. stands in front of a wall in order to grab it with the left arm. Subsequently, he starts to move upward by pressing the W key and finally he has to press the right mouse button in order to grab the wall at a higher position with the right arm. After having a firm grip with the right hand, the player can release B.U.D.’s left arm, move upward a bit and finally grab the wall with the left arm again. In summary, the activity of climbing upwards is performed by keeping the forward button pressed and alternating between the two arm control buttons. This special way of controlling B.U.D. can even allow the players to get into a state of „flow“.

Climbing in Grow Home.

At first, this new game mechanic of controlling B.U.D.’s arms felt a bit strange, but over time I got used to this mechanic and it even enhanced my experience of controlling an avatar in a computer game. Being required to actively alternate between B.U.D.’s two arms resulted in a completely new dimension of interacting with the virtual game world.

Finding of the week #106

Veröffentlicht am 28. März 2015 von Sebbi

Muscle Memory

This week: This time, I think about the importance of the muscle memory for the gameplay of computer games.

Muscle memory [1] is a special form of procedural memory [2] which involves internalizing motor tasks through repetition. After a long-term muscle memory is created for a certain task, the task can be performed without conscious effort. The process of internalizing motor tasks increases the efficiency by reducing the reaction time to a minimum.

This process can be explained with the process of upshifting a car. At first, we need to understand the utilization of the clutch and the gearshift. Over time, we start to internalize this process and upshifting becomes a natural process.

Muscle memory plays also a key role in typing on a keyboard as it helps us to focus on the content and limits the time we need to find the right keys on the keyboard. As we get used to write on a computer, typing on a keyboard becomes a natural process and we can use our brainpower to contextualize our thoughts.

Computer game players master the muscle memory of utilizing the keyboard as they are challenged by the games to react to a certain situation within a short amount of time. The player has to focus on the gameplay on the screen and has to react to the situation via inputs over the keyboard and the mouse. On the one hand, this process requires a good hand-eye-coordination, as the player has to perform precise inputs in order to exhaust the challenge. On the other hand, performing precise inputs in time can be only done if the process is a memorized task.

In most of the cases, the keyboard is used as an interface to control the own movement inside a computer game. The main movement inputs have become standardized across all computer games. Pressing „W“ results in a forward movement whereas pressing „S“ allows the players to move backwards. „A“ and „D“ are used for a movement to the left and to the right. Pressing the spacebar mostly triggers a jump in the game.

During the gameplay, computer game players constantly repeat these inputs to move through the virtual worlds. This leads to a highly developed muscle memory for these key movement actions. It becomes natural to the players to place their left hand on the keyboard with the fingertips on the W, A, S, D keys and the right hand on the mouse once they are entering the virtual world of a computer game. Inside such a virtual world, experienced computer gamers can perform precise movements without being required to look at the keyboard as they have completely internalized the utilization of the keyboard.

Recently, I was surprised as I observed that I place my hands on the mouse and on the keyboard with the fingertips on these important keys every time I want to do some work on my computer. Yep, I’m a gamer …

Finding of the week #105

Veröffentlicht am 21. März 2015 von Sebbi

Solar Eclipse

This week: This time, I think about yesterday’s solar eclipse.

Yesterday (March 20, 2015), a total solar eclipse occured over the Arctic Ocean and was visible from Svalbard and the Faroe Island. At the same time, sky watchers across Greenland, Iceland, Europe and Asia were able to observe a partial solar eclipse.

Watching the solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and (partially) blocks the Sun. This is only possible during a new moon when the Moon and the Sun are in conjunction as seen from Earth. Moreover, the Moon has to cross the Earth’s orbital plane, as the Moon’s orbit is inclined more than 5° to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

Solar eclipse over Berlin. Credit: E.W.O.

Personally, I think observing a solar eclipse is a very special moment as it is not only a very beautiful event, but it can also add a completely new dimension to the understanding of the planet’s motion as it visualizes the structure of our solar system.

Finding of the week #104

Veröffentlicht am 14. März 2015 von Sebbi

Stay Focused

This week: This time, I think about the way how computer games can help us to stay focused while performing activities which are requiring a multitasking skill.

Controlling vehicles demands in the most cases the ability to multitask. This can be as easy as driving a car at a constant speed while monitoring the traffic. On the other hand, it can be also as complex as performing a crosswind landing with an airplane.

All these activities require us to focus on the indications of certain instruments, to assess the current position of the vehicle and to monitor the environment. Moreover, we are required to perform certain interactions in order to successfully complete the activity. As an example, driving a car requires us to control the speed and to follow the course of the road.

Performing all these tasks at once needs a lot of practice and the ability to focus on the most critical elements of the activity. Driving at a constant speed can be achieved by monitoring the speedometer and reacting to the indications by increasing or decreasing the throttle. However, the driver has also to follow the course of the road and to monitor the traffic at the same time. This results in the demand of a multitasking ability in order to fulfill all the tasks at once. It requires an ability to constantly process the information in time, to make the right decision and to subsequently execute the decision.

Playing computer games can train such a multitasking ability. Simulation and action-based computer games often require the players to perform several tasks at once in order to successfully play the game. Especially simulation games are a great training environment for all these skills as these games require the players to monitor several indications at once. Furthermore, the players have to analyse these indications and give the right inputs based on their observations.

This can be explained with the landing of a spacecraft on a celestial body in Kerbal Space Program. This activity requires the players to monitor their altitude, their lateral and vertical velocities and the environment, so that their are not trying to land on a steep slope. Subsequently, the player has to process and analyse all these information in order to be able to make the correct decision. Finally, the player has to execute his decision by giving the right inputs.

Successful landing on Minmus

Playing these kinds of computer games on a regular basis can improve our multitasking ability. Moreover, it can help us to stay focused while performing a demanding activity as playing these games is also training our capacity to monitor several information at once.

Finding of the week #103

Veröffentlicht am 7. März 2015 von Sebbi

Five Swims in Antarctica

This week: This time, I think about the Five Swims expedition of Lewis Pugh to raise global attention for the Ross Sea.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an inspiring tweet from Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh):

What you do today is important, because you’re exchanging a day of your life for it.

— Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) February 17, 2015

After reading a few more of his tweets, I found out that he is currently on an expedition to do five swims in freezing Antartic waters merely wearing a Speedo swimming costume. At this point, he really got my attention and I visited his website (lewispugh.com) in order to learn more about his expedition and his goals.

There’s no easy way to start a swim in Antarctica pic.twitter.com/bOmtSi4XeO — Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) March 6, 2015

The goal for these ambitious five 1km swims in sub-zero waters is to gain global support for the Ross Sea to become a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Ross Sea is one of the most prestine marine ecosystems on Earth and also represents one of the last marine ecosystems in a near-natural state. However, this status is endangered as fishermen are now targeting the Antarctic toothfish. After only a few years of fishing, the toothfish population is reduced by a significant degree. This in return has a strong effect on the whole ecosystem of the Ross Sea. Humans have already caused severe damage to the ecosystem during the early 1900s as Blue Whales were hunted and now they are about to endanger the next species.

An MPA would protect this special marine ecosystem as it would limit the human interference. A Marine Protected Area is a geographically defined area that is protected for a conservation purpose. Unfortunately, the Ross Sea is not such an MPA. However, there is a proposal for a Ross Sea MPA with a size of 1.34 million km², but the motion to establish it has been held up by a lack of consensus of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Now, Lewis Pugh, United Nations Patron of the Oceans, likes to raise the attention to bring forth the establishment of a Ross Sea MPA by doing five swims in the freezing Antartic waters. He likes us to urge the CCAMLR nations to declare the Ross Sea as an MPA.

Completed the most southern swim. Terrifying conditions. This is my message. #5Swims pic.twitter.com/KgIyS0ev7k

— Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) March 2, 2015

A great project. We all should work together to protect the nature instead of finding new ways to exploit it.

Finding of the week #102

Veröffentlicht am 28. Februar 2015 von Sebbi

Enjoying the Nature

This week: This time, I think about the similar demands for exploring a virtual and a real forest.

Exploring the nature is one of my favorite hobbies. I like to hike through forests and to reach the peaks of mountains and hills in order to find amazing vantage points. Over time, I have developed a certain situational awareness and visual attention which help me to spot interesting features others might not notice.

After the sun has set.

The desire to explore the nature has also drawn my attention to „The Long Dark“, a survival computer game that takes place in the Canadian wilderness during the winter. During the gameplay, the players can explore vast regions by walking through forests, climbing on top of mountains and crossing frozen lakes. However, apart from enjoying and exploring the winter landscape, the players also have to survive in this harsh environment. The players are required to find some food, to sleep and to protect their virtual bodies from the freezing temperatures. These survival mechanisms are the core elements of the game and challenge the players to pay attention while they are exploring the environment. This is especially necessary during the first days of the gameplay as the players are only wearing thin clothes and are not prepared to stay outdoors in the freezing temperatures. Discovering a shelter in time can make the difference between dying and surviving.

Enjoying the view.

As I was playing the game for the very first time, I was impressed how realistic it felt to walk through the virtual forests. The graphics of the game are a bit abstract, but I had all the time the impression to be out in the nature while I was seeking a shelter to survive the first night. This impression was mostly caused by the colors, the lighting and the sounds of the game. These three elements are also the most noticeable things while being out in the nature. For example, while walking through a forest, most of the trees are just „trees“ and we are not really paying attention to their shape. However, the bright colors of a clearing are easy to spot, hence they draw our attention.

Animals of the forest

As I explored the virtual nature, I also noticed that I moved through this terrain the same way as I do when I hike through the real nature: I analyzed the environment for unnatural anomalies to spot interesting things. My trained situational awareness helped me to successfully play the game, as I was able to transfer some of knowledge from the real world to the game world because the exploration of the virtual nature has similar demands to the exploration of the real nature. This leads to the hypothesis, that the game can be used to train the situational awareness of players who are not used to walk through the nature and have difficulties to spot interesting features in the environment. If this hypothesis is true, then the game can be used in order to help the players to develop a situational awareness which helps them to recognize more interesting features while walking through the nature.

Finding of the week #101

Veröffentlicht am 21. Februar 2015 von Sebbi

Garrison – Conclusion

This week: This time, I think about the core game mechanics of a new feature added to World of Warcraft with the expansion pack Warlords of Draenor: the Garrison.

The analysis of the Garrison has identified three main segments: buildings, followers and quests. Moreover, the analysis has identified all the game mechanics which are used in order to realize these segments.

Buildings: The player can construct several buildings in order to gain access to unique boni. Moreover, the player can upgrade the own buildings to increase their capacity and to gain access to more advanced boni. Finally, he can place work orders in order to transmute materials or resources. However, the player can not place an endless amount of buildings: the Garrison provides only a limited amount of building slots thus requiring the player to choose between all the different buildings. Utilizing these game mechanics challenges the decision-making and strategic-planning skills of the player.

Followers: A follower is a special NPCs who joined the player during his explorations of the WoD regions or who was hired by the player in one of the Garrison buildings. Each follower is characterized by his abilities, his traits and his equipment. The skills allow the follower to perform special tasks and the equipment determines the follower’s performance. A follower can be assigned to work in one of the Garrison buildings or to fight in one of the special follower missions. Planning such a follower mission challenges the player to analyze the requirements of the mission in order to assign the right followers to it. Utilizing the follower game mechanics challenges the player’s problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

Quests: The player can complete three different types of Garrison quests. At first, the player has to visualize the problem of the quest and need to decide what actions he has to take in order to complete the quest. Subsequently, the player has to execute his plan of attack. Mostly, this involves defeating enemies, collecting items or scoring points. In general, solving a quest demands the visualization, decision-making and problem-solving skills of the user. Executing the combat game mechanics of WoW demands the reaction time, the hand-eye-coordination, the decision-making and the spatial navigation abililties of the player.

Finding of the week #100

Veröffentlicht am 14. Februar 2015 von Sebbi

Unbelievable! This is the 100th article of my weekly series about game based learning, game research, computer games and science in general. I can not believe that I am doing this now for almost two years without running out of content! I am really looking forward continuing this series–science and scientific results are just amazing topics.

Garrison – Quests

This week: This time, I think about the core game mechanics of a new feature added to World of Warcraft with the expansion pack Warlords of Draenor: the Garrison.

The last three articles analyzed all the game mechanics being used to realize the feature of the Garrison in WoW. However, the presentation of the Garrison is also linked with two core features of WoW: completing quests and defeating evil creatures. The quests are connecting the Garrison to the campaign of WoD and are helping to increase the immersive effect of being part of something big.

After upgrading the Garrison to level 3, the players gain access to the „Strategic Assault Choice“ (SAC). This feature is basically a quest that can be accepted and completed on a daily basis. Activating the SAC menu allows the players to choose between two different tasks, sending the players to different regions of WoD with the task to attack a certain enemy. This can be mostly done by just killing enough enemies until the progress bar reaches 100%. Apart from just killing evil creatures, the players can also work towards the completion of the quest by destroying or collecting specific items or freeing captured NPCs.

Strategic Assault Choice

The players are challenged to visualize the problem of the quest and need to decide what actions they need to take in order to complete the quest. This is mostly demanding the visualization, decision-making and problem-solving skills of the players. While fighting against the evil creatures, the players have to react to special attacks and threatening environmental conditions (e.g. fire on the ground). Moreover, the players have to analyze the area, spot potential targets and control the actions of their avatars via keyboard and mouse inputs. This is demanding the reaction time, the hand-eye-coordination, the decision-making and the spatial navigation abililties of the players.

Completing these SAC quests can also unlock a Garrison Invasion. This invasion is a special event that takes place inside the player’s Garrison. After having unlocked such an invasion, the players can talk to one of the NPCs standing around in the Garrison and start this special event. Throughout the progression of this invasion, the players get constantly attacked by evil creatures. The presentation of this invasion is also enhanced by the fact that the Garrison guards participate in this battle creating the impression that a huge attack is conducted against the own fortress.

Prepare to battle

During the battle, the players are also able to score some points. The final score of the invasion determines the player’s reward: reaching more than 300 points rewards the players with a first reward, scoring more 600 points results in a better reward and scoring more than 1000 points rewards the players with the best possible reward. Scoring these points is mostly done by killing the attackers. Apart from regular enemies, the Garrison is also attacked by special creatures which are granting more points after being defeated. This challenges the players to keep always an eye on these special events and requires them to focus their attacks on these particular creatures to score well during the invasion. Moreover, the players receive additional points for keeping their Garrisons intact. This challenges the player to also keep an eye on potential enemies who can damage the buildings.

The Garrison Invasion is in progress.

The Garrison Invasion is demanding the same human skills as solving a quest. The players have to identify and locate enemies and pay attention to special attacks. The game mechanic of scoring points results in an increased demand for decision making and reaction time: the players have to react to the occurance of special enemies and have to defeat them in time before the invasion is finished or some damage is caused to a building of the Garrison.

The last quest related feature of the Garrison is the so-called „Garrison Campaign“. The Garrison Campaign unlocks over time a series of quests, providing some more background information about all the events of the WoD expansion pack and the presence of the players in the regions of WoD. The demands for solving these quests are exactly the same demands as mentioned in the SAC part. Solving a quest requires the players to visualize and solve a problem. This is then mostly done by defeating enemies which is demanding the identified human abilities.

Working towards the completion of a quest.

Finally, the Garrison Invasion and all the Garrison related quests can also be completed in a group with other players. In case of forming a group, the game mechanics are also demanding the collaboration and team work skills of the players. Depending on the class of the avatar, the players can sustain more damage, cause more damage or heal other players. This stone-paper-scissors approach is challenging the collaboration skills of the players. Moreover, the player’s Garrison gets attacked from multiple sites and defending it together with other players offers the opportunity to work together and assign one player per front line resulting in a better defense of the Garrison. This is then also demanding a task distribution ability.

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