MA Thesis: games to stimulate critical thought

A Master Thesis by Aleksander Nikulin, advised by Miguel Sicart.

From the abstract: “Player emotions can be generated in a variety of ways. Encouraging the experience of critical thought – a type of gameplay experience which the players consider as having value beyond “fun” – is a key problem in both game design and my master thesis. The emotional affect associated with critical gameplay causes players to experience deep levels of personal significance and bonding, resulting in very deep and profound levels of engagement with the game. In this thesis work I explore the different practical techniques for designing such critical game experience in-game and suggest them as a direct toolkit game designers, level designers and game artists can use.”

Read the full thesis at http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201409182659