Generation of Educational 3D Maze Games for Carpet Handicraft in Bulgaria

Generation of
Educational 3D Maze Games
for Carpet Handicraft in Bulgaria
(invited talk given at 9.IX.2017)
Boyan Bontchev with Radina Panayotova
Department of Software Engineering
Fac. of Math. and Informatics,
Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria
DIPP'2017September 9, Burgas, Bulgaria
Audio record is available at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx4W_
8u_HGFDTnpveEVMcXpYRWs

AGENDA
 Introduction
 Types of computer video games
 Serious games for cultural heritage
 Problems with serious games
 Need of open/free platforms for game construction
 The MAZE BUILDER platform for game generation
 A generated video game for carpet handicraft in
Bulgaria
 Case study results
 Conclusions
September 9, Burgas, Bulgaria 2DIPP'2017

PLAYING versus GAMING

BUT WHAT IS A GAME?
AND WHERE ARE THE GAMES?
 I found the answer
 when I was a little boy…
 … together with my friends,
 while playing in the street
 … a war game!

GAMES ARE “AT EVERY MILESTONE”
(FOUND THANKS TO BALKANTON, 9.IX.1970)
A game is a type of play activity,
conducted in the context of a pretended reality,
in which the participant(s) try to achieve
at least one arbitrary, non-trivial goal
by acting in accordance with rules.
(Source: Adams, E. Fundamentals of Game Design, 2010)

COMPUTER GAMES AS A NEW MEDIA
Credits:
Hitbox Team

COMPUTER VIDEO GAMES
Computer
games
Video
games
Text
games
Audio
games
COMPUTER
VIDEO
GAMES
Tablet
games
TV/Console
games
Web
games
Handheld
games

 For 2017, see at at
http://www.techradar.com/news/best-games-
2017:
 the best Xbox One games
 the best PS4 (Sony PlayStation 4) games
 the best Nintendo 3DS games
 the best PC games
 the best indie games
 a video game created without the financial support of a
publisher;
 rely on:
 Innovation
 digital distribution.
 the best iPhone games
 the best Android games
ENTERTAINMENT GAMES
8
DIPP'2017 September 9, Burgas, Bulgaria

September 9, Burgas, Bulgaria9
SERIOUS GAMES (SG)
Digital interactive applications that allow users to make
specific experiences that promote active and experiential paths
of learning in various domain of human existence,
 through virtual/augmented simulations
 through ludic and playing formats
“A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a
primary purpose other than pure entertainment” (Abt, 1970)
“A serious game is a digital game in which education is the
primary goal, rather than entertainment” (Micheal & Chen, 2006)
SG enable self-controlled, active and playfully learning
9
DIPP'2017

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT
GAMES AND SG
Criterion
Games
Serious games
Entertainment
games
Task vs. rich
experience
Problem solving in focus
Rich experiences
preferred
Focus
Important elements of
learning
To have fun
Simulations
Assumptions necessary
for workable simulations
Simplified simulation
processes
Communication
Should reflect natural
(non-perfect)
communication
Communication is often
perfect
Source: Susi, Johannesson and Backlund, 2007.

VIDEO GAMES FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE
 All video games do always reflect somehow human
culture because they are "objects produced and played
within culture at large", however, "not all games
manifest transformative cultural play to actually
transform culture“ (source: Salen and Zimmerman,
2007)
 Unlike other traditional media, video games are
capable to make deeper our understanding and
feelings of cultural heritage (both tangible and
intangible) in a very interactive and immersive way
(source: Bontchev, 2015)
September 9, Burgas, BulgariaDIPP'2017 11

TYPES OF VIDEO GAMES FOR CULTURAL
HERITAGE
1. Entertainment documentary games
2. 3D role-playing adventure games
3. Interactive virtual museums
4. Prototypes and demonstrators
5. Social tagging and knowledge acquisition SG
(Bontchev, DIPP’2015)
September 9, Burgas, BulgariaDIPP'2017 12

TYPE 1. ENTERTAINMENT DOCUMENTARY GAMES
 ‘History Line: 1914-1918’ (Blue Byte, 1992)
 ‘Great Battles of Rome’ (Slitherine Strategies, 2007)
 ‘Napoleon: Total War’ (Creative Assembly, 2010)

TYPE 2. 3D ROLE-PLAYING ADVENTURE GAMES
 ‘Red Dead Redemption’ (Rockstar San Diego, 2010)
 ‘Assassin’s Creed II’ (Ubisoft Montreal, 2009)

TYPE 3. INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL MUSEUMS
 use gaming technology for both entertaining and
educating visitors usually by incorporating some
exploration and reassembling tasks and quizzes
 examples - ‘Virtual Egyptian Temple’, ‘Olympic
Pottery Puzzle’, ‘Walk through Ancient Olympia’
and ‘ThIATRO’
(Froschauer et al,
Design and Evaluation
of ThIATRO, 2012)

TYPE 4. PROTOTYPES AND DEMONSTRATORS
 games based on 3D virtual reconstruction 3D and geo-
referenced modeling of ancient historical sites
 provide not only realistic archaeological exploration with
historical accuracy but also political, religious and artistic
walkthrough with crowd restauration of ancient
characters with procedurally generated NPC
 examples - ‘Pompei: The Legend of Vesuvius’
edutainment SG and ‘Roma Nova’ brain-controlled SG

TYPE 5. SOCIAL TAGGING AND KNOWLEDGE
ACQUISITION SG
 SG for encouraging players to submit accurate
information about cultural artifacts embedded into
the games for further knowledge verification and
mining
 Examples - ‘One-Up’ is a multi-round mobile
crowdsourcing metadata tagging game fostering
players to propose high-quality metadata and
rewarding them based on metadata (Flanagan et
al, 2013)

SERIOUS PROBLEMS OF SERIOUS GAMES
 Higher development cost
 Lower attractiveness compared to entertainment
games
 Transition between instructional design and actual
game design implementation - how Game Mechanics
impact and interact with the Learning Mechanics
 Assessment - effectively tracking and analysing of the
right parameters related to learners’ progress
(knowledge gain, reflection and application)
 How psychological theories should be used in the
design of realistic and convincing NPCs?
 How different pedagogical paradigms relate to SG
and SG mechanics - reference framework needed!
D1.6 GALA Roadmap 2, Nov. 2011

THE GREATER CHALLENGE:
 Higher development cost …
and, on the other side,
 … lack of enough free and customizable
platforms for automatic creation of serious
games!

EXISTING PLATFORMS FOR AUTOMATIC
CREATION OF SERIOUS GAMES
Criteria/
Solution Quandary Qedoc Quiz
Maker ADAPTIMES Maze Builder
Distribution Web Desktop Desktop Desktop/Web/
Mobile/Console
Type 2D 2D 3D 3D
Game platform None None None Unity 3D
Programming
language None None Python C#
Learning
resources
slides, test
questions
slides, test
questions,
learning games
slides, test
questions,
arranging
images
slides, test
questions,
arranging 3D
objects, hidden
3D objects
Customization
images,
music,
video, font
images, font,
sound effects
Textures,
rooms
Textures,
images, music
Open code No No Yes Yes
Price Free Free Licensed Free

OUR GOAL: TO PROVIDE A FREE AND OPEN
SOLUTION BASED ON A POPULAR GAME ENGINE
Criterion
Game Engine
Unreal
engine 4
CryEngine Ogre 3D Blender Godot Unity3d
Distribution Windows,
Linux, Mac
OS X,
Xbox One,
PlayStation
4, HTML5,
iOS and
Android
Windows,
Linux,
PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4,
Wii U, Xbox
360, Xbox
One, iOS and
Android
Windows,
Linux,
Mac OS X
Windows,
Linux,
Mac OS
X
Windows,
OSX, Linux,
HTML5,
iOS,
Android,
BB10
Windows, OSX,
Linux, Windows
Phone, iOS,
Android,
BlackBerry 10,
Tizen, Xbox 360,
Xbox One, Wii U,
PlayStation 3/4,
PlayStation Vita,
Nintendo Switch,
WebGL
Supported
languages
C++,
Blueprints
C++, C#, Lua C++ Python C++,
GDscript
C#, JavaScrtipt
Community and
documentation
Big Big Little Big Little Very big
Price Free $9.90/month Free Free Free Free
Requirements for
developer PC
High High Low Medium Medium Medium
Graphic quality Very high Very high Medium Medium Medium High
Extensibility Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE MAZE BUILDER
Unity 3D
Game Platform
Maze Builder
Custom
Package
XML Maze
Description
Game Assets
(text, images,
audio)
3D
Maze
3D Maze
Game
Read
Import
Generate
Build
Import
Arrange
4min
2weeks
5min
4days
2s
20s
4h
12min
Guess the timing
for creating a six
room maze game?

RESTRICTIONS TO THE MAZE CONSTRUCTION 1/2
 Each node (i.e., room) can have maximum four doors
 The maze connectivity graph must be planar
 Cycles are possible within the maze graph
 A par of incoming and outgoing doors is shown as a
lack of door
 Each door can be unlocked by correct answering a
question
 Each question may have text and raster graphic
 Walls have maximum one door per wall
 Walls have maximum two slides per wall
 Each slide may have text and/or raster graphic in
JPG, PNG, TIFF or BMP format

RESTRICTIONS TO THE MAZE CONSTRUCTION 2/2
 Each room can have a game with balls, circles
and/or rings (explained further in the thesis)
 Each room can have zero or N hidden objects.
 Each room can have textures for the walls,
ceiling and the floor
 Each room can have no more than one map laid
over the floor
 Each room can have no more than one audio
file for playing while the player is inside it (one
or in repeating mode)
 The maze should have one starting room

MAZE BUIDER DATA MODEL

BASIC ARCHITECTURE OF THE MAZE BUILDER
Prefabs
Labyrinth
class
MazeBuilder
class
Deserialize XML
Return Labyrinth
object
Room HiddenObject
BallBoard
CircleBoard
TorusBoard
GameManager
GlobalGameManagerOpen scene
Instantiate
prefabs
Set properties,
Position in 3D space

IMPORTING THE MAZE BUILDER PACKAGE IN
UNITY

AFTER THE IMPORT: CUSTOM PANEL OF THE
MAZE BUILDER PLATFORM IN THE UNITY EDITOR

A SAMPLE XML MAZE DESCRIPTION

THE MAZE IS GENERATED JUST AFTER THE XML
IMPORT

PERFORMANCE
The performance testing of the Maze Builder was
performed on a developer laptop with Windows 10:
 Importing of Maze Builder unity package – 4 minutes
 Importing of 4 audio files with total volume 28MB -
176 seconds
 Importing of 86 images with total volume of 212MB –
65 seconds
 Importing of a XML document describing a 6 room
maze and generation of the maze - 12 seconds
 Building a desktop standalone (executable) – 3
minutes 20 sec
 Building a WebGL game distribution - 12 minutes

CASE STUDY: Educational 3D Maze Games
for Carpet Handicraft in Bulgaria
 Target: vocational training and education in Bulgarian
ethnography.
 Focus: the game is dedicated to the fabrication of carpets in
Bulgaria since 17th century to the present times.
 Maze connectivity graph: six rooms interconnected by doors
RoomCenter
Intro
RoomNorthWest
Tciprovtzi - 2
RoomWest
Tciprovtzi - 1
RoomEast
Kotel - 1
RoomNorth
Sliven
RoomNorthEast
Kotel 2DoorE
DoorE
DoorW
DoorW
DoorS
DoorNDoorN

RoomCenter
Intro
RoomNorthW
est
Tciprovtzi - 2
RoomWest
Tciprovtzi - 1
RoomEast
Kotel - 1
RoomNorth
Sliven
RoomNorthE
ast
Kotel 2
DoorE
DoorE
DoorW
DoorW
DoorS
DoorNDoorN
THE MAZE FROM TOP CAMERA VIEW IN UNITY

A SCREENSHOT OF THE INITIAL VIEW OF THE
GAME (THE CENTRAL ROOM)

ANSWERING THE QUESTION FOR UNLOCKING
THE DOOR TO THE WEST ROOM

ROLLING A BALL TO THE LOCATION OF THE
TOWN OF TSIPROVTCI

A GAME TASK FOR ROLLING THREE BALLS (RIGHT) TO THEIR
CORRESPONDENT RINGS (LEFT), WITH A SEMITRANSPARENT
HIDDEN OBJECT HANGING FROM THE TOP

PRACTICAL EXPERIMENT
WITH TWO GROUPS OF USERS
 Educators - passed though a demonstration of generation of
a maze game and arrangements of didactic objects
embedded into it and watched a video about the maze
creational process. Next, they filled in a questionnaire about
platform usability and game playability
 Students – learners through the generated serious game
available online at http://adaptimes.eu/carpetgame/ and who
played the game
 either online by a Firefox browser with Unity Web Player Plugin
installed from https://unity3d.com/webplayer,
 or offline by downloading the desktop version of the game from
this Web page.
Next, they filled in a questionnaire about game playability

VIEW OF THE WEB PAGE WITH THE GENERATED
GAME (HTTP://ADAPTIMES.EU/CARPETGAME/)

VIDEOS
 A video about the maze creational process
available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IBqYooK
wQg (2:39 min.)
 A video containing a demonstration of a
game session with the generated game is
available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLH4F6g
q9Gs (3:21 min.)

RESULTS FOR THE QUESTION “DO YOU THINK THAT
EDUCATIONAL VIDEO MAZE GAMES ARE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL
FACILITATING EDUCATION?”
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
definitely no more likely no I can't say more likely yes definitely yes

RESULTS FOR “THE IDEA TO USE TEXT IN XML FORMAT FOR
DESCRIBING VIDEO MAZE GAMES IS VERY GOOD AND HAS FUTURE”
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%

RESULTS FOR “THE UTILIZED LEARNING TASKS, ANSWERING
TEST QUESTIONS FOR UNLOCKING DOORS AND FINDING HIDDEN
OBJECTS, ARE VERY APPROPRIATE FOR EDUCATIONAL GAMES”
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%

RESULTS FOR THE QUESTION “THE TIME SPENT ON GAME AND
AMUSEMENT OBTAINED IS GREAT”
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%

CURRENT AND FUTURE WORKS
 New extensions of the platform:
 JavaScrips for controlling texts over pictures
 Other embedded mini-games – e.g. a puzzle game for unlocking a
door
 More prefab objects – e.g torches instead lamps, stony doors instead
wooden doors, etc.
 More than one question for unlocking a door
 Text decorations specified in the XML document
 Collecting hidden objects and placing them on specific places
 Sounds for events like unlock/open/close a door, find a hidden
object, etc.
 Interactive map showing the current player location in the maze
 More …?
 Other application of the ball games – e.g. a game ordering the
balls in a line
 Using the platform for other case studies, with greater number of
participants

CONCLUSIONS
 The market space of both entertainment and
applied video games entertainment games and
applied will continue to grow in next years
 The impact of serious video games will be higher
thanks to their synergy of story, art and
technological achievements including affective and
adaptive gameplay.
 Applied maze games for cultural heritage will be
used more and more for immersive cultural
presentation, teaching, assessment and training
 Open and free gaming platforms will be a must

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
 Questions?
 Proposals!
 Remarks…
 Doubts
 Congrats
 Donations$
 Sth else®
 Boyan Bontchev, bbontchev@fmi.uni-sofia.bg

GAMES CREATE ILLUSIONS BUT ARE REALITY

Generation of Educational 3D Maze Games for Carpet Handicraft in Bulgaria

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