{"title":"Optimization study of badminton sports training system based on MoileNet OpenPose lightweight human posture estimation model","authors":"Kailai Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100975","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100975","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of computer technology has effectively promoted the reform of traditional ball sports. However, the existing training methods based on computer technology are costly and difficult to promote on a large scale. Therefore, the study proposes to use deep learning techniques to improve the OpenPose tool and reduce the computational complexity of the model, in order to achieve large-scale promotion of computer-based ball sports training methods. The experimental results show that the model action score is high, 93.27 points, and the model processing time is 83 s. The model performs well in Frames Per Second index, reaching 27.5 frames/s. And it performs well in recall, precision, accuracy, and F1 value, reaching 90.13 %, 95.79 %, 89.75 %, and 89.78 %, respectively. In the comparison between the research design system and the traditional training system, the research system performs better with an average response time of only 0.96 s and an average occupancy rate of the central processor of only 20.23 %. This achievement provides an efficient and low-cost intelligent tool for badminton training, helping coaches achieve objective quantitative analysis of movements, reducing reliance on subjective experience, and providing data support for athletes’ immediate movement correction. The research successfully achieved a balance between model computational efficiency and recognition accuracy, verifying the feasibility of lightweight improvement. However, the current model mainly focuses on upper limb joints and still has shortcomings in posture analysis of other parts. In the future, research will explore the adaptability of models in complex dynamic scenarios and attempt to integrate biomechanical parameters to enhance the scientificity of feedback. In addition, the system’s functions can be extended to tactical analysis and physical fitness assessment, further promoting the digital transformation of sports training.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100975"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MCGA: An effective method for enhancing multi-agent coordination to boost performance in the real-time strategy game","authors":"Songling Yang , Yonghong Hou , Yi Ren , Wang Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100968","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100968","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) excels in addressing complex problems, especially in real-time strategy (RTS) games. While Centralized Training with Decentralized Execution (CTDE) is a popular MARL paradigm, its lack of global guidance during decentralized execution hinders effective coordination, impairing policy learning. The study aims to develop an effective MARL algorithm for application in RTS games, addressing the poor coordination problem in previous CTDE algorithms and thereby improving the algorithm’s performance. To this end, we propose an approach called Improving <u>M</u>ulti-Agent <u>C</u>oordination Based on <u>G</u>lobal-Situation <u>A</u>wareness (MCGA) to facilitate agent coordination by constructing a global-situation awareness estimator that translates the local history into valuable global insights to assist agent decision-making. During training, we introduce an alignment loss and use gradient information from credit assignment to jointly train the global-situation awareness estimator. We conduct extensive experiments in the StarCraft Multi-Agent Challenge (SMAC) game environment. Meanwhile, to further validate the effectiveness of the algorithm, we also conduct experimental validation in the commonly used multi-agent reinforcement learning benchmark environments, Level-Based Foraging (LBF) and Multi-Agent Particle Environment (MPE). The results show that our approach significantly improves the performance of agents in the game and outperforms the state-of-the-art MARL algorithm.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100968"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144240983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alejandro Díez-Vidal , Pablo González-Egido , Fernando Domínguez-Estévez , Miguel Cordero-Álvarez , José Luis Barroso-Cerro , Jesús Criado-Encinas , Sergio Carrasco-Molina , Carlos Arroyo-Acosta
{"title":"Designing health: the evolution of medical narratives in video games","authors":"Alejandro Díez-Vidal , Pablo González-Egido , Fernando Domínguez-Estévez , Miguel Cordero-Álvarez , José Luis Barroso-Cerro , Jesús Criado-Encinas , Sergio Carrasco-Molina , Carlos Arroyo-Acosta","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100969","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100969","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article explores the evolving representation of health and medicine in video games, tracing how these themes have developed from abstract gameplay mechanics to complex systems that engage with physiological, psychological, and social dimensions of health. Drawing on a thematic analysis of over sixty games released between 1960 and 2024, the study explores how games model physical and psychological conditions, simulate healthcare systems, and assign meaning to healing, diagnosis, and recovery. These representations not only shape player experiences of agency and risk, but also reflect and contest dominant cultural narratives about health and medical authority. Far from being neutral entertainment, games function as interactive texts that construct and negotiate ideas of health through design, storytelling, and play. The article argues that video games serve as speculative spaces where health is embodied, managed, and reimagined, offering both pedagogical potential and ideological influence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144115294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emergence of Player Tactics by expert-guided Machine Learning: An industry tower defence case study","authors":"Stuart Anderson, Ruth Falconer","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100963","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100963","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Modern games generate a large amount of player data that can enhance the game design and development process. Game developers can potentially utilise data science methods to extract information to inform decision making as they strive to improve the user experience and meet business goals. However, this practice is far from widespread due to the specialist expertise needed. Additionally, games are often complex, where the large number of possible player actions creates datasets with a vast state space and high dimensionality. Additionally, these player actions often require context to fully interpret and analyse. In this emerging research field, a further challenge is in ensuring proposed methods are suitable for commercial game development environments, where genres, available data sources and the production process must be considered.</div><div>This work presents the results of an industry–academic collaboration, applying the less common player tactic classification method, individual sequence mining, on a fast paced, commercially available tower defence mobile game. It proposes and evaluates a novel pipeline for validating and discovering player tactics to facilitate game balancing. Rather than being applied to data captured from an analytics framework, the analysis was conducted on data captured from network messages generated by game clients. The real-time nature of these network messages creates potential for this data source to have value beyond tactics classification, with opportunities to integrate into AI pipelines for purposes such as automation.</div><div>The resulting mixed methods process demonstrates the ability of using this data source to generate insight on player tactics to game development teams, and it being feasible within the commercial game development process. The pipeline can be applied by other games companies seeking to extract value from data that is collected to make better games for their player base.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100963"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144115295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of perceived consumer value dimensions in predicting behavioral intention toward car-sharing: An empirical study based on the extended technology acceptance model","authors":"Gökhan Akel , Talha Bayır","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100967","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100967","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sharing economy holds a significant promise for fostering a sustainable economy and society. However, the dimensions of consumer behavior remain largely untapped. This study employs the technology acceptance model as its principal methodological framework to intricately dissect consumer behavior within the context of car-sharing services. A novel examination of consumer-perceived functional, social, environmental, and situational values revealed how these factors affect the reception of car-sharing platforms. This study integrates privacy concern, highlighting their critical role in shaping consumer attitudes and usage intentions. Utilizing multiple structural equation modeling on responses from 395 valid questionnaires, this study rigorously tested the proposed hypotheses. The findings indicate a significant influence of perceived value on attitudes towards car-sharing services mediated by perceived ease of use and usefulness. Furthermore, this study underscores that both attitudes and privacy concern critically shape the intention to use car-sharing services. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing consumer behavior in the car sharing sector, providing valuable insights for both academic research and practical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100967"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nashniq Shah Majiri, Mohd Kamal Othman, Norehan Zulkiply
{"title":"Unpacking the Player: A review of consumption behaviours beyond gameplay in esports","authors":"Nashniq Shah Majiri, Mohd Kamal Othman, Norehan Zulkiply","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Esports is experiencing explosive growth, and understanding player consumption behaviour is vital to its success. This paper reviews studies from 2000 to 2023, analysing 37 studies to explore the multifaceted nature of player consumption. It examines existing research on player motivations, engagement with core activities (gameplay, spectating), and the influence of social factors, technology, and player experience. Findings suggest that established frameworks like UTAUT2 and Uses and Gratifications Theory, along with esports-specific models such as the Esports Consumption model, help understand consumption patterns and player motivations. Social interaction and platform-specific factors play crucial roles in player engagement and consumption decisions. Also, findings elucidated three different categories of esports consumption practices: Participation in Esports Gameplay (n = 12) and spectating Esports (n = 16). In another category, it either focuses on one aspect, such as purchasing (n = 1), governing (n = 2), General Practices (n = 2) or combinations of Governance and Purchasing (n = 1), Spectating and Purchasing (n = 1), Playing and Spectating (n = 1) and Playing and Purchasing (n = 2). The review identifies gaps, including underrepresented consumption practices like esports merchandise and event attendance. Exploring player segmentation and the psychological factors influencing consumption can enrich our understanding. This can help stakeholders develop effective strategies to enhance player experiences in esports.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100966"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Minkai Wang , Jingdong Zhu , Hanjie Gu , Jie Zhang , Dan Wu , Peijuan Wang
{"title":"Optimizing experiential learning in science education: The role of two-tier testing in digital game-based learning","authors":"Minkai Wang , Jingdong Zhu , Hanjie Gu , Jie Zhang , Dan Wu , Peijuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100960","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100960","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Science education aims to cultivate students’ scientific literacy, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills through engaging and effective instructional approaches. However, traditional teaching methods often struggle to foster deep conceptual understanding and sustained interest in scientific learning. To address these challenges, digital game-based learning (DGBL) has emerged as a promising approach, providing an enjoyable, interactive, and immersive environment that enables students to experience and apply scientific knowledge in authentic contexts. Building upon this foundation, this study explores the effectiveness of two-tier test-based digital game-based learning (TT-DGBL), which integrates diagnostic assessments within a game environment to identify and correct students’ misconceptions through adaptive feedback. A quasi-experimental design was employed to compare the impact of TT-DGBL and conventional DGBL on academic performance and flow experience among sixth-grade students. Additionally, lag sequential analysis was conducted to examine students’ behavioral patterns in the game-based learning process. The findings indicate that TT-DGBL significantly enhances students’ academic performance and flow experience, while also promoting positive and sustained learning behaviors more effectively than conventional DGBL. These results suggest that incorporating two-tier testing into DGBL can serve as an effective strategy for fostering deeper engagement and conceptual understanding in science education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100960"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143928930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julio C. Llamas-Alonso , Lia Kvavilashvili , George Georgiou , Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari
{"title":"Game transfer phenomena as a particular form of involuntary cognitions: The role of internet gaming disorder, and other psychopathological and cognitive predictors","authors":"Julio C. Llamas-Alonso , Lia Kvavilashvili , George Georgiou , Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) refer to the involuntary transfer of video game experiences into the real world, which can manifest as altered sensory perceptions, automatic thoughts, and behaviours. This study aimed to examine whether GTP shares characteristics with other spontaneous cognitive phenomena, such as daydreaming and mind-pops. Additionally, it explored schizotypal traits and working memory capacity, which have been linked to involuntary cognitions, as well as game-related variables (e.g., Internet Gaming Disorder), psychological distress, and impulsivity as potential predictors of GTP. A total of 352 players (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub> = 25.38, <em>SD</em> = 5.90; 76 % male) participated by completing online questionnaires and working memory tasks. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that GTP was significantly predicted by Internet Gaming Disorder, positive schizotypy, daydreaming, mind-popping, anxiety, and motor impulsivity. Further mediation analysis showed that positive schizotypy and mind-popping partially mediated the relationship between Internet Gaming Disorder and GTP. These findings highlight, for the first time, the importance of psychopathological traits and the frequency of involuntary cognitions in predicting one’s susceptibility to GTP. They also contribute to the theoretical understanding of GTP by suggesting that GTP may belong to a broader category of involuntary cognitive phenomena.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100964"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immediate or delayed? The impact of temporal discounting on the choice of payment schemes in mobile games","authors":"Chang Ma, Jingbo Shao","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To incentivize in-game payments, mobile game operators frequently offer payment schemes with additional bonuses. Grounded in temporal discounting theory, this study investigates how design features of in-game payment schemes influence users’ payment intentions and preferences for different payment schemes. Focusing on two prevalent incentive formats—immediate versus delayed bonuses—we developed a theoretical framework examining the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ preference formation. Through an online experiment incorporating a temporal discounting task (N = 332), we empirically tested the proposed framework. The results revealed three critical design features significantly affect users’ adoption of payment schemes with delayed bonuses: (1) bonus delay duration, (2) discount magnitude relative to payment schemes with immediate bonuses, and (3) required payment scales. Given the potential advantages of payment schemes with delayed bonuses for enhancing user retention and loyalty, we further proposed and tested two design optimization strategies. The experimental findings demonstrated that both displaying the total amount of delayed bonuses and increasing the initial installment bonus effectively promote users’ preference for payment schemes with delayed bonuses. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that the level of incentives applied to delayed bonus payment schemes can serve as a critical boundary condition, potentially determining the effectiveness of these optimization strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100965"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143924496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Purr-ogrammed love: A narrative review of virtual pets","authors":"Michaela Dodd , Allan Fowler , Danielle Lottridge","doi":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.entcom.2025.100958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the ‘90s <em>Tamagotchi</em> (Tamagotchi, 1996) and virtual pets were cultural touchstones of the personal computer and handheld game console revolutions. Despite continued popularity, virtual pets remain under-researched. A narrative review was conducted to identify key themes in the literature surrounding virtual pets. 45 articles were included. Reflexive thematic analysis identified six major themes: life and death, health and habits, capitalism and consumption, gender, toys and play, and ethics. Virtual pets serve purposes beyond entertainment, including managing physical and emotional well-being and aiding in learning. Virtual pet gameplay is also seen to challenge normative notions of productivity and purpose. This review brings together decades of academic interest in virtual pets across disciplines to better understand their enduring cultural significance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55997,"journal":{"name":"Entertainment Computing","volume":"54 ","pages":"Article 100958"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143924498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}