Abigail Tan - tan177@mail.chapman.edu
Chase Mitchell - mitch213@mail.chapman.edu
Josh Anderson - ander428@mail.chapman.edu
Aubrey Fernando - ferna190@mail.chapman.edu
Kolby Ramirez - ramir266@mail.chapman.edu
Dr. Michael Fahy - fahy@chapman.edu
Previous research supports that one’s ability to effectively communicate with others is an essential skill to better solve problems and reach goals (Yost et, al. 2000). As we become increasingly reliant on technology to communicate with one another, how can we increase a person’s communication and problem-solving skills in a telepresence environment? Telepresence technology allows people to feel as if they present in another location in a virtual space (Failoa et, al. 2013). Our research project will consist of a two-player game made in Unity. The game will be a 2d top-down cooperative puzzle game in which the players must communicate and work together to complete a maze. The players will work through the game together, triggering doors and paths in the maze for each other. Players will progress through the game at the same time, in separate rooms on separate computers, creating a telepresence situation. A TCP chat server will be used to allow players to communicate and discuss their thoughts and next steps with each other. In researching this topic, we want to understand how a telepresence environment impacts communication and cooperation between players. Upon completion of this project, our findings should provide insight into the effectiveness of a telepresence environment to reach goals and solve problems. Our findings will provide us with a greater understanding of how users currently interact with virtual spaces and how we can improve upon a future user’s interaction in a virtual space. By making this game, we hope that we can also develop a fun way to increase a person’s ability to communicate and work with others to solve problems.
Dundis, S., & Benson, S. (2003). Building More Effective Virtual Teams: An Examination of the Task Variable in Online Group Problem-Solving. International Journal on E-Learning, 2(4), 24. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=edo&AN=12787338&site=eds-live
Faiola, A., Newlon, C., Pfaff, M., & Smyslova, O. (2013). Correlating the effects of flow and telepresence in virtual worlds: Enhancing our understanding of user behavior in game-based learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1113–1121. https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.003
Yost, C. A., & Tucker, M. L. (2000). Are effective teams more emotionally intelligent? Confirming the importance of effective communication in teams. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 42(2), 101–109. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=eft&AN=507692142&site=eds-live