1. Serious Games for Dynamic Content and Advanced
Entertainment Services
Mª Amparo Navarro-Salvador1, Ana Belén Sánchez-Calzón 2,
Carlos Fernández-Llatas3 and Teresa Meneu4
ITACA - Health and Wellbeing Technologies,
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain
1
manasal@itaca.upv.es
2
absanch@itaca.upv.es
3
cfllatas@itaca.upv.es
4
tmeneu@itaca.upv.es
Abstract— Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) the starting point: the habitual use of ICT by children place
has been keeping a constant evolution for the last years. For ICT as a privileged way to transmit certain messages to them.
children today ICT are not a strange element, but are part of ICT can be used to teach and entertain at the same time. In
their daily lives and they easily use them. For this reason, it is this field, videogames can play a positive and important role if
interesting to research how ICT can be used to teach and
they are used properly. Interconnection of games can improve
entertain children. In this scenario, Project Enjoy.IT! aims to
design, develop an validate an entertainment platform with social contact and the participation in common activities. In
advanced contents, which will set up a practical realization of the this sense, it is another way to maintain or promote contact
new products and services from the Future Internet. The project among friends as well as other hobbies (sports, reading...).
is integrating the physical world as an extension of the virtual Games are also beneficial when promoting eye-hand
world and vice versa, creating an Ambient Intelligence (AmI) coordination and the acquisition of manual skills. They also
system which will be able to act depending on the needs and stimulate memory and the ability to retain concepts.
knowledge of children. The platform is based on Services Finally, it is worth noting the current status of socio-
Choreography and games are interconnected using a Social cultural field to children. In this area the objective is to
Network. A games pilot has been developed, and tested by
educate children while they play. But the use of ICT is very
children of Polytechnic University of Valencia Summer School.
From the results of this preliminary study, the rest of the games poorly integrated in sociocultural animation. It is necessary a
will be developed for the final platform. qualitative transformation to get the full integration of ICT
into the environment of the children. Different technologies
I. INTRODUCTION and devices can be connected to create a new space of
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) has entertainment where technology is the engine of the games
been keeping a constant evolution for the last years. ICT are without the children becoming aware of it.
increasing their presence in all human activities both in the In this context Project Enjoy.IT! [2] is born, whose main
working life and in the private life. They offer a new objective is to design, develop and validate an entertainment
innovator space in different fields such as industry, services, platform with advanced contents which will set a practical
health, commerce, education, etc. realization of the new products and services of the Future
Nowadays, the Internet is a part of many people in many Internet. This platform is being implemented in the campus of
places of the world. Its evolution has been spectacular in the the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), during the
last 15 years. Despite that, the Internet is still in its Summer School [3]. This school takes place in July at the
adolescence: less than one third of the world population has at University campus and is destined to children from 3-17 years
least once surfed the Internet [1]. On the other hand, the old who perform a set of cultural and sport activities directed
Internet now is anywhere and at any time. People not only are by leisure professionals.
able to access to it using a computer but also using a mobile, a The following paper explains, in first instance, the
smartphone, a tablet PC, a games console or even a TV set. objectives that the Project aims to obtain with their execution.
Moreover, one of the most important parts of the Internet is In the second instance, the materials and methods which will
driven by Social Networks. Users are the creators of the be employed to the Project development are explained. In this
Internet content. Despite this, the Internet world is still a linear section, a state of the art of actual videogames and
scenario focused on showing contents and dissociated from entertainment is described. In the third instance, we present
physical world. the Project Enjoy.IT! results and which technology is being
Focusing on children, who are the target of this Project, it is used. Finally, how the developed games affect to children is
worth to highlight several aspects. For children today ICT are explained.
not a strange element but are part of their daily lives. This is

2. II. OBJECTIVES videogames are those played via the Internet regardless of the
The first objective of Project Enjoy.IT! is to design, platform. They can either be multiplayer games played with
develop and validate an entertainment platform and advanced other people, or single player. Because one of the objectives
contents which is going to be a practical realization of new of the project is to get more than twenty children playing
products and services of the Future Internet. Project Enjoy.IT! together at the same time, it is worth focusing on multiplayer
is a pre-industrial prototype which will set up a technological games. These are games which include a mode for various
platform of personalized, ubiquitous and collaborative players. They are often played via the Internet or other
services. network with other people connected to it. Furthermore, there
In addition, the implementation of this project aims to is the theme of these videogames. They can be collaborative
promote the use of ICT by children who are not enough or competitive games. The first group of them, the
familiarized users with this kind of technologies. collaborative ones, are interesting videogames for Enjoy.IT!.
Moreover, the project expects to develop innovative A cooperative game is a game in which two or more players
research lines. A good example is the integration of the user in do not compete, but rather strive to achieve the same objective
the chain of provision of services. The receiver of this project and therefore earn or lose as a group. Role-playing games are
is the Summer School which is applying this platform to its the most common form of a cooperative game, in spite of not
children. The Summer School is the potential beneficiary of being always like that. In such games, players (acting as
the results and is also participating in the project conception characters) are generally seeking similar objectives.
and design stages from the first moment. Additionally, there are serious games. A serious game is a
This project also aspires to contribute to the researching game designed for a different purpose other than pure
and development of innovative technology in three of the five entertainment. Serious games are learning tools which have
pillars of the Future Internet. The first one is the Internet of pedagogical and educational objectives that enable players to
Things [4]. Project Enjoy.IT! wants to integrate the physical obtain a set of predominantly practical knowledge and skills.
world as an extension of the virtual world and vice versa. For The game by itself is a motivating factor for students, it
this reason, an Ambient Intelligence (AmI) [5] system is becomes a meaningful and leisure learning, it promotes
being created which will be able to act depending on the teamwork and it has great flexibility in its use. For this reason,
children’s necessities. But this AmI network will not only be what we aim to achieve with Project Enjoy.IT! video gaming
able to realize received requests but also be aware of the platform is that children learn while they are playing. At the
children’s identity and his context. Another pillar is the same time, they will be developing in both the psychomotor
Internet of Knowledge and Contents. In this research line, activity and the psychosocial levels [7].
there is a Social Network that links all the games and its The interaction form of these games will be different from
components. So, the games and its sensors are one of the the usual: we want children to perform a series of activities
generators of the content. At the same time, children and linked by a common story. In this story they will have to
monitors also contribute to the content network. In this move and interact with the environment, either through
manner, Project Enjoy.IT! will create and automatically sensors responding to his actions, or using the new available
associate content and knowledge elements linked to the game controllers that make users stand up from the chair and
Internet of Things which will be instantly extended to the use their body to move the remote control and the character at
Internet of People and will also create tools for generating and the same time, such as Wiimote or PlayStation Move. Even
using content in an easy and powerful fashion. Finally, the using Microsoft Kinect, where gestures and spoken commands
third pillar of the Future Internet to be developed is the are used to control the game. Moreover, in order to create a
Internet of People. Each player will have a specific role transparent environment, sensors and remote controllers used
which will complete the group abilities. So every child is will be hidden and, as far as possible, they will be wireless.
important and needed, thus promoting the integration of all Otherwise, we aim to integrate all this technologies into the
children in the use and enjoyment of applications, including world of the socio-cultural animation, which focuses on the
those with special needs or disabled ones. Of course, there is a development of recreational activities for children of all ages.
special attention to ensure that these new capabilities don’t This animation currently does not include ICT for the
jeopardize the privacy of users and securing inherent realization of the games and there is where Project Enjoy.IT!
knowledge generated in the process and communications is going to give a change with this type of combined
security [6]. experience. Thus, the Project desires to go beyond what exists
today in the world of video games: it wants to enhance the
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS interactive possibilities not just with the remote control but
For the implementation of this project various knowledge also with the environment, within a broad space where
are needed in order to unite different disciplines that, all entertainment activities can be executed in a way that include
together, make up the games platform of Project Enjoy.IT!. both video games and physical activity, without the user being
In the first place, there are current videogames. Performing aware of the technology that is behind all the environment.
a global vision of the video games existing nowadays, it is In order to create this platform, an architecture based on
worth noting two types of video games for Project Enjoy.IT!. Services Choreography [8] is going to be used. This fact will
On the one hand there are online videogames. Online facilitate the installation and fault tolerance in the

3. environment, which will be surrounded by sensors. The Using the choreographer, services and devices are able to
sensors will collect the data independently from the central exchange information in a distributed way because
system. choreographed processes are independent and can
For the games programming stage it is necessary to communicate with each other to define its workflow execution.
highlight the following used elements. It has been used the This model makes easy to turn the connection and
Unified Modelling Language (UML) [9] for the designing of disconnection of services dynamically and is capable of using
the games. UML is a graphical language to view, specify and different types of sensors and configurations.
document each of the parts comprising the development of
software. UML provides a way of modelling conceptual
things such as business processes and system functions, as
well as concrete things such as writing classes in a specific
language, database schemas, and reusable software
components.
XNA Framework 4 has been used for the games
programming. XNA [10] is a set of tools with a managed
execution environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates
the development of computer and management games.
Version 4 has been chosen because it better fits the
specifications of the platform games, due to their
improvements in the crossover development of applications
among platforms, simplicity and power of filters in addition to
its improvements in the audio system and the support for
touch screens.
Fig. 1 Enjoy.IT! platform architecture
IV. RESULTS
Project Enjoy.IT! is creating a digital and interactive Use of choreography for interconnecting services requires
entertainment platform for children. A complete role-playing the use of a common exchange language that allows services
adventure of interconnected games is being built. Two to be understood. For this reason an architecture that includes
hundred and fifty children approx., divided into groups of a semantic layer in the choreographer to improve
twenty-five children (9-10 years old) from the Polytechnic communication among sensors, actuators, and services in the
University of Valencia’s Summer School are participating on system is needed. The use of Ontology Services and Machine
it. The plot introduces an adventure in a fantasy world where Reasoning for the description of data from sensors allows
each group of children plays as a village from a region and has making a more accurate interpretation of information obtained
to solve the same problem: Natural resources are near from them, and allows the system to automatically detect
extinction and children have to begin a journey around an sensors and services available in each moment.
imaginary world in order to find several pieces from a magical Service choreography involves the Orchestration [12] of
object which will solve the problem. Using the recovered both manual and automated processes. There is a centralised
pieces the magical object will be assembled, always bearing in control mechanism which directs activities, each of which is
mind the collaborative spirit to promote positive values among an interaction among services. So an Orchestrator is also
children. The adventure will be composed by around ten included in the architecture of Services connected to the
different games. A different technology is used in each game. choreographer who supports the use of workflows to describe
Games are multiplayer, collaborative (among children in a processes graphically. Workflows are a formal specification of
group and among different groups) and interconnected to the the implementation of processes that can be dynamically
whole adventure, using a Social Network. All the advances of executed by a computer-based system. Using these tools a
each group will be able to be consulted by every player and by non-expert can create complex processes, enabling them to be
children’s parents [11]. managed automatically by a system, without the need of
To contain this adventure a modular and scalable platform writing any line of source code.
is being created based on Services Choreography Architecture In this architecture there are other necessary components.
(See figure 1). There is a control centre where the summer school monitors
Services Choreography [12] specification is targeted for will control next year several aspects of the adventure such as
composing interoperable, peer-to-peer collaborations among the evolution of each group, how many groups are playing at
any type of participant regardless of the supporting platform the same time, where are they playing, which children are
or programming model used by the implementation of the playing, etc.
hosting environment. Choreography has no centralised control, There is also a repository where all data items are stored in
which is instead shared among domains, where each one is the system.
able to carry out its own activities according to its role in a Using a private Social Network the games are being
peer-to-peer model, applying a global behavioural contract. interconnected to the whole adventure. All the advances of

4. each group in the adventure will be able to be consulted by B. The crazy boat race
every player, monitors and even the parents of the children. Children have to navigate a river in a rowboat. Its objective
Players will be able to consult the milestones achieved by any is to reach the goal in the shortest possible time, collecting as
group, contribute to various forums related to the places they many coins as they can along the way. On their journey, they
visit, see the groups’ positions on the map as well as upload meet with a series of obstacles which they have to avoid
and view photos, etc. So contents are generated by the users working as a team. The game makes a tour within an
and by the system, from the information captured by the imaginary rowboat driven by 6 paddles. The children are
sensors and the intelligence of the platform [11]. sitting on 6 rows of 3 chairs, like if they were in a rowboat. In
front of them there is a projected screen where players can see
Focusing on games features, the first premise is that the route they must follow. The paddles used have a Wiimote
selected games for the platform must be reusable. It is feasible inside to capture their movement. The joint movement of the
to use them for different years by modifying the environment, two sides makes the boat move in a straight line. But if only
the content of the activities, the questions, etc. The idea is that one side is rowing, the boat moves diagonally in the
any changes can be made by the monitors themselves using a corresponding direction. A total of 19 children can play out,
configuration tool. 18 play as a rowers (3 children by paddle) and a helmsman,
Four games have been developed and tested by UPV leading their colleagues.
Summer School children. Next there is a summary of these
games features.
A. Finding the golden idol
In this game the children must find the Golden Idol. So the
children are divided into teams of 4-5 players. Moving around
a projected board they answer the proposed questions and
bring together the five needed stones to open the chest of the
idol. The Board is virtual and is projected on a big screen.
Through an overhead camera, the image of the children is
projected on the board, and children become the counters of
the game. For each throw children use a giant dice, inside of
which there is a Wiimote which captures the position of the Fig. 3 “The crazy boat race”
dice. The questions belong to the following subjects: art, sport,
science, technology and health and welfare. This game develops concepts of collaboration through a
rowing experience that involves coordination and balance.
The game strengthens the laterality, confidence and balance. It
also promotes cooperation among the team members. For their
proper development it is essential that children are guided
either by another child or a monitor. If another child guides
them, it is difficult for children of this age (9-10 years old):
the child who runs is back to the screen and has to have a
great coordination and orientation in space to make it properly.
This game also involves physical activity because the act of
rowing implies wide circular movements with both arms.
When children play, they are immersed on the game.
C. The endless forest
The game objective is to successfully solve in the shortest
possible time seven labyrinths presented to children in a touch
Fig. 2 “Finding the golden idol” screen. The children have to scroll through the forest labyrinth
by pressing the avatar with their finger and moving it around
the screen. They have to be careful because, if they leave the
In this game children are fully integrated in the technology, marked route and collide against a wall, they have to start
focusing on the development of the game, without realizing again. Arriving at the end of the labyrinth, they begin the next
that it is virtual. This game stimulates the cognition through stage. Children individually perform the maze by turns. If one
the challenge of answering the questions. It also encourages child leaves the path, the avatar is immediately returned to the
both memory and attention. But, in addition, moving in a starting point, and the child must give way to another
virtual board promotes motor and eye-hand-foot coordination, teammate, waiting for the turn to be able to continue.
as well as the laterality and spatial knowledge. It is interactive
and motivating to children. By team working there is
collaboration among members and a desire for improvement.

5. use of ICT and make new technology accessible to children. It
has been observed that ICT cause the collaboration among the
children, help them to focus on learning, improve motivation
and interest, favour the spirit of search, promote integration
and also stimulate the development of certain intellectual
skills, such as reasoning, problem solving, creativity and the
ability of learning to learn. And ICT also contribute to the
development of physical and cognitive skills.
Project Enjoy.IT! also aims to integrate ICT in the
individual’s environment and immerse the users in a world
that will interact with them in a natural way.
It is also true that, when children are initiated into the world
of ICT, they need adults to help them meet the mechanism, to
Fig. 4 “The endless forest”
explain the operation and to modify ICT to their levels, to
adapt ICT. So children may have increased autonomy in their
This game shows an interaction and coordination of mutual
use. And this is being achieved by Project Enjoy.IT!. The
interests among children, so that, there is cooperation among
game development using ICT in the UPV Summer School has
them. When a child is performing the labyrinth the others are
enabled, in addition to entertain children, the development of
spontaneously guiding them. Moreover, it has been noted a
a range of abilities and skills and a cross-cutting education
respect for rules and every child awaits his or her turn. Further,
that the child acquires in a playful way.
this game helps the attention process, eye-hand coordination
As a whole, the developed games are very well accepted by
and the capacity for concentration and manipulation,
children, who immediately learn their handling and
developing at the same time the fine motor skills.
understand their purposes. The games help to enhance a
D. Paint and colour number of features of psychomotor development such as the
Children have a whiteboard where, through infrared pencils, motor functions, coordination, laterality and temporal-spatial
they can select a range of colours and draw, either in a orientation. They also stimulate the processes of memory and
spontaneous way or guided by monitors, who ask them to problem solving, as well as visual perception. Finally, it is
draw individual objects. Two children can now draw up at the worth to highlight that games favour interpersonal
same time. This year there was a canvas of reduced relationships with peers, encouraging collaboration and
dimensions (1.5 m x 1.25 m). Following the success of the respect for the established rules.
proof of concept, its size is increasing in order to have a large As the results of the pilot study in July prove, the
screen where up to five children could draw at the same time. developed games are complete games, which entertain
children much, and that make them "learn without realizing
it," as well as promote other capabilities in a transversal way.
A follow-up is needed to identify, within them, which
games are better accepted to promote them, as well as to
modify those aspects that can make children get bored of the
game, either for their difficulty or for the not adaptation to the
psychological level of its age.
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