Using Describers to simplify ScriptEase

• Author / Creator

  Desai, Neesha

• A high level of programming knowledge is needed in order to script a video game. This prevents video game design from being accessible to non-programmers. ScriptEase is a tool
  that was designed to solve this problem. While ScriptEase has been shown to be accessible to 10th grade English students there remains areas for further simplification. This thesis focuses on changing the way authors set options within ScriptEase by introducing a new technique called Describers. Describers allow authors to adapt plain English sentences to provide a description of each option. A user study was conducted that compared Describers against the original technique of using definitions. The participants were able to complete significantly more statements and showed a preference for the Describer. Simplifications
  such as the Describers will lower the entrance bar for an author. The underlying structure of the Describer can be used to simplify creating conditional statements.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • ScriptEase
  • Human Computer Iteraction
  • User Study
  • Describers
  • Video games

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R30K7C

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.