Interactive Game Playing and Network Quality - Essay Example

Interactive Game Playing and Network Quality Introduction According to Wei & Lu (2014), there are numerous reasons factors and reasons which motivate individuals into playing social interactive games through mobile devices. Using the uses and gratification theory, and basing their study on network externalities, Wei and Lu set out to offer extra direction on this important topic for future academic studies. The researchers collected about 207 questionnaire results concerning the topic that were completed online. The research model was then analyzed using the structural equation technique of modeling. The findings of the research showed that both personal gratifications and network externalities have a considerable influence on an individual’s choice to play the interactive games on mobile devices. Mobile devices are regarded for their flexibility. However, time flexibility was noted to be of very little significance in influencing an individual to play the social interactive games via mobile devices (Sandlund et al, 2014). This was a research that had not been previously done by other researchers and thus offered better insight as to how the two factors influence mobile social gaming. The research also opened doors for extensive studies into network issues in gaming. Literature Review As Gerla, Maggiorini, Palazzi & Bujari (2013) observed, the mobile revolution has enabled the contemporary world to enjoy favorite games and applications at any time and in any region of the world. The possibility of playing socially interactive games via mobile networks has presented a plethora of different technological challenges even amidst the enormous success in commercial terms (Mishra et al, 2014). As a result, a lot of interest and study have been provoked concerning such aspects of interactive game playing like the quality of the network. Since network quality can significantly diminish an individual’s interest in interactive gaming, it is critical to evaluate the present situation of the mobile networked interactive games, determine the requirements for sound network quality, and evaluate workable combinations of the proposed solutions in various literature for better playing experiences for gamers. Network quality is very critical for successful interactive game playing. The computer game world is dynamic, with people having to choose to play games on various computing devices from time to time. These devices often come with different connectivities, capabilities and form factors. It therefore becomes quite difficult to simultaneously offer high quality playability across devices (Kämäräinen, Siekkinen, Xiao & Ylä-Jääski, 2014). To improve on the gaming experience of the users, designers should be able to leverage elastic and sufficient cloud resources. However, the present cloud platforms are not designed to games that are highly interactive. In order to achieve high playability, designers should consequently emphasize on cloud gaming that is based on streaming, while also understanding the integration of game research and cloud communities so that a new architecture for improve quality of online gaming is achieved (Mishra et al, 2014). It is important to take note of device heterogeneity and network latency while developing cloud games that will stand the test of time. In-depth knowledge of the concepts of networking as well as user perspectives on game experiences is critical. Different strategies for video adaptation and various types of games have different influences on the QoE (quality of experience) in interaction game playing (Cai, Leung & Hu, 2014). In order to realize good network quality for utmost user experience, it is important to ensure that the network link’s bandwidth constraints are well met. The bandwidth constraints can be satisfied by manipulating such parameters as the frame rate and the quality of the image in the video encoder, through a number of ways. In certain bandwidth situations, based on the type of game, the quality of experience can be maximized for user through different combinations of the parameters for video encoding, which are, the image quality and the frame rate. In order to prove this, Claypool and Finkel (2014) utilized a number of subjective tests on the solution for streaming using the stream-in-home platform. Subjective tests were based on previous experiences of users. According to the findings, player performance was directly degraded as latency was increased. There was a 25% reduction of performance for each 100ms latency increase. Among other things, real time game playing/ cloud gaming saves users from the need to do computer upgrades in order to tackle issues of compatibility between their computers and games. Therefore, researchers, the public and entrepreneurs have become increasingly interested in the concept of cloud gaming. Designers continue to explore the elements that make up a superior system of cloud gaming based on the substantial design spaces. In most cases, determining the best QoE in the available cloud systems can be difficult since most of the systems are closed and proprietary (Chen et al, 2014). Researchers are thus unable to access the systems’ internal mechanisms. However, numerous studies have since asserted that cloud gaming systems, such as OnLive, have superior performance since they use considerably less network bandwidth, have shorter delays in user processing, better quality of graphics, and provide frame rates that are adaptable (Lee et al, 2015). Even though mobility in cloud gaming presents other issues in cloud gaming such as power consumption, controls, and screen size (Wei & Lu, 2014), the main issue remains latency. Since there are different requirements for latency for different games, the locations of servers should be selected depending on the specific game’s requirements. It is also important for designers to use architecture that is more distributed when hosting the servers for cloud gaming as the presently available distant cloud system infrastructure do not satisfy the requirements of the different types of games (Kämäräinen, Siekkinen, Xiao & Ylä-Jääski, 2014). In addition, designers should be able to come up with a prototype that gives the user the ability to switch between public display and mobile phones in order to enhance user experience. With the high graphical intensities of computer games, user actions that are fast paced may put a strain on end-host networks as a result of the prevailing update frequencies and bitrates. Comprehension of the features of traffic in thin client games is very useful for infrastructure that suits later demands, and in developing traffic classifiers and traffic models. Systems such as the OnLive are able to achieve better user experience by sending large packets downstream that are similar but vastly different from live video. Packets that are much smaller than conventional game traffic of clients are sent upstream. OnLive only supports frame rates that are high, with end-host connections of high capacities, but offers frame rates that are superior with end-host connections that are moderate (Claypool, Finkel, Grant & Solano, 2014). This approach facilitates the designing of traffic classifiers and traffic models that are effective, while setting up end-host connections that will serve future generations. Network connectivities that are unstable remain one of the greatest impediments to offering gaming as a service through mobile devices. It is important to compress and transmit real time game video so that the expected rate of server transmission over a mobile network with a limited bandwidth is minimized during the session of gaming, while maintaining high quality of user experience (Claypool & Finkel, 2014). By using multiplayer systems of cloud gaming that are cloud assisted, whereby mobile devices are connected to the cloud server and video frames shared amongst peers through an ad hoc cloudlet, experiments and studies have shown that a significant reduction in the expected transmission rates of the servers can be achieved (Cai, Leung & Hu, 2014). This marks an important improvement when compared to the traditional schemes of video encoding in cloud gaming. The aspect of sharing between peers in multiple player systems thus proves of immense value in enhancing transmission rates. On several occasions, wired residential, Wi-Fi and cellular end host RTTs (round trip times) can go above 100ms which numerous users consider as unacceptable (Claypool, Finkel, Grant & Solano, 2014). The Outatime can be used in such scenarios as well. The Outatime is a speculative system of execution form mobile gaming which can mask network latencies of over 120ms. Outatime is able to render speculative frames of potential future outcomes by delivering the frame to the client a whole RTT in advance. When the speculations are incorrect, the Outatime is able to swiftly recover. In order to perform this function, the Outatime combines bandwidth savings’ state compressions, fast state rollback and checkpoint, state approximation that comes with time shifting of events and rendering that is based on images, and finally, prediction of the future state (Lee et al, 2015). From various surveys, users have expressed preference for the Outatime when compared to the conventional thin client gaming in which the RTT is entirely visible. The Outatime is also preferred since it mimics gaming across networks of low latencies. Conclusion Despite the challenges in terms of network quality, interactive game playing has proven valuable in several instances, including in healthcare. According to a recent study, motion interactive video games were shown to be useful in training arm movements for children suffering from cerebral palsy. The study involved 15 children who were trained at their homes for four weeks using motion interactive video gaming. The findings of the study revealed improvement of precision in movement, even as the maximum shoulder angle variability when attempting to reach for virtual things and the children’s pressure path centers decreased. For physical objects, there was an enhancement of smoothness in movement. It was concluded thus that interactive game playing could enhance arm motor control in cerebral palsy children patients (Sandlund et al, 2014). References Cai, W., Leung, V. C., & Hu, L. (2014). A Cloudlet-Assisted Multiplayer Cloud Gaming System. Mobile Networks and Applications, 19(2), 144-152. Chen, K. T., Chang, Y. C., Hsu, H. J., Chen, D. Y., Huang, C. Y., & Hsu, C. H. (2014). On the Quality of Service of Cloud Gaming Systems. IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, 16(2), 480-495. Available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6670099/ Claypool, M., & Finkel, D. (2014, December). The Effects of Latency on Player Performance in Cloud-Based Games. In Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames), 2014 13th Annual Workshop on (pp. 1-6). IEEE. Available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7148144/ Claypool, M., Finkel, D., Grant, A., & Solano, M. (2014). On the performance of OnLive Thin Client Games. Multimedia Systems, 20(5), 471-484. Gerla, M., Maggiorini, D., Palazzi, C. E., & Bujari, A. (2013). A Survey on Interactive Games over Mobile Networks. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, 13(3), 212- 229.Available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcm.2197/full3 Kämäräinen, T., Siekkinen, M., Xiao, Y., & Ylä-Jääski, A. (2014, December). Towards Pervasive and Mobile Gaming with Distributed Cloud Infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 13th Annual Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (p. 16). IEEE Press. Lee, K., Chu, D., Cuervo, E., Kopf, J., Degtyarev, Y., Grizan, S., & Flinn, J. (2015, May). Outatime: Using Speculation to Enable Low-Latency Continuous Interaction for Mobile Cloud Gaming. In Proceedings of the 13th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (pp. 151-165). ACM. Mishra, D., El Zarki, M., Erbad, A., Hsu, C. H., & Venkatasubramanian, N. (2014). Clouds+Games: A Multifaceted Approach. IEEE Internet Computing, 18(3), 20-27. Sandlund, M., Domellöf, E., Grip, H., Rönnqvist, L., & Häger, C. K. (2014). Training of Goal Directed Arm Movements with Motion Interactive Video Games in Children with Cerebral Palsy–a Kinematic Evaluation. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 17(5), 318- 326. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17518423.2013.776124 Wei, P. S., & Lu, H. P. (2014). Why Do People Play Mobile Social Games? An Examination of Network Externalities and of Uses and Gratifications. Internet Research, 24(3), 313-331. Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IntR-04-2013-0082 Read More