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Video Game Interaction Research 

Better games sell more copies. So how do you know if you have the next big ‘hit’?

Making a good game into a great game can easily boost sales ten-fold! Our research will help this happen by finding ways to make your game better: more engaging and fun to play.

What measures can you take to make your game better?

Allow Situated Research to conduct in-depth video game analysis on your games. We analyze player interaction within situated gaming environments, a true reflection on your game's mass appeal.

Utilize Situated Research to:

• Maximize the benefits of interactive experiences using our collaborative gaming research approach
• Increase game player participation and social engagement by designing group participation: the millennial generation yearns for interaction among their networks, such as Facebook and multiplayer games like World of Warcraft
• Keep current with research and emerging trends in the industry (see our academic publications or view the abstracts)
• Design proper role specialization and complimentary virtual identities in games like MMORPGs, where group coordination is required for goal achievement (e.g., guilds of players with different roles)
• Create more powerful interactive experiences and engagement by streamlining player interaction and motivation during gameplay

Hit a hole-in-one with Situated Research.

Knock out the competition with Situated Research. As life-long gamers, we are passionate about improving game experiences, so keep us in your back pocket! Utilize our expertise in UX design, software engineering, psychology, and communication to create innovative, engaging games that boost your return on investment (ROI) and blow away the competition.

By partnering with Situated Research, you can expect a huge ROI on any games in which we collaborate. We make sure that our research and expertise pays for itself through increased video game sales. We accomplish this by helping you create a better game that is more fun, more engaging, and more addicting to play. All this extra buzz will help you sell more copies of the game, and achieve the ‘hit’ that you are striving to create.

We would love to learn more about your games, and discuss how we can take them to the next level.

Game Research:  Overview  |  Research Approach

• Sharritt, M. J. (2008). Forms of learning in collaborative video game play. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 3(2), pp. 97–138. View Abstract | View Paper
• Sharritt, M. J. (2008). Students’ Use of Social and Cognitive Affordances in Video Game Play within Educational Contexts: Implications for Learning. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Hawaii at Manoa: Honolulu, HI. (1055 pages) View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J. & Suthers, D.D. (2009). Video game representations as cues for collaboration and learning. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 1(3), pp. 28–52. (Received 'top-paper award' at the Meaningful Play conference, Michigan State University, October 2008). View Abstract
• Sharritt, M.A., & Sharritt, M.J. (2010). A mixed method approach to studying collaborative video game play. Presented at the Games + Learning + Society Conference (GLS 6.0), June 9–11, 2010, Madison. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M.A., & Sharritt, M.J. (2010). User-experience game research? Presented at the Games + Learning + Society Conference (GLS 6.0), June 9–11, 2010, Madison. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J. (2010). An Open-Ended, Emergent Approach for Studying Serious Games. In L. Annetta & S. Bronack (Eds.) Serious Educational Game Assessment (pp. 243–261). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J. (2010). Designing game affordances to promote learning and engagement. Cognitive Technology Journal, 14(2)–15(1), pp. 43–57. (Special double issue on "Games for Good: Video Games as Cognitive Technologies"). View Abstract | View Full Issue
• Sharritt, M. J. (2010). Evaluating Video Game Design and Interactivity. In R. Van Eck (Ed.) Interdisciplinary Models and Tools for Serious Games: Emerging Concepts and Future Directions (pp. 177–205). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M.J., Sharritt, M.A., & Suthers, D.D. (2010). Analyzing Collaborative Learning in Game-Based Scenarios. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse (ST&D 2010), August 16–18, 2010, Chicago. (Received "Best Poster Award"). View Abstract
• Van Eck, R. (Ed.) (2010). Gaming and Cognition: Theories and Practice from the Learning Sciences. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. (M.J. Sharritt on Editorial Board).
• Van Eck, R. (Ed.) (2010). Interdisciplinary Models and Tools for Serious Games: Emerging Concepts and Future Directions. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. (M.J. Sharritt on Editorial Board).
• Cruz-Cunha, M. et al. (Eds.) (2011). Handbook of Research on Serious Games as Educational, Business and Research Tools: Development and Design. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. (M.J. Sharritt on Editorial Board).
• Sharritt, M. J. (2011). Designing game representations: How game interfaces constrain and promote collaborative play. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, 3(2). View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J., Aune, R. K., & Suthers, D.D. (2011). Gamer Talk: Becoming Impenetrably Efficient. In M. Cruz-Cunha, V. Carvalho & P. Tavares (Eds.) Business, Technological and Social Dimensions of Computer Games: Multidisciplinary Developments (pp. 252–270). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J. & Suthers, D.D. (2011). Game-Based Representations as Cues for Collaboration and Learning. In R. E. Ferdig (Ed.) Discoveries in Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations: New Interdisciplinary Applications (pp. 163–188). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. View Abstract
• Sharritt, M. J. & Suthers, D.D. (2011). Levels of failure and learning in games. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 3(4), pp. 55–71. View Abstract