Thesis: Little Adventures: A 2D LAN Based Game for Preschoolers (a Tool for Improvement of Social Skills)

In Child Development, preschoolers' age group is one of the most crucial stages of a child as he/she grows up. Parents are of course conscious on their child's social skills development so as they sent their children to school to learn. Somehow, problems occur in their child when his/her performance in school is not good. Of course, parents would be bothered with it because they want their children to learn in school. In some instances, a child would have peers of its age but somehow loose them again because of lack of the child's social skills development. Basically, there are a lot of ways to improve a child's social development, the parent's teachings of first steps to interaction, the teacher's basic lessons for preschool communication and lastly, the use of multimedia in school could possibly help, but in what form? If it's a courseware or a program that assists individual to learn certain skills, the enjoyment of the child may be lessen, but if we design a computer game that can become a catalyst for a preschooler's early social skills development, children might find it interesting. Socialization in computer gaming is one of the great ideas for improving a preschooler's social learning development.

Background of the Study

The industry of preschool gaming is still a need even though it is a short term program of 3 years, because a preschooler's age limit is from 3-6 years old, that's why the researchers are concerned on it not because of its basic principles that need to follow in order to meet the standards of a simple preschooler game, but it's essence of giving the preschoolers an early time to improve their social skills.

The game that will be proposed was inspired from some 2D role playing games like, Final Fantasy and some educational games from www.fisher-price.com. We are looking forward to a game that could become a pillar of preschool computer games industry.

In the previous studies researchers focused more on social-oriented games in general, whereas in this study, the researchers will study about early childhood social skills development. This study is primarily based from the experiences of the researchers in computer games and social skills development among preschoolers. Most of the time preschoolers had a difficulty in their social skills.

Several studies conducted which are parallel to this study. In the study of Tomlinson (2005), he aimed at identifying the factors of the usage of the game characters that can help improving social skills of an individual. The result of the study revealed that the game with socializing characters become a model to enable children to learn social skills by interacting with these game characters. Also in the study conducted Daniel Loton (2007) he found out that playing online game may increase sociability and social skills.

An analysis of this study would enable the proponents to know the effects of Computer games on the social skills development among preschoolers and to use these effects into a beneficial tool and could add more features on the theoretical effects of the game, wherein the proponents could make something inside the game that will make the preschoolers learn social skill easily.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine if Little Adventures, a 2D LAN based game for preschoolers, will improve the social skills of preschoolers. Specifically, the study intends to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents according to their:

1.1. age

1.2. gender

2. Before administering the game to the students, what are the social skills levels of the preschoolers based on the sociogram results?

3. After administering the game to the students, will there be a difference on the scores obtained by the students based on the sociogram results?

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study will only be conducted for the preschoolers in the school of Philippine Medical Women's School (PMWS) but it is not company based. The number of respondents to be employed will limit only to fifteen. The answers to the questionnaire of the sociogram will only focus on their social skills towards classmates.

The game proposed by the researchers is Multiplayer (LAN based) that will be single player or two players. It is upgradable, where in, it will update itself by patching through a file-hosting server in the internet that will have the updates of the game on it.

Significance of the Study

Social Skills development with new environment and peers in a preschooler's life is not always an easy process. Preschoolers intend to be what they want to be regardless of the feelings of other people, where in they come to a point that they do not know they are hurting other people. Socialization indeed plays a vital role in promoting good relationship among students.

Primarily, this study is beneficial to preschoolers, for the researchers intend to improve their social skills.

This study will also be useful to the following:

Country

This study aims to be one of the pillars of the 2D games industry in the Philippines that helps a child to learn in such a way that the children will have enthusiasm and positive approach in playing, learning, and socializing at the same time.

Parents & Teachers

This study will give a sense of easiness in the side of the parents, and teachers, for they will have an assistive technology, while the children is learning at school with a deep sense of enthusiasm by making the preschooler socially skilled with their classmates at school.

Researchers

This study will serve as a springboard for other researchers who will want to make a study with the similar topic.

Chapter 2Review of Related Literature and StudiesReview of Related Literatures

On preschoolers

According to Proulx (2003), preschoolers are the children in the three-to-six age group (Proulx, 2003, p. 42). In these times, Porter (2005) had said that: They are one of the most crucial stages in child development especially in their early childhood. Preschool children typically have higher energy levels and are more active than school-age children (Porter, 2005, p. 84).

Smith J. (Ed). (2008) noted some specific points on preschooler development:

They develop a social and emotional skill setting that allows them to develop a self-conceptual learning and how to interact with others.

Initiative is a crucial component to a preschooler's development for he/she will utilize that initiative to manifest social skills.

Culture and gender affect their social and emotional development.

Children learn and progress through various stages of play, like in school, they tend to be learning while their playing and socializing.

Some preschoolers have challenging conditions that can affect their social and emotional development.

Children with special needs are often included with typically developing children in classroom environments. Smith J. (Ed). (2008).

And also, Preschoolers in their early childhood are the levels of children wherein they were very curious, diligent and obedient to their parents. According to Porter (2005), It is during early childhood that preschoolers learn how to comply with rules, how to wait their turn, how to control anger, and how to tolerate frustration (Porter, 2005, p. 78). During the preschool ages, parents are very cautious about the safety of their children. The parent's attention span varies with age, gender, and type of activity. A longer attention span is generally found in older children than in younger children, and in girls more often than in boys. Children are usually able to maintain a longer attention span when performing tasks that match their abilities and interests (Goodnight, Margolis, & Salkind, 2002, p. 40). Throughout a preschooler's curiosity, they are eager to try new things, and they learn a great deal from exposure to new thoughts and ideas (Galloway, Valster, & Ivey, 1990). Therefore, preschoolers are fast learners.

On social developmental tasks and problems

In the stage of being preschoolers, children tend to develop their social skills where in, preschoolers tend to become friends with peers who are nearby physically as neighbors or playgroup members. Similarity in age is a major factor in friendship selection, and children tend to make friends with age mates. (Goodnight, Margolis, & Salkind, 2002, p. 156). But somehow, preschoolers have the tendency to have antisocial behavior. In preschoolers, antisocial behavior can include temper tantrums, quarreling with peers, and physical aggression (i.e., hitting, kicking, and biting). Parents often report difficulties in handling and controlling the child (Goodnight, Margolis, & Salkind, 2002, p. 25). And having those aggressive behaviors it is said according to Natalie Porter (2005) that preschoolers with aggressive tendencies are seen as future delinquents and violent criminals (Porter, 2005, p. 214). These issues are common to childhood and teachers need to be particularly aware how children from different backgrounds are relating to each other (Wright, 2000, p. 34).

The social responses of preschool children

Skinner (1941) pointed out some social responses of preschool children that utilized its skill improperly. A year-old child can learn to say "goodbye" and hide his face by his own hands, he can utilize his drive to go after what he wants by creeping. He/she is able to show that he understands the names of certain objects when their names are mentioned. He/she can obey certain commands. He/she can call the attention of another to an object of special interest to him/her. Although some of the foregoing are attempts to project himself or herself during the first two years of his/her life the child is more likely to take than to give. Up to this point he/she is practicing his/her self-centeredness and still demands personal attention. He therefore needs training in the art of living with others to become sociable. Situations should be provided that will enable them to engage in those social practices (Skinner, 1941, p. 225).

Why focus on social skills?

From the time they are infants, The Journal of Young Media Australia (2004) had pointed out that children's experiences of the world around them shape their social skills and their emotional well-being. Infants, toddlers and preschoolers are all, within their own stage of development, learning how to get along with other people, to respond to them appropriately, and solve problems positively. They are learning the give and take of conversation, acceptable and respectful ways of speaking to others and an awareness of how their actions affect other people, and other people's actions affect them. The foundations of their self-esteem are being established, as are disposition, confidence, agreeableness and resilience. Older preschoolers are learning to fine-tune the way they speak and can participate relatively competently in the give and take of conversation. (Young Media Australia, 2004). This clearly states that socialization is in fact an essential factor in the lives of preschoolers. Another point of view from Dumbleton & Bennett (2009) Said and quoted that "Imagine being given this choice: you can help your child achieve top-of-the-class academic successes, or help your child become well-adjusted and socially skilled. Of course, it's hard to imagine any parent not choosing the latter, though who would want to abandon the former? And isn't it good that parents doing have to make decisions like these? Every parent would like for his or her child to be socially able and emotionally secure. These skills feel good and enable more opportunities and fuller enjoyment of more varied experiences." (Dumbleton & Bennett, 2009)

Teaching Social Skills, Concepts, and Knowledge

A quality early childhood program promotes young children's capacity to learn in a social setting by helping them learn to engage in strong, positive interactions with both adults and peers. Individual differences in children's social competence are readily apparent in groups of young children, and unless these are addressed, children's academic and learning outcomes cannot be maximized. All young children, in particular those from stressful and non-nurturing environments, benefit from a proactive social curriculum. Dramatic and imaginative play provides children with the best opportunities to learn to notice and appreciate other children's points of view. Ideas and materials have to be negotiated and agreed upon and problems solved as conflicts arise. By encouraging and monitoring children's social play and intervening in a supportive way when necessary, teachers can help young children learn to use words, take turns, lead and follow, and control aggression. To avoid inadvertently widening the gap between different children's social knowledge and skills, teachers must create alternative learning situations for children to practice skills. "Floor time" with a trusted adult or peer allow children to become more confident in play. For a child who has particular difficulties with social play, the following are some positive ways to intervene:

Coach the child in words to use in a situation,

Help the child see the connection between his action and the other child's responses,

Suggest some ways for the child to enter the group and join the play,

Coach the child to respond to other's invitations

Coach the child to learn and use others' names,

Show the child how to join the flow of the play so as not to disrupt it,

Encourage a rejected child to try again.

Children can also be taught the skills of social problem solving so that they are better able to negotiate, take turns, and solve problems verbally rather than physically. Through direct instruction, stories and formal and informal conversations, teachers can talk about consequences, explain tasks, talk about the sequence of events, and ask questions that help children consider alternatives. In this way, they teach and model the components of social problem solving that become internalized into private speech. Some children, particularly those who have difficulties with attention or impulse control, need intensive support in learning and practicing these skills through such techniques as role-play and structured discussion. Children demonstrate social skills with adults when they seek information, help, permission and attention in appropriate ways; listen and follow directions; converse, show, and share. The social curriculum includes instruction and guidance in appropriately and consistently using adults as resources.

Education for Social/Moral Knowledge

In primary school, the study of people is called social studies and involves looking at how people live and work, now and in past times, how their families and societies are organized, and how people are shaped by their everyday contexts. In preschool, teachers implement the equivalent when they provide experiences, activities, and materials that foster learning about the social world and its organization. When teachers go beyond those basics to teach about rules and conventions, fairness, authority, and welfare, they are enriching the social studies curriculum to include a moral domain. There are many ways for teachers to create topics or themes and sequence their curriculum to help children master social/moral knowledge; different formal curricula offer alternative approaches. For example, the early childhood program known as Creative Curriculum organizes the components of "social studies" for preschool children into the four categories: spaces and geography, people and how they live, people and the environment, and people and the past. These four topics roughly correspond to what, in later grades; will come to be called geography, sociology, ecology, and history. Through these studies, children delve into familiar topics in many preschool and child-care programs, such as their community, maps, families, jobs, school and home rules, caring for the environment, and growth and change over time. The Montessori primary level for children aged 3-6 includes a broad "Cultural Curriculum" with many subtopics, including the study of people and cultures in other countries, music, art, world geography, plants, animals, and the solar system. Montessori students always start with the biggest question and the widest scope before moving to more specific questions and topics. They learn about the whole earth before learning about the continents, and then the countries. This approach is intended to teach them to respect other living beings and the earth and to feel connected to the global human family. A range of approaches to a Social Curriculum can be found in the early learning standards formulated across the United States in recent years in response to federal policies such as the Head Start Child Outcome Framework and the Good Start, Grow Smart requirements. (Praeger , 2007, pp. 213-251).

According to Ostrosky, M., Meadan, H., Cheatham, G., Mills, M., Beneke, S., Gaumer, N., Nathaniel, G. (2008), For Children with Positive Peer Social Interactions, display a limited number of the following negative Peer antisocial interactions like the following:

• Grabbing

• Pushing

• Name calling (ex. Paul="Pauly Wauly")

• Engagement in negative social interactions at home

(Ostrosky, M., Meadan, H., Cheatham, G., Mills, M., Beneke, S., Gaumer, N., Nathaniel, G., 2008, p. 5)

Positive Social Skills

Sample target social skills include:

• Getting a friend's attention

• Sharing objects

• Asking a peer to share objects

• Providing a play idea to a peer

• Saying something nice to a friend

• Entering group play or competitive/cooperative playing among groups (Ostrosky, M., Meadan, H., Cheatham, G., Mills, M., Beneke, S., Gaumer, N., Nathaniel, G., 2008, p. 6)

Social skills allow children to interact with other children and adults, make friends and act appropriately in different situations. It should not be confused with simple politeness and manners. Shy children often have trouble joining in with their peers. There is nothing more painful for a child than to be lonely, watching from the sidelines, unable to take that first step toward participation and friendship. The inability to make friends and feel comfortable with peers can weaken a child's self-esteem (Goddard, 2005).

Understanding Preschooler's social & emotional development in games

Hromek, (2005) pointed out some important factors of children playing games. Children learn about emotion from watching the models in their social world and through play with peers. Families and schools have an important role to play in modelling a positive range of responses to emotional crises. The culture or climate of the child's home and school is reflected in their emotional control, along with the hereditary factors influencing individual temperament and personality. Adults are in a position to develop children's intellectual, physical, social and emotional growth through the words and resources provided to children in their immediate environment. The language (words) used by adults becomes the basis for a child's thought construction and belief systems that are used when resolving future problems. For most children, this complex interplay of heredity, modelling and learning leads to the adoption of prosocial skills and effective self-management when dealing with emotional crises. For yet other children, explicit teaching, direct modelling, guided practice and social reinforcement will be necessary. Skills as basic as sitting still, listening, taking turns, sharing, speaking politely, dealing with frustration, etc. will need to be taught in a structured way, with opportunities for modelling, guided practice and reinforcement (Hromek, 2005).

Video Games for Preschoolers

In the book of Praeger , (2007) it has been sain that, preschool children have the cognitive ability to engage in make-believe, which gives them greater access to the play worlds of computer and video games. They can imitate models that are not present and are theorized to find, in their play, multiple ways to represent the reality of the world around them as well as the inner reality of their interpretations. Their play tends to focus on construction through a variety of play media-building forts with blocks, drawing, or painting pictures of home life-and the use of narratives in creating stories using dolls about fairly elaborate fantasy worlds. They can engage in all kinds of play requiring symbolizing, organizing, and planning both alone and in cooperation with others. These capabilities may begin to allow them access to some of the beneficial aspects of computer and video games. In spite of this perceived readiness for playful engagement with video games and computers, most of those designed for preschoolers fall into the category of Edutainment and focus on academic aspects of school readiness. Although this may be enjoyable or beneficial for some children, it is important to remember that these games do not necessarily include opportunities to construct or create new worlds; nor even to develop motor skills, which is another important area of development for young children. Preschoolers are focusing on developing fine- and gross motor skills through physical exploration, which also helps to facilitate their cognitive development, as they begin to make sense of the world around them. More tangible types of play media, that is, wooden blocks rather than electronic play, may be better suited to these particular goals. While most types of computer or console games provide children with an opportunity to practice hand-eye coordination, they also tend to exclude gross motor skills. In addition, these games may limit children's exploration to specific activities that are determined by the software and input devices, whereas virtually the only factor that limits children's exploration of wooden blocks is their own imagination. Furthermore, some parents and teachers believe that learning important concepts through everyday, "real-life" experiences provides a richer cognitive experience for preschoolers because this learning takes place within a naturally occurring environment. However, a natural environment does not insure a richer cognitive experience any more than a video game entails something less than beneficial. While concerns about excess time spent with computers and video games are real, their potentially negative effects should not be exaggerated. Children typically do not exclusively play video games. Instead, playing video games is typically only one of many activities that children engage in; and thus, video games, when appropriate and controlled, might complement, rather than replace, other types of activities suitable for young children.

In considering both the potential benefits and the possible risks that may be associated with young children playing computer and video games, it is important to note that these forms of technology in the lives of young children represent a relatively new and complex phenomenon. Many of the studies that have been conducted so far in this area of research have found inconclusive or inconsistent results. In addition, debates are frequent among several differing perspectives represented by parents, educators, and researchers. Where there is agreement, it is in the opinion that, although computer use and video games provide some potential benefits, they should not replace other types of children's social, physical, and cognitive activities such as outdoor play, constructive play, and dramatic play. Instead, computers and video games should be among many activities in which children engage, as a complement to rather than substitute for other, more physical and interactive activities. To continue our inquiry and expand our understanding in both research and applied settings, it will be important to keep an open mind to the potentials of children's uses of these and other technologies. It will also be important, when studying young children's use of computer and video games, to consider both individual and contextual factors that may play a role in shaping the influences of electronic play on child development and early learning. (Praeger , 2007, p. 149).What can we learn on computer games and its environment?

Games Support:

Active Learning

The best way to define "active learning" is to compare it with passive learning, which has been the traditional mode of teaching for thousands of years. Passive learning is loosely defined as students being the targets of lectures and reading assignments, without, for the most part, taking any direct role in their own learning. Active learning requires the student to engage in dynamic endeavors such as role-playing, debate, and give-and-take discussion with peers. Its purpose is to compel the student to become part of the learning process -- not just the object of lectures or reading material. Games, by their very nature, encourage active learning, as the student becomes the driver of the learning activity itself, instead of being a mere passenger.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is sometimes described as "learning by doing." Long understood as one of the best modes of learning, until recently, it has also been one of the most expensive, and possibly most dangerous, as on the job training can sometimes have disastrous results. The military and civilian flight schools In particular, but not exclusively) have long known that experiential learning through games or simulators can convey genuine, practical skills to raw students, and gradually, this concept has been taking root in the corporate world and in conventional schools. Computer games, when well-crafted, can give a student the look, feel, and decision-making challenges of the real world, and in doing so, can help them be better-prepared for the real-world arenas in which they have been trained.

Problem-based Learning

Problem-based learning, an academic cousin to active learning, encourages progress in students by presenting them with a series of problems which must be solved, prior to the student advancing to the next step of his or her learning or training. In games, such problems are typically known as "scenarios," "missions," or "levels," but the process is very similar, even in a commercial game, to the entire concept of problem-based learning.

Immediate Feedback

One important fundamental of modern education is the concept of immediate feedback. Immediate feedback is a self-defining term -- its premise is that the student will not have to wait through a day, a weekend, or weeks, to learn the results of a test or experiment from his or her teacher, but will instead (in this case via the agent of the computer game) receive this feedback immediately. A game can also offer, more quickly than most human teachers, pre-scripted hints, suggestions, and even critiques to students, which feedback can inspire them to renew their efforts to solve the learning problem at which they might have failed on the first attempt.

Learner-centered Learning

Learner-centered learning mandates that the student be the focus of the learning process. With the typical computer game permitting one student to sit at one workstation, playing a game that responds to just his or her decisions, a student can progress, or fail to do so, at a rate compatible with his or her learning speed. Even games that combine multiple users in one endeavor still include this centricity of learning, as each student is still interacting with a machine, and a game front end, that is devoted entirely to him or her.

Gaming Environments include:

Problem-solving in Complex Systems

Complex systems are systems, organizations, groups, organisms, etc., those exhibit characteristics which cannot be found among any one of their component parts. Computer games are ideal tools to both present complex systems, and then to introduce problems that can only be solved with a true understanding of the system itself. One Federation of American Scientists (FAS) game that already displays the concept of problem solving in a complex system is Immune Attack. Here the player has to understand the workings of the body's immune system, as well as some aspects of the circulatory system, in order to combat organisms that have the potential to do damage to the entire body.

Creative Expression

Creative expression is very closely tied to play, and computer games are very sophisticated tools for creative expression. Through the device of a game, learning can be a product of the player's observation, analysis, and action, and often the players, even of the most narrowly defined learning games, will devise winning (i.e., learning) strategies and methods that are not intended by the original designer -- yet are still the result of a profound understanding, on the part of the player, of whatever science, skills, or area of expertise the designer intended to highlight.

Social Relationships

One of the hallmarks of a typical computer game is this: there is one computer, one monitor, one chair, and (almost always) one user of these three things. So how might a computer game enhance social relationships? First, there is the oft-forgotten relationship between the user (in this case, a game player) and the designer. Even though not physically present, the designer, months or even years before, was obliged to create challenges for the player, and to attempt to guess at every conceivable decision and action that player would choose. The best games, no matter what the subject, are those in which the player feels that he or she is interacting with human characters, not with rigidly scripted avatars whose actions can always be predicted in advance. The longer this fantasy endures, the better the game design, and the more successful the game's ultimate purpose.

Computer games do, however, allow for far more realistic social relationships than this. Virtual worlds; massively multiplayer games, and even games which include just two players, all require the development of social skills to one degree or another, in order for the player to succeed in whatever goals have been set for the game. And because a player can literally interact with scores, or hundreds, of other real players without ever going outside his or her home, classroom, or office, in some ways it might even be argued that computer games can provide the ability to interact with others to a degree that might not otherwise always be possible.

Challenges to the Player to Prioritize among Competing Objectives

Computer games give the designer -- and therefore the teacher, and through the teacher, the student -- the ability to set multiple objectives. The player, faced with more than one possible path through a game, is then obliged to choose that which seems most likely to lead to success. The designer can make these choices as obvious, or as obscure, as desired. One additional bonus that computer games can offer is the potential for objectives, and their relative priorities, to be changed on the fly, during a game session, or at the beginning of a new session. Choices that might have seemed easy, or obvious, in a previous game session can now be entirely different, due to the addition of new game objectives, or changes to other variables in the game's scenario. (Federation of American Scientists, 2008)

Interactive computer programs using real-life video to teach social skills to children and adolescents

Teaching Social Skills

Social skills or "pragmatics" are a vital part of living and functioning in our world today. Many children with developmental disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down's Syndrome, hearing impairment, and others have problems learning the complex understanding of social interaction.

Parents, educators, and therapists are challenged to teach these children the "unspoken" rules of social behavior. Usually children pick up these skills through experience and learn from interactions. Children with disabilities sometimes lack the understanding to learn from their life experiences and have more difficulty with social skills. In order for these special children to learn critical life skills, essential to living, they have to be taught.

So how do we teach social skills?

Many parents, educators and therapists have difficulty instructing children on social skills. It is different than teaching the ABCs or naming colors. There are so many components that make the task overwhelming! Language skills are broken into several parts, including syntax (the rules of language - verbs, nouns, etc.), semantics (the meaning behind language - vocabulary), and pragmatics (the social use of language). Without each part functioning, you cannot be a successful and complete communicator.

The role of social stories

The concept of the social story makes great sense of interaction when teaching social skills to children. It tells some social concepts in its context. This element gives motivation to socialize with others and it is still, an effect on social skill that collaborates with other people for beneficial and enthusiastic purpose. The speech pathologists at Social Skill Builder have found that social stories provide simple, concrete examples of appropriate and inappropriate behavior within a social context. Children are able to target certain emotions, relations, and behaviors in a controlled teaching environment. The only problem is that social stories don't always motivate the child. Pictures in books cannot relate all the components of social relationships or situations, such as body language, facial expressions and movement throughout an interaction. Something more dynamic is needed.

The role of social story in video

Through concrete trials, the speech pathologists at Social Skill Builder have found that videos of social interactions seem to provide a more dynamic alternative to stories in books. Children are motivated to watch television and attend to the real-life interaction seen on the screen. Educators can point out key elements found in appropriate interactions and provide an accurate model for functioning. The only problem is that the child can sometimes become distracted, because there is nothing required of him/her but to watch. Something more interactive is needed.

The role of social story videos embedded in an interactive computer program

Finally the speech pathologists at Social Skill Builder have developed the concept of combining social stories and live video into a computer program. Social Skill Builder programs use real-life video and require the child to watch and interact in order to obtain understanding in the discovery of social skills. The child is drawn to the video sequence (and of course the computer!) and then asked to respond in a game-like atmosphere to appropriate social behaviors. The child then gets a positive or negative response to motivate and teach the skills targeted. The child is excited by not only watching the interaction, but then responding and engaging in the situation himself/herself.

Carrying over skills learned in the program

It is vital that skills taught in the computer programs are carried over into real-life situations. After playing "My School Day" on the computer, for example, teachers can get a group together and practice waiting in line or interacting on the playground. The therapist, educator, or parent must use the computer program as a stepping stone to carry over skills into the natural environment. The program provides a dynamic interactive tool, but then the skills must be practiced and used in real situations (Social Skill Builder, 2008).

Systems developed in the field of Computer games for social skills development

According to Texas Autism (2006), as a way to improve social reciprocity in more natural social contexts, peer-mediated interventions are used to provide social learning opportunities through peer interaction, peer modeling, and peer reinforcing (Texas Autism, 2006). If peer-mediated interventions didn't work at all, you might as well use technology; in this case, computer games containing social applications will be the answer. Roe and Muijs (1998) found that increasing proficiency at computer games may afford players a temporary sense of mastery, control and achievement that they had hitherto felt themselves to be lacking. Such artificial raising of self-esteem may lead to interactions with computer games becoming a substitute for social relationships (Roe & Muijs, 1998), in fact, a preschooler shines by using social skills Computer Games. A story from Social Skill builder (2008) tells that: New mom Noreen first noticed something different about her son at 18 months. Christopher seemed lost at his Gymboree™ class; he was just not behaving like the other kids. At 3, Christopher was admitted to a special needs school based on low problem solving skills. Continued work with Christopher revealed problems understanding questions and difficulty following conversations. His family and therapist went to work on his main difficulty - socialization and the appropriate communication that goes along with it.

When Christopher was about to receive a gift, Noreen would whisper in his ear, "Put on your happy face." And when he was angry with her but didn't know how to express it, she'd coach, "now it's time for your mad face." Christopher's therapist also recommended a new CD-ROM from Social Skill Builder - Preschool Playtime. The software offers five levels of role-playing exercises where real-life children are presented in real-life situations - in the park, in a play group, at preschool and on an outing. Playing the game, Christopher is asked to identify correct behavior related to social interactions such as taking turns, sharing, apologizing, cooperating, maintaining personal space and listening. "Greetings, and how to act when playing traditional games like Duck-Duck-Goose, do not come naturally to Christopher, but he doesn't like me to explain these things to him," says Noreen. "Using Preschool Playtime, we're able to take advantage of the fact that he's a really visual child. When he watches a child in the program stop over at a friend's house to say 'hi,' or a group playing Ring-Around-The-Rosie, he's able to imitate the situation with other kids later on."

Since starting therapy, Christopher has made incredible progress. "It's like night and day," says Noreen. "Without the steps that we've taken, Christopher would be a different kid today. But as things stand, our family is really happy and looking forward to the future." (Social Skill Builder, Inc., 2004)

The computer game and its history

According to Overmars (2007), he quoted: "A computer game is a software program in which one or more players make decisions through the control of game objects and resources, in pursuit of a goal (Overmars, 2007)". According to LaMothe (2002), It all began sometime in the '60s, when the first mainframe computers came to be. The history of the computer game is, in parts, a history of technology. The computer game requires technology capable of handling large amounts of data and of representing this data. The relationship between a technological phenomenon such as the computer and the less formally based culture is not a simple one: some theories will claim that technology determines culture; some will claim that culture determines technology. It may be most reasonable to see this as a history of mutual influences, where technology can inspire (or enable) cultural developments and cultural developments can inspire new technology. To quote an obvious example, the computer game was originally developed on equipment designed for military and academic purposes. But today the computer game is the driving force in the development of much hardware such as 3d graphics accelerators. The first computer game is generally assumed to be the game Spacewar!, developed in 1962 at MIT. Spacewar originally ran on a PDP-1 computer the size of a large car. By today's standards, the graphics are rather primitive, although less primitive than many games form the 1980's. The game as such is not bad: Two players each control a spaceship circling a planet. The players can shoot each other, turn their ships, and accelerate. The goal is - naturally - to hit the other player before being hit yourself. The first commercially available video game, Pong (Atari 1973), was introduced 11 years after Spacewar! Pong is a simple concept that has turned out to be surprisingly durable even though the graphics are simply white rectangles on a black background. In the beginning, Pong was placed at entertainment venues, markets, and fun fairs, next to mechanical pastimes and as a supplement to these. This is the same kind of place where the game Space Invaders (Taito 1977) was also introduced. Space Invaders defines most of the basic parameters of what I call the classical action game: A player controls an object/an actor against some enemies; a score is kept; the game is real-time and requires fast reflexes; the player has a fixed amount of lives (typically three); the game is based on successive levels of increasing difficulty; the game (or just the title) places the player's action as part of a minimal narrative (LaMothe, 2002).

Game Genres

According to Overmars (2007), Games come in many different types. Over the years a number of different genres have been created. If you are very creative you can try to make a game that is completely new, but if you want to be on the safe side you better pick a particular genre and make a game that fits in this genre. The following are some of the most important game genres:

• Arcade games, where reaction speed is the most important aspect of the game. Typical examples are scrolling shooters, maze games like Pacman, breakout type of games, various platform games, etc. These games are relatively easy to make and normally 2-dimensional graphics is good enough for them. These are definitely the type of games you should first start creating. A particular type of arcade games is the pinball game. These are a bit harder to create because you need natural ball movement.

• Puzzle games, where clever thinking is the most important aspect. Many maze games are actually more based on puzzle solving rather than on reaction speed. Other examples include board games and sliding puzzles. These games are also normally 2-dimensional and are relatively easy to create, unless the game has to be played against a computer opponent in which case it might be difficult to program the way the computer plays the game.

• Role playing games (RPG), where you steer a character through a dangerous world. Typical examples are Diablo and Baldur's Gate. The most important part of such a game is the development of the character you control. The character must learn new skills, become more powerful, and find additional and better weapons. At the same moment the opponents become more powerful as well. Sometimes there is also a strong story line and the player must discover what is going on in the world. RPG games are often isometric or fully 3D, but this is not crucial. You can also create 2-dimensional RPG games. RPG games are harder to make because you must create the mechanism of character development. Also the games normally need to be large because otherwise they are soon finished. Good level design is crucial.

• Strategy games, either real-time (RTS) or turn-based. Here the player normally only indirectly controls the character in the game but he does set out the strategies that the characters need to follow. Examples include Age of Empires, Caesar, Command and Conquer, etc. Strategy games often use an isometric view. They take a lot of time to create because they require many different game objects, like characters and buildings, that all need their own animated images and specific behavior.

• Management games, in which you must build up an empire. In these games the player manages for example a city, factory, railroad company, park, etc. Examples are SimCity, Theme Park, Railroad Tycoon and in some sense also games like The Sims. Views are often isometric for a good overview. Managing resources is a crucial ingredient. These games are difficult to make because there must be an underlying system that simulates the world, for example the behavior of the visitors of your theme park. Many GOD (ruled) games can be considered as a combination of management and strategy games.

• Adventure games, where the story line is rather crucial. Most adventure games are largely 2-dimensional and use the well-known point-and-click interface. The difficulty in creating an adventure game does not lie in the actions but in creating an interesting, funny, and surprising story line and in creating the corresponding artwork. You really need to be an artist for this.

• First-person shooters, which can be seen as the 3-dimensional version of the old arcade games. Here the emphasis is on fast-paced action and reaction speed, not on cleverness and puzzle solving. Famous examples are obviously the Doom and Quake series but huge numbers have been created. First person shooters need a 3- dimensional world to create the feeling of presence.

• Third-person shooters, where the player directly controls a game character through a hostile world. A clear example is Tomb Raider. The main difference with role playing games is that there is not much emphasis on character development. It is more a matter of fast action and discovering the game world. Many third-person shooters also have a storyline and borrow aspects from adventure games. Third-person shooters do not need to be 3-dimensional (think for example of the early GTA games) and can be created with relative ease.

• Sport games, in which an existing sport, like soccer or baseball is simulated. Many such games exist and they are very popular. Creating a convincing and fun to- play sport game is though a big challenge. It might work better if you give it a cartoon flavor because then the action does not need to be realistic.

• Racing games are in some sense a special type of sport game. Because there are so many of them they deserve a category of their own. Some racing games, like for example many Formula-1 games, try to model the driving of a car as realistic as possible. Other games are more arcade style and make racing very easy. Racing games can be both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. One of the major challenges when making a racing game is to create convincing racing behavior of the computer controlled opponents.

• Simulators, like flight simulators. Such games try to realistically simulate some mechanism, like a plane. They are popular because people like to understand how such systems work and like to be able to control them. Creating simulators is rather difficult because you must implement the internal working of the system you are simulating, e.g. the flying of a plane.

Clearly we did not cover all types of games in this list but it at least gives you some indication of the various genres. You can of course produce a game that has aspects of different genres, but you should be careful with this because games could have effects on the player's behavior. So we might as well pick a genre and stick to it for the whole game (Overmars, 2007).

Make computers fun for all the family

By: Challenge Newsline Journal

Parent-child relationship ties a big influence on a child's social skills development. 'Parents who play computer games with their children can share in a positive relationship building experience,' says national charity Care for the Family. The advice comes as a survey carried out by the charity shows that 92% of parents are concerned over computer game content and 83% of parents have refused to buy computer games for their children. The survey also showed that negative effects of computer gaming such as length of time playing (28 hours a week for some children), frustration, arguments, inability to sleep, desensitization and addiction were real problems for many parents. Peer pressure for the next 'must have game' also causes significant tension in many households. However, 69.5% of the 1477 parents who completed the survey felt that one of the most positive benefits of playing computer games with their children was that they spent time together as a family. Others commented that they cancelled the generation gap and gave a rare opportunity for one-to-one time with their children. Katharine Hill, Head of Family Life at Care for the Family says "Whether we like it or not, the age of technology means that computer games are here to stay. Parents do need to set boundaries for their children when playing console games, but they can also act positively and take some time out to play the games with their children." This way they are more likely to get a positive response when suggesting homework, a bike ride or other family activity 'Time together as a family is crucial. It forms the foundation for good strong relationships, opens up communication and will build memories that last a lifetime' says Katharine. 'And even playing computer games with your children can be part of that. One family wrote and told us they have a Wii night - playing games and then they watch a DVD. It shows how technology can bring families closer together, if families are willing to use it!' (Challenge Newsline, 2009)

Playing the games with your kids promote social skills

According to Matt of supportNet, Making computer games an activity you can do together promotes social ties towards parent-child relationships and team camaraderie. He said: "Playing games with my children is a great way to monitor what's out there. It wouldn't be fair to say 'that's unsuitable' when I have no idea what the game is about or involves. I also find it a great way to bond, especially with the vast host of multiplayer games on the market. We often have our own family 'team' that looks out for each other and works together. It's fun to have something in common." (SupportNet, 2008)

On computer games and social skills

What is the essence of social interaction on computer games?

Significance of Interaction

According to Crawford (1982), interaction is essential for many reasons. First, it injects a social or interpersonal element into the event. It transforms the challenge of the game from a technical one to an interpersonal one. For instance, solving a cube puzzle is a strictly technical operation; playing chess is an interpersonal operation. In the former, one plays against the logic of the situation; in the latter, one uses the logic of the situation to play against the opponent. Second, interaction transforms the nature of the challenge from a passive challenge to an active challenge. A puzzle will always present the player with exactly the same challenge. But a game opponent reacts to player's actions, and presents different challenges in each game. This difference has major emotional significance. The person solving the puzzle must somehow divine, guess, deduce, master, or discover the key trick built into the puzzle by the designer. Emotionally, the puzzle player is working against the puzzle or its designer to unmask its secret. Once the secret is known, the puzzle is no longer interesting. The game-player, by contrast, faces different challenges each time she plays the game. Where a puzzle is dead a game is alive; the player must create her solution to the game in a manner best suited to her own personality and that of her opponent. The key distinction between a game and a puzzle is the difference between creating your own solution and discovering the designer's solution. A game acknowledges the player's existence and reacts to the player's personality; a puzzle lies down like a dead fish. Computer games seldom provide a human opponent, and so they lack the social element that other games offer. They can, however, present an illusory personality against which the player must work. This is one of the most exciting and least developed potentials of the computer as a game technology. And regardless of the computer's success or failure in synthesizing a social element, the computer can readily make the game a highly interactive experience for the player. It can react to the player's moves with speed and thoroughness (Crawford, 1982, pp. 11-12).

Review of Related Studies

Local StudiesLIGAWAN: LAN BASED Dating GameBy: Perante, Samarita & De Guzman

Primary amongst these is that lanning entails players meeting, not just in the virtual world of a game, but also face to face, dealing a blow to theories that games are anti-social, but it is wrong. The findings shows that the LIGAWAN has a great feedback from the respondents, both the end-users and the technical expert groups. The system got a verbal rating of "Very satisfactory", meaning the system is completed and has passed their level of interest in terms of computer games. (Perante, Samarita, & De Guzman, 2007).

Network Based 3D SNAKES and LADDERSBy: Aliban, Arriola, Reyes, Teodoro, Ventura, Young

The study is all about the development and enhancement of the game Snakes and Ladders. The game can be single player (versus PC) and can also be in a network that facilitates a multiplayer game that would add excitement to the end users.

The game was tested or played by twenty end users (ages 5-10) and 20 technical experts. They were given a chance to evaluate the system and give some ideas about the game which become the basis of some additional features of the game. It reveals that most of the end-user and technical experts were satisfied about the enhancement of the board game, but the system didn't meet some of its objectives. (Aliban, Reyes, & Ventua, 2001).TAKTIKA: A LAN BASED GAMEBy: Cruz, Guilao, Mirador & Yoshida (2007)

This is the software project based on the famous classic game TIC-TAC-TOE where in players can play interactively because there were two computers connected or networked together to play and enjoy this all-time classic game. On the evaluation conducted, it resulted that most of the end-users and technical experts are satisfied about the enhancement of the traditional game. The game had a verbal rating of "Satisfactory" (Cruz, Guilao, Mirador, & Yoshida, 2007).

WORD Factory (LAN)By: Magdalena and Villanueva (2002)

The main reason for implementing the proposed system is to enhance and improve the current system called word factory. It aims to make a network game that will enhance the vocabulary of users while playing the game and to test their ability in word findings and to provide user Graphical User Interface (GUI) application system that is user friendly. It can be 1-2 players maximum of two computer opponent. It allows users to interact with each other because it is a networked game for two or more players. It is said that technology and its vastness can help people to interact through games that help them think and socialize at the same time. The study had concluded that computer games are not really bad, it depends upon the kind of game you are addicted to and that is why the researchers in this study developed this system to encourage everyone especially the youth. (Magdalena & Villanueva, 2002).

Computer Aided Instructions for preschooler MathematicsBy: Falcatan & Geronimo (1996)

This software project is made exclusively for preschoolers in order for them to use the technology of computer in learning basic mathematics and also it is user friendly and dynamic because it is mouse driven so the child can use it even if he/she is alone. It has colorful objects that engage the child to enjoy the courseware and have fun while learning. It also has help messages to guide the child to use the software easily. It was concluded in this study that theexisting process of teaching mathematich to preschool students are better but it will be much better if this system is to be changed through Computer Learnng Process that is with Computer Aided Instruction (CAI). (Falcatan & Geronimo, 1996).

GAME KNB? (LAN-Based Game)By: Camena, Ravelo, Caminay, Santoceldes, Javier & Sumaculub (2001)

This software project is created inspired from the famous "GAME KNB?" game from the Philippine television ABS-CBN channel 2. This game can be played by one or more persons that will answer many questions that challenge the players to be intelligently competitive against each other. This LAN game promotes social interactions among players who play this game and gives more trivial information while playing. The rendition of evaluation results has proven that the developed system provided the necessary mechanics and game panel in order to play. The proponents has been not yet achieving perfectly the primary objectives given the result of evaluation procedure, the system will continue to enhance every module for satisfaction of the user and convenient playing (Camena, Ravelo, Caminay, Javier, & Sumaculub, 2001).

Foreign StudiesDiscovering how others think via a collaborative learning gameBy: Kusunoki et al. (2000)

This study wanted pupils to discover how others think by encouraging collaborative learning in a classroom. They used a game system that integrates physical and virtual worlds to teach urban planning and environmental issues. Within the classroom the game was found to support active learner participation and externalization of learners' thinking in interactions and discussions. This was particularly apparent as play progressed, where pupils were found to discover the way of thinking of other pupils. Most said they wanted to play the game again. Motivating factors had been that, with the system, learners not only had the freedom of access to given pieces but were able to create and contribute new pieces. As well as designing content, learners were dealing with an actual problem that was relevant to the real world. Limiting factors were that only one type of game had been selected, and also that the trial time was very short. There was little information about the pupils' discovery of others' thinking or contextual information about other use of computers/computer games by the participants - or about other forms of classroom activity encouraging collaboration. However, the authors noted that one group was dominated by a 'leader type' pupil. Hence, future research would seek to clarify the influence of individual personalities on group performance. The authors also intended to investigate the relationship between task complexity and distributed cognition (Kusunoki, Sugimoto, & Hashizume, 2000).Encouraging social and cognitivist skills

A study by Young and Upitis (1999) researched whether the educational computer game 'Phoenix Quest' (PQ) could support the development of cognitive and social skills. It is also suggests why PQ characteristics are attractive to girls: it is open-ended, players do not race against time and they can choose the length of time spent in each play. However, although all participants liked the PQ puzzles, the boys played the game significantly more often than the girls. They played to complete or 'win' in the shortest possible time, observing each other and trading strategies - mostly with boys, and even forming groups to do so. Other examples of adaptive interpersonal socio-behavioral competence included peer acceptance, positive peer reactions and friendships. No real evidence of negative social behavior was observed. Boys progressed further in two of the classes, girls in one, with little gender difference relating to progression in the fourth class. Peer comparisons were common. Challenge was an attractive games feature. The game was perceived as a girls' game, because of the female protagonist Julie. The girls corresponded more regularly with Julie, counseling her through perils, but did not correspond with the male protagonists as much as the boys did. Significantly for cognitivist objectives, 25% of students, particularly girls, did not relate to the maths aspects of PQ without guidance. Further research was recommended to establish ways in which teachers can engage students to communicate and navigate through new ideas and concepts within the computer game context (Young & Upitis, 1999).

ZERO TO SIX: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers By: Rideout, Vandewater, & Wartella (2003)

In the thesis, it tackles a topic of media in the lives of preschoolers where in, about half (48%) of all children six and under have used a computer; by the time they are in the four- to six-year-old range, seven out of ten (70%) have used a computer. Indeed, every day, more than one in four (27%) four- to six-year-olds uses a computer. Those who use a computer spend an average of just over an hour at the keyboard (1:04). More than half of all children in this age group (56%) have used a computer by themselves (without sitting in their parent's lap); 64% know how to use a mouse to point and click; 40% can load a CD-ROM by themselves; 37% have turned the computer on by themselves; and 17% have sent email with help from a parent. In fact, many children are starting even younger: one in four zero- to three-year-olds have used a computer without sitting on their parent's lap (27%). This study concludes that: media is now applies a big impact on the children's learning development in many certain ways. (Rideout, Vandewater, & Wartella, 2003).

Social skills on games problemsBy Daniel Loton (2007)

Furthermore, studies of electronic game playing have revealed relationships with some personality characteristics suggestive of difficulty in establishing relationships (i.e. -introversion, conscientiousness, social-anxiety), as well as with low self-esteem, leading to the notion that a subgroup of problematic players may be attracted to game playing as a means of alleviating social difficulties. Moreover, the majority of studies involving electronic games have focused on adolescents, yet for some game genres often associated with problematic play, adults are the most prominent demographic. Alternatively, some longitudinal studies have found moderate and high game playing groups to be rated more positively on psychosocial health measures than non-gamers, indicating less risky behavior and higher self-esteem. Other studies have failed to produce a strong and consistent link between deleterious variables and gaming. Some preliminary studies have even postulated that playing online games may increase sociability and social skills. Possible interpretations of these conflicting findings are compounded by a scarcity of research with adults, and particularly within Australia. In order to increase the present understanding of the social aspects behind engagement with an extremely popular form of entertainment, further study is warranted into the possible predictors and associated variables of problematic electronic game play in adults. (Loton, 2007).

Video games and the future of LearningBy: Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, (2004)

A study argued for a particular view of games-and of learning-as activities that are most powerful when they are personally meaningful, experiential, social, and epistemological all at the same time. From this perspective, we describe an approach to the design of learning environments that builds on the educational properties of games, but deeply grounds them within a theory of learning appropriate for an age marked by the power of new technologies. They argued that to understand the future of learning, we have to look beyond schools to the emerging arena of video games. They suggested that video games matter because they present players with simulated worlds: worlds which, if well-constructed, are not just about facts or isolated skills, but embody particular social practices. Video games thus make it possible for players to participate in valued communities of practice and as a result develop the ways of thinking that organize those practices. Computers are changing our world: how we work... how we shop... how we entertain ourselves... how we communicate. The list goes on and on. Yes. Computers are already changing the way we learn-and if you want to understand how, look at video games. Look at video games, not because games that are currently available are going to replace schools as we know them any time soon, but because they give a glimpse of how we might create new and more powerful ways to learn in schools, communities, and workplaces-new ways to learn for a new information age. Look at video games because, although they are wildly popular with adolescents and young adults, they are more than just toys. Look at video games because they create new social and cultural worlds: worlds that help people learn by integrating thinking, social interaction, and technology. (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2004, pp. 2-7).Social Learning through GamingBy: Raybourn & Waern (2004)

A study about Computer Games was focused on how social learning participates on its game play. According to Raybourn & Waern (2004), designing games also provides the design team an opportunity to practice new behaviors and experiment with skills, attitudes, behavioral models, and theoretical perspectives. The act of game construction and playing forces us to specify fully scenarios and processes; it challenges imagination and logic. It forces us to pay attention to completeness and consistency, but above all to process and playability." It might be said that game design is itself a game for many designers, and hence an opportunity to become engaged in creative, imaginative, highly focused play. For conventional software, design is usually driven by a specification or set of requirements. In game design, the driving force is the user's experience. Game designers try to imagine what players will experience as they work their way through the game, trying to deliver the most exciting and compelling experience possible." quoted in the study (Raybourn & Waern, 2004).

Social Autonomous Characters for Computer GamesBy: Tomlinson (2005)

In this study, it has been said that: many current video games feature virtual worlds inhabited by autonomous 3D animated characters. These characters often fall short in their ability to participate in social interactions with each other or with people. Social autonomous characters are free and intelligent game characters that can manifest the social skills perceivable in a person's mind. They are characters that interact with you like a real-life character. Increasing the social capabilities of game characters could increase the potential of games as a platform for social learning. Reading comprehension skill is one of the effects on social skills that can develop in this kind of element in the game. Reading Comprehension skill is the ability of a user to understand the contents of what the characters are pointing out. It is an important factor in social skills development for it will be used by the child in his/her communication.

This article presents advances in the area of social autonomous character design. Specifically, a computational model of social relationship formation is described. This model formed the basis for a game entitled "AlphaWolf" that allows people to play the role of newborn pups in a pack of virtual wolves, helping the pups to find their place in the social order of the pack. This article offers the results from a 32-subject user study that assessed the social relationship model, showing that it effectively represents the core elements of social relationships in a way that is perceivable by people. Additionally, this article proposes a game that will allow parents, teachers and children to experiment with computational social behavior through social virtual characters. This research contributes to the development of games for social learning by offering a set of viable algorithms for computational characters to form social relationships, and describing a project that could utilize this model to enable children to learn social skills by interacting with game characters, thus social interaction skill in this game occur. (Tomlinson, 2005). Conceptual Framework

To design and develop a LAN based game for social skills development of preschoolers

To develop a funny, adventurous Role-Playing-Game with characters and information meant for socialization.

To test and evaluate the acceptability of the system.

Theory: Computer Games could aid in Social skills development.

Graphics Manipulation and basic programming software: RPG Maker VX (RMVX)The use of RGSS (Ruby Scripting embedded on RMVX) Researches: Books, Journals, Articles, Websites, Theses etc. Hardware, software and Computer networking researches.

Little Adventures: A 2D LAN Based Game for Preschoolers

The inputs in this study will be the theories about computer games that can improve the social skills of preschoolers, the RPG-Maker VX which will be used as a tool for creating the proposed game, and the game's basis and standards derived from the researches from differrent sources from Chapter 2. The Processes will be the designing a game that can promote the improvement of social skills for preschoolers. So the researchers come out to an output of: "Little Adventures: A 2D LAN-Based Game for preschoolers" in order to create a game that will suit the needs in the improvement of the social skills of preschoolers. The game will be evaluated in order to find out if the study would become a success.

Hypothesis

H_O: The game Little Adventures will not improve the social skills of the preschoolers.

H₁: The game Little Adventures will improve social skills of the preschoolers.

Operational Definition of Terms

Characters

Is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters are often also metonymically called players.

Computer game/ video game

A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device. However, with the popular use of the term "video game", it now implies any type of display device. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use.

Game Genre

A video game, like most other forms of media, may be categorized into genres based on many factors such as method of game play, types of goals, art style and more. Because genres are dependent on content for definition, genres have changed and evolved as newer styles of video games have come into existence. Ever advancing technology and production values related to video game development have fostered more life-like and complex games which have in turn introduced or enhanced genre possibilities (eg, virtual pets), pushed the boundaries of existing video gaming or in some cases add new possibilities in play (such as that seen with titles specifically designed for devices like Sony's EyeToy or Nintendo's Wii Remote). Some genres represent combinations of others, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or, more commonly, MMORPGs. It is also common to see higher level genre terms that are collective in nature across all other genres such as with action, music/rhythm or horror-themed video games.

Multiplayer

Video gaming has traditionally been a social experience. Multiplayer video games are those that can be played either competitively or cooperatively by using either multiple input devices, or by hotseating. Tennis for Two, arguably the first video game, was a two player game, as was its successor Pong.

Preschooler

Preschooler is an age group of a child in the bracket of three to six years old. A child who is not old enough to attend kindergarten. A child who is enrolled in a preschool like in nursery level.

Socialization

Socialization is the process by which children and adults learn from others. You begin learning from others during the early days of life; and most people continue their social learning all through life (unless some mental or physical disability slows or stops the learning process). Sometimes the learning is fun, as when we learn a new sport, art or musical technique from a friend we like. At other times, social learning is painful, as when we learn not to drive too fast by receiving a large fine for speeding.

Social Skills Development

The process of learning the skill of interaction with other people and to gain confidence on any forms of interaction on every individual. An improvement on the skills of interaction acquired by an individual.

Sociogram

A sociogram is a graphic representation of social links that a person has. It is a sociometric chart that plots the structure of interpersonal relations in a group situation.Sociograms were developed by Jacob L. Moreno to analyze choices or preferences within a group. They can diagram the structure and patterns of group interactions. A sociogram can be drawn on the basis of many different criteria: Social relations, channels of influence, lines of communication etc.

2D Computer game

A type of Computer game genre in which depicts two dimensional (2D) graphics meaning, a flat, game characters and figures on a computer screen.

Chapter 3METHODOLOGYSoftware Design and Development ApproachSoftware Process Model

According to One Stop Testing. (2003), the V-model is a software process model which can be presumed to be the extension of the waterfall model. Instead of moving down in a linear way, the process steps are bent upwards after the coding phase, to form the typical V shape. The V-Model demonstrates the relationships between each phase of the development life cycle and its associated phase of testing.

The V-model deploys a well-structured method in which each phase can be implemented by the detailed documentation of the previous phase. Testing activities like test designing start at the beginning of the project well before coding and therefore saves a huge amount of the project time.

According to the model, if errors occur to a specific phase, you can go back to the current phase to fix it. The model doesn't go directly to the coding phase. It has to be verified in the other phases before proceeding to other important phases like the coding phase.Figure 1: The V-modelSystem Framework

The game proposed by the researchers is Multiplayer (LAN based) that will be single player or two players. It is upgradable, where in, it will update itself by patching through a file-hosting server in the internet that will have the updates of the game on it.Figure 2: System FrameworkProcess flow (HIPO and System flowchart) Figure 3: Hierarchical Input Process Output (HIPO) chartFigure 4: System FlowchartResearch Design

The research method used in this study is the Experimental method. The type of pre-experimental method to be employed is one group pretest, posttest design. The researchers used this method due to its suitability for fact finding methods with improvement comparison. The experimental strategy attempts to discover the cause of a relationship between two (or more) variables by manipulating independent variables and observing the consequence on the dependent variables.

Experimental method is required for the analysis, comparison and drawing inferences from the data collected from the sociogram, which will be the pre-test, before the administering of the game, and another sociogram as post-test after they played the game. The experimental method will help the researchers determine the perceived effect of the proposed Computer game of the researchers in increasing the social skills of preschoolers in Philippine Medical Women's School.

Determination of Sample size

The respondents of the study will consist of preschool students enrolling for the school year 2010-2011. They will be selected by random sampling, limiting to fifteen (15) respondents only, because according to Sevilla, C. G., Ochave, J. A., Punsalan, T. G., Regala, B. P., & Uriarte, G. G. (1992), the minimum number of sampling for Experimental design is fifteen respondents only, and if the samplings are more, it is prone to more errors, so the researchers will limit their sampling to fifteen respondents only to avoid errors.

Sampling Design and Technique

The researchers will make use of random sampling technique. Using the fish bowl technique, it is a type of random sampling that makes draw lots, because this technique is easier and unbiased when it comes to gathering the results.

The Subjects

The respondents in the study will consist of fifteen (15) preschool students selected from different sections in the Philippine Medical Women's School in the school year 2010-2011.

The Research Instrument

The researchers will utilize a sociogram to determine the social skills of the preschoolers in Philippine Medical Women's School. In making a sociogram one has to follow the following steps:

The researchers will first devise a questionnaire, stating it in simple, easy-to-understand language for preschoolers, it will word the question to be consistent with the information desired to obtain like "Who do you want to play with?"

The questionnaires for students are to be composed of questions regarding their personal details and social skills. The researchers will be assisted by the teacher in charge of the students in administering the survey and students will be asked to write their answers to the questionnaire. The researchers will allow and encourage the students to make their choices privately in which the researchers will clearly explain any limitations with their choices and the number of choices will be the basis of their number of answers in the first paragraph above, the rule would be: number of choices by counting the names of their classmates they had. On a listing of the names of the students, corresponding numbers will be assigned to each student, for this will be essential for creating the sociogram in a confidential manner.

There are lots of designs on a sociogram. The circle-designed sociogram will be implemented in this study because other designs of the sociogram are confusing to be understood by the researchers. In order to make a circle-designed sociogram, the corresponding number of the students will be formed a circle starting from number one as the top number in the upper side of the circle and it will revolve clockwise until the last number reaches one, and arrows will be drawn from each student to the student selected by them. Lastly, the researchers will survey the diagram to assess popularity and interaction preferences. The indicator of social skills is when a student turns into a chosen one when a chooser points an arrow to him or her. It is considered one point for the chosen student. They will choose their answer/s among the fifteen (15) student samplings taken (which they also belong). There will be fourteen (14) perfect points for each of the students because they could not choose themselves as an answer.

Statistical treatment of Data

To analyze the results of the respondents, the researchers will use the statistical treatment of t-Test for dependent Sample Means. It is the proper treatment since the researchers will observe the difference of two dependent groups (pretest and posttest). Ideally, t-Test is the right statistical measure to use since the researchers only has fifteen (15) respondents.

The formulas to be used are the following

For t-ratio

t= MD/S_D

Wherein:

t= t-ratio

MD= mean difference

S_D= standard deviation

For sum of squares of difference

∑d²⁼ ∑D²-(∑D) ²

^N

^{For Standard Deviation of the Difference}

To test the hypothesis of this study, one must follow the following steps: first determine the pretest and posttest scores, subtract posttest scores from the pretest scores and sum all the gathered differences. Then square all the scores and find its summation, compute the sum of the squares for the differences. After that, find the standard deviation of the differences, and standard error of the mean difference. Finally, compute for the t-ratio by dividing the mean difference and the standard error of the mean difference.

Bibliography

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Theses/Dissertations and Studies

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Aliban, A., Reyes, T., & Ventua. (2001). Network based 3D Snakes and ladders. Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Camena, S. D., Ravelo, K. J., Caminay, R. T., Javier, J. A., & Sumaculub, J. T. (2001). Game knb?(LAN-Based Game). Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Cruz, M. R., Guilao, A. A., Mirador, O. C., & Yoshida, E. R. (2007). Taktika: A LAN based game. Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Falcatan, R. R., & Geronimo, C. H. (1996). Computer aided instruction for preschoolers mathematics. Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Magdalena, R., & Villanueva, E. (2002). Word factory (LAN). Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Perante, J. P., Samarita, N. R., & De Guzman, R. E. (2007). Ligawan: LAN based dating game. Undergraduate thesis, University of the East, Manila, Philippines.

Foreign Studies

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