Towards a Reference Architecture for Designing Open-Source Digital Games
Resumo
Introduction: From the popularization of game engines, digital game development has become more accessible to both experts and non-experts. However, it remains complex, especially in open-source contexts, where collaboration and code evolution demand well-defined architectural structures. Objective: This work proposes a reference architecture, named OSGRA, to support open-source digital game development, addressing the need for organization, reuse, and quality in such environments. Methodology: To achieve this, the ProSA-RA process was adopted to construct the reference architecture. The proposed architecture was evaluated using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), considering quality requirements, as well as usability and acceptance. Results: The evaluation results indicate that the OSGRA satisfactorily meets the defined objectives, supporting key quality attributes such as interactivity and maintainability. Additionally, the results highlight opportunities for improvement that can guide future enhancements.
Palavras-chave:
Open-Source, Game Development, Quality Attributes, Reference Architecture, Software Architecture
Referências
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Roy, J., Singh, S. K., e Shaw, L. (2026). Customer churn prediction on structured data using ft-transformer and stacking ensembles. IEEE Access.
Salminen, L. (2025). Managing multidisciplinary video game development projects and multidisciplinary project teams.
Scacchi, W. (2004). Free and open source development practices in the game community. IEEE software, 21(1):59–66.
Steinmacher, I., Silva, M. A. G., Gerosa, M. A., e Redmiles, D. F. (2015). A systematic literature review on the barriers faced by newcomers to open source software projects. Information and Software Technology, 59:67–85.
Valle, P. H. D. (2016). Jogos educacionais: uma contribuição para o ensino de teste de software. PhD thesis, Universidade de São Paulo.
Valle, P. H. D., Rocha, R. V., e Maldonado, J. C. (2017). Testing game: An educational game to support software testing education. In Proceedings of the XXXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 289–298.
Zhan, Y., Wang, T., e Bi, X. (2024). Creative production in the digital age: A network analysis of the digital game industry in china. Geoforum, 157:104158.
Zimbrão, R. D. O., Oliveira, A. M. D., Oliveira, E. W., e Valle, P. H. D. (2024). Essential aspects in digital educational games to support the teaching-learning of computing contents. In Proceedings of the 20th Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems, pages 1–10.
Bommakanti, S. K. (2026). Cloud-native distributed ai: Enabling secure collaborative learning on heterogeneous infrastructure. International Journal of Intelligent Systems and Data Science, 1(1).
Carvalho, M. B. (2017). Serious games for learning: a model and a reference architecture for efficient game development.
Cloutier, R., Muller, G., Verma, D., Nilchiani, R., Hole, E., e Bone, M. (2010). The concept of reference architectures. Systems Engineering, 13(1):14–27.
Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., e Warshaw, P. R. (1989). Technology acceptance model. J Manag Sci, 35(8):982–1003.
de Oliveira Camargo, M. P., dos Santos Pereira, G., Almeida, D., Bento, L. A., Dorante, W. F., e Affonso, F. J. (2024). Ra4self-cps: a reference architecture for self-adaptive cyber-physical systems. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 22(2):113–125.
Folmer, E. (2007). Component based game development–a solution to escalating costs and expanding deadlines? In International symposium on component-based software engineering, pages 66–73. Springer.
Garcés, L., Martínez-Fernández, S., Oliveira, L., Valle, P., Ayala, C., Franch, X., e Nakagawa, E. Y. (2021). Three decades of software reference architectures: A systematic mapping study. Journal of Systems and Software, 179:111004.
Genesio, N. O. S., de Menezes, M. C. R., de Almeida, J. V. C., Boaventura, A. P. F. V., e Valle, P. H. D. (2023). Aprendendo lógica de programaçao desenvolvendo jogos digitais: Um relato de experiência. In Workshop de Informática na Escola (WIE), pages 375–386. SBC.
Genesio, N. O. S., de Oliveira, A. M., Oliveira, E. W., e Valle, P. H. D. (2024). Panorama de estudos sobre jogos educacionais digitais em educação em computação. In Workshop sobre Educação em Computação (WEI), pages 737–749. SBC.
Goering, A., Meister, J., Lehnhoff, S., Herdt, P., Jung, M., e Rohr, M. (2017). Reference architecture for open, maintainable and secure software for the operation of energy networks. CIRED 24, 2017(1):1410–1413.
Haider, S., Khalil, W., Al-Shamayleh, A. S., Akhunzada, A., e Gani, A. (2023). Risk factors and practices for the development of open source software from developers’ perspective. IEEE Access, 11:63333–63350.
Haoues, M., Sellami, A., Ben-Abdallah, H., e Cheikhi, L. (2017). A guideline for software architecture selection based on iso 25010 quality related characteristics. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, 8(Suppl 2):886–909.
Hieu, H. V. (2025). Open-source software development and community management.
Kattilakoski, J. (2019). The growth of video game industry: Current status and future prospects.
Kitchenham, B. A., Budgen, D., e Brereton, P. (2015). Evidence-based software engineering and systematic reviews. CRC press.
Kruchten, P., Obbink, H., e Stafford, J. (2006). The past, present, and future for software architecture. IEEE software, 23(2):22–30.
Lima, L., Costa, I., Bonzinho, C., Correia, S., e Martins, C. (2025). Mnema: Bridging research and art to combat gender inequity in the gaming sector. In International Workshop on Interaction and Player Research in Game Development, pages 67–83. Springer.
Michael, J. e Shekhovtsov, V. A. (2024). A model-based reference architecture for complex assistive systems and its application. Software & Systems Modeling, 23(5).
Mizutani, W. K., Daros, V. K., e Kon, F. (2021). Software architecture for digital game mechanics: A systematic literature review. Entertainment Computing, 38:100421.
Mizutani, W. K. e Kon, F. (2020). Unlimited rulebook: A reference architecture for economy mechanics in digital games. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Software Architecture (ICSA), pages 58–68. IEEE.
Nakagawa, E. Y., Guessi, M., Maldonado, J. C., Feitosa, D., e Oquendo, F. (2014). Consolidating a process for the design, representation, and evaluation of reference architectures. In 2014 IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture, pages 143–152. IEEE.
Oliveira, B. R., Garcés, L., Lyra, K. T., Santos, D. S., Isotani, S., e Nakagawa, E. Y. (2022). An overview of software architecture education. In Congresso Ibero-Americano em Engenharia de Software (CIbSE), pages 76–90. SBC.
Pascarella, L., Palomba, F., Di Penta, M., e Bacchelli, A. (2018). How is video game development different from software development in open source? In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories, pages 392–402.
Pederson, J. (2026). Architecting trust: A modular framework for the operational deployment of autonomous systems.
Perez-Medina, J.-L., Jimenes-Vargas, K. B., Leconte, L., Villarreal, S., Rybarczyk, Y., e Vanderdonckt, J. (2019). ephort: towards a reference architecture for tele-rehabilitation systems. IEEE Access, 7:97159–97176.
Roy, J., Singh, S. K., e Shaw, L. (2026). Customer churn prediction on structured data using ft-transformer and stacking ensembles. IEEE Access.
Salminen, L. (2025). Managing multidisciplinary video game development projects and multidisciplinary project teams.
Scacchi, W. (2004). Free and open source development practices in the game community. IEEE software, 21(1):59–66.
Steinmacher, I., Silva, M. A. G., Gerosa, M. A., e Redmiles, D. F. (2015). A systematic literature review on the barriers faced by newcomers to open source software projects. Information and Software Technology, 59:67–85.
Valle, P. H. D. (2016). Jogos educacionais: uma contribuição para o ensino de teste de software. PhD thesis, Universidade de São Paulo.
Valle, P. H. D., Rocha, R. V., e Maldonado, J. C. (2017). Testing game: An educational game to support software testing education. In Proceedings of the XXXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 289–298.
Zhan, Y., Wang, T., e Bi, X. (2024). Creative production in the digital age: A network analysis of the digital game industry in china. Geoforum, 157:104158.
Zimbrão, R. D. O., Oliveira, A. M. D., Oliveira, E. W., e Valle, P. H. D. (2024). Essential aspects in digital educational games to support the teaching-learning of computing contents. In Proceedings of the 20th Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems, pages 1–10.
Publicado
29/09/2026
Como Citar
YANG, Fernando; OLIVEIRA, Alessandreia Marta de; ARANHA, Renan Vinicius; VALLE, Pedro Henrique Dias.
Towards a Reference Architecture for Designing Open-Source Digital Games. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE JOGOS E ENTRETENIMENTO DIGITAL (SBGAMES), 25. , 2026, Goiânia/GO.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 916-928.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbgames.2026.26017.
