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iGGi Partners We are excited to be collaborating with a number of industry partners. IGGI works with industry in some of the following ways: Student Industry Knowledge Transfer - this can take many forms, from what looks like a traditional placement, to a short term consultancy, to an ongoing relationship between the student and their industry partner. Student Sponsorship - for some of our students, their relationship with their industry partner is reinforced by sponsorship from the company. This is an excellent demonstration of the strength of the commitment and the success of the collaborations. In Kind Contributions - IGGI industry partners can contribute by attending and/or featuring in our annual conference, offering their time to give talks and masterclasses for our students, or even taking part in our annual game jam! There are many ways for our industry partners to work with IGGI. If you are interested in becoming involved, please do contact us so we can discuss what might be suitable for you. Frontline Ventures

< Back Prof. Massimo Poesio Queen Mary University of London Supervisor Massimo Poesio is a cognitive scientist whose primary field is Computational Linguistics / Natural Language Processing. He is interested in the interdisciplinary study of language processing using evidence from computational modelling, corpora, psychological studies, and neuroscience; specific interests include computational models of anaphora resolution (coreference); the study of disagreement on language interpretation through the creation of large corpora containing multiple judgments (an area in which he pioneered the use of games-with-a-purpose with the development of Phrase Detectives, http://www.phrasedetectives.org ); the interpretation of verbal and non-verbal communication in interaction; and the study of conceptual knowledge using a combination of methods from human language technology and neuroscience. He has also been involved in a number of projects applying NLP methods to real life problems, such as detecting deception online, or identifying human rights violations reports in social media. He holds a European Research Council grant on identifying disagreements in language through Games-With-A-Purpose, DALI and is a co-founder of the open access journal Dialogue and Discourse . Using conversational agents in games Applying games to label data for AI Research themes: Game AI Game Design Games with a Purpose m.poesio@qmul.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://sites.google.com/view/massimo-poesio/ Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/dali-ambiguity Github Themes Applied Games Game AI - Previous Next

< Back Coupled Kuramoto oscillator-based control laws for both formation and obstacle avoidance control of two-wheeled mobile robots Link Author(s) K Denamganai, T Nakamura, N Hara, K Konishi Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Speeding up genetic algorithm-based game balancing using fitness predictors Link Author(s) M Morosan, R Poli Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Zoë O’Shea Goldsmiths iGGi PG Researcher Zoë O’Shea is an Irish freelance games designer and artist, working on her thesis in game design and player psychology. Her previous qualifications include 3D Generalism, and an MA in Digital Game Design and Theory. She is endlessly curious about the meaning and value that technology can bring to the world, exploring the human experience as a core principle of her work. She firmly believes in the importance of creating a more joyful and inclusive world. Zoë has previously worked with a range of clients and companies including A Brave Plan, Surgent Studios, Transport for London (TfL) and LEGO. In 2019, Zoë was awarded a Digital Fellowship from the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in collaboration with Magic Leap. Zoë worked with other creatives for a year to explore the future of theatre and Spatial Computing (Mixed Reality). The programme completed in Feb 2020, through the generous support of Magic Leap, the RSC, their technologists, industry partners, i2 Media Research and the University of Portsmouth. Currently, Zoë is working on completing her thesis while offering consultancy services for games and start-ups looking to expand their knowledge in soft aesthetics, tend & befriend game design and immersive technology. A description of Zoë's research: Tend & Befriend: A New Perspective on Player Psychology in Digital Games Many are familiar with the term "fight-or-flight" - a stress response activated when animals come into conflict with a stressor or threat. Less commonly known is "tend & befriend", an alternative theory of stress response which suggests that engaging with tending and affiliative behaviours under duress can soothe and protect us. This thesis investigates this phenomenon in digital games, with a focus on empirical data and design. Results demonstrate a consistent niche in the games industry for "tend & befriend" centric design and the value in synthesising previous design frameworks to create a intentional and polished experience for players. z.oshea@gold.ac.uk Email Mastodon Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/meowmentai/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Supervisor(s): Prof. Richard Bartle Featured Publication(s): The impact of self-representation and consistency in collaborative virtual environments Themes Design & Development Immersive Technology Player Research - Previous Next

< Back iGGi at Develop:North As most of you will be aware, the Develop conference has launched a new location this year in the shape of " Develop:North ". Develop:North took place at The Spine in Liverpool on 14 November 2024. Five of our iGGi PG Researchers attended, and here's a summary of the event from one of them - Ross Fifield: "Develop: North was great. The venue was excellent and Tandem did a superb job organising it as always. Registration was easy and there were no issues as far as I can tell. There was a good mix of talks. It was significantly smaller than Brighton, but not unexpectedly so, given that this was their first go. While a couple of the talks were really quite thought provoking, I personally found the networking opportunities particularly helpful. I'm speculating that the organisers will run Develop:North at a slightly larger scale than this year, but regardless of that, I would recommend this conference to all iGGi PGRs and anyone in the UK who is working in games and adjacent fields." iGGi PGRs at Develop:North in Liverpool, 14 November 2024 Previous 15 Nov 2024 Next

iGGi Partners We are excited to be collaborating with a number of industry partners. IGGI works with industry in some of the following ways: Student Industry Knowledge Transfer - this can take many forms, from what looks like a traditional placement, to a short term consultancy, to an ongoing relationship between the student and their industry partner. Student Sponsorship - for some of our students, their relationship with their industry partner is reinforced by sponsorship from the company. This is an excellent demonstration of the strength of the commitment and the success of the collaborations. In Kind Contributions - IGGI industry partners can contribute by attending and/or featuring in our annual conference, offering their time to give talks and masterclasses for our students, or even taking part in our annual game jam! There are many ways for our industry partners to work with IGGI. If you are interested in becoming involved, please do contact us so we can discuss what might be suitable for you. Roli

< Back Prof. Anders Drachen Supervisor Anders Drachen, PhD, (born 1976) is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science, with Digital Creativity Labs and Weavr at the University of York (UK). His work in games research is focused on user behavior, user experience and audience engagement and the application of data science, information systems modelling, business intelligence, design and Human-Computer Interaction in these domains. His research and professional work are carried out in collaboration with companies across the Creative Industries, from big publishers to indies. He is recognized as one of the most influential people in his domains of work and have authored over a hundred publications with international colleagues across industry and academia. Having lived and worked on four different continents, Anders Drachen has had the mixed pleasure of fending off three shark attacks in Africa and Australia. He is also the youngest Dane in history to publish a cooking book – dedicated to ice cream. Research themes: Data Science, Analytics, Machine Learning in Interactive Media Big Data, behavior- and social media analytics in the Creative Industries Data Mining and Business Informatics in the Creative Industries Data-Driven Storytelling and Audience Engagement Games User Research and User Experience in Games Data-Driven Design and Development Human-Computer Interaction Esports and Sports Analytics Behavioral/Market Analytics and Business Intelligence Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies anders.drachen@york.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://www.andersdrachen.com Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/drachen/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Design & Development Esports Game Data Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Behavioural Cloning in VizDoom Link Author(s) R Spick, T Bradley, A Raina, PV Amadori, G Moss Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back iGGi Goldsmiths is located in New Cross, South East London, five miles from central London. iGGi is a consortium of four universities or sites: the University of York (York), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), Goldsmiths, University of London (Goldsmiths), and the University of Essex (Essex). iGGi received funding in two phases: “iGGi 1” funded the first five cohorts of researchers across York, QMUL, Goldsmiths, and Essex and PGR intake spans from 2014 to 2018; “iGGi 2” started in 2019 with funding for a further five cohorts, this time only at York and QMUL. Due to either placement-related interruption of studies and/or switching to part-time studies, some of the "Goldsmiths iGGis" from the iGGi 1 funding round are still in the process of completing their PhD work. Goldsmiths is therefore still listed here as an active iGGi site, even though future iGGi main events such as the iGGi Conference and the iGGi Game Jam will take place at one of the iGGi 2 sites, i.e., either York or QMUL. iGGi Goldsmiths is part of Goldsmiths' Computing Department . You can find the Goldsmiths campus map in the gallery below. Goldsmiths, University of London (Goldsmiths) iGGi Goldmiths Gallery Main Building, Goldsmiths Campus Map, Goldsmiths Ben Pimlott Building, Goldsmiths Previous Next

< Back iGGi Game Jam 2026 - we made it! iGGi successfully concluded what could potentially be its last ever Game Jam today! The number of groups this year totaled 11, creating a broad variety of games, but all based on this year’s theme: distortion -the action of distorting or the state of being distorted- -the action of giving a misleading account or impression- -change in the form of an electrical signal or sound wave during processing- As in previous Game Jams, groups could select one or two from a list of "qualifiers" to assist ideation and conceptualisation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular choice was " SurveyJunkie : Make a game using Qualtrics, Google forms or an equivalent" For the second consecutive time, the iGGi Game Jam (GJ) was running at a more leisurely pace giving groups an extra 24 hours on top of the customary 48 hour period between GJ start and submission (Tuesday to Thursday), and today's focus was entirely just on play testing, socialising and pure post-jam enjoyment. A special thank you goes to the "Friends of iGGi" who either participated in the jam actively or joined the final day's presentation session; we really appreciated your various contributions and presence: THANKS !!! Here's an overview of the games created: Game: “ Unlocked ” You have woken up in hospital after a terrible accident. You are told you have amnesia, and that using your phone again will help you remember your identity. Game: “ Micro Autochess ” In this game you will assemble an army to defeat enemy armies of increasing power within a budget. Units will fight automatically and gain mana when attacking, casting their spells when reaching maximum mana. Game: “ DisSpell ” A VR game where you draw spells over you casting grid and defeat waves of enemies; Use your hands to define shapes and throw spells! Game: “Life distorted” A (distorted) take on the French card game Smile Life. Game: “ Research Survey ” A survey to collect data that is important for research. Game: “ TOFPA ” The Office Of Public Assistance requires to comply with the agency. Should you? Game: “ Hemo-maxxing ” A game where you try and make your face as red as possible. Game: “ i believe in you my idiot son ” Password: idiotson Game: “ Tilt Wakes The Deep ” Tilt your phone to explore the dark depths of the deep sea, watch out for CuttleThulu!. Game: “Steph or Lauren?” "We hope this is an educational experience that will help iGGi differentiate between the both of us." [Link to survey for iGGi-internal use only] Game: “ Did I write this? ” Keep typing. If you stop for 60 seconds, your text distorts. Some intrusive thoughts may also appear on the screen. Don't leave or minimise the tab.. Game: “ Autobattler ” A cool game about distorted cuttlefish. Or something. Lastly, a hearty THANKS to the four PGR GJ Organisers Steph Carter, Karl Clarke, Alex Flint, Philip Smith, Toby Best and to the Supervisor GJ Organisers Jeremy Gow and Ben Kirman , and a special mention goes to the iGGi Admin Team which took care of a lot of the logistics. And last but not least, there are also the iGGi Game Jam 2026 Awards to announce: I Have a Dream Best Creative Vision For the game that brings together its art, visuals, sound, music, and/or story in a way that feels thoughtful, original, and memorable. Winner: Tilt Wakes The Deep Luiza Gossian, Dan Harborne, Francesca Foffano, Ross Fifield Nailed It Best Theme Interpretation For the game that used the jam’s theme of distortion in the clearest, smartest, or most fitting way. Winner: i believe in you my idiot son Doruk Bacı, Cameron Johnston Schrödingerror Best Bug For the bug that confused you, entertained you, or stuck in your mind for all the right (or wrong) reasons. Winner: Autobattler George Long Duct Tape & Dreams Best use of Constraints For the game that made the most of the jam’s diversifiers, showing how much can be done with very little. P.S. You can check the list of diversifiers on the Discord. Winner: TOFPA Dan Cooke, Tania Dales, Alex Flint, Filip Sroka Unexpected Item in Jamming Area Most Unexpected For the game that made you say "wait... what?" in the best possible way, leaving you pleasantly confused, amused, or both. Winner: Unlocked Tamsin Isaac, Nicole Levermore Photo Gallery - iGGi Game Jam 2026 Awards: There may or may not be another iGGi Game Jam next year, but somehow we have a feeling there just might, so: watch this space! Itch.io link to all submissions here Photo Gallery - iGGi Game Jam 2026 Moments: Previous 16 Jan 2026 Next

< Back Andrei Iacob University of Essex iGGi Alum Identifying Immersion in games using EEG and other measures (Industry placement at Sony SIE) The project aims to identify markers for immersion in player’s EEG signals. A few steps towards it include designing an experiment that reduces data noise and helps identify time frames for immersion during gameplay, recording EEG data among other “tests” to improve the accuracy of the state localization on a timeline. This research could prove useful for the games industry in a few ways: - it can provide tools for game testing (e.g. which parts of the game are immersive, which parts lack in that aspect) – thus making it easier to improve the game experience across the board; - it could also be used in making real-time adjustments to games (increase / decrease difficulty levels, pace, etc. to enhance the player’s immersion). Although the EEG data is the main focus of the project, it is not the only one. Correlations will be analyzed between different tests and in-game behaviors that should render even more information regarding the player’s state and mindset during gameplay. This information will be just as valuable and perhaps more readily available for widespread use in the near future. Andrei is a keen programmer and gamer. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Essex. Andrei’s research interests are in the field of brain- computer interfaces and computer games. His hobbies include programming, gaming, guitar and skiing. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Player Research - Previous Next