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< Back The Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning in Malm\" O (MARL\" O) Competition Link Author(s) Diego Perez-Liebana, Katja Hofmann, Sharada Prasanna Mohanty, Noburu Kuno, Andre Kramer, Sam Devlin, Raluca D Gaina, Daniel Ionita Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Lizzie Vialls University of York iGGi Alum Discrete Models and Algorithms to create a more satisfying and strategic opponents For many 4x and Grand Strategy computer games (e.g. Civilisation, Europa Universalis), the player will be playing against one or more AI opponents. For many games, the AI is not clever enough to stand up to a player without being given the ability to "cheat" - ability to spawn in resources, see what the player is doing, etc. This creates an unsatisfactory opponent for a player, as it gives them opponents that fight through "cheating" over strategy or out-manoeuvring the player. The aim for my PhD is to look into the potential uses of SAT and similar to create a more satisfying and strategic opponent for players to play against in these styles of computer games. To this end, I’ll be identifying potential for improvement regarding my proposal, and once I’ve narrowed down the specifics - be it related to improving how SAT solvers can handle problems, or how better to encode AI into SAT - I will be working on ways to improve AI for turn based strategic games. Lizzie Vialls is a recent Computer Science graduate of University of Leicester, having graduated with a 2:1 and a prize for best third year project, which was the project that fueled her interest in SAT. When not searching for an errant semicolon in her code she can be found working with various online gaming communities, hunched over many a tabletop game, or attempting to make friends with the local feline populace. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Themes Game AI - Previous Next

< Back Word-as-image for semantic typography Link Author(s) S Iluz, Y Vinker, A Hertz, D Berio, D Cohen-Or, A Shamir Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Analysis of statistical forward planning methods in Pommerman Link Author(s) D Perez-Liebana, RD Gaina, O Drageset, E Ilhan, M Balla, SM Lucas Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back iGGi Research Retreat "Unconference" Group Outcomes Social Simulation Game on a Graph / Network The "Problem" Starting from the idea of a cellular automaton (consider for example Conway's Game of Life) we investigated how such a simple structure - considered as a group of agents - could be rendered as a playable simulation of social dynamics. Specifically, we ended up simulating the behaviour of people and ideas at a research retreat similar to the one at Darwin Lake, to investigate how groups form and evolve, and ideas are discussed, spread and refined. What we did We considered the NetLogo simulation software, and designed agents that (1) represented ideas, and the evolution of each idea; (2) represented research participants at the retreat; and (3) modelled the conversations of participants in a way that allowed for the capture of changes and refinements to an abstract idea. I think our primary innovation was from (3) where, through ethnomethodological analysis of the way that we discussed the ideas behind this project, we found a transactional model of conversation. Hence it was meta, man. The "Outcome" We didn't get past paper prototypes and deep discussions. The idea might be taken further - but we ran out of time to do that. Previous Next Previous Next

< Back Dr Fiona McNab University of York Supervisor During a postdoc at the Karolinksa Institute in Stockholm, Fiona investigated working memory and attention, providing empirical support for a role for the basal ganglia in the control of access to working memory and identification of changes in the dopamine system related to working memory training. At The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, with a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship, she designed the working memory game in the large-scale smartphone study; “The Great Brain Experiment ”, leading to studies of different types of distraction in younger adults as well as in healthy ageing. In 2013 she moved to Birmingham University, where she conducted fMRI and behavioural studies of attention and working memory, and behavioural studies of the effects of competition on working memory. Fiona is now a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of York. She is using fMRI and behavioural studies to investigate what limits working memory, how different types of distractors are successfully ignored and how working memory changes through development, with healthy aging, as well as in certain patient groups. Part of her work uses data from a new set of working memory games, which are currently available to play (York Memory Games, YORMEGA ). She is particularly interested in supervising students on the following topics: Understanding the limitations of working memory and the role of attention using games Understanding age-related changes in cognition using games, Cognitive training using games. Research themes: Game Design Games with a Purpose Player Experience Gamification Games for Cognition Research Games for Cognitive Training Email fiona.mcnab@york.ac.uk Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Themes Applied Games - Previous Next

< Back Erin Robinson University of York iGGi PG Researcher Erin Robinson is a multimedia artist, experimental musician and PhD Researcher from London. Her work primarily involves the design of interactive installations, where she takes a participatory approach to evolving visual-scapes, but also takes form in fixed media, sound art, free improvisation, live visuals and immersive experiences. Her work critically engages with the concepts of posthumanism and postmodernism, exploring notions of authenticity and existence in the digital anthropocene by blurring lines between organic and non-organic entities, reality and virtuality, self and otherness. She is a founding member of SubPhonics, an experimental music and sound art collective based in London. Recent works include ‘Flora_Synthetica’, shown at Peckham Digital 2024, and ‘Pluriversal Perspectives: Moss’, shown at the South London Botanical Institute and Conference for Designing Interactive Systems (Copenhagen) 2024. A description of Erin's research: "My research adopts a practice-based approach to exploring participant-contributed materials, a technique positioned at the intersection of participatory and new media arts. This interactive technique enables participants to contribute aesthetic and semiotic materials to new media artworks through open forms of interaction, including but not limited to, text input, drawing, and video feed. Although both participatory and new media artistic practices involve audience engagement, traditional interactive media often impose restrictive computational frameworks. In contrast, participatory practices, typically conducted in person, allow participants greater freedom, resulting in deeper engagement and more diverse, unexpected outcomes that reflect the audience's perspectives and behaviours. This research underscores the potential of digital artworks to provide more expansive and identity-reflecting experiences by incorporating participant-contributed materials. By using strengths of participatory practices, digital artworks can achieve a richer and more personalised form of interaction, and meaningful engagement with audiences." Email erin.robinson@york.ac.uk Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Supervisor(s): Prof. Sebastian Deterding Themes Design & Development Immersive Technology - Previous Next

< Back Gorm Lai Goldsmiths iGGi PG Researcher Inspired by the works of Karl Sims and William Latham as well games such as a Spore and No Man's Sky, Gorm's main work is focused on using artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate creatures for use in video games. Combining this with his background as a virtual reality pioneer, his full doctorate is looking into how mixed-initiative co-creative interfaces in vr can assist in creating procedural generated creatures for use in video games. As a stalwart of the game development community, Gorm ran the Danish chapter of the International Game Developer Association (IGDA) for 5 years, started the London Indie Game Developers meetup group which currently features almost 3000 members, co-founded the Nordic Game Jam, as well as the Global Game Jam. The Global Game Jam has been recorded into the Guinness Book of World Records, and has more participating countries than the Winter Olympics. Gorm is a games industry veteran who has worked on 17 commercial video games since 2004, and has spoken at numerous games industry conferences such as GDC, Nordic Game & Develop Brighton. Gorm is a student at Goldsmiths, University of London, where is he is supervised by William Latham and Frederic Fol Leymarie. Email lai.gorm@gmail.com Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Supervisor(s): Prof. William Latham Featured Publication(s): Formal Constraints and Creativity: Connecting Game Jams, Dogma ’95, the Demo Scene, OuBaPo, and Renga poets What Is a Game Jam? The Dark Side of Game Jams On Mixed-Initiative Content Creation for Video Games Two decades of game jams Virtual Creature Morphology‐A Review Towards Friendly Mixed Initiative Procedural Content Generation: Three Pillars of Industry Introducing: the game jam license Trends in organizing philosophies of game jams and game hackathons The global game jam for teaching and learning Gplayer A compression method for spectral photon map rendering Themes Creative Computing Design & Development Game AI - Previous 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. CBT Clinics

< Back The n-tuple bandit evolutionary algorithm for automatic game improvement Link Author(s) K Kunanusont, RD Gaina, J Liu, D Perez-Liebana, SM Lucas Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Validity threats in quantitative data collection with games: A narrative survey Link Author(s) D Gundry, S Deterding Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Measuring the experience of playing self-paced games Link Author(s) J Cutting Abstract More info TBA Link