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< Back Dr Evelyn Tan University of York iGGi Alum Evelyn holds a master’s degree in Industrial-Organisational Psychology from University College London (UCL) and has previously worked in the HR Technology industry where she undertook projects on game-based assessment, virtual team coaching and virtual reality (VR) hiring and training. She has published her work on developing trust in virtual work teams at CHI PLAY 2019, a premier conference for games research. On the Emergence and Development of Team Cohesion in Newly Formed Virtual Teams Evelyn specialises in teamwork and team dynamics. She is interested in uncovering how cohesion emerges and develops, and to identify its predictors. Her goal is to understand how to build high-performing teams that make people want to stay and remain united in the pursuit of their shared objectives. Under IGGI, she studies virtual teams in competitive esport games, specifically newly formed ad hoc teams. By applying theories and principles from psychology, her work can be extended to address the challenges faced by real-world teams with similar characteristics, for example emergency response teams and short-term project teams. By studying team cohesion – its emergence and development – her work addresses the broader challenges of building high-performing teams which retain their members. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon https://sites.google.com/view/evelyntan Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyntisiantan/ LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/ett506 Github Featured Publication(s): Communication Sequences Indicate Team Cohesion: A Mixed-Methods Study of Ad Hoc League of Legends Teams Less is More: Analysing Communication in Teams of Strangers Trusted Teammates: Commercial Digital Games Can Be Effective Trust-Building Tools Themes Esports Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Dr Guifen Chen Queen Mary University of London Supervisor Dr Guifen Chen is a Lecturer in Neurobiology at QMUL. Her work focuses on the neuronal basis of multisensory integration, spatial cognition and memory. Her lab uses state-of-the-art techniques such as immersive virtual reality and in vivo electrophysiological/probe recording in mice. Her research is currently supported by funding from BBRSC and the Royal Society. Dr Chen completed her undergraduate studies in both biology and computer science at East China Normal University in China. She then pursued PhD in neuroscience, conducting research at both East China Normal University and Boston University in the USA. Following that, she undertook postdoctoral research at University College London in the UK. Her work has been published in high-impact journals such as Nature Communications, eLife, and Current biology. guifen.chen@qmul.ac.uk Email https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5459-660X Mastodon https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/staff/guifen-chen.html Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/guifen-chen-51039973/ LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/annie2013 Github Themes Creative Computing Design & Development Immersive Technology Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Toby Best Queen Mary University of London iGGi PG Researcher Available for placement Toby has always held video games as an integral part of his livelihood, ever since catching his first Pokémon on the Game Boy Color. The ever-developing evolution of technology, from the humble NES and R.O.B. preventing the video game market crash in 1983, to the Wii’s motion controls, to augmented and virtual reality today, has been a key inspiration, and one of the reasons why he studied Mathematical Computation at University College London. He also has a keen interest in tabletop roleplaying games, such as Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. His research interests involve the potential of combining roleplaying games' collective storytelling and interactive narrative with the power of artificial intelligence and deep learning. A description of Toby's research: Artificial Intelligence is the field of creating digital agents capable of decision-making and rational thought to fulfil a core goal or aspect. For tabletop and video games, an implemented AI would attempt to ‘solve’ the game by finding optimal winning strategies. However, tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are driven by the power of collective storytelling and interactive narrative, as opposed to set rules, and therefore have a more open-ended goal - maximising player enjoyment for all participants. This involves a Game Master (GM) player as both narrator and referee, controlling the non-playable characters (NPCs) and the campaign behind the screen, whereas players usually control one player character (PC) each to interact with the world. There is no ‘failure’ state compared to traditional games, as campaigns can continue until players lose interest or the narrative is ‘complete’; even all PCs dying (known as a total party kill) can drive the narrative in a new direction. This project aims to study and piece together the different elements that would go into a Game Master AI, building on current state-of-the-art game-playing AI, such as Director AIs in games such as Valve’s ‘Left 4 Dead’, and studying the implications of such developments for players and game designers alike. For example, whether it could replicate the playing experiences of a human GM as a replacement, or enhance the experience by working with a human GM. t.j.best@qmul.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://l0rdr0b.github.io/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/toby-best-776336136/ LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/L0RDR0B Github Supervisors: Dr Alena Denisova Dr Raluca Gaina Prof. Simon Lucas Featured Publication(s): "Journeys in the Dark"-Towards Game Master AI in Complex Board Games Why Choose You?-Exploring Attitudes Towards Starter Pokémon Themes Design & Development Game AI Player Research Previous Next

< Back Sam Hughes University of York iGGi Alum Affect and Emotion using Immersive Sound in Intelligent Games. (On Industrial Placement with Remedy Entertainment) Recent advances in high definition video displays and 3-D headsets, coupled with motion tracking and biosensor technologies, have enabled video games to reach unprecedented levels of visual immersion and interaction. There is little research however on how the aural feedback of the player, which can help assess their emotional state, can be used to inform the game intelligence and affect the emotive impact of the game. Furthermore, improvements in domestic surround sound and binaural technology are paving the way for fully enveloping and realistic soundtracks that extend the gameplay beyond the visual and can significantly enhance the emotive experience. This research project therefore addresses how current sensor and tracking technologies can be enhanced through analysis of player aural reactions such that the game intelligence can in turn provoke a conditional response via the reproduced soundtrack. In other words, how can the emotional impact of a spatial soundtrack during gameplay be enhanced by the user aural response alongside other physiological detections such as heartbeat and movement? Sam is a sound designer and voice actor who founded the audio journalism site, The Sound Architect™. Sam was selected as one of the first to ever receive the Prince William Scholarship from both BAFTA & Warner Bros. to study MSc Post Production with Sound Design at The University of York where he graduated with a Distinction and a Departmental Award for achieving the Highest Overall Average Grade. Sam has been highly active in the community for years including writing for BAFTA Guru, sitting on the BAFTA Youth Board, running Game Audio North and being an active member of BAFTA Crew Games. Most recently Sam has worked regularly with game audio company Sweet Justice on a variety of titles that include mobile and AAA. Sam’s recent credits include Injustice 2 and Madden NFL 2017. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thesoundarchitect LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Dr Terence Broad Goldsmiths iGGi Alum Terence Broad is an artist and researcher working on developing new techniques and interfaces for the manipulation of generative models. His PhD focusses on how pre-trained generative neural networks can be repurposed and reconfigured for authoring novel multimedia content. He is completing his PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London and is also a visiting researcher at the UAL Creative Computing Institute. His research has been published in international conferences, workshops and journals such as SIGGRAPH, NeurIPS, Leonardo and xCoAx. He was acknowledged as an outstanding peer-reviewer by the journal Leonardo. Terence is a practicing artist and often uses the techniques he has developed in his research in the creation of his artworks. His art has been exhibited and screened internationally at venues such as The Whitney Museum of American Art, Ars Electronica, The Barbican and The Whitechapel Gallery. He won the Grand Prize in the ICCV 2019 Computer Vision Art Gallery. t.broad@gold.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://terencebroad.com Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/terence-broad-81350668/ LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/terrybroad Github Featured Publication(s): XAIxArts Manifesto: Explainable AI for the Arts Using Generative AI as an Artistic Material: A Hacker's Guide Is computational creativity flourishing on the dead internet? Interactive Machine Learning for Generative Models Envisioning Distant Worlds: Fine-Tuning a Latent Diffusion Model with NASA's Exoplanet Data Active Divergence with Generative Deep Learning--A Survey and Taxonomy Automating Generative Deep Learning for Artistic Purposes: Challenges and Opportunities Network Bending: Expressive Manipulation of Generative Models in Multiple Domains Active Divergence with Generative Deep Learning--A Survey and Taxonomy Network Bending: Expressive Manipulation of Deep Generative Models Amplifying The Uncanny Transforming the output of GANs by fine-tuning them with features from different datasets Searching for an (un) stable equilibrium: experiments in training generative models without data Autoencoding Blade Runner: Reconstructing Films with Artificial Neural Networks Light field completion using focal stack propagation Autoencoding video frames IoT and Machine Learning for Next Generation Traffic Systems Themes Creative Computing Design & Development - Previous Next

< 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 Prof. Sebastian Deterding iGGi Responsible Innovation Lead Supervisor Sebastian Deterding is a designer-researcher working on playful, gameful, motivational, and eudaimonic design. His work asks how we might re-design the socio-technical rule systems we live in to enable a good life for all. He is founder of the Gamification Research Network, and co-editor of The Gameful World (MIT Press, 2015). An internationally recognised leader of gamification research, he is frequently invited to keynote and speak at venues like Lift, Interaction, GDC, Games Learning Society, Google, IDEO, and MIT, and his work has been covered by The Guardian, The New Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, arte, and EDGE Magazine among others. As a senior research fellow at the Digital Creativity Labs, Sebastian works on the intersection of AI, machine learning, and design for augmented creativity: how can we create systems that learn to automatically adapt and serve optimally engaging content to users, and serve optimally supportive design suggestions and tutorials to creators? He is particularly interested in supervising students with a design, HCI, or behavioural sciences background on the following topics: understanding and designing for uncertainty, curiosity, and epistemic emotions in games applied games for decarbonisation and climate adaptation design for behaviour change Self-determination theory and games Research themes: Game Design Games with a Purpose Computational Creativity Player Experience Gamification sebastian.deterding@york.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://codingconduct.cc Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Applied Games Creative Computing Design & Development Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Rob Homewood Goldsmiths iGGi Alum Personalised Aesthetics for Games The worldwide games industry is a huge market and as the spectrum of people who spend time playing games increases, there is more and more competition to create games that capture the attentions of a wide audience. Whilst games have been traditionally designed with specific cultural demographics in mind, a game that could dynamically match the cultural values of a range of demographics would maximize its potential market. Robert’s research looks at developing techniques for procedurally generating dynamic game assets that can be viewed as being relevant at a ‘per player’ level. He aims to do this by actively profiling a player’s social networks and building up a picture of the cultural references with which they identify. This knowledge could then be used to create game assets that match an aesthetic the player would likely feel comfortable with, allowing a more flexible decoupling between game mechanics and aesthetic during the design process. Designers could then focus on creating interesting game mechanics that could work in a variety of settings and the system would fill in the aesthetic detail based on the requirements of the individual player at run-time. Having studied in five countries, Robert is currently undertaking a PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London where he is part of the EPSRC funded IGGI (Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence) program. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Game Design and Production Management from the University of Abertay Dundee which included a year of studies at the George Mason University Computer Game Design Program. He also spent a year studying Serious Games at Masters level at the University of Skövde in Sweden (which has the longest running Serious Games program in the world). Robert has an active interest in the media arts field and has exhibited his work in three countries. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-j-homewood-36906132/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Dr Thryn Henderson University of York iGGi Alum Thryn’s phd explored the practices of personal vignette games, with a particular interest in the vignette game’s approaches to digital persona, their roots in approachable DIY culture, and their importance to marginalised creators. Publications from their work can be found in the Digra 2020 archive and Persona Studies Volume 6, Issue 2 . Thryn’s interest in gaming grows from a delight in telling stories. They endeavour to find the spaces where play incorporates and encourages collaborative narrative, poetry, theatre, activism, subversion, surprise and expression. Most of Thryn’s work in playful media can be found in zines, cardboard installations, paper games, hidden screens, or roaming through the woods around the UK. They are a co-founder of the playful design co-operative Furtive Shambles, currently producing experimental live and tabletop game experiences. thrynhenderson@gmail.com Email Mastodon https://furtiveshambles.com Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Design & Development - Previous Next

< Back Dr Joseph Walton-Rivers University of Essex iGGi Alum Controlling Non-player characters. (Industry placement at Visteon) Within games non-player characters help to sell the world and give meaning to the player's experiences. These characters in games are presently not very believable and often lack the ability to interact with each other in meaningful ways. This work is looking at creating socially capable, believable agents to populate the worlds of role playing games. These agents need to be able to cope with player's actions and be capable of acting independent in the world. Joseph studied computer science at the University of Essex, obtaining a first class degree. During his study there he received two awards for academic achievement. After graduation he worked in the IT team of a company with offices across the United Kingdom where he developed and maintained their IT systems. Since starting IGGI he has worked on research involving co-operative agents working together to solve shared goals. He has a keen interest in programming and the Free Software movement. During his free time he enjoys strategy and puzzle games including Prison Architect, the Shadowrun series and Galactic Civilization 2. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Featured Publication(s): Evaluating the Effects on Monte Carlo Tree Search of Predicting Co-operative Agent Behaviour An Exploratory Analysis of Student Experiences with Peer Evaluation in Group Game Development Projects Student Perspectives on the Purpose of Peer Evaluation During Group Game Development Projects The 2018 Hanabi competition Hexboard: A generic game framework for turn-based strategy games Fireworks agent competition Evaluating and Modelling Hanabi-Playing Agents Controlling co-incidental non-player characters Monte carlo tree search applied to co-operative problems Distributed Social Multi-Agent Negotiation Framework For Incomplete Information Games Themes Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Alex Fletcher Queen Mary University of London iGGi Alum Alex Fletcher is a freelance audio engineer and junior game developer working on understanding the perceived flow and player experiences in mobile rhythm games and how a dynamic difficulty adjustment system would improve these experiences. The function of EEG and other biosensors as an additional measurement of player experience is of particular interest as further research in its use as an adaptive system. Other areas of research interest include game-based learning and games with a purpose. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-fletcher-64ab72176 LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Applied Games Game Audio Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Dr Adrián Barahona-Ríos University of York iGGi Alum From 2018 and in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, Adrián is researching strategies to increase the efficiency in the creation of procedural audio models for video games by using DSP and machine learning approaches. His main research interests, applied to the synthesis of sound effects, are generative deep learning (GANs, RNNs and VAEs) to synthesise raw audio and machine learning to find out the best parameters for a synthesiser to generate a target sound. Adrián has been enthusiastic about sound and more specifically about game audio since he began his studies. By the time he completed an HND in Creative Media Production in Madrid, he started working in the industry as a recording engineer in an ADR studio for the Spanish localisation of video games (such as Fallout 4, Until Dawn or Just Cause 3). He moved from Spain to the UK in 2015 to take a BA (top-up) in Music Production at the Southampton Solent University and an MSc in Sound Design at the University of Edinburgh immediately after. During that journey, he focused his career in procedural audio and explored ways to create models for interactive applications by using different techniques. adrian.barahona.rios@gmail.com Email Mastodon https://www.adrianbarahonarios.com/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianbarahona LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/adrianbarahona Github Supervisor Dr Tom Collins Featured Publication(s): Deep Learning for the Synthesis of Sound Effects NoiseBandNet: controllable time-varying neural synthesis of sound effects using filterbanks Sonifying energy consumption using SpecSinGAN SpecSinGAN: Sound Effect Variation Synthesis Using Single-Image GANs Synthesising Knocking Sound Effects Using Conditional WaveGAN Perception of emotions in knocking sounds: An evaluation study Perceptual Evaluation of Modal Synthesis for Impact-Based Sounds Illuminating Game Space Using MAP-Elites for Assisting Video Game Design Themes Creative Computing Game Audio - Previous Next