< Back Perceptual Evaluation of Modal Synthesis for Impact-Based Sounds Link Author(s) A Barahona, S Pauletto Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Self-adaptive MCTS for General Video Game Playing Link Author(s) CF Sironi, J Liu, D Perez-Liebana, RD Gaina, I Bravi, SM Lucas, ... Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back On the Evaluation of Procedural Level Generation Systems Link Author(s) O Withington, M Cook, L Tokarchuk Abstract More info TBA Link

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. The University of Sheffield

< Back Evolving a designer-balanced neural network for Ms PacMan Link Author(s) M Morosan, R Poli Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Procedural Generation using Spatial GANs for Region-Specific Learning of Elevation Data Link Author(s) RJ Spick, P Cowling, JA Walker Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Time to die 2: Improved in-game death prediction in dota 2 Link Author(s) C Ringer, S Missaoui, VJ Hodge, AP Chitayat, A Kokkinakis, S Patra, ... 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 "Hunt Takes Hare": Theming Games Through Game-Word Vector Translation Link Author(s) Y Rabii, M Cook Abstract More info TBA Link

< 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 iGGi @ Develop:Brighton 2025 What an exceedingly exciting Develop we had this year! With 24 sponsored/official iGGi PG Researchers and Staff, and a fair few Alumni/soon-to-be Alumni, iGGi's presence confidently reached the count of 30. Here are some of iGGi's highlights: The iGGi Stand on the Develop Expo Floor With above-average footfall compared to previous times, the iGGi stand proved to be busy and popular this year. Visitors to the stand included familiar, friendly faces (big thanks to all of those "Friends of iGGi" who managed to drop by!), games industry folks who were new to the idea of iGGi and interested to hear about potential collaboration with iGGi , and then there were also those who thought about pursuing games further on an academic pathway . In summary, many vivid conversations were had, and regardless of whether they were future-opportunity-focused or more just-in-the-moment, we enjoyed them all! Displays at the stand were: "Exploring Human Behaviour in Social Virtual Reality" by Karl Clarke "Interactive Tool to Explore Different Playstyles in MicroRTS" by Ruizhe "Jay" Yu Xia "Detachment Undone" by Luiza Gossian "Future Factory - a Card Game" by Prasad Sandbhor An invitation for Indie Devs of Narrative Games to participate in a focus-study by Alex Flint Our this year's showcase video and " iGGi @ Develop " lookup iGGi Speaker at Develop This year, we were thrilled to hear Francesca Foffano's presentation on Player Emotional Design where she talked about how we experience emotions best design practices emotional design design solutions for Emotional Accessibility If you missed the talk or you would like to recap, Francesca shared the slides and you can find them under this link . iGGi Speaker at the Game A11y Gathering The Game A11y Gathering was a satellite event to Develop and organisers included iGGi Alum Jozef Kulik , last year's iGGi Con Keynote Cari Watterton, and Mollie Evans (Nothing Without Us). The second iteration of this game-accessibility-focused micro conference was sponsored by Sony Interactive Entertainment PlayStation Studios, Games User Research, PlaytestCloud, Scopely, and hosted at Unity Technologies. Like last year, it brought together developers and advocates from across the industry to discuss accessibility in games. Notably, iGGi PG Researcher Steph Carter was a speaker at the event. Steph's presentation was titled "Why Words Matter: Accessible Language in Games" and discussed how the words we use - whether in menus, dialogue, or instructions - shape how players understand and interact with game worlds. Steph shared why language is a crucial part of games accessibility, drawing on their experience as a neurodivergent player, an accessibility consultant and linguistics specialist. Quite a few of the other iGGi PGRs also attended the event and found it very instructive in its practical focus. Big thank you to organisers, sponsors and hosts, for putting on this fabulous event! >>> PICTURES TO FOLLOW Develop Impressions In comparison to last year's slightly subdued vibes and despite the fact that we've still not seen the end of incoming waves of layoffs (e.g., Microsoft), this year's atmosphere felt relaxed and cautiously optimistic. The sunny weather certainly helped! Two of the iGGis in particular struck lucky during the Develop Expo and won things at other stands. Namely a PS5 (in the raffle from GamesAid ) and a Packman Machine (in a contest at Big Games Machine ) After three days of full-on networking, it was finally time for a bit of chillin by the beach. The week left us looking forward to next year already! See you again in 2026, Brighton! Previous 10 Jul 2025 Next

< Back Peer Evaluation in Group Projects: Insight into Effective Student Critique and Feedback Link Author(s) A Mitchell, T Greer, J Howard, B McDonald, J Walton-Rivers, D Brown, ... Abstract More info TBA Link