< Back Different rules for binocular combination of luminance flicker in cortical and subcortical pathways Link Author(s) FG Segala, A Bruno, MT Aung, AR Wade, DH Baker 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 Contextual design requirements for decision-support tools involved in weaning patients from mechanical ventilation in intensive care units Link Author(s) N Hughes, Y Jia, M Sujan, T Lawton, I Habli, J McDermid Abstract More info TBA Link

< 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 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 Alex Flint University of York iGGi PG Researcher Available for placement Alex has an academic background in Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction. Their Master’s dissertation comparing measures of perceived challenge and demand in video games was published at CHI 2023. Alex has previously worked on the Research Operations team at PlaytestCloud and as a freelance Games User Researcher. They are also a Student Video Games Ambassador for UKIE, and regularly volunteer at conferences such as CHI Play and the GamesUR Summit. When they aren’t at their desk, you can find Alex figure skating, playing roller derby, or DJing 80’s rock. Alex’s research focuses on levelling up the narrative testing practices of indie video game developers. Narrative testing is a specialised games user research (GUR) practice that requires resources and knowledge not easily accessible to indie developers, meaning they are often disadvantaged compared to their larger AAA counterparts. Thus, Alex's work proposes the direct study of indie developers to level the playing field by democratising narrative testing best practices and empowering non-research team members to conduct GUR activities. Alex aims to achieve this goal by: 1) Defining narrative testing best practices. 2) Identifying key challenges indie developers face when evaluating narrative. 3) Co-designing and evaluating narrative testing prototype(s). 4) Assessing methods for disseminating GUR knowledge. The successful completion of this work will impact how indie studios conduct narrative testing, ultimately leading to the creation of better games. Email alex.flint@york.ac.uk Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Supervisor: Dr Alena Denisova Dr Jon Hook Featured Publication(s): Comparing Measures of perceived challenge and demand in video games: Exploring the conceptual dimensions of CORGIS and VGDS Faking handedness: Individual differences in ability to fake handedness, social cognitions of the handedness of others, and a forensic application using Bayes’ theorem Themes Design & Development Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Playing with Dezgo: Adapting Human-AI Interaction to the Context of Play Link Author(s) J Villareale, G Cimolino, D Gomme Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Synthesising Knocking Sound Effects Using Conditional WaveGAN Link Author(s) A Barahona-Rıos, S Pauletto Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back Efficient evolutionary methods for game agent optimisation: Model-based is best Link Author(s) SM Lucas, J Liu, I Bravi, RD Gaina, J Woodward, V Volz, D Perez-Liebana Abstract More info TBA Link

< Back iGGi Open Evening at QMUL iGGi QMUL is spontaneously running an Open Evening event on 15 December 2021 at 6pm Empire House (Whitechapel Campus) https://goo.gl/maps/dquCpQHtSuTN7YD9A We will showcase some of the ongoing research of the QMUL Game AI research group the iGGi Centre for Doctoral Training the AIM Centre for Doctoral Training which are all part of QMUL's School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. It will be a great opportunity to speak face-to-face to some of the Researchers and Staff relevant to iGGi (and you can also consider our "competitor" AIM who offer fully funded scholarships in a similar way to iGGi). There will also be pizza and drinks! If you can/want to attend: Fill in this form: https://forms.gle/mGmWeoGUtH4sZmz86 Note that you will be required to wear a face mask for the duration of the event, and you will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test taken within the last 48h of event start. We look forward to seeing you there! Previous 8 Dec 2021 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 Dr Nick Ballou Queen Mary University of London iGGi Alum Hi there! I’m a psychology and human-computer interaction researcher interested in two main topics: how games affect wellbeing, and how we can reform the research ecosystem to be more trustworthy and efficient (aka “open science” or “metascience”). I’m originally from the US, and have bachelor and master’s degrees in linguistics, a topic that prepared me well for social science research, but whose use is relegated to excitedly sharing language fun facts at this point. In my free time, I play tennis, cook and bake, read—and of course play games (mostly deckbuilders, roguelikes, and AAA RPGs). A description of Nick's research: Psychological need frustration—experiences of feeling controlled and coerced, failure and self-doubt, or loneliness and exclusion—is a promising framework for understanding how players engage with video games. Grounded in self-determination theory, one of the most robust psychological theories, need frustration might help explain how and why players (dis)engage with a game and how gameplay impacts well-being. To realize this aim, however, we’re missing key building blocks: 1) a better grasp on when and why need-frustrating situations arise during play; 2) a questionnaire that can assess how much need frustration people experience in games quantitatively; and 3) studies that combine data on need frustration with carefully tracked behavioral data over time, rather than relying on simple self-reports like “how much time did you spend playing video games last week?” My thesis attempts to address all of these one step at a time and is underpinned by a strong emphasis on open and transparent methods. Results so far are promising—contact me to hear more! Email nick@nickballou.com Website LinkedIn Mastodon BlueSky GitHub Other Link Supervisors: Prof. Sebastian Deterding Dr David Zendle Dr Laurissa Tokarchuk Featured Publication(s): "I just wanted to get it over and done with": a grounded theory of psychological need frustration in video games 01 01V A manifesto for more productive psychological games research All BANG, little buck: Need-related experiences are weakly linked with behavior in the video game domain Awareness and Use of Open Research Practices: An International Survey of Researchers Across Disciplines Building collaborative digital behavioural science: A cross-sector agenda from video games research Commentary: Prediction of problem gambling by demographics, gaming behavior and psychological correlates among gacha gamers: A cross-sectional online survey in Chinese young adults From Breakups to Lethargy: Player Accounts of Third Variables Affecting Video Game Playtime and Wellbeing Fundamental Flaws in the Design and Reporting of Chew and Neo (2024) Ill Health and Grief Fuel Gaming, while Lethargy Slows It: Playtime-Wellbeing Confounds from the Player Perspective Open Play: A longitudinal dataset of multi-platform video game digital trace data and psychological measures Perceived value of video games, but not hours played, predicts mental well-being in casual adult Nintendo players Psychological wellbeing, sleep, and video gaming: Analyses of comprehensive digital traces stage 1 programmatic registered report Self-determination theory in HCI: advancing the field Reliving 10 years old: Descriptive Insights into Retro Gaming UKRN Local Network Lead Guidebook Claims for no evidence also need evidence From social media to artificial intelligence: improving research on digital harms in youth The Basic Needs in Games (BANG) Model of Video Game Play and Mental Health (PhD thesis) The Basic Needs in Games (BANG) Model of Video Games and Mental Health: Untangling the Positive and Negative Effects of Games with Better Science The Relationship Between Lockdowns and Video Game Playtime: Multilevel Time-Series Analysis Using Massive-Scale Data Telemetry Affective Uplift During Video Game Play: A Naturalistic Case Study No evidence that Chinese playtime mandates reduced heavy gaming in one segment of the video games industry A manifesto for more productive psychological games research Four grand challenges for video game effects scholars: How digital trace data can improve the way we study games Perceived value of video games, but not hours played, predicts mental well-being in adult Nintendo players Development of the Brief Open Research Survey (BORS) to measure awareness and uptake of Open Research practices The Basic Needs in Games Scale (BANGS): A new tool for investigating positive and negative video game experiences How does Juicy Game Feedback Motivate? Testing Curiosity, Competence, and Effectance Registered Report Evidence Suggests No Relationship Between Objectively Tracked Video Game Playtime and Well-Being Over 3 Months Themes Game Data Player Research Previous Next