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< Back Ruizhe "Jay" Yu Xia Queen Mary University of London iGGi PG Researcher Available for placement Ruizhe has bachelor degrees in Mathematics and Physics and a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence. After a short time as a consultant he decided to pursue research into what got him into AI in the first place: game agents. He enjoys games of all kinds, but strategy and RPG games occupy a sizeable portion of his collection. AI agents that perform with superhuman skill in increasingly complex games have appeared in recent years, but these agents are not always useful to game developers. Players within a game exhibit significant variance in their skill levels and play styles. Therefore, game agents with similar variance would better represent the player base. The research Ruizhe proposes will focus on three areas: measuring skill and play styles, developing game agents that mimic a range of human play styles and skill levels, and making these agents human-like. Upon successful completion, this research will improve the game development process via automated playtesting and will enable the development of AI agents that are more engaging and interactive. r.yuxia@qmul.ac.uk Email Mastodon Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruizheyuxia/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Supervisor: Prof. Simon Lucas Dr Jeremy Gow Themes Game AI Game Data - Previous Next

< Back Dr Sokol Murturi Goldsmiths iGGi Alum AI for game design: learning from designers For my PhD I am investigating how AI can help developers by learning to generate content in a similar fashion to the developers themselves. I envision a framework based on reinforcement learning, where an AI can learn a design policy for some content domain (e.g., FPS maps or platformer levels) by observing human designers. The AI would learn to take particular design actions in certain kinds of content states. Recent research into reinforcement learning has shown it is a powerful framework for developing complex agent behaviours and I believe there is a lot of potential to apply this work to game design. How would a human and artificial designer interact? Assume that an AI has learned to design a specific kind of content, such as a house, by observing human designers at work. A human designer could then partially develop some new content, and ask the AI to suggest some variations on it (see figure below), with both AI and human iterating on the design in a mixed-initiative interaction. The AI could learn from feedback from both the human designer and playtesting. As human feedback may not produce enough data for effective learning, the AI could perhaps extend this with data from simulated playtests. Game design decisions are often made with an expectation of how the player will react, and I could also look at how player models could be incorporated into the AI designer. In a reinforcement learning approach, the state could represent content+player, and the AI could learn to take design actions aimed a specific types of player. Developers could use this framework to develop content targeted at an individual player's style. Moreover, if the AI has learned something about how the human designer creates content, it can then be used live during the game to modify game elements in response to player interaction. Developers could set up modular levels, giving the AI the ability to adapt certain areas with content generated specifically to match the player. smurt001@gold.ac.uk Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Game AI - Previous Next

< Back Peter York University of York iGGi Alum PhD student working in analytics and machine learning for esports broadcast and understanding. In particular working with Weavr on various projects related to broadcast and learning tools for Dota 2. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon https://pete-york.github.io Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Featured Publication(s): Data-Driven Audience Experiences in Esports Metagaming and metagames in Esports DAX: Data-Driven Audience Experiences in Esports A generalized framework for self-play training Themes Esports Game AI - 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 Dr David Gundry University of York iGGi Alum Using Applied Games to Motivate Speech Without Bias (Industry placement Lightspeed Research) Eliciting linguistic data faces several difficulties such as investment of researcher time and few available participants. Because of this, many language elicitation studies have to make do with few subjects and coarse sampling rates (measured in months). It would be ideal if a game could crowd-source relevant linguistic data with frequent, short game sessions. To this end, David’s research is looking into how games shape and elicit players’ linguistic behaviour. The established design patterns of gamification do not apply to a domain that lacks a ‘correct’ answer like language or personal beliefs and attitudes. David’s research shows how a player’s strategic goals will systematically bias data collection. It also shows how to design around this. The conclusion: The player’s choice of how to express a given datum must be strategically irrelevant in the game. David can remember the halcyon days when he had the free time to play games. Now he’s doing a PhD and has a one-year-old. He has an background in linguistics. He loves writing expressive code and designing clever little games. He wants to show that research games can be fun, not just effective. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Featured Publication(s): Trading Accuracy for Enjoyment? Data Quality and Player Experience in Data Collection Games Designing Games to Collect Human-Subject Data Validity threats in quantitative data collection with games: A narrative survey Busy doing nothing? What do players do in idle games? Intrinsic elicitation: A model and design approach for games collecting human subject data Themes Applied Games - Previous Next

< Back Dr Zoe Handley University of York Supervisor Zoe Handley is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Language Education. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, with a background in language technology, who recognizes the value of quantitative as well as qualitative work in this area. Her earlier work focused on the evaluation of speech synthesis for use in language learning and teaching. Since then she has carried out a systematic review of evidence for the use of technology to support English language learning in primary and secondary schools and supervised a number of theses evaluating applications of technology for language learning. These have typically explored the use of web 2.0 and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) technologies. Further to this she is interested in how learners autonomously use technology to support their learning in contexts such as study abroad. Zoe is currently particularly interested in teacher thinking in relation to the integration of technology to support language learning and developing and evaluating training to support teachers in making decisions about what technologies to integrate into their teaching, for what purposes and how. Zoe welcomes applications from PhD students interested in designing and evaluating educational activities that harness the affordances of digital technologies to create conditions and engage learners in processes that are known to support language learning. zoe.handley@york.ac.uk Email https://sites.google.com/york.ac.uk/pivotal-group/about Mastodon https://www.york.ac.uk/education/our-staff/academic/zhandley/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-handley-a730b58/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes - Previous Next

< Back iGGi Becomes WIG Education Ambassador iGGi is proud to officially announce that we are now Women in Games (WIG) Education Ambassadors as of last week. We at iGGi feel strongly that the future in games industry and research must include a more level playing field for all the groups which currently lack visibility and/or voice. We want to do our part in creating societal change in that respect. Here's a link to the article in the WIG newsletter featuring our senior academic spokesperson Raluca Gaina. >> iGGi joins Women in Games as Education Ambassador . We are very happy that Raluca has accepted this new role: as she is both, an iGGi Alumna and an iGGi Supervisor/Staff, she is particularly suited to representing women, not only within iGGi but also in games research as a whole. Included in the iGGi WIG team will be any interested PGRs who we will introduce in one of the forthcoming iGGi News articles, so, watch this space! If you as an iGGi PGR are interested in joining in, please let iGGi Admin know. (Note: You don’t have to identify as female to become a WIG Ambassador.) Here’s also a general link to this month’s WIG July Newsletter And finally, a big THANKS goes to the WIG Team who have been amazingly supportive already. We look forward to many years of collaboration ahead of us! Previous 20 Jul 2023 Next

< Back Experimental Game Workshop - GDC 2023 "The Game Developers Conference is a whole lot of fun. Every year tens of thousands of games industry people come together to talk, listen and party. Deal-makers abound – you can spot them a mile away – but the majority remains those that derive a simple joy in the urge to create games and explore ideas of new ways that people can get pleasure from interacting with games." writes iGGi Director Peter Cowling after his recent attendance of GDC 2023. You can read the full blogpost here: http://www.petercowling.com/egw-2023/ Previous 19 Apr 2023 Next

< Back Helen Tilbrook University of York iGGi Administrator iGGi Admin iGGi Administrator at York helen.tilbrook@york.ac.uk Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes - Previous Next

< Back IGGI 2021 Conference start The IGGI 2021 Conference will kick-start tomorrow with a promising looking schedule of exiting speakers for our Panels, 18 Talks, 2 Workshops, and the traditional IGGI Buzz Talks, all spread over two days. Don't miss out and join us online on Gather.Town Previous 7 Sept 2021 Next

< Back Dr Mike Cook Supervisor Mike is a Senior Lecturer at King's College London where he leads research into automated game design, computational creativity, and the theory and practice of generative systems. mike@possibilityspace.org Email Mastodon https://www.possibilityspace.org/ Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Creative Computing Design & Development Game AI - 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