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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. National Science and Media Museum

A Word from The iGGi Director iGGi is a collaboration between Uni of York + Queen Mary Uni of London: the largest training programme worldwide for doing a PhD in digital games. A Word from the Director Welcome to iGGi! Below are a few words about the vision for iGGi, about who funds iGGi and why, and about why i GGi can be a force for good in a sometimes turbulent world. iGGi is short for the “EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence” (EPSRC is short for “Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council”). You can see why the name iGGi stuck! In , 120 PhD students spend 4 years learning cool stuff and conducting research in topics related to games and the games industry, working with 100 UK games companies . The big vision for iGGi is to inject research innovations and innovative researchers into the games industry. There is a strong economic argument for this, and there are even stronger social and cultural reasons. So where did iGGi come from and what is the vision that allowed us to win £30 million for games research? In the early 2000s, the games research community went through a huge growth spurt (which continues to this day). The economic, social and cultural power of video games meant that politicians and funders could no longer brush games aside as kid’s stuff. An opportunity arose in 2013 with the announcement of a competition for funding around 100 centres for PhD research in a focussed area of science or engineering. While it was clear that the call would be massively oversubscribed and very competitive, games seemed a good fit given the rise and rise of the financial size of the games market and the growing research community. We had more and more friends and contacts in the games industry. And we had shown that games could be funded at scale via projects such as UCT (£1.5 million) and NEMOG (1.2 million). A group of people from across academia and industry, with an interest in games research, came together to submit a bid and form a consortium. Our joint goal was to “make better games” and “make games better”. My role in this (as ‘Principal Investigator’) was as a synthesiser of ideas, as a recruiter of people who shared and refined these ideas, and as a writer and lobbyist who could package them up for referees who almost certainly lacked enthusiasm for games research. So how can we summarise the iGGi vision? The ‘IG’ in iGGi stands for ‘Intelligent Games’ - using research advances to make better games that provide richer, more fun experiences. The ‘GI’ in iGGi stands for ‘Game Intelligence’ - research which uses games to understand and inform people. In more detail: the following two paragraphs, from the 2013 iGGi bid, were probably among the most carefully written of the text in the whole bid document (redrafted dozens of times): Our vision is twofold: Intelligent Games: iGGi PhDs, investigators and collaborators will use research advances to seed the creation of a new generation of more intelligent and engaging digital games, to underpin the distinctiveness and growth of the UK games industry. We will weave technical and creative disciplines: using games as an application area to advance research in areas including artificial intelligence and computational creativity; human-computer interaction; interactive sound, graphics and narrative; robotics, agents and complex systems. The study of intelligent games will be underpinned by new business models and by research advances in data mining (game analytics) which can exploit vast volumes of gameplay data. Game Intelligence: iGGi PhDs, investigators and collaborators will investigate games as a medium to achieve scientific and societal goals, working with user groups and the games industry to produce new genres of games which can yield therapeutic, educational and social benefits and using games to seed a new era of scientific experimentation into human preference and interaction. We will create new games to conduct large-scale analysis of individual behaviour, leading to better understanding in economics, psychology, sociology, biology and human-computer interaction. We will build games which promote physical and mental health and educational achievement, underpinned by advances in mobile technology and data mining. This vision was refined and updated for the 2018 iGGi resubmission, especially given the enormous advances in machine learning and the cultural and social successes of games, but the text above remains a good overview of the high-level iGGi vision. But a vision is relatively static, and now, of course, iGGi is a community of brilliant, fun, caring, intelligent, curious research students, supported by staff and industry partners. So maybe the best way to find out more about iGGi is to read more about a few of them… I look forward to talking about games research with you! Peter Cowling iGGi Director Professor of AI, Queen Mary University of London

< Back iGGi @ GDC 2025 iGGi Trip to the GDC in San Francisco Five iGGi PG Researchers and iGGi Director Peter Cowling flew to California this March to attend the Game Developers Conference (GDC) : an annual event that connects the global game developing community, offers inspiring talks, great networking opportunities, and the latest in relevant tech, and has drawn over 30K visitors this year. iGGi Talks this time included Oliver Withington (iGGi PGR) on " Techniques for Visualising the Output Diversity of Generative Systems " and Nick Ballou (iGGi Alum, now University of Oxford) on " What's New in Games Research " Most of the iGGis joined the GDC for the first time; but some could compare their experience with past visits. And what better way could there be of sharing their different perspectives than linking you to their respective blogs: Luiza Stepanyan "Since the conference ended, all I have been seeing are posts and articles about the dire state of the industry and how this year's event was so much smaller, so much more deflated than previous years, that this industry has so many problems, so many issues, so many things wrong with it. - How dare I be excited? How dare I find joy in something that so many others seem to find so troubling?" >>> Click this link to read Luiza's whole blogpost. Oliver Withington "And here I was, at what is arguably the centre of the industry itself, its biggest yearly event, and honestly I was not quite sure what to make of it all." >>> Click this link to read Oliver's whole blogpost. Peter Cowling "The 2025 Game Developers Conference was big and exciting. Generative AI, Large Language Models and markerless motion capture were at the centre of the Expo stage - as Alan Turing's ghost looked down and wondered, maybe, whether his test had been such a good idea." >>> Click this link to read Peter's whole blogpost. Florence Smith Nicholls "Was it worth it? No. And yes." >>> Click this link to read Florence's whole blogpost. Marko Tot tba James Gardener tba iGGi no doubt will be back at GDC next year. Watch this space! Previous 2 Apr 2025 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 iGGi Con 2025 Successfully Concluded! iGGi Con 2025 successfully concluded yesterday. Over the last 10 years, iGGi Con has firmly established itself as an annual showcases of the UK's latest advancements in games research and as a networking platform that connects individuals from industry and academia who are working in games. The iGGi Con 2025 took place at the Ron Cooke Hub on the University of York's Campus East. The event stretched over two days and comprised 13 talks, 3 keynotes, 1 panel, 1 workshop, 2 buzz talk sessions, 24 posters and plenty of coffee breaks during which attendees could engage with each other. We were excited to see so many of our industry partners present, as well as members of the increasingly large group of iGGi Alumni who shared their experience of "life after a PhD". We're already looking forward to next year's iGGi Con, also branded BiGGi Con ! BiGGi Con will be special in that it will quite likely be the last of its kind but we'd therefore envisage it to be larger and sparklier than ever! So make sure you SAFE THE DATE >>> 16-17 September 2026 <<< This time, we'll be back at the capital city >>> at Queen Mary University London <<< Can't wait to see you there! Previous 12 Sept 2025 Next

< Back IGGI on Industry Impact As the Easter Break is approaching fast, IGGI Year 1 students can report the successful conclusion of the last in a total of four modules: The Impact and Engagement Training. The course (usually held at Queen Mary University of London) was online this year, running over two weeks. The module encourages students to explore the potential impact of their research on the games industry in view of different aspects such as creativity, society, culture, economy, politics, etc. Students discuss feasibility and effectiveness of available engagement tools that can be utilised to create and maximise the envisaged impact. Rooted in the real-world, in true IGGI style, the training included talks by a wide range of invited guest speakers who brought their experience and expertise to the (virtual) table. On that note, a MASSIVE THANKS goes to AI Factory , Women in Games , BAME in Games , Sony , Game Republic , Fusebox Games , Player Research , UKIE , aiandgames.com , and Science Fiction author Matthew de Abaitua for their insightful talks and for representing the industry’s multifaceted perspective. A shoutout also to the IGGI academics and PhD students who contributed! Previous 1 Apr 2021 Next

< Back IGGI students and staff at the 2019 IGGI Conference The annual IGGI conference assembles is your games research download from 50+ PhD students at York, Goldsmiths, QMUL, and Essex Universities. Previous 12 Oct 2020 Next

< Back iGGi Research Retreat "Unconference" Group Outcomes Generative AI, Abstraction and Epistemology The "Problem" Coming up with the skeleton of a 50-60 minute presentation for technologists in the former CIS region about the topic. What we did There was a lot of brainstorming about the three topics and how they link together. A Keynote presentation was produced, and then four sheets of flip-chart paper. We iterated on the content several times, attempting to join it all together in a coherent whole. The "Outcome" We found that this is a rich field that may yield actually yield a paper. The lack of understanding about epistemology in the wider field is quite evident, and this informs poor choices about the value and content of generative AI. Since AI is seeking to "be" human and "do" human things, ideally better and/or faster than humans, but without a sound understanding of what it means to be human this is unlikely to succeed. AI is NOT human, it is a simulacrum of a part of human nature, that which can be subject to reduction. It is effective at the correct point of abstraction but it is without context outside of that point. Previous Next Previous Next

Training iGGi is a collaboration between Uni of York + Queen Mary Uni of London: the largest training programme worldwide for doing a PhD in digital games. Training The training programme is an essential part of the iGGi PhD. It helps students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to do great research -- research that can change both video games and wider society. The programme has a practical focus on the design and development of games. By deepening our PGRs' understanding of games, we aim to motivate and enable PhD research that has real relevance to how games are made and played. Page Index: The Modules - Bringing Researchers Together - Training Requirements The Modules Because iGGi offers a four year PhD programme, the PG Researchers (PGRs) are able to commit substantial time to this training during their first year. There are four modules, with delivery shared by the University of York and Queen Mary University of London: Game Design (York) PGRs learn how to conceive, design, prototype and playtest their own games, be it for entertainment or a 'serious' purpose like health, education, or research. Game Development (QMUL) The module provides hands-on training developing video games using industry-standard game engines. iGGi PGRs work together to prototype a new game in one week . It also introduces a range of state-of-the-art technologies for game development, such as novel interaction techniques, AI opponents and collaborators, and procedural content generation. Methods and Data (York) PGRs learn various methods for empirically studying games and players, including standard HCI methods and data science techniques for gaining insights from large game data sets. Research Impact & Engagement (QMUL) PGRs learn how to engage industry, players, and other societal stakeholders early on in their research, how to conduct responsible research and innovation that is overall beneficial to human wellbeing, and how to present their work online, to the media, and industry. Video Placeholder - to display Game Dev YouTube playlist >> For iGGi news and updates, including event announcements, follow us on social media Bringing Researchers Together A key aim of this training is to bring new researchers together as a well-connected cohort who will carry on learning from, and supporting each other throughout their studies. This has helped us build a strong iGGi community of researchers across four universities and multiple research fields, with a common goal of doing world class PhD research on games. Each module is delivered in two two-week blocks, with the exception of the remotely-supervised individual project. Six weeks of the training takes place in the Autumn of the first year, and another eight weeks is scheduled throughout the rest of first year. For researchers in receipt of an iGGi EPSRC studentship, travel and accommodation is provided for York researchers to study in London, and vice versa. Training Requirements Completing the training programme, including passing the modules, is a compulsory part of the iGGi PhD programme. The Game Development module does assume some knowledge of programming, at least the equivalent of an introductory class.

< 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

About iGGi is a collaboration between Uni of York + Queen Mary Uni of London: the largest training programme worldwide for doing a PhD in digital games. About iGGi Your Future in Games Research The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (iGGi) is the world's largest PhD research programme focused on games research. Our mission is to unlock the full potential of games research to contribute to wellbeing, prosperity, and science by training the next generation of leading researchers, designers and developers in games. Based at the University of York, Queen Mary, Goldsmiths, and Essex, iGGi students undertake a four year PhD in impact-oriented games research, working closely with more than 80 partner organisations in the games industry and society. iGGi students advance games with research, software, patents, algorithms, data analytic techniques and creative works across a wide range of areas , from game AI and analytics to player experience and game design to games and play for health, education, or research. Game Research that Matters iGGi embraces a diversity of research approaches and topics: from humanistic studies of how autobiographical games convey meaning or designerly work on using stage magic in game design to rigorous trials of games for mental health or creative play with machine learning and advancing AI techniques for real-time MOBA play. At the heart of iGGi's approach to research are two principles: fostering dialogue between research and practice: we engage game creators, players, and other stakeholders throughout our research to ensure our work is inclusive, responsible, and makes a positive impact on the real needs of people and organisations fostering dialogue between engineering and human sciences: we believe innovative and responsible game research happens in interdisciplinary work that brings together perspectives from engineering (AI, data science, game-making) and humanities and behavioural sciences (HCI, psychology, design, game studies) While we welcome work across many themes, iGGi particularly focuses on two lines of work: Intelligent Games: Unlocking the value of research for the entertainment games industry, creating new engaging gameplay agents as well as new data- and AI-assisted tools and methods for making games and studying players Game Intelligence: Unlocking the value of games for wellbeing, learning, and science by advancing the design of applied or ‘serious’ games and gamification, the use of game data to understand the human condition, and our understanding of the positive and negative uses and effects of games. Game AI Player Research Applied Games Game Audio Design & Development Accessibility Creative Computing Esports Immersive Technology Game Data iGGi THEMES A Unique Community and Network PhD research is often solitary. Not so in iGGi : PhD students can collaborate with more than 70 other current PhD students and 60 leading academics all working on games. iGGi's past and present closely linked networks include the Digital Creativity Labs , XR Stories , WEAVR , and the Arena Research Cluster at the University of York, cutting-edge research and development centres for games, immersive storytelling, and esports, and the Game AI Research Group at QMUL, one of the largest research groups for technical games research world-wide. PhD students form a lasting cohort with everyone joining the programme in the same year, from joint training to working together in shared offices, and iGGi runs regular local and remote events to connect students further across sites and cohorts. The iGGi Con Every year, students co-organise the iGGi conference showcasing their research to academia and industry, and participate in the Global Game Jam. Students also travel to major industry and academic conferences like Develop, CoG, CHI, CHI Play, or FDG to network and disseminate their work. Finally, students co-organise research workshops on joint topics of interest with leading researchers and practitioners, and can conduct research visits with iGGi's academic partners abroad. iGGi Con info Meet the Team Meet The Team PG Researchers Meet our iGGi PGRs Supervisors/Staff Meet our Supervisors and other Staff Management Team Meet our iGGi Management Team Alumni Meet our iGGi Alumni Engaging Industry and Society To foster dialogue between research and practice, iGGi draws on a network of more than 80 partner organisations, spanning industry bodies (UKIE, TIGA, BGI, IGDA), developer studios (e.g. Sony Interactive Entertainment, Bossa Studios, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Creative Assembly, Revolution Software), industry suppliers (e.g. deltaDNA, Spirit AI, Player Research), advocacy groups (e.g. Women in Games, AbleGamers, BAME in Games, SafeInOurWorld), research centres at other universities and organizations (e.g. Microsoft Research, Nokia Bell Labs, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, GeorgiaTech, Utrecht University, Monash University, NC State University, University of Waterloo, Tampere University), and media organisations (e.g. Screen Yorkshire, BBC). iGGi students spend at least eight weeks working with one or more of our partners to understand the realities and challenges of applying research in practice, tackle real-world problems, and make a positive difference. Beyond the members of our partner network, iGGi students have also worked with e.g. Splash Damage, Media Molecule, Google DeepMind, Prowler, Sue Ryder, BT, and many others, and iGGi is always looking for new partners to join our network. iGGi Partners Show all iGGi Partners A Rigorous Training Programme Over their four years of study, iGGi students receive a full year's worth of training to prepare them to do excellent and impactful research. In their first year, students take four 'core' training modules: Game Design: Students learn how to conceive, design, prototype and playtest their own games, be it for entertainment or a 'serious' purpose like health, education, or research. Game Research & Data: Students learn various methods for empirically studying games and players, including standard HCI methods and data science techniques for gaining insights from big data sets. Game Development & AI: Students learn how to develop game prototypes using standard industry game engines, explore novel interaction techniques and interfaces, and the state of AI applications in games, like AI opponents and collaborators, procedural content generation, or player modelling. Impact & Engagement: Students learn how to engage industry, players, and other societal stakeholders early on in their research, how to conduct responsible research and innovation that is overall beneficial to human wellbeing, and how to present their work online, to the media, and industry. These formal training modules are complemented by regular events and workshops, academic and industry knowledge exchange, and a wide range of optional modules depending on each students’ needs. See info on iGGi Training An Inclusive and Responsible Environment iGGi wants to be a positive agent of change for more inclusive, diverse, and responsible games and research communities. We especially welcome students from underserved communities, celebrate diversity in our events, and work with e.g. Women in Games and BAME in Games to reach out to students from diverse backgrounds. We work hard to increase the intellectual, ethnic, and gender diversity of our supervisor pool so students can find the right fit for them. We support flexible training and work arrangements to fit students’ family and health situations. We work with leading figures in responsible innovation and rigorous, open science media effects research to ensure our training and research critically engages with the potential positive and negative impacts of games and research innovations. Please note that iGGi CDT is now closed for recruitment: the last iGGi intake is September 2023. A Word from Peter Cowling, iGGi Director Word from iGGi Director General Note Please note: iGGi is funded via a grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) / Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) . This means that studentships awarded by iGGi are subject to UKRI/EPSRC regulation as well as terms and conditons of the grant agreement. iGGi CDT is now closed for recruitment: the last iGGi intake is September 2023.

< Back Festive Wishes from iGGi Festive Wishes from iGGi As another calendar year is drawing to a close, iGGi wishes you a happy & relaxing Festive Break and a good start into 2023 !!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvEsmt4no8k In other news: Selected recordings of the last iGGi Conference are OUT NOW and can be accessed via our iGGi YouTube channel: iGGi CON 2022 Talks here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrhB7hwYCdScgdnGraofca1YhhL3BfGyd iGGi CON 2022 Keynotes here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrhB7hwYCdScXSOX3vDlGwUzQLu1WciTd Subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/@iGGiPhD for further updates! We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year! Previous 21 Dec 2022 Next