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< Back Dr Laurissa Tokarchuk Queen Mary University of London iGGi Research Collaboration Coordinator Supervisor Laurissa Tokarchuk is a senior lecturer and researcher working on playful ways of exploring and integrating virtual and real world space. Her primary focus is looking at engaging ways of creating and interacting with AR content in games and incorporating physical sensors for increasing playability in mobile games. Her interests also include merging AI with mobile and social sensing to detect events and behaviours in crowds and games, and the use of technology to promote learning/well-being. Her research has resulted in the widely used SensingKit framework, best poster awards, media appearances in the Guardian and BBC (Royal Institution Christmas Lectures). She is particularly interested in supervising students on the following topics: AR/VR games for learning and cognition design for promoting behaviour change understanding and designing for player behaviour and curiosity in games Research themes: Game AI Games with a Purpose Computational Creativity Player Experience laurissa.tokarchuk@qmul.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/~laurissa/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurissa-tokarchuk-27aa3214/ LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Applied Games Creative Computing Game AI Immersive Technology Player Research - Previous Next

< Back iGGi/AIM/C4DM Spring Writing Retreat 2025 Last week’s 2025 Spring Writing Retreat was a great success! And the warm & sunny weather certainly landed like the cherry on top! The event brought together 16 PG Researchers from iGGi and AIM CDTs, and the C4DM. The three days were spent at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. According to feedback survey, all respondents found the retreat useful, and an overwhelming majority (75%) deemed the duration and number of participants to be just right. (The remaining 25% are equally split both ways, so we conclude that what was on offer hit the sweet spot.) Here is what participants replied to the question " What was the primary benefit of being away with your and other CDT members?" Made some new friends, got to work on my research in a very focused manner. Vitamin D & focused writing time A change of scenery and structure I could focus entirely on my project Focus, socialise, change environment, and being inspired by other people's research and knowledge Balanced and structured days with focused writing sessions Very concentrated environment A constructive environment Focus. No need to worry about food I felt a really supportive and productive environment spending sometimes with my colleagues and new ones away from the usual workplace. Many participants enquired if there will be another writing retreat soon, so we better get planning! Previous 7 May 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 Research Retreat "Unconference" Group Outcomes Social Simulation Game on a Graph / Network The "Problem" Starting from the idea of a cellular automaton (consider for example Conway's Game of Life) we investigated how such a simple structure - considered as a group of agents - could be rendered as a playable simulation of social dynamics. Specifically, we ended up simulating the behaviour of people and ideas at a research retreat similar to the one at Darwin Lake, to investigate how groups form and evolve, and ideas are discussed, spread and refined. What we did We considered the NetLogo simulation software, and designed agents that (1) represented ideas, and the evolution of each idea; (2) represented research participants at the retreat; and (3) modelled the conversations of participants in a way that allowed for the capture of changes and refinements to an abstract idea. I think our primary innovation was from (3) where, through ethnomethodological analysis of the way that we discussed the ideas behind this project, we found a transactional model of conversation. Hence it was meta, man. The "Outcome" We didn't get past paper prototypes and deep discussions. The idea might be taken further - but we ran out of time to do that. Previous Next Previous Next

< Back Igor Dall'Avanzi Goldsmiths iGGi Alum Creation of accessible tools for the use of procedural audio in video games The aim of this research is to investigate and provide new tools to developers for the use of procedural audio into video games. Procedural approaches could address different issues that commonly afflict game audio. In music, generative systems are not only less repetitive, but offer more adaptability as well. For what concerns sound design, they can provide not only variety, but stronger and more realistic support to the interaction with the game world; interaction that is becoming even deeper with the advent of VR Yet, these methods still need improvement on different sides. One is the level of quality that procedural audio needs to achieve to compete with the current aesthetic established by the use of rendered sounds and music in the media. Another is the additional amount of work required by the CPU to render the assets on runtime, and its variable cost). Finally, there is a general lack of user-friendly tools, to link common programming languages for audio to game engines. Software like MaxMsp, Pure Data or SuperCollider is used to design generative audio systems. A more accessible integration of these software could promote generative approaches among sound designers and composers in the field, that today have instead access to tools mainly designed to be used with rendered assets. My plan is to bring on research first by focusing on how a higher degree of quality could be addressed, exploring tools like the above mentioned MaxMsp, Pure Data, low level solutions, and machine learning algorithms. Primary research will be run to confront procedurally generated audio content with rendered one; to understand its impact on the player, and the level of quality needed to deliver a satisfactory experience. The creation of more accessible interfaces and tools dedicated to implement procedural audio in video games will be investigated and undertaken. I like to make noises of all sort and to play with them. For this reason I graduated in Music Production in 2016 and, at the moment of writing, I am finishing my final project for an MSc in Sound and Music for Interactive Games at Leeds Beckett University. Composer and sound designer, in the last year I have been focusing on audio implementation and programming, and I am currently exploring machine learning approaches for procedural audio. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress Email Mastodon Other links Website LinkedIn BlueSky Github Themes Game Audio Player Research - Previous Next

iGGi PhD Projects - listing iGGi PhD Projects 2022 Industry-led Projects This page displays industry-proposed PhD projects on offer for our 2022 intake: If you are interested in any of the projects listed and would like further details and/or to discuss, please email the respective project supervisor. Please note that you can also frame your own project independently as long as that you have secured a supervisor's support. For a list of available supervisors please see the accepting students section of our website. While iGGi has ensured that the projects listed below are within iGGi's scope, we wish to highlight that supervisor-framed projects are not prioritised in the application selection process: they are judged by the same criteria as applicant-framed proposals. Navigate to other Projects on offer: Game AI Design & Development Player Research Game Audio Game Data Immersive Technology Creative Computing E-Sports Applied Games Industry-led Projects Back to ALL Projects Design and Development Realistic physical interaction of 3D point cloud objects This project will investigate geometric and machine learning approaches to developing 3D game assets. Price Design and Development Duration Miles Hansard, Changjae Oh Read More Load More

< Back iGGi Research Retreat "Unconference" Group Outcomes The Future of AI The "Problem" We discussed what the "future of AI" might look like, how it will change us as a society (for better and worse) and what possibilities it would create in the future. What we did As you can imagine, the "future of AI" is somewhat of a broad and undirected topic. Therefore in the morning we allowed free flowing conversations to see where it went and then towards the end tried to join up the threads into the things that we thought were the most worthy of further analysis and thought. In the afternoon we tackled the specifics of how to approach a game with emergent characters and stories, a topic oft dreamed of by game designers, but hitherto unattainable. The "Outcome" The morning discussions: Our discussions were wide-ranging, but the opening question captured the essence of our inquiry. From personalised AI assistants we quickly moved to the broader economics of AI — circling back again and again to two themes: whether AI can ever replicate the human experience, and the friction between the utopian ideals we project onto it and the gravitational pull of capitalism. I have sought to recount our discussion on these themes as accurately as memory allows, adding only modest(?) embellishment where it aids narrative coherence. On AI and human interaction: As someone quoted: “Do you know what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel?” (Good Will Hunting). The line reminds us that knowledge can be learned, but wisdom must be lived. Does an AI know what it is to be human? Can it ever truly understand the human experience? We are not just a collection of data points; we are a tapestry of emotions, experiences, and connections. AI can analyse patterns, but can it ever grasp the essence of what it means to be human? Human art matters because it exposes something fragile. To create is to risk oneself: to bleed, to reveal, to offer a fragment of the human condition for others to recognise. AI can imitate the form, but form without risk is mimicry. Can imitation ever supply the soul? Perhaps all we truly crave, as a species, is to be seen — to connect with each other. Yet history suggests authenticity is not always required. Chess engines long ago surpassed every human master, yet millions still prefer to watch people play. Calculators did not end mathematics; they expanded it, making it more ambitious and more accessible. Technology rarely erases human practice — but it does reframe it. The question is not only whether we can connect with AI as with another human, but whether we will still insist on doing so. AI companions and “digital girlfriends” already suggest that some are content with machine-mediated intimacy. The unsettling prospect is not that AI lacks a soul, but that we may cease to care. What happens when a generation grows up regarding “connection enough” as something delivered by code? If we defer not only thought but also empathy, attention, and intimacy to our machines, what remains distinctly human? We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us (Culkin). On AI and economics: AI will not escape the gravitational pull of commerce. As today’s internet is financed by advertising, it is inevitable that AI systems will be bent to the same imperatives — nudging our choices, steering our attention, and monetising our interactions. Already we see the first signs: an Alexa Show inserting shopping prompts directly into the home. For all our talk of AI safety and ethics, it is commerce that drives development. But once human labour itself is displaced, what then? A utopia of leisure where we are free to follow our passions? Or a dystopia in which a minority, owning the means of cognition itself, consign the rest of us to redundancy? Could a society without labour even cohere — or would it demand a wholesale reinvention of politics, economy, and democracy itself? As we tried to weave our threads together into something coherent, this was the question that seemed most fertile for further debate. What is the politics of AI? What would a political and economic system look like that could accommodate these changes? How do we ensure that the benefits of AI are shared equitably, rather than concentrating power and wealth in the hands of a few? Our discussions were rich, unsettling, and illuminating, tracing both promise and peril. Yet the future owes no loyalty to our prophecies. The greater danger is not that AI will fail to know us, but that, in its shadow, we will lose the thread of ourselves. In the afternoon: Having solved the future of AI before lunch, we turned in the afternoon to the far more mundane task of reinventing the games industry. One of the industries evergreen obsessions is how to make characters and narratives more believable. As games grow ever more immersive, the hunger for deeper storytelling only intensifies. Yet, despite extraordinary technical progress, this is the frontier we keep failing to cross — because the obstacle is less technical, and more human. The costs of creating content are crushing. Large language models offer a tantalising shortcut: a machine that might spin endless dialogue, branching quests, even whole worlds on demand. But this promise comes bound up with limitations so profound they may be unsolvable with current methods. My own curiosity lies in a hybrid approach: using generative AI not as an all-purpose author, but as a tool to help construct traditional symbolic systems — frameworks that could give structure and coherence while still leaving room for human craft. If it worked, it might nudge us forward in this arena without the problems that come with the other approaches. But this is not a conversation one can leap into lightly. It demands deep knowledge of how games are actually made, tested, and sold, as well as a sober reckoning with both the failures and the potential of LLMs. Much of our discussion was spent simply reaching the starting line. The groups diversity produced fresh perspectives, but the depth of the subject meant we could not advance far in the time available. What did become clear was this: the problem is not just technical, it is communicative. If this debate is to progress, the challenge must be articulated in a way that is accessible beyond a narrow circle of experts. That, I realised, is the real work still ahead. Post Script: We live in a time of unprecedented change (at least in living memory). The world has enjoyed relative peace up until about 2020 but it feels like the geopolitical sands are shifting in a once-in-a-century phenomenon and such change has wide-ranging global political and economic implications for modern society broadly, but specifically within technology. This scenario is quite relevant to some of our discussions; the place and role of AI in our society is hard to gauge when our society is going through some fairly tectonic shifts. I think it will be a job for historians in the future to determine whether the emergence of advanced AI and these changes are correlation or coincidence, but it is clear that we cannot evaluate and analyse AI within a vacuum. The wider context is key here and that context is both nebulous and shifting all the time. Perhaps AI can support such a perspective in ways that one (or many) human minds cannot comprehend at once? Previous Next Previous Next

< Back iGGi Studentships at QMUL - with Creative Assembly Thinking about doing a PhD in digital games? The deadline to apply to one of our 2 advertised studentships has just been extended to Monday 13 June 2022! The positions are fully funded and full-time for four years starting September 2022 (PhD fees plus a tax-free stipend to cover living costs). The PhD researchers will be based at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) The studentships on offer are in collaboration with our partner Creative Assembly , one of the UK’s largest games studios which has been established for 34 years and is the author of the Total War games series. You will need to form a proposal based on one of the projects proposed by Creative Assembly: https://www.iggi-phd.org/ca-projects-industry/High Precision Battle Simulation for Strategy Games Modelling Player Behaviour in Total-War Games We strongly suggest that potential applicants contact the supervisor(s) of their chosen project to develop a proposal as soon as possible via the email address given in the respective project description . Your proposal should be developed via (email) discussion with the prospective supervisor(s). Please also make sure that the proposal you submit sits within iGGi's scope. To apply please follow the instructions on our Apply page . Submit your full application by Monday 13 June, 12:00 noon BST. Previous 16 May 2022 Next

< Back Dr William Smith University of York Supervisor William Smith is a Reader in the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition research group in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York. He is currently a Royal Academy of Engineering/The Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellow and an Associate Editor of the journal Pattern Recognition. His research interests span vision, graphics and ML. Specifically, physics-based and 3D computer vision, shape and appearance modelling and the application of statistics and machine learning to these areas. The application areas in which he most commonly works are face/body analysis and synthesis, surveying and mapping, object capture and inverse rendering. A wide variety of tools and areas of maths are often useful in his research such as: convex optimisation, nonlinear optimisation, manifold learning, learning/optimisation on manifolds, computational geometry and low level computer vision (e.g. features and correspondence). He leads a team of five PhD students and one postdoc and has published over 100 papers, many in the top conferences and journals in the field. He was General Chair for the ACM SIGGRAPH European Conference on Visual Media Production in 2019 and is Program Chair for the British Machine Vision Conference in 2020. Research themes: Game AI Game Design Computational Creativity Graphics and rendering Content creation william.smith@york.ac.uk Email Mastodon https://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/wsmith/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-smith-b5421a70/ LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/waps101 Github Themes Creative Computing Design & Development Game AI Player Research - Previous Next

< Back Dr Oliver Scholten University of York iGGi Alum Oliver Scholten is working on understanding the use of cryptocurrency technologies for gambling and gaming. His work provides researchers with the tools and context needed to understand player behaviours in these technologically advanced domains. He is the creator of gamba - a python library designed to enable quick replication of existing player behaviour tracking studies. He has also published several peer reviewed articles, and had written evidence published by the UK House of Lords which describes the mechanics behind decentralised gambling applications. As a PhD student, his thesis focuses on decoding and analysing cryptocurrency gambling and cryptocurrency gaming transactions. These transactions offer a more granular insight for researchers into both gambling and gaming than has been historically possible, this work therefore lays the foundations for explorations across different schools of research, and more specifically, advanced player transaction analytics. Please note: Updating of profile text in progress oliver@gamba.dev Email Mastodon https://www.ojscholten.com Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojscholten LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/ojscholten Github Featured Publication(s): On the Evaluation of Procedural Level Generation Systems On the Behavioural Profiling of Gamblers Using Cryptocurrency Transaction Data Inside the decentralised casino: A longitudinal study of actual cryptocurrency gambling transactions Decentralised Gambling Overview Decentralised Gambling: The York Combined Transaction Set Unconventional Exchange: Methods for Statistical Analysis of Virtual Goods Utilising VIPER for Parameter Space Exploration in Agent Based Wealth Distribution Models Ethereum Crypto-Games: Mechanics, Prevalence, and Gambling Similarities Themes Game Data - Previous Next

< Back Dr Carlos Gonzalez Diaz University of York iGGi Alum Carlos is finishing his PhD at the University of York. He holds an MSc in Serious Games at the University of Skövde (Sweden) and a BSc in Software Engineering (Spain). He is been closely connected with industry throughout his PhD, having worked in the last years for Microsoft Research, Sony Interactive Entertainment R&D, Musemio Ltd R&D and Goldsmiths, UoL; as well as done consulting for tech companies such as Unity Technologies. A description of Carlos' research: The purpose of my PhD research is to advance game technologies by democratising the use of ML techniques among non-experts through innovative tools and plugins for game engines. I developed ML specific visual scritping languages and used mixed-methods research approaches to understand how to better support developers in creating VR interactions and the challenges behind human-AI interaction. I had several technical jobs throughout my PhD, as my expertise is highly applicable in both industry and academia. Thanks to the broad range of expertise that I gathered through many years of industrial work and academic study, I can tackle the challenges emerging from the inter-disciplinary nature of modern work: where user psychology, immersive technology and artificial intelligence intersect. Please refer to my website for completely up-to-date information regarding publications. Feel free to reach out if you want more information or want to chat about my/your work. I am looking for positions starting on February 2023 onwards. carlos.gonzalezdiaz@york.ac.uk Email https://masto.ai/@carlotes247 Mastodon https://carlotes247.github.io Other links Website https://uk.linkedin.com/in/carlosglesdiaz LinkedIn BlueSky https://github.com/carlotes247 Github Supervisor(s): Prof. Sebastian Deterding Featured Publication(s): Embodied, in-medium design of VR game motion controls using interactive supervised learning Automatic Game Tuning for Strategic Diversity Programming by Moving: Interactive Machine Learning for Embodied Interaction Design InteractML: Node Based Tool to Empower Artists and Dancers in using Interactive Machine Learning for Designing Movement Interaction Movement interaction design for immersive media using interactive machine learning Using Machine Learning to Design Movement Interaction in Virtual Reality Interactive machine learning for more expressive game interactions Making Space for Social Time: Supporting Conversational Transitions Before, During, and After Video Meetings InteractML: Making machine learning accessible for creative practitioners working with movement interaction in immersive media Interactive Machine Learning for Embodied Interaction Design: A tool and methodology Bodystorming in SocialVR to Support Collaborative Embodied Ideation Themes Creative Computing Design & Development Game AI Immersive Technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taVry9IQUjE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKU3MyBspM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHiPav2l5gA Previous Next

< Back Luiza Gossian Queen Mary University of London iGGi PG Researcher Available for placement Luiza is a multidisciplinary researcher, game designer and developer interested in translating real world concepts into engaging game mechanics. She is passionate about creating games that can encourage an understanding of ourselves and the socially connected world we live in. Luiza is also an experienced painter, graphic designer and photographer and uses her visual skills and psychology background to prototype experimental game designs, design game documentation and craft atmospheric experiences. A description of Luiza's research: How can a subject as serious as genocide be successfully and respectfully translated into a casual game? Difficult subjects are often implemented with polar opposite approaches in games: either they are made to be highly emotional, socially conscious games that portray the gravity of a situation, yet are only played by those already informed and aware; or they are pure entertainment games that turn these subjects into wild amusement parks that appeal to broader gamer audiences yet do nothing to appropriately address the themes they glorify. Within this polarity there exists the potential to create games that tackle more serious subjects yet do so in a way that is more lighthearted and entertaining, and therefore more likely to reach the audiences who stand to gain the most. In her research, Luiza is exploring how to design games about genocide that break away from traditional approaches and embrace the ludic potential of games. Drawing on theories of intergroup and cultural psychology, as well as her own experiences, she is exploring how these difficult themes can be explored in engaging, effective and informative ways. Currently, she is developing a hypercasual game that abstracts the ten stages of genocide to be used as an educational primer, a Tetris-esq game that uses social media and government sources to present the realities of refugees fleeing their homes, and a cosy mystery-adventure game which enables players to uncover historical crimes in a far away land. l.gossian@outlook.com Email Mastodon http://www.gossianblurs.com/ Other links Website https://www.linkedin.com/in/lu-goss/ LinkedIn https://bsky.app/profile/lugossian.bsky.social BlueSky Github Supervisors: Prof. Sebastian Deterding Dr Anne Hsu Themes Applied Games Design & Development - Previous Next