What can game AI teach us?

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications typically involve encoding expert knowledge in machine form to find optimal solutions for a given problem. However, this paper deals with the opposite process of extracting new and human-comprehensible insights from emergent AI behaviour. Some examples of useful game-related insights drawn from observing AI players in action are presented.

Identifying and forecasting the reverse salient in video game consoles: A performance gap ratio comparative analysis

This study uses the reverse salient methodology to contrast subsystems in video game consoles in order to discover, characterize, and forecast the most significant technology gap. We build on the current methodologies (Performance Gap and Time Gap) for measuring the magnitude of Reverse Salience, by showing the effectiveness of Performance Gap Ratio (PGR). The three subject subsystems in this analysis are the CPU Score, GPU core frequency, and video memory bandwidth. CPU Score is a metric developed for this project, which is the product of the core frequency, number of parallel cores, and instruction size. We measure the Performance Gap of each subsystem against concurrently available PC hardware on the market. Using PGR, we normalize the evolution of these technologies for comparative analysis. The results indicate that while CPU performance has historically been the Reverse Salient, video memory bandwidth has taken over as the quickest growing technology gap in the current generation. Finally, we create a technology forecasting model that shows how much the video RAM bandwidth gap will grow through 2019 should the current trend continue. This analysis can assist console developers in assigning resources to the next generation of platforms, which will ultimately result in longer hardware life cycles.

‘Blind Faith’. An experiment with narrative agency in game design

This paper reports on the current field of narrative-based game design through case study analysis with a particular focus on balancing high narrative agency with low production resources.

A game of balance and disguise: Examining experiential value and game attributes in social marketing m-games

Experiential value is an important driver of customer repeat behaviour and is necessary for achieving sustained behaviour. Understanding the value gained by consumers is particularly important when adopting innovative techniques, such as new technology. Social marketing (behaviour change) practice is increasingly using the technology of mobile games (m-games), yet there is little scholarly research to explain how these games can create experiential value for the user, or which game attributes influence this value. A key finding of this thesis is the importance of achieving a balance between entertainment value and behaviour value through the use of key game attributes relating to disguise and performance. The research offers a contribution to address current managerial problems faced by social marketing practitioners looking to employ m-games to achieve behavioural outcomes.

Monte Carlo analysis of a puzzle game

When a puzzle game is created, its design parameters must be chosen to allow solvable and interesting challenges to be created for the player. We investigate the use of random sampling as a computationally inexpensive means of automated game analysis, to evaluate the BoxOff family of puzzle games. This analysis reveals useful insights into the game, such as the surprising fact that almost 100% of randomly generated challenges have a solution, but less than 10% will be solved using strictly random play, validating the inventor’s design choices. We show the 1D game to be trivial and the 3D game to be viable.

Crowdfunding and independent screen content production in Australia: A direct economic relationship between producer and audience

This thesis examines the significance of crowdfunding for Australian filmmakers and provides an empirical basis to current claims about the role of crowdfunding in the film production and policy sectors. It has found that crowdfunding is a small but growing source of supplementary finance which is opening up new possibilities for Australian independent screen content producers. This project also highlights the discussion within Australian film policy circles that is opening the way for crowdfunding to potentially become a larger and more formalised component of current and emerging policy initiatives.

The ninth 48hr game making challenge (2015)

The 48 hour game making challenge has been running since 2007. In recent years, we have not only been running a 'game jam' for the local community but we have also been exploring the way in which the event itself and the place of the event has the potential to create its own stories. The 2015 challenge is part of a series of data collection opportunities focussed on the game jam itself and the meaning making that the participants engage in about the event. We are continuing the data collection commenced in 2012: "Game jams are the creative festivals of the game development community and a game jam is very much an event or performance; its stories are those of subjective experience. Participants return year after year and recount personal stories from previous challenges; arrival in the 48hr location typically inspires instances of individual memory and narration more in keeping with those of a music festival or an oft frequented holiday destination. Since its inception, the 48hr has been heavily documented, from the photo-blogging of our first jam and the twitter streams of more recent events to more formal interviews and documentaries (see Anderson, 2012). We have even had our own moments of Gonzo journalism with an on-site press room one year and an ‘embedded’ journalist another year (Keogh, 2011). In the last two years of the 48hr we have started to explore ways and means to collect more abstract data during the event, that is, empirical data about movement and activity. The intent behind this form of data collection was to explore graphic and computer generated visualisations of the event, not for the purpose of formal analysis but in the service of further story telling." [exerpt from truna aka j.turner, Thomas & Owen, 2013) See: truna aka j.turner, Thomas & Owen (2013) Living the indie life: mapping creative teams in a 48 hour game jam and playing with data, Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment, IE'2013, September 30 - October 01 2013, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Hybrid game strategies for MO problems in aerospace design

Game strategies have been developed in past decades and used in the field of economics, engineering, computer science and biology due to their efficiency in solving design optimisation problems. In addition, research on Multi-Objective (MO) and Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) has focused on developing robust and efficient optimisation method to produce quality solutions with less computational time. In this paper, a new optimisation method Hybrid Game Strategy for MO problems is introduced and compared to CMA-ES based optimisation approach. Numerical results obtained from both optimisation methods are compared in terms of computational expense and model quality. The benefits of using Game-strategies are demonstrated.

Indicators of wellbeing in recreational video game players

Video game play is a popular entertainment choice, yet we have a limited understanding of the potential wellbeing benefits associated with recreational play. An online survey (final sample, n = 297) addresses this by investigating how the player experience related to wellbeing. The impact of amount of play, game genre, mode of play (social or solitary play) and the psychological experience of play (flow and need satisfaction) on a multi-dimensional measure of wellbeing (emotional, psychological and social) was examined via hierarchical regression. Age, gender, the play of casual games compared to shooters, and in-game experiences of flow, autonomy and relatedness were associated with increases in dimensions of wellbeing.

Playing the policy game: A review of the barriers and enablers of nutrition policy change

- Objective To progress nutrition policy change and develop more effective advocates, it is useful to consider real-world factors and practical experiences of past advocacy efforts to determine the key barriers and enablers to nutrition policy change. This review aimed to identify and synthesize the enablers and barriers to public policy change within the field of nutrition. - Design Electronic databases were searched systematically for studies examining policymaking in public health nutrition. An interpretive synthesis was undertaken. Setting: International, national, state and local government jurisdictions within high-income, democratic countries. - Results Sixty-three studies were selected for inclusion. Numerous themes were identified explaining the barriers and enablers to policy change, all of which fell under the overarching category, ‘political will’, underpinned by a second major category, ‘public will’. Sub-themes, including pressure from industry; neoliberal ideology; use of emotions and values, and being visible were prevalent in describing links between public will, political will and policy change. - Conclusions The frustration around lack of public policy change in nutrition frequently stems from a belief that policymaking is a rational process in which evidence is used to assess the relative costs and benefits of options. The findings from this review confirm that evidence is only one component of influencing policy change. For policy change to occur there needs to be the political will, and often the public will, for the proposed policy problem and solution. This review presents a suite of enablers which can assist health professionals to influence political and public will in future advocacy efforts.

Cooperative game play with avatars and agents: Differences in brain activity and the experience of play

The current study sought to identify the impact of whether teammates in a cooperative videogame were controlled by other humans (avatars) or by the game (agents). The impact on player experience was explored through both subjective questionnaire measures and brain wave activity measurement (electroencephalography). Play with human teammates was associated with a greater sense of relatedness, but less competence and flow than play with other computer-controlled teammates. In terms of brain activity, play with human teammates was associated with greater activity in the alpha, theta and beta power bands than play with computer-controlled teammates. Overall, the results suggest that play with human teammates involves greater cognitive activity in terms of 'mentalising' than play with computer-controlled teammates. Additionally, the associations between subjective measures of player experience and brain activity are described. Limitations of the current study are identified and key directions for future research are discussed.

Grand Push Auto: A car based exertion game

Grand Push Auto is an exertion game in which players aim to push a full sized car to ever increasing speeds. The re-appropriation of a car as essentially a large weight allows us to create a highly portable and distributable exertion game in which the main game element has a weight of over 1000 kilograms. In this paper we discuss initial experiences with GPA, and present 3 questions for ongoing study which have been identified from our early testing: How might we appropriate existing objects in exertion game design, and does appropriation change how we think about these objects in different contexts, for example environmental awareness? How does this relate to more traditional sled based weight training? How can we create exertion games that allow truly brutal levels of force?