Game Theory

The 2013 Version of the Game Theory Presentation, now with an extra game.

Introduction to Game Design and Development

This is the introductory lecture to COMP3218. We introduce ourselves, cover the philosophy of the course, the structure and assessment process, and lead an initial game design exercise.

The Poetics of Game Narratives

In this final week we will look at the tensions between ludology and narratology in games design, in effect how the agency of games has been reconciled with the dramatic requirements (and lack of agency) in narrative. I will argue that there are two broad approaches, the mainstream method of concentrating in the Fabula, and a method pioneered by many indie games of fusing narrative and play. We will look in more detail at what this might mean in terms of thematic cohesion, diegetic choices, and mechanics and metaphor. Finally we look at Spec Ops: The Line, as a rare example of a AAA title that takes this fusion approach. Looking at how the game uses many of the techniques we have explored.

Innovation In Games

In this lecture we look at how innovation in games has moved from the creation of new genres, to the incorporation of new technology, that has unlocked new ways to play games. In particular we look at casual and social games, motion controllers, virtual reality, augmented reality, location-based games, mixed reality, and alternate reality.

Turing’s imitation game and human thought

In 1950, the English mathematician Alan Mathison Turing proposed the basis of what some authors consider the test that a machine must pass to establish that it can think. This test is basically a game; nevertheless, it has had great infl uence in the development of the theories of the mind performance. The game specifications and some of its repercussions in the conception of thinking, the consciousness and the human will, will be ramifications of the path that will take us through the beginning of the artificial intelligence, passing along some of its singular manifestations, to culminate in the posing of certain restrictions of its fundaments.

On blame-freeness and reciprocity: an experimental study

The theory of reciprocity is predicated on the assumption that people are willing to reward nice or kind acts and to punish unkind ones. This assumption raises the question as to how to define kindness. In this paper we offer a new definition of kindness that we call “blame-freeness.” Put most simply, blame-freeness states that in judging whether player i has been kind or unkind to player j in a social situation, player j would have to put himself in the strategic position of player i, while retaining his preferences, and ask if he would have acted in a manner that was worse than i did under identical circumstances. If j would have acted in a more unkind manner than i acted, then we say that j does not blame i for his behavior. If, however, j would have been nicer than i was, then we say that “j blames i” for his actions (i’s actions were blameworthy). We consider this notion a natural, intuitive and empirically relevant way to explain the motives of people engaged in reciprocal behavior. After developing the conceptual framework, we then test this concept in a laboratory experiment involving tournaments and find significant support for the theory.

Conflict and negotiation: a game theoretical approach

We study economic conflicts using a game theoretical approach. We model a conflict between two agents where each one has two possible strategies: cease-fire or neglect the truce. Under this setting, we use the concept of pre-donations, namely, a redefinition of the game where agents commit to transfer a share of their output to the other agent (Sertel, 1992), and explain under which conditions a system of pre-donations can facilitate a truce. We find that for conflicts involving high costs there is a distributive mechanism, acceptable for both parties, such that, the best strategy for both parties is Cease-Fire. However, in many cases there are no sufficient conditions for the scheme or pre-donations to be effective. We also analyze some limitations of this framework and extend the model in order to deal with some of these flaws. Finally, in order to illustrate the relevance of the theoretical results we briefly describe some of the circumstances that characterized the negotiation processes between the Colombian government and different illegal groups.

La comprehensión des structures a fonctión casuelle en basque. 'La comprensión de las estructuras de función casual en vasco'.

Hipótesis: ¿la inversión es tomada en consideración por los sujetos vascófonos? ¿en qué momento su influencia es perceptible? ¿hay otros caracteres pragmáticos que ejercen una influencia en la comprensión de frases simples vascas?. ¿En qué momento las flexiones casuales comienzan a ser tomadas en consideración, y cuando son dominadas? ¿la categorización flexional de las funciones casuales es adquirida antes de la categorización posicional? ¿Las reglas de orden que han sido sacadas de experiencias efectuadas en inglés y francés, se aplican al tratamiento del vasco?, y en caso afirmativo, ¿cuál es la naturaleza de estos tratamientos?. 480 sujetos vasco parlantes entre 3 años y 11 años pertenecientes a ikastolas de Rentería y Oyarzun, y 80 adultos. Estudia la organización y evolución de los procedimientos de tratamiento relativos a las funciones casuales fundamentales de la frase simple, sin tener en cuenta los parámetros discursivos implicados. Cuestionario realizado ad hoc sobre aspectos familiares. Seis enunciados: los cinco primeros contienen dos lexemas nominales y un verbo, y el sexto contiene tres nombres y un verbo (A,B,C,D,E,F). Prueba de Chi cuadrado. Índice descriptivo de dependencia: coeficiente de Crámer. Coeficiente de contingencia. Para los lexemas nominales de los enunciados de tipo D (hija-perro-invertir), el perro es elegido tres veces más como agente que la hija. Entre la hija y el muchacho de los enunciados de tipo A, el muchacho es muchas más veces considerado como agente que la hija. De los tres lexemas animales de los enunciados F, el hombre es también interpretado más como agente que el perro y el pájaro. En los enunciados C (coche-camión-entrar-introducir), se constata que la atribución del rol depende de la interpretación transitiva o intransitiva del verbo. En Euskera la utilización apropiada de signos morfológicos casuales es muy tardía: los sujetos no se refieren a ellos antes de los 10 años y medio. Los tratamientos de tipo posicional tienen una presencia limitada pero netamente perceptible, sobre todo en el caso de los enunciados de procesos transitivo y reversible.

Game over : empieza el juego.

El artículo forma parte de una sección de la revista dedicada a innovación educativa: el valor educativo de los videojuegos

Casual politics : del cliktivismo a los movimientos emergentes y el reconocimiento de patrones

Resumen basado en el de la publicación. Resumen en inglés y catalán

Desarrollo de las competencias de colaboraci??n con el uso del Serious Game MetaVals

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Find the difference! : eye tracking study on information seeking behavior using an online game

With the advent of digital era web applications have become inevitable part of our lives. We are using the web to manage even the financially or ethically sensitive issues. For this reason exploration of information seeking behavior is an exciting area of research. Current study provides insight on information seeking behavior using a classic ‘Find the Difference’ game. 50 university students between the age of 19 and 26 participated in the study. Eye movement data were recorded with a Tobii T120 device. Participants carried out 4 continuous tasks. Each task included two pictures side by side with 7 hidden differences. After finishing the tasks, participants were asked to repeat the game with the same picture set. This data collection methodology allows the evaluation of learning curves. Additionally, participants were asked about their hand preference. For the purpose of analysis the following metrics were applied: task times (including saccades), fixation count and fixation duration (without saccades). The right- and left-hand side on each picture was selected as AOI (Area of Interest) to detect side preference in connection with hand preference. Results suggest a significant difference between male and female participants regarding aggregated task times (male 58.37s respectively female 68.37s), deviation in the number of fixations and fixation duration (apparently female have less but longer fixations) and also in the distribution of fixations between AOIs. Using eyetracking data current paper highlights the similarities and differences in information acquisition strategies respectively reveals gender and education (Arts vs. Sciences) dependent characteristics of interaction.

The EEAS and the Eastern Partnership: let the blame game stop. CEPS Commentary, 4 September 2012

In the first year and a half of its existence, the EEAS and its head have become the target of extensive criticism for the shortcomings of EU foreign policy; shortcomings that in fact date back to the creation of the European Union. The EU’s diplomatic service has been blamed variously for ‘lacking clarity,’ ‘acting too slowly’ and ‘being unable to bridge the institutional divide’. In this Commentary author Hrant Kostanyan argues that the EEAS’ discretionary power in the Eastern Partnership multilateral framework is restricted by the decision-making procedures between a wide range of stakeholders: the member states and the partner countries, as well as by the EU institutions, international organisations and the Civil Society Forum. Since this decision-making process places a substantial number of brakes on the discretionary power of the EEAS, any responsible analysis or critique of the service should take these constraints into consideration. Ultimately, the EEAS is only able to craft EU foreign policy insofar as it is allowed to do so.