Special Session: Space Invading: Opportunities from Living Content and Ubiquitous I/O

Organized by: Rod Walsh and Adrian Hornsby, Nokia Research Center Tampere / Tampere University of Technology

Description: Developments in digital content and online social network and games have broken many long standing barriers between human-beings and their physical and technological realities. Life, as we feel it, is evolving into a continuum of experiences founded on social and technological pillars. New technologies and social practices are invading our personal physical space and changing the reference points of self identity and how we measure the experiences we have felt and lived. To extend the reach of gaming design patterns into many applications, the concepts and implications of ubiquitous I/O and living content are introduced. This includes the benefits of open, lego-like, technology components, resulting in opportunities to improve and evolve user experiences.

Special Session: Generative Environmental Sound for Games

Organised by: Matthias Rath, Deutsche Telekom Laboratories / Technical University of Berlin

Description: Since the earliest computer games, sound has been used to reinforce graphics by making objects and environments more compelling. With the advent of 3D graphics and, more recently, physics engines, there has been an increasing need for more detailed and interactive audio. Conventional methods based around sample playback, are being extended with more generative techniques that deploy a wide range of synthesis algorithms, including digital implementations of physical descriptions. Although this approach is more complex to develop, it can bring advantages in terms of content creation and asset management, as well as the advantages of an improved audio experience.

Special Session: Distribution Management Cognitive Training Prototype

Organised by: William Fisher, President of Quicksilver Software, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA:
William C. Fisher is President of Quicksilver Software, Inc. Since founding the company 20 years ago, he has worked on a wide variety of high-end gaming, simulation, and educational software projects. He is currently focusing on military simulations, educational projects and several internal R&D projects.

The Distribution Management Cognitive Training (DMCT) prototype application is a personal computer-based training aid that aims to enhance analysis, planning, and decision-making for United States Army logistical planners. The DMCT supports reinforcing the understanding of the Army distribution management process, and aids in the development of strategies for best exploiting the capabilities of logistics management systems, including the Army’s Battle Command Sustainment Support System (BCS3) – the field-recognized logistics command and control tool. The Auto-Tutor provides detailed context-specific feedback which varies according to difficulty level, and the Post-Exercise Review offers task-by-task analysis of the Soldier’s performance. The tool can be used standalone or in classroom settings. The DMCT was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the US Army Product Manager for BCS3, the US Army Research Development and Engineering Command Simulation Training and Technology Center (RDECOM STTC), the University of Southern California (USC) Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), and the professional gaming companies of Quicksilver Software Inc. and Stranger Entertainment.

This session include a range of presentations, tutorials and demonstrations on following topics:

• Primer on Cognitive Task Analysis
• Live Software Demonstration, including:
  • Auto-Tutor
  • Game-Based Training Simulation
  • Post-Exercise Review
• Behind the Scenes
  • Rapid-Development Tools
  • Learning Objectives
  • Real-World Experiences

Special Session - Keeping your Game

Organised by: Tom Coughlin

Modern game technology depends upon ready access to rich content.  This content is needed to create the realistic immersive environments that today’s game players crave.  This session explores how digital storage devices and systems are used to create, store and access game content.  Topics that may be covered include:  storage device and system interfaces used in game systems, data storage devices for mobile and static game applications, metadata storage and access for home game applications, the role of remote and local storage in on-line and networked games and projections on storage capacity and performance requirements for the next generation of games.

This session will include several presentations on games storage and in addition there will be a panel discussion  on the topic.

Artificial Intelligence
and Games Research
Network