Talk given at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco on the 3rd of March 2015. One approach to game design innovation is AI-based game design (AIGD), in which the game mechanics are inspired and enabled by AI systems. This case study describes AIGD as an educational approach along with best practices of using it in teaching, illustrated by example student games demonstrating both design and technical innovation. Teaching AI and design in tandem enables students to take a role where they can use different technological approaches as part of their artistic palette as game developers.

1. AI Based Game Design
Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari
Founder, Otter Play

2. Why I’m giving this talk - I want
to show how:
● to enable students to expand their palette as game designers -
adding AI approaches and emerging interfaces and hardware.
● an expanded tech-palette is empowering - but it also shows
how vast the design space is - lots of uncharted territory. Room
for innovation.
● the tech-palette can be composed to be useful for both
students who can program and for those who won't .

3. AI Based Game Design
When the AI is central to the game design.
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4. Diagram is a joint effort of Josh McCoy, Anne Sullivan, Gillian Smith, and me (2011, Santa Cruz)
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5. Course: Computational Expression
● Masters’ level course, 5 ECTS.
● Given at the Institute of
Digital Games at the University
of Malta
● Majority of students were
programmers.
● Students had prior game
design knowledge
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● Text seminars
● Workshops
● Guest lectures
● Game prototyping
● Reflection

6. 6

7. Text seminars, championed
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8. Guest Lecturers - Showing practice
●Richard Evans on narrative in Versu, and
BDI in Black&White
●Gillian Smith on PCG - The Endless
Webb
●Brian Magerko on improvisation and
agents - Viewpoints AI
●Noah Wardrip-Fruin on expressive
processing
8

9. Workshops - trying
hands-on
●Trying out hardware and software hands
on (pics)
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10. Task:
Make a playable
prototype using a
central AI or
technology, using a rich
metaphor as inspiration
for the game
mechanics, while being
aware of any genre
conventions used (or
not).
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AI/Tech
AI approaches or emerging
interfaces/hardware
Genre
Design conventions in
different game genres
Metaphor
Theories, Subjects, Systems
The Triad

11. Students’ dev process
● Conceptualization
● Prototyping
● Play-testing &
Iteration
● Reflection
● Finalizing &
polishing 11

12. 6 example games

13. Haiwaicode
13
Racing
Car traffic
By Vincent
Farrugia and
Alan Pirotta
Machine
learning

14. Herakles
14
Shooter
Greek
Myth
By Stelios
Avramidis, Joseph
Darmanin and
Michael Camilleri
Gyro

15. Compoblocks
15
Platformer
Music
composition
By Luke
Aquilina and
Karl Grech
PCG

16. Compoblocks
16
Platformer
Music
composition
By Luke
Aquilina and
Karl Grech
Machine
learning

17. Organatron
17
Strategy
Robot
wars
By Noel
Cuschieri and
Matthew Agius
PCG,
Genetic
Algoritms

18. Organatron
18
Strategy
Robot
wars
By Noel
Cuschieri and
Matthew Agius
PCG,
Genetic
Algoritms

19. Dungeons & Maybe Dragons
- game master phone app
19
Dungeon
crawlers
By Jean-Luc
Portelli and
Andrea Piano
PCG
& Quest
flags
RPG &
Game
mastering

20. Line
20
Yellowtail
Minimalism
(art)
By David
Chircop and
Gary Hili
Ipad
finger input

21. Line
21
Yellowtail
Minimalism
(art)
By David
Chircop and
Gary Hili
Ipad
finger input

22. Line
22
Yellowtail
Minimalism
(art)
By David
Chircop and
Gary Hili
Ipad
finger input

23. Line
23
Yellowtail
Minimalism
(art)
By David
Chircop and
Gary Hili
Ipad
finger input

24. 24

26. Reflecting and Reporting
Development stop ->
time for reflection and
reporting.
Writing, sending text
forward in reading chain.
Text seminar
Computational Expression in own practice, and the future of the field

27. Reflection Phase
● How did the technology affect the design?
● How did the design affect the technology?
● If you used a genre, a hybrid genres, or no genre - how did
that affect your design and your approach to the technology
used?
● How did the knowledge domain or theory used affect the
design?
● What other types of expressive computational technologies
could have been useful for realizing your design or core idea?
Reflect on whether use of those would have had impact on your
design, and if so, how.

28. 28

29. Summary & Lessons Learned
● Groups who put a strong focus on the metaphor, the knowledge domain, in
addition to the AI/tech, generally created the more interesting and
innovative designs.
● Combination of project work and classic seminar defence style teaching
allowed both concrete prototypes and reflection.
● Outcomes for students:
● games for portfolios
● seeds for research papers
● seeds for thesis topics
● proof of concepts:feasibility for thesis work or game-to-market
● (more) realistic views on dev effort for custom AI
● expanded palette for innovation and development in future career

30. Thank you for listening!
Questions?
Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari
info@otter-play.com
Download course materials here:
https://sites.google.com/site/computationalexpression/
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31. Palette - the seminar topics
- Computational Expression, Software
studies and platform studies
- The relation between Game Design
and Artificial Intelligence, AI Based
game design
- Approaches and technologies for
Interactive Narrative
- Characters, Characterisation and
Agents in computer games
- Procedurally Generated Content and
data mining
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- Biofeedback as player modelling
and/or game interface
- Interface technologies beyond
the personal computer (CAVEs,
Augmented Reality, Pervasive,
Console stereoscopic camera
systems etc.)
- Computational Creativity
- Artificial Life

32. Course facts
● 5 ECTS given over one semester.
(1 ECTS = 25 hours student work. One semester = 30 ECTS)
● Students each
● gave 2 - 3 text presentations,
● made one game,
● wrote a report and defended it.
● 8 seminars
● 6 workshops
● 3 guest lectures
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33. Line
33
Yellowtail
Minimalism
(art)
By David
Chircop and
Gary Hili
Ipad
finger input