Keynote at the Annual Conference of the Association of Adaptation Studies 2022
Abstract.
Games have still a long way to become fully inclusive. But, the topic of inclusive play is, nevertheless, widely discussed and researched. Inclusiveness is addressed both in terms of the characters and situations that the game depicts (e.g., its content) and in terms of the way players’ accessibility to play the game and enjoy the experience is supported. This presentation shows some efforts to raise awareness for the inclusion of diverse content in games that avoids shallow stereotypes and tropes, and some efforts to make games available to a diverse audience that includes people with disabilities. Another perspective of inclusiveness in games is the use of games as tools to improve the life of players that need support for inclusion. Some projects that follow this idea are presented. For example, the Invisible Island game developed for collaborative play between sighted and unsighted players, and the ID Gaming project that is developing games to support people with intellectual disability. The discussion is extended by presenting games that can mitigate the problems of inclusion in society by addressing cultural training and promoting empathy in cyberbullying situations. A final note on how models of social identity can be used in games, in particular, in the behaviour of game characters is raised. Building on that, we can create gameplay situations involving social interactions that are grounded on the dynamics of social groups, which can support social inclusion challenges as a gameplay element.
Video Games, Virtual Environments & EducationJoanna Robinson
This document discusses the potential educational benefits of using video games and virtual environments in higher education. It provides examples of games being used to train skills like surgery and investigatory work. Researchers found games help develop strategic thinking, planning, and teach valuable cognitive and teamwork skills. However, negatives include potential for addiction, isolation, or reinforcing harmful stereotypes. The document advocates that games should be viewed beyond entertainment and have untapped potential for teaching when designed appropriately.
The document discusses using socially intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) characters in applied games to promote learning. It explains that applied games aim to enable practice, exploration, and failure while promoting personal emotional experiences. To support learning social skills, AI characters can increase the size of the social interaction space and need to behave intelligently and believably according to social contexts. The author's research goals are to increase AI characters' social behaviors and intelligence. Examples of projects using AI characters include games for cultural learning, social influence, and joint interrogation training. In conclusion, socially intelligent AI has an important role in applied games by enhancing interaction spaces and sustaining socio-emotional experiences.
Trip report: Games and Learning Conferences 2008Steve Vosloo
I presented at the 2008 Games, Learning and Society and ED-MEDIA conferences. In this presentation are broad themes related to digital game-based learning ...
Ludoliteracy is a proposal for media literacy that connects playful culture and digital literacy competence. It addresses the unfinished business of traditional media literacy by incorporating digital games. The researchers propose that ludoliteracy should focus on playing games, understanding games critically, and producing games. This would develop important skills and competencies for digital culture like human-machine interaction, critical thinking, coding, and content creation. Ludoliteracy is needed because digital games are a major part of culture but educational policies largely ignore this important medium.
A guest presentation given to students at the University of Cape Town introducing games and learning, serious games, and how these relate to the South African context.
This document summarizes a workshop on gaming in media literacy held by Hanze University students in Groningen, Netherlands. It includes a brainstorming session on media literacy, classifications of different types of games like core, casual, and serious games. Examples of games that teach media literacy skills like My Pop Studio and Global Conflicts are described. The document discusses why games can be used to teach, examples of social media and mobile games, and potential effects of future games on media literacy education.
Socio-emotional Agency in Machines: Building Human-Agent Playful InteractionsRui Prada
Slides of my talk at MagicX (http://www.magicx.my) in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (www.utm.my/).
I discussed the vision of Engaging People and Machines together and the need of Social Intelligence for that. Presented examples of applied games and discussed why AI characters are important for games targeting social skills. Finished with a discussion of the RAGE project (http://rageproject.eu).
Video Games, Virtual Environments & EducationJoanna Robinson
This document discusses the potential educational benefits of using video games and virtual environments in higher education. It provides examples of games being used to train skills like surgery and investigatory work. Researchers found games help develop strategic thinking, planning, and teach valuable cognitive and teamwork skills. However, negatives include potential for addiction, isolation, or reinforcing harmful stereotypes. The document advocates that games should be viewed beyond entertainment and have untapped potential for teaching when designed appropriately.
The document discusses using socially intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) characters in applied games to promote learning. It explains that applied games aim to enable practice, exploration, and failure while promoting personal emotional experiences. To support learning social skills, AI characters can increase the size of the social interaction space and need to behave intelligently and believably according to social contexts. The author's research goals are to increase AI characters' social behaviors and intelligence. Examples of projects using AI characters include games for cultural learning, social influence, and joint interrogation training. In conclusion, socially intelligent AI has an important role in applied games by enhancing interaction spaces and sustaining socio-emotional experiences.
Trip report: Games and Learning Conferences 2008Steve Vosloo
I presented at the 2008 Games, Learning and Society and ED-MEDIA conferences. In this presentation are broad themes related to digital game-based learning ...
Ludoliteracy is a proposal for media literacy that connects playful culture and digital literacy competence. It addresses the unfinished business of traditional media literacy by incorporating digital games. The researchers propose that ludoliteracy should focus on playing games, understanding games critically, and producing games. This would develop important skills and competencies for digital culture like human-machine interaction, critical thinking, coding, and content creation. Ludoliteracy is needed because digital games are a major part of culture but educational policies largely ignore this important medium.
A guest presentation given to students at the University of Cape Town introducing games and learning, serious games, and how these relate to the South African context.
This document summarizes a workshop on gaming in media literacy held by Hanze University students in Groningen, Netherlands. It includes a brainstorming session on media literacy, classifications of different types of games like core, casual, and serious games. Examples of games that teach media literacy skills like My Pop Studio and Global Conflicts are described. The document discusses why games can be used to teach, examples of social media and mobile games, and potential effects of future games on media literacy education.
Socio-emotional Agency in Machines: Building Human-Agent Playful InteractionsRui Prada
Slides of my talk at MagicX (http://www.magicx.my) in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (www.utm.my/).
I discussed the vision of Engaging People and Machines together and the need of Social Intelligence for that. Presented examples of applied games and discussed why AI characters are important for games targeting social skills. Finished with a discussion of the RAGE project (http://rageproject.eu).
In this talk we will introduce serious games as games which purpose is not only amusement and can be effectively used for educational or training purposes. This kind of games are also frequently named as educational games or even as game-like simulations. We will describe the general characteristics of serious games and how they are used in several domains (e.g. military, medicine), describing their main advantages (e.g. engagement, student motivation) and some of the shortcomings that prevent a wider generalization in educational settings (e.g. cost, deployment). We will also describe new emerging trends in the field of serious games such as gaming for solving scientific problems or how the application of learning analytics techniques can improve and simplify serious games application in different domains.
The document describes a camp that focuses on robotics, virtual reality, and gaming. Students will learn about robot design and programming, experience virtual reality to visit different places, and take their ideas to create video games. The camp aims to develop students' skills in areas like critical thinking, teamwork, and STEM learning in a fun, hands-on way through interactive projects and activities using different technologies.
How AI can help games fulfil their purposeRui Prada
My keynote at the 7th EAI International Conference on Interactive Digital Media (https://icidm.eai-conferences.org/2021/).
It discusses the potential of games for serious purposes and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for games. It discusses how AI can be used in games applied to learning of social skills and how AI can improve the social qualities of artificial agents in games. It concludes with a discussion of the use of AI for game production, in particular, to generate content and to automate playtesting.
The Identi-Tee project is a technology infused experience and incorporates social learning, exploration and creativity.
Identity and belonging are the main themes of the the learning experience. It's part game, part creative expression and part augmented exhibition.
With a focus on people, places, and stories, we use technology directly with young people and engage them in 21st century skills by inviting them to consume, curate and create media.
Participants learn collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, interviewing, personal branding, reputation management, information and media literacy, and digital citizenship.
These meet many of the focuses on domains from the Victorian Curriculum and Standards.
This document discusses social machines and how to study them. It begins with definitions of social machines and discusses empowered citizens and studying social machines. It presents scholarly social machines and social platforms. It discusses the internet of things and concludes with "Sociam GO!" emphasizing the study of social machines.
1. The document discusses pervasive performance through gaming and how gaming can be used for learning. It covers topics like ubiquitous computing, alternative reality gaming, and "supergaming" at massive scales.
2. Jane McGonigal is discussed as a renowned game researcher who argues gaming can build massively scaled online communities through ubiquitous technologies.
3. Supergaming is defined as harnessing players across public environments at massive scales for problem solving, going beyond traditional audiences to connect many individuals.
The document discusses using serious computer games to foster social competence. It summarizes a conference that presented the SGSCC project, which aims to develop games to train social and creative competences. A literature review found little research on using games for this, but some studies found games improved social skills for those with learning difficulties. A survey found stakeholders thought games could motivate players and help with problem-solving, while beneficiaries reported games should be fun and include social interaction. The project aims to create multi-language games to help players express themselves at work and resolve conflicts.
Different Games 2015. ACT. Silver Gaming. Engaging elders and secondary level...Margarida Romero
The document describes a research project that engages elders and secondary students in intergenerational learning through participatory game design. Students interview elders about their life experiences and create open educational games based on the stories. The games aim to promote digital creativity, social participation, and heritage preservation among elders while allowing students to learn through real-life stories and game creation. Researchers facilitate the process and evaluate it using a methodology called HEXA-GBL for serious game creation.
Play to Learn : Keynote by Professor Maja PivecPaul Pivec
1. The document discusses the potential for game-based learning and addresses both benefits and challenges. It references several studies that found games can develop skills but teachers need support integrating them.
2. It describes a game design summer school that teaches students about educational game design. Lectures cover design concepts while practical sessions have students work in groups.
3. The document advocates for resources like Level Up for Teachers to help educators learn how to choose games, implement them, and assess learning outcomes, in order to better utilize games for learning.
Gamification and GBL Presentation to UnitecPaul Pivec
The document discusses game-based learning and the potential of digital games for education. It summarizes several related studies that found games can develop skills and motivate learning when designed appropriately. However, teachers need support in choosing games and integrating them into lessons. The document proposes resources and training to help teachers understand how games can supplement traditional teaching and promote quality learning.
Augmented reality (AR) enhances real-world environments by overlaying digital information and objects. The document discusses AR applications for practitioners, including educational games that use AR simulations to engage students in role-playing scenarios. Some examples provided are Alien Contact, where students work in teams to determine why aliens have landed, and Environmental Detectives, where students investigate the source of a toxin spill on a university campus. The document suggests ARIS and FreshAir as open-source platforms for creating mobile AR games and experiences that combine virtual and physical worlds.
Coding Play/Crafting Code in the City by Aphra KerrProgCity
Dr. Aphra Kerr is senior Lecturer and researcher in social studies of technology and media. She also teaches courses on games and play, and culture and everyday life. She has extensive research experience on the production, use and regulation of digital media, especially digital games, SNS (social networking sites) and animation, as well as the changing nature of broadcasting in the digital age. Her current research projects include ‘Cultural Production in the Digital Age’ (NSF funded network) and she is currently writing ‘Global games and transnational work’ (book under contract). For the past ten years she has been involved in running gamedevelopers.ie, a community voluntary website for the games industry in Ireland.
The document discusses the Games Design program at AUT Digital Design. It provides 3 key areas of focus for the program: 2D and 3D applications for games and digital arts, traditional art and design skills, and historical and theoretical constructs. The program aims to develop well-rounded graduates with both technical skills and a strong creative foundation. It emphasizes core skills over any single technology and encourages experimentation and work experience. The games industry in New Zealand is growing rapidly and there is high demand for graduates with these skills.
The document discusses key aspects of designing an effective storyboard for a serious game. It emphasizes balancing the technological, educational, and entertainment components. An example project called E-VITA is provided that uses intergenerational storytelling through serious games. Guidelines are given for setting up communities to collect stories and designing storylines that allow players to experience different perspectives through branching narratives and feedback.
This document discusses edutainment, which is defined as using entertainment media like television, video games, films and websites to educate. It provides examples of edutainment vendors for different media like TV shows, computer games and websites. Advantages are discussed like learning at one's own pace and taking learners to new environments. Disadvantages include criteria like learnability, technical requirements and interactivity. The conclusion states technology has made edutainment possible through multi-sensory learning in a new way.
This document summarizes a presentation about an open online community (MOOC) focused on games, game design, and learning. Key themes from the MOOC included unparalleled experiential learning, diverse global participation, experimental "maker" activities, extraordinary mentorship, and accelerated professional development. Community engagement occurred through online discussions, video broadcasts, virtual tours, and creative projects. Outcomes included problem solving, scientific inquiry, constructivism, engagement in professional development, and relationships.
5th and 6th April 2019 #Nice06 @fabLINE06 will host intergenerational playful robotics activities. The event will include modular robotics workshops for different generations as well as Game Based Learning activities to develop creativity, collaboration, problem solving, and computational thinking. The workshops are part of research on intergenerational and creative learning conducted at the LINE research laboratory in Nice, France.
imaginary: serious games and gamificationimaginary srl
Milan based Imaginary are one of the longest established and most respected European Serious Games companies. Since its formation in 2004, Imaginary has built an enviable reputation for its multi-disciplinary specialisation in the rapidly growing serious games and gamification market place. Imaginary has been a pioneering and innovative company playing a key role in European Research.
The key strengths of its multi-disciplinary team are creativity and innovation backed by solid technical competence and an understanding of the commercial potential of serious games and gamification in its 3 main chosen development areas – eHealth, Smart Cities and training where the transformational impact of these technologies and applications is now widely acknowledged.
Milan based Imaginary are one of the longest established and most respected European Serious Games companies. Since its formation in 2004, Imaginary has built an enviable reputation for its multi-disciplinary specialisation in the rapidly growing serious games and gamification market place. Imaginary has been a pioneering and innovative company playing a key role in European Research.
The key strengths of its multi-disciplinary team are creativity and innovation backed by solid technical competence and an understanding of the commercial potential of serious games and gamification in its 3 main chosen development areas – eHealth, Smart Cities and training where the transformational impact of these technologies and applications is now widely acknowledged.
Human-Agent Interaction: Building Socially Intelligent Agents in GamesRui Prada
This document discusses building socially intelligent agents for human-agent interaction. It covers topics such as agency, mixed-initiative interaction, user experience, delegation, trust, social power dynamics, social identity, and applications to games and social robots. The goal is to create agents that can understand social contexts and interact with users based on social roles, relationships, tasks and cultural factors. Research studies show that modeling social constructs like culture, power and identity can improve user experience and task performance in human-agent systems.
Validating the plot of interactive narrative gamesRui Prada
Work torwards the creation of a tool to test narrative games during the writing of the story, without the need of users. The tool presents a set of metrics that can be used to assess the experience that the story may promote, in terms of its interaction flow.
Presentation at Conference on Games (Cog) 2021.
In this talk we will introduce serious games as games which purpose is not only amusement and can be effectively used for educational or training purposes. This kind of games are also frequently named as educational games or even as game-like simulations. We will describe the general characteristics of serious games and how they are used in several domains (e.g. military, medicine), describing their main advantages (e.g. engagement, student motivation) and some of the shortcomings that prevent a wider generalization in educational settings (e.g. cost, deployment). We will also describe new emerging trends in the field of serious games such as gaming for solving scientific problems or how the application of learning analytics techniques can improve and simplify serious games application in different domains.
The document describes a camp that focuses on robotics, virtual reality, and gaming. Students will learn about robot design and programming, experience virtual reality to visit different places, and take their ideas to create video games. The camp aims to develop students' skills in areas like critical thinking, teamwork, and STEM learning in a fun, hands-on way through interactive projects and activities using different technologies.
How AI can help games fulfil their purposeRui Prada
My keynote at the 7th EAI International Conference on Interactive Digital Media (https://icidm.eai-conferences.org/2021/).
It discusses the potential of games for serious purposes and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for games. It discusses how AI can be used in games applied to learning of social skills and how AI can improve the social qualities of artificial agents in games. It concludes with a discussion of the use of AI for game production, in particular, to generate content and to automate playtesting.
The Identi-Tee project is a technology infused experience and incorporates social learning, exploration and creativity.
Identity and belonging are the main themes of the the learning experience. It's part game, part creative expression and part augmented exhibition.
With a focus on people, places, and stories, we use technology directly with young people and engage them in 21st century skills by inviting them to consume, curate and create media.
Participants learn collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, interviewing, personal branding, reputation management, information and media literacy, and digital citizenship.
These meet many of the focuses on domains from the Victorian Curriculum and Standards.
This document discusses social machines and how to study them. It begins with definitions of social machines and discusses empowered citizens and studying social machines. It presents scholarly social machines and social platforms. It discusses the internet of things and concludes with "Sociam GO!" emphasizing the study of social machines.
1. The document discusses pervasive performance through gaming and how gaming can be used for learning. It covers topics like ubiquitous computing, alternative reality gaming, and "supergaming" at massive scales.
2. Jane McGonigal is discussed as a renowned game researcher who argues gaming can build massively scaled online communities through ubiquitous technologies.
3. Supergaming is defined as harnessing players across public environments at massive scales for problem solving, going beyond traditional audiences to connect many individuals.
The document discusses using serious computer games to foster social competence. It summarizes a conference that presented the SGSCC project, which aims to develop games to train social and creative competences. A literature review found little research on using games for this, but some studies found games improved social skills for those with learning difficulties. A survey found stakeholders thought games could motivate players and help with problem-solving, while beneficiaries reported games should be fun and include social interaction. The project aims to create multi-language games to help players express themselves at work and resolve conflicts.
Different Games 2015. ACT. Silver Gaming. Engaging elders and secondary level...Margarida Romero
The document describes a research project that engages elders and secondary students in intergenerational learning through participatory game design. Students interview elders about their life experiences and create open educational games based on the stories. The games aim to promote digital creativity, social participation, and heritage preservation among elders while allowing students to learn through real-life stories and game creation. Researchers facilitate the process and evaluate it using a methodology called HEXA-GBL for serious game creation.
Play to Learn : Keynote by Professor Maja PivecPaul Pivec
1. The document discusses the potential for game-based learning and addresses both benefits and challenges. It references several studies that found games can develop skills but teachers need support integrating them.
2. It describes a game design summer school that teaches students about educational game design. Lectures cover design concepts while practical sessions have students work in groups.
3. The document advocates for resources like Level Up for Teachers to help educators learn how to choose games, implement them, and assess learning outcomes, in order to better utilize games for learning.
Gamification and GBL Presentation to UnitecPaul Pivec
The document discusses game-based learning and the potential of digital games for education. It summarizes several related studies that found games can develop skills and motivate learning when designed appropriately. However, teachers need support in choosing games and integrating them into lessons. The document proposes resources and training to help teachers understand how games can supplement traditional teaching and promote quality learning.
Augmented reality (AR) enhances real-world environments by overlaying digital information and objects. The document discusses AR applications for practitioners, including educational games that use AR simulations to engage students in role-playing scenarios. Some examples provided are Alien Contact, where students work in teams to determine why aliens have landed, and Environmental Detectives, where students investigate the source of a toxin spill on a university campus. The document suggests ARIS and FreshAir as open-source platforms for creating mobile AR games and experiences that combine virtual and physical worlds.
Coding Play/Crafting Code in the City by Aphra KerrProgCity
Dr. Aphra Kerr is senior Lecturer and researcher in social studies of technology and media. She also teaches courses on games and play, and culture and everyday life. She has extensive research experience on the production, use and regulation of digital media, especially digital games, SNS (social networking sites) and animation, as well as the changing nature of broadcasting in the digital age. Her current research projects include ‘Cultural Production in the Digital Age’ (NSF funded network) and she is currently writing ‘Global games and transnational work’ (book under contract). For the past ten years she has been involved in running gamedevelopers.ie, a community voluntary website for the games industry in Ireland.
The document discusses the Games Design program at AUT Digital Design. It provides 3 key areas of focus for the program: 2D and 3D applications for games and digital arts, traditional art and design skills, and historical and theoretical constructs. The program aims to develop well-rounded graduates with both technical skills and a strong creative foundation. It emphasizes core skills over any single technology and encourages experimentation and work experience. The games industry in New Zealand is growing rapidly and there is high demand for graduates with these skills.
The document discusses key aspects of designing an effective storyboard for a serious game. It emphasizes balancing the technological, educational, and entertainment components. An example project called E-VITA is provided that uses intergenerational storytelling through serious games. Guidelines are given for setting up communities to collect stories and designing storylines that allow players to experience different perspectives through branching narratives and feedback.
This document discusses edutainment, which is defined as using entertainment media like television, video games, films and websites to educate. It provides examples of edutainment vendors for different media like TV shows, computer games and websites. Advantages are discussed like learning at one's own pace and taking learners to new environments. Disadvantages include criteria like learnability, technical requirements and interactivity. The conclusion states technology has made edutainment possible through multi-sensory learning in a new way.
This document summarizes a presentation about an open online community (MOOC) focused on games, game design, and learning. Key themes from the MOOC included unparalleled experiential learning, diverse global participation, experimental "maker" activities, extraordinary mentorship, and accelerated professional development. Community engagement occurred through online discussions, video broadcasts, virtual tours, and creative projects. Outcomes included problem solving, scientific inquiry, constructivism, engagement in professional development, and relationships.
5th and 6th April 2019 #Nice06 @fabLINE06 will host intergenerational playful robotics activities. The event will include modular robotics workshops for different generations as well as Game Based Learning activities to develop creativity, collaboration, problem solving, and computational thinking. The workshops are part of research on intergenerational and creative learning conducted at the LINE research laboratory in Nice, France.
imaginary: serious games and gamificationimaginary srl
Milan based Imaginary are one of the longest established and most respected European Serious Games companies. Since its formation in 2004, Imaginary has built an enviable reputation for its multi-disciplinary specialisation in the rapidly growing serious games and gamification market place. Imaginary has been a pioneering and innovative company playing a key role in European Research.
The key strengths of its multi-disciplinary team are creativity and innovation backed by solid technical competence and an understanding of the commercial potential of serious games and gamification in its 3 main chosen development areas – eHealth, Smart Cities and training where the transformational impact of these technologies and applications is now widely acknowledged.
Milan based Imaginary are one of the longest established and most respected European Serious Games companies. Since its formation in 2004, Imaginary has built an enviable reputation for its multi-disciplinary specialisation in the rapidly growing serious games and gamification market place. Imaginary has been a pioneering and innovative company playing a key role in European Research.
The key strengths of its multi-disciplinary team are creativity and innovation backed by solid technical competence and an understanding of the commercial potential of serious games and gamification in its 3 main chosen development areas – eHealth, Smart Cities and training where the transformational impact of these technologies and applications is now widely acknowledged.
Human-Agent Interaction: Building Socially Intelligent Agents in GamesRui Prada
This document discusses building socially intelligent agents for human-agent interaction. It covers topics such as agency, mixed-initiative interaction, user experience, delegation, trust, social power dynamics, social identity, and applications to games and social robots. The goal is to create agents that can understand social contexts and interact with users based on social roles, relationships, tasks and cultural factors. Research studies show that modeling social constructs like culture, power and identity can improve user experience and task performance in human-agent systems.
Validating the plot of interactive narrative gamesRui Prada
Work torwards the creation of a tool to test narrative games during the writing of the story, without the need of users. The tool presents a set of metrics that can be used to assess the experience that the story may promote, in terms of its interaction flow.
Presentation at Conference on Games (Cog) 2021.
My talk at #frAIday talks at Umea University - June 4, 2021.
I talked about some principles for building social interactive agents and presented some examples of such agents.
Presentation at Social Identity @ Social Simulation Fest, 19 March 2021
Describing a model for dynamic identity of social agents, that uses contextual features to compute the salient social identity of an AI agent.
Intelligent Verification/Validation for XR Based SystemsRui Prada
Pitch of the Intelligent Verification/Validation for XR Based Systems (iv4XR - https://iv4xr-project.eu/) project at the Workshop on Interactive Technologies organised by the European Commission.
Gamified learning activities with quizzes and AI storytelling to improve soft...Rui Prada
Presentation of the IMPRESS project at the eMadrid seminar. Discussing the use of quizzes and AI storytelling for education. Presentation of the Quiz Tool developed at INESC-ID.
Introdução do Encontro Alumni Área de Jogos do Instituto Superior TécnicoRui Prada
O documento resume as atividades de um grupo de estudantes de jogos digitais ao longo de vários anos, incluindo o número crescente de membros, projetos concluídos, palestrantes convidados e atividades realizadas como workshops e eventos de exibição de jogos. O grupo se especializou em jogos digitais em 2015/2016 e conta com o apoio de um laboratório dedicado a jogos na universidade.
The document describes the Geometry Friends game and AI competition. The competition involves AI agents controlling characters in a 2D puzzle game to collect items. It has cooperation, single-player circle, and single-player rectangle tracks. Approaches submitted have used techniques like Dijkstra's algorithm, A*, Q-learning, and rule-based systems. The competition aims to further research on collaborative gameplay between humans and AI.
The Importance of the Player in Game DesignRui Prada
This document discusses player modeling and profiling in game design. It outlines several models for classifying players, including Bartle's player types (achievers, explorers, socializers, killers), hardcore vs casual players, and BrainHex player classes (seeker, survivor, daredevil, etc.). The key points are that players have different motivations, needs, and play styles; understanding the target audience is crucial for game design; and multiple player profiles should be considered to account for differences between individuals. Selecting the right target audience helps ensure a game provides the desired experience.
Opportunities for Fiction and Fantasy in VideogamesRui Prada
Presentation at the Faculdade de Letras of Lisbon University discussing the definition of videogames and the role of fiction and fantasy in the player experience.
Presentation about the role of emotions in the player experience and the creation of believable interactive autonomous characters. Delivered at Instituto Superior Técnico and Faculdade de Ciências of University of Lisbon on December 2014.
My presentation with Carlos Martinho at Lisbon Game Conference (http://lisbongameconf.iscte-iul.pt/) about the importance of Videogames and the work on Videogames that we have been developing at IST and INESC-ID.
It is all about the experience! Player experience in game designRui Prada
1. The document discusses player experience in game design from the perspective of Rui Prada, a professor and expert in games.
2. It emphasizes that games are designed to provide experiences for players through doing, feeling, and learning. A good game promotes a good experience.
3. Player experience is crafted through eliciting emotions like pleasure, satisfaction, and learning over the progression of gameplay. Proper challenge and novelty keep the experience engaging over time.
Geometry Friends Game AI Competition - 2013 ResultsRui Prada
The document describes the Geometry Friends game, an AI competition held using the game, and the results of the competition. The Geometry Friends game was developed in 2008 to study collaborative gameplay between humans and agents. It involves two players cooperating to collect diamonds within time limits on platforms. In 2013, an AI competition was held using the game, with tracks for cooperation, single-player rectangle, and single-player circle agents. The only submission was CIBot from Sejong University, which completed levels with varying success in collecting diamonds within time limits.
The document discusses models for developing believable autonomous characters that can interact with people. It describes how characters need human-like qualities like intentionality, emotions, personality and theory of mind to become believable. Socio-emotional intelligence is particularly important for teaming agents with people. Serious games are discussed as an application that could motivate communication and change using autonomous characters.
PPT on Direct Seeded Rice presented at the three-day 'Training and Validation Workshop on Modules of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Technologies in South Asia' workshop on April 22, 2024.
ESR spectroscopy in liquid food and beverages.pptxPRIYANKA PATEL
With increasing population, people need to rely on packaged food stuffs. Packaging of food materials requires the preservation of food. There are various methods for the treatment of food to preserve them and irradiation treatment of food is one of them. It is the most common and the most harmless method for the food preservation as it does not alter the necessary micronutrients of food materials. Although irradiated food doesn’t cause any harm to the human health but still the quality assessment of food is required to provide consumers with necessary information about the food. ESR spectroscopy is the most sophisticated way to investigate the quality of the food and the free radicals induced during the processing of the food. ESR spin trapping technique is useful for the detection of highly unstable radicals in the food. The antioxidant capability of liquid food and beverages in mainly performed by spin trapping technique.
EWOCS-I: The catalog of X-ray sources in Westerlund 1 from the Extended Weste...Sérgio Sacani
Context. With a mass exceeding several 104 M⊙ and a rich and dense population of massive stars, supermassive young star clusters
represent the most massive star-forming environment that is dominated by the feedback from massive stars and gravitational interactions
among stars.
Aims. In this paper we present the Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS) project, which aims to investigate
the influence of the starburst environment on the formation of stars and planets, and on the evolution of both low and high mass stars.
The primary targets of this project are Westerlund 1 and 2, the closest supermassive star clusters to the Sun.
Methods. The project is based primarily on recent observations conducted with the Chandra and JWST observatories. Specifically,
the Chandra survey of Westerlund 1 consists of 36 new ACIS-I observations, nearly co-pointed, for a total exposure time of 1 Msec.
Additionally, we included 8 archival Chandra/ACIS-S observations. This paper presents the resulting catalog of X-ray sources within
and around Westerlund 1. Sources were detected by combining various existing methods, and photon extraction and source validation
were carried out using the ACIS-Extract software.
Results. The EWOCS X-ray catalog comprises 5963 validated sources out of the 9420 initially provided to ACIS-Extract, reaching a
photon flux threshold of approximately 2 × 10−8 photons cm−2
s
−1
. The X-ray sources exhibit a highly concentrated spatial distribution,
with 1075 sources located within the central 1 arcmin. We have successfully detected X-ray emissions from 126 out of the 166 known
massive stars of the cluster, and we have collected over 71 000 photons from the magnetar CXO J164710.20-455217.
Or: Beyond linear.
Abstract: Equivariant neural networks are neural networks that incorporate symmetries. The nonlinear activation functions in these networks result in interesting nonlinear equivariant maps between simple representations, and motivate the key player of this talk: piecewise linear representation theory.
Disclaimer: No one is perfect, so please mind that there might be mistakes and typos.
dtubbenhauer@gmail.com
Corrected slides: dtubbenhauer.com/talks.html
Mending Clothing to Support Sustainable Fashion_CIMaR 2024.pdfSelcen Ozturkcan
Ozturkcan, S., Berndt, A., & Angelakis, A. (2024). Mending clothing to support sustainable fashion. Presented at the 31st Annual Conference by the Consortium for International Marketing Research (CIMaR), 10-13 Jun 2024, University of Gävle, Sweden.
The technology uses reclaimed CO₂ as the dyeing medium in a closed loop process. When pressurized, CO₂ becomes supercritical (SC-CO₂). In this state CO₂ has a very high solvent power, allowing the dye to dissolve easily.
Describing and Interpreting an Immersive Learning Case with the Immersion Cub...Leonel Morgado
Current descriptions of immersive learning cases are often difficult or impossible to compare. This is due to a myriad of different options on what details to include, which aspects are relevant, and on the descriptive approaches employed. Also, these aspects often combine very specific details with more general guidelines or indicate intents and rationales without clarifying their implementation. In this paper we provide a method to describe immersive learning cases that is structured to enable comparisons, yet flexible enough to allow researchers and practitioners to decide which aspects to include. This method leverages a taxonomy that classifies educational aspects at three levels (uses, practices, and strategies) and then utilizes two frameworks, the Immersive Learning Brain and the Immersion Cube, to enable a structured description and interpretation of immersive learning cases. The method is then demonstrated on a published immersive learning case on training for wind turbine maintenance using virtual reality. Applying the method results in a structured artifact, the Immersive Learning Case Sheet, that tags the case with its proximal uses, practices, and strategies, and refines the free text case description to ensure that matching details are included. This contribution is thus a case description method in support of future comparative research of immersive learning cases. We then discuss how the resulting description and interpretation can be leveraged to change immersion learning cases, by enriching them (considering low-effort changes or additions) or innovating (exploring more challenging avenues of transformation). The method holds significant promise to support better-grounded research in immersive learning.
The debris of the ‘last major merger’ is dynamically youngSérgio Sacani
The Milky Way’s (MW) inner stellar halo contains an [Fe/H]-rich component with highly eccentric orbits, often referred to as the
‘last major merger.’ Hypotheses for the origin of this component include Gaia-Sausage/Enceladus (GSE), where the progenitor
collided with the MW proto-disc 8–11 Gyr ago, and the Virgo Radial Merger (VRM), where the progenitor collided with the
MW disc within the last 3 Gyr. These two scenarios make different predictions about observable structure in local phase space,
because the morphology of debris depends on how long it has had to phase mix. The recently identified phase-space folds in Gaia
DR3 have positive caustic velocities, making them fundamentally different than the phase-mixed chevrons found in simulations
at late times. Roughly 20 per cent of the stars in the prograde local stellar halo are associated with the observed caustics. Based
on a simple phase-mixing model, the observed number of caustics are consistent with a merger that occurred 1–2 Gyr ago.
We also compare the observed phase-space distribution to FIRE-2 Latte simulations of GSE-like mergers, using a quantitative
measurement of phase mixing (2D causticality). The observed local phase-space distribution best matches the simulated data
1–2 Gyr after collision, and certainly not later than 3 Gyr. This is further evidence that the progenitor of the ‘last major merger’
did not collide with the MW proto-disc at early times, as is thought for the GSE, but instead collided with the MW disc within
the last few Gyr, consistent with the body of work surrounding the VRM.
Authoring a personal GPT for your research and practice: How we created the Q...Leonel Morgado
Thematic analysis in qualitative research is a time-consuming and systematic task, typically done using teams. Team members must ground their activities on common understandings of the major concepts underlying the thematic analysis, and define criteria for its development. However, conceptual misunderstandings, equivocations, and lack of adherence to criteria are challenges to the quality and speed of this process. Given the distributed and uncertain nature of this process, we wondered if the tasks in thematic analysis could be supported by readily available artificial intelligence chatbots. Our early efforts point to potential benefits: not just saving time in the coding process but better adherence to criteria and grounding, by increasing triangulation between humans and artificial intelligence. This tutorial will provide a description and demonstration of the process we followed, as two academic researchers, to develop a custom ChatGPT to assist with qualitative coding in the thematic data analysis process of immersive learning accounts in a survey of the academic literature: QUAL-E Immersive Learning Thematic Analysis Helper. In the hands-on time, participants will try out QUAL-E and develop their ideas for their own qualitative coding ChatGPT. Participants that have the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription can create a draft of their assistants. The organizers will provide course materials and slide deck that participants will be able to utilize to continue development of their custom GPT. The paid subscription to ChatGPT Plus is not required to participate in this workshop, just for trying out personal GPTs during it.
Authoring a personal GPT for your research and practice: How we created the Q...
Games for inclusive play
1. Games for inclusive play
Rui Prada
Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa
INESC-ID
AAS Annual Conference, Lisbon - June 24, 2022
2. Inclusion and Diversity in Games
Inclusiveness is addressed both in terms of
The content
The characters and situations that the game depicts
Accessibility
To make it possible for non-typical players (e.g., disable) to play the
game and enjoy the experience
Games for inclusion
Tools to improve the life of players that need support for inclusion
4. Stereotypes and Tropes
Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, Anita Sarkeesian
https://feministfrequency.com/series/tropes-vs-women-in-video-
games/
Queer Tropes vs Video Games
https://feministfrequency.com/video/queer-tropes-vs-video-games-
are-you-gay-or-just-coded-that-way/
5. The Walking Dead, 2012-2019 (Telltale Games)
Diverse set of playable characters
Image from: https://www.popoptiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/twd_michonne_large.jpg.webp
6. This War of Mine, 2014 (11 bit studios)
Diversity of capabilities and limitations
Images from: https://store.steampowered.com/app/282070/This_War_of_Mine/?l=latam&ref=dtf.ru
7. Characters with Physical Disability
Lester Crest, wheelchair-bound
Grand Theft Auto V, 2013
(Rockstar Games)
Image from: https://i.redd.it/4u9zxxgbaa601.jpg
Jeff “Joker” Moreau, Vrolik
Syndrome (brittle bone disease)
Mass Effect, 2007 (BioWare)
Image from: https://i.redd.it/4u9zxxgbaa601.jpg
8. To the Moon, 2011 (Freebird Games)
Sigmund Corporation uses a technology that can create
artificial memories. They offer this as a “wish fulfillment”
service to people on their death beds.
Jonny with Memory loss
River with Autism
Image from: https://luduslila.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/to-the-moon-promo.jpg
9. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, 2017 (Ninja
Theory)
Senua, a warrior struggling with psychosis
Hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t really there
Advised by a Professor Cambridge
Stepping in the shoes of someone that has psychotic mental
illness
Image from: https://pt.ign.com/hellblade/46916/review/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-analise
10. Celeste, 2018 (Matt Makes Games)
Help Madeline survive her inner demons
(self-blame and self-doubt)
Her projections are constantly trying to
stop her from achieving success
Madeline must learn to accept and
ultimately overcome her internal barriers
Image from: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficheiro:Celeste_capa.jpg
11. Celeste, 2018 (Matt Makes Games)
https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/celeste-assist-mode/
12. Accessibility in Games
4 types: mobility, visual, auditory, cognitive
http://ablegamers.org
http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/
http://game-accessibility.com/
http://www.includification.com/
https://igda-gasig.org/
Image from: https://ablegamers.org/
14. Inclusion and Diversity in Games
Yet a long way to go
But there are many discussions and efforts
Games can be a good media to discuss and portray diversity
and inclusion
Games can be tools to train and raise awareness
15. In-visible Island
Inclusive storytelling platform for visually impaired children
Foster participation in collaborative creative tasks
Children build together a story based on individual choices
Players (one at the time) place characters in the island: in the
forest, in the river, in the mountain
A robot tells the story based on Malaysian folklore
Ruhiyati Idayu Abu Talib, Predrag K Nikolic, Mohd Shahrizal Sunar, Rui Prada: “In-visible island: inclusive storytelling
platform for visually impaired children” Mobile Networks and Applications, 25(3):913-924, 2020. Springer.
16. In-visible Island
Characters have preferences and
relations to each other
The Island elements have audio
and haptic feedback
Characters disks tremble and
rumble if they approach places
and characters they dislike
Ruhiyati Idayu Abu Talib, Predrag K Nikolic, Mohd Shahrizal Sunar, Rui Prada: “In-visible island: inclusive storytelling
platform for visually impaired children” Mobile Networks and Applications, 25(3):913-924, 2020. Springer.
17. In-visible Island
Ruhiyati Idayu Abu Talib, Predrag K Nikolic, Mohd Shahrizal Sunar, Rui Prada: “In-visible island: inclusive storytelling
platform for visually impaired children” Mobile Networks and Applications, 25(3):913-924, 2020. Springer.
18. Games for People with Intellectual Disability
ID Gaming objective is to increase the competences of Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities
Educate related Professionals and Relatives on the use of games
15 million people with intellectual
disability in the European Union
https://id-gaming-project.eu
20. QooL City Game: Quality of Life Training Game
Cognitive functions: calculus and problem solving, memory, spatial
orientation, language
Quality of Life dimensions: interpersonal relationships, social inclusion,
self-determination, physical and emotional well-being,
23. QooL City Digital Game
https://id-gaming-project.eu/toolkit/qool-city-digital-game/
24. Traveller: a game for Cultural Training
Game for increasing intercultural sensitivity and awareness
Players play several scenes, which may be misinterpreted due to
differences in culture
AI agents with different cultural behaviour (e.g., individualist vs
collectivist, importance of authority)
Based on a model of Social Importance Dynamics
Samuel Mascarenhas, João Dias, Rui Prada, Ana Paiva “A Dimensional Model for Cultural Behaviour in Virtual Agents” in Applied
Artificial Intelligence, vol. 24 (6), pp. 552-574, July 2010. Taylor & Francis.
Samuel Mascarenhas, Nick Degens, Ana Paiva, Rui Prada, Gert Jan Hofstede, Adrie Beulens, Ruth Aylett: “Modeling culture in intelligent
virtual agents: From theory to implementation” in Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. pp. 1-32, 2015. Springer.
26. Traveller: Study
Cross-cultural study 2x2
Participants: Portugal (collectivistic) vs The Netherlands
(individualistic)
Culture parameterization: collectivistic agents vs
individualistic agents
Samuel Mascarenhas, João Dias, Rui Prada, Ana Paiva “A Dimensional Model for Cultural Behaviour in Virtual Agents” in Applied Artificial Intelligence,
vol. 24 (6), pp. 552-574, July 2010. Taylor & Francis.
Samuel Mascarenhas, Nick Degens, Ana Paiva, Rui Prada, Gert Jan Hofstede, Adrie Beulens, Ruth Aylett: “Modeling culture in intelligent virtual agents:
From theory to implementation” in Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. pp. 1-32, 2015. Springer.
27. Traveller: Some Results
Dutch participants complained that the collectivistic agents were too
distant
Dutch participants offered more often a drink to the individualistic
agents. Portuguese offered more to the collectivistic
Portuguese participants had a significantly higher opinion of the
collectivistic agents than the Dutch
Both countries had a similarly opinion of the individualistic agents
Samuel Mascarenhas, João Dias, Rui Prada, Ana Paiva “A Dimensional Model for Cultural Behaviour in Virtual Agents” in Applied Artificial Intelligence,
vol. 24 (6), pp. 552-574, July 2010. Taylor & Francis.
Samuel Mascarenhas, Nick Degens, Ana Paiva, Rui Prada, Gert Jan Hofstede, Adrie Beulens, Ruth Aylett: “Modeling culture in intelligent virtual agents:
From theory to implementation” in Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. pp. 1-32, 2015. Springer.
28. Com@Viver
A game to promote bystanders’ empathy in cyberbullying
situations
Paula C Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Ana Paiva, Carlos Martinho, Rui Prada, Aristides Ferreira, Francisco
Santos “Exploring empathy in cyberbullying with serious games” Computers & Education, 166:104155, 2021. Elsevier
29. Com@Viver
Simulated Social Network
Social agents as colleagues
Fictional cyberbullying
posts, based on real data
Paula C Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Ana Paiva, Carlos Martinho, Rui Prada, Aristides Ferreira, Francisco
Santos “Exploring empathy in cyberbullying with serious games” Computers & Education, 166:104155, 2021. Elsevier
30. Com@Viver
Players’ goal is to be able to join
the field trip
Social agents favour the bully or
the victim
Players respond through
likes/dislikes and predefined
comments
Triggered self-reflection on their
choices
Paula C Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Ana Paiva, Carlos Martinho, Rui Prada, Aristides Ferreira, Francisco
Santos “Exploring empathy in cyberbullying with serious games” Computers & Education, 166:104155, 2021. Elsevier
31. Com@Viver: Results
Longitudinal study (5 sessions) with 221, 7th and 8th grade students (in
3 schools)
3 groups: play the game (G), read a paper version (P), did not play (N)
Positive difference in terms of cognitive empathy
More empathic concerns towards the cyberbullying situations
Higher levels of empathic reactions towards victims
Paula C Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Ana Paiva, Carlos Martinho, Rui Prada, Aristides Ferreira, Francisco
Santos “Exploring empathy in cyberbullying with serious games” Computers & Education, 166:104155, 2021. Elsevier
32. Inclusive play with Robots
Inclusive classroom play with robots and neurodivergent children
Image from: https://www.robotshop.com/ca/fr/ensemble-costumes-diy-
pour-ozobot-evo.html
Image from: https://www.generationrobots.com/blog/en/what-
are-the-differences-between-ozobot-bit-and-ozobot-evo/
33. Socially Situated Cognition and Social Identity
in AI Agents
Social meaning of objects
E.g., An apple can be food, a gift, a toy, a weapon, …
Social categorization and social identity
The agents and their social groups in a given context
Social affordances
What you can do with the agents and objects in the context
Socially affordable
What is acceptable
34. Social AI agents in Minecraft
Context
Time, location, agents
Social practices
Activated by context
Social roles
Locations have social properties
Expected activity
Ownership
Agents have categories/identities
Define relevant social practices
35. Conclusions
Games are prominent media
Games portray social reality
There are concerns of inclusiveness: accessibility and
representativeness
Games are powerful means for change
Can be used to promote awareness, to train and foster
change
Combined with AI and novel elements (e.g., robots)