Smart Games

How is artificial intelligence being used to make games smarter? What can the gamer look forward to once gaming becomes personal as avatars get brains? Find out what the latest technology can offer from gaming gurus, before chatting to those involved in making smart games and having a play yourselves.

Gaming guru Peter Molyneux, responsible for genre-defining games such as Black and White and Fable, introduces us to the artificial intelligence behind Lionhead Studio games, past, present and future.

Meet co-founder of Blitz Games Andrew Oliver as he shows us how TruSim facial animation software can give us insight into a character’s state of mind as well as physical state using a simulation of the triage process.

Can smart games have a positive impact on how we interact with each other? Ruth Aylett and Rob Pooley from Heriot-Watt University demonstrate how games can promote anti-bullying attitudes among kids with their virtual drama application FearNot! involving intelligent graphical characters.

Meanwhile computer scientist Simon Lucas will be encouraging you to pit yourself against a smart software agent. The current human-best score for Ms. Pac-Man is a little over 900,000. Might a computer be crowned world champion in the future? See if you can beat our software agent at this classic game... may the most intelligent player win!

Our last demo comes from Xaitment. Xait-Engine game characters learn and evolve just like human players, basing actions on autonomous goals, group dynamics and environmental influences, not just predefined paths. Chat to those who are pioneering AI for gaming.

As the evening comes to a close we’ll hear about current and future game character behaviours from games designer Pieter Spronck.

Find out where smart games stand now and what could be hitting the market in the near future. What would you like to see in games? Come and have your say.

This event marks the launch of a historic collaborative network of games industry and university researchers, to investigate the future of AI in gaming. www.aigamesnetwork.org

Event organised by:
The Science Museum

Speakers

Ruth Aylett and Rob Pooley, e-Circus project, Heriot-Watt University
Simon Lucas, computer scientist, University of Essex
Andrew Oliver, co-founder, Blitz Games
Peter Molyneux, founder, Lionhead Studios
Peter Spronck, games designer

Facilitator: Simon Colton, AI Games Network founder, Imperial College

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