2006 ACM SIGGRAPH Video Game Symposium

Keynote

Greg Costikyan, Manifesto Games

• Designing Games for Process Intensity

Keynote

Ian Shaw, Electronic Arts

• Players in the Development Game

Poster Session and Carnival

Poster Session and Carnival

Papers 1

Exploring the Use of Ray Tracing for Future Games

• Heiko Friedrich, Saarland University
• Johannes Guenther, MPI Informatik
• Michael Scherbaum, inTrace GmbH
• Andreas Dietrich, Saarland University
• Hans-Peter Seidel, MPI Informatik
• Philipp Slusallek, Saarland University

• Tracy Fullerton, USC
• Jenova Chen, USC
• Kellee Santiago, USC
• Erik Nelson, USC
• Glenn Song, Electronic Arts
• Vincent Diamante, USC
• John DeWeese, Electronic Arts
• Aaron Meyers, USC

Papers 4

Big Fast Crowds on PS3

• Craig Reynolds, Sony Computer Entertainment

• Elizabeth Losh, University of California, Irvine

Lunch

Lunch

Panel 1

In the Trenches - Game Developers and the Crisis of Creativity

• Jason Della Rocca
• Hank Howie
• Steve Meretsky
• Joe Minton
• Kent Quirk
• Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom

Panel 3a

Games, Learning and Literacy

• Robin Hunicke
• Alice Robison
• Kurt Squire
• Constance Steinkuehler

Panel 3b

Games and Accessibility

• Matthew T Atkinson
• Kevin Bierre
• Giannis Georgalis
• Michelle Hinn

Break

Break

Papers 2a

Dynamo: Dynamic Data-driven Character Control with Adjustable Balance

• Pawel Wrotek, Brown University
• Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Brown University
• Morgan McGuire, Williams College

• Tom Yeh, University of California, Los Angeles
• Petros Faloutsos, University of California, Los Angeles
• Glenn Reinman, University of California, Los Angeles

Papers 5a

Designing Interpretative Quests in the Literature Classroom

• Jeff Howard, University of Texas, Austin

• Michael Wagner, Danube University Krems

Papers 2b

Game development for experience through staying there

• Tim Marsh, University of Southern California
• Kiyoung Yang, University of Southern California
• Cyrus Shahabi, University of Southern California

• Kaveh Kardan, University of Hawaii

Papers 5b

Emotional Remapping of Music to Facial Animation

• Steve DiPaola, Simon Fraser University
• Ali Arya, Simon Fraser Universit

• Criss Martin, University of North Texas
• Ian Parberry, University of North Texas

Break

Break

Panel 2

Occasionally Reconcilable Differences: Games, Movies and Television

• Katherine Isbister
• Stephen Jacobs
• Geoffrey Long
• Richard Rouse III

Panel 4

The Passion of the Developer: ea_spouse in the h_ouse! a Panel on Labor Relations and Quality of Life in the Industry

• Thomas J Allen
• Jason Della Rocca
• Erin Hoffman
• Andy Luckey
• Helen McWilliams
• Matthew Sakey
• Naoko Takamoto

Break

Break

Papers 3a

Humour Theory and Videogames: Laughter in the Slaughter

• Claire Dormann, Carleton University
• Pippin Barr, Victoria University of Wellington
• Robert Biddle, Carleton University

• Shaowen Bardzell, Indiana University

Papers 6a

From Rock, Paper, Scissors to Street Fighter II: Proof by Construction

• Yotam Gingold, New York University

• Elina M.I. Koivisto, Nokia
• Riku Suomela, Nokia
• Ari Koivisto, Nokia

Papers 3b

Practical Implementation of Dual Parabloid Shadow Maps

• Brian Osman, Vicarious Visions and Activision
• Mike Bukowski, Vicarious Visions and Activision
• Chris McEvoy, Vicarious Visions and Activision

• Kun Gao, FreeDesign Inc.
• Hwajin Park, Sookmyung University
• Alyn Rockwood, FreeDesign Inc.
• Dick Sowar, FreeDesign Inc.

Papers 6b

Excuse me, I need better AI! Employing Collaborative Diffusion to make Game AI Child's Play

• Alexander Repenning, University of Colorado

• Evan Hahn, Carleton University
• Prosenjit Bose, Carleton University
• Anthony Whitehead, Carleton University

Hot Games

Closing Comments

Exhibitions

- Open Play

Guitar Hero 2
- Open Quals

Dance Dance Revolotion
- Open Quals

- Open Play

Retro
- Open Quals

More Guitar Hero 2

Guitar Hero 2 Finals

Dance Dance Revolution Finals

Karaoke Tournament

1) X-Arcade Dual Joystick
1) X-Arcade Solo Jostick
1) X-Arcade Trackball

Dynamo: Dynamic Data-driven Character Control with Adjustable Balance

• Pawel Wrotek, Brown University
• Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Brown University
• Morgan McGuire, Williams College

Real Time Dynamic Wind Calculation for a Pressure Driven Wind System

• Criss Martin, University of North Texas
• Ian Parberry, University of North Texas

Exploring the Use of Ray Tracing for Future Games

• Heiko Friedrich, Saarland University
• Johannes Guenther, MPI Informatik
• Michael Scherbaum, inTrace GmbH
• Andreas Dietrich, Saarland University
• Hans-Peter Seidel, MPI Informatik
• Philipp Slusallek, Saarland University

That Cloud Game: Dreaming (and Doing) Innovative Game Design

• Tracy Fullerton, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media
• Jenova Chen, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media
• Kellee Santiago, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media
• Erik Nelson, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media
• Glenn Song, Electronic Arts
• Vincent Diamante, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media
• John DeWeese, Electronic Arts
• Aaron Meyers, USC Cinema-Television, Interactive Media

Persistent Realtime Building Interior Generation

• Evan Hahn, Carleton University
• Prosenjit Bose, Carleton University
• Anthony Whitehead, Carleton University

Humour Theory and Videogames: Laughter in the Slaughter

• Claire Dormann, Carleton University
• Pippin Barr, Victoria University of Wellington
• Robert Biddle, Carleton University

Making Things Public: Democracy and Government-Funded Video Games and Virtual Reality Simulations

• Elizabeth Losh, University of California, Irvine

Emotional Remapping of Music to Facial Animation

• Steve DiPaola, Simon Fraser University
• Ali Arya, Simon Fraser University

Designing Interpretative Quests in the Literature Classroom

• Jeff Howard, University of Texas, Austin

Excuse me, I need better AI! Employing Collaborative Diffusion to make Game AI Child's Play

• Alexander Repenning, University of Colorado

Computer Games and the Three Dimensions of Reading Literacy

• Michael Wagner, Danube University Krems

Computer Role-Playing Games as a Vehicle for Teaching History, Culture, and Language

• Kaveh Kardan, University of Hawaii

Ancient Runes - Using Text Input as for Interaction in Mobile Games

• Elina M.I. Koivisto, Nokia
• Riku Suomela, Nokia
• Ari Koivisto, Nokia

Practical Implementation of Dual Parabloid Shadow Maps

• Brian Osman, Vicarious Visions and Activision
• Mike Bukowski, Vicarious Visions and Activision
• Chris McEvoy, Vicarious Visions and Activision

Enabling Real-Time Physics Simulation in Future Interactive Entertainment

• Tom Yeh, University of California, Los Angeles
• Petros Faloutsos, University of California, Los Angeles
• Glenn Reinman, University of California, Los Angeles

Game development for experience through staying there

• Tim Marsh, University of Southern California
• Kiyoung Yang, University of Southern California
• Cyrus Shahabi, University of Southern California

Big Fast Crowds on PS3

• Craig Reynolds, Sony Computer Entertainment

The Submissive Speaks: The Semiotics of Visuality in Virtual BDSM Fantasy Play

• Shaowen Bardzell, Indiana University

From Rock, Paper, Scissors to Street Fighter II: Proof by Construction

• Yotam Gingold, New York University

Attribute Based Interfaces for Geometric Modeling

• Kun Gao, FreeDesign Inc.
• Hwajin Park, Sookmyung University
• Alyn Rockwood, FreeDesign Inc.
• Dick Sowar, FreeDesign Inc.

Greg Costikyan
CEO - Manifesto Games
http://manifestogames.com/

Designing Games for Process Intensity

Back in the 1980s, Chris Crawford theorized that games should bedesigned for process intensity rather than use of content. At the time, his point was that with 64K to work with, you should exploit the ability of machines to use algorithms rather than data, since you could keep only a limited amount of data in working memory. As Moore's Law did it's work, that argument became moot, and games began to bloat with enormous numbers of visual and audio assets--and the cost of generating those assets ran budgets up a curve nearly as steep as Moore's Law.

Today, virtually all of the cycles consumed by games are used to push pixels--and actual gameplay calculations consume only a tiny portion of a machine's resources. Perhaps, however, this approach is reaching a point of diminishing returns, as graphics become close to photorealistic--and perhaps it time to re-examine the ways in which harnessing different algorithms can produce novel gameplay experiences.

Bio

Greg Costikyan is CEO of Manifesto Games, a start-up devoted to creating a viable path to market for independently developed games. He has designed more than 30 commercially published board, roleplaying, computer, online, and mobile games over three decades in the field, including five winners of the Origins Award. He is an inductee into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame for a lifetime of accomplishment as a game designer; has written on games, game industry business issues, and game design for publications including Wall Street Journal Interactive, the New York Times, The Escapist, Salon, and Game Developer magazine, as well as a number of game studies anthologies; is the author or co-author of two analysts' reports on online games; and has written four published science fiction novels and a clutch of short stories. He speaks frequently at industry conferences including GDC and E3. Prior to founding Manifesto, he was a games researcher for Nokia; and prior to that, co-founded Unplugged Games, one of the first North American mobile game start-ups.

Ian Shaw
CTO - Electronic Arts UK
http://ea.com

Players in the Development Game

Making a great game can take a lot of game makers. What do all those people actually do? How can a large team still have creative energy? And how does this make the game better?

Let's examine the key players in modern game development. Find out what they do every day, their top issues, motivations and concerns. How do they relate to each other? What are the team dynamics that make or break a game? From the executive-producer to the engine-programmer and shader-artist, everyone has shifted up a gear to get to this next-generation of consoles. You're invited to an insider's view of how Electronic Arts is shaping development teams in response to these challenges.

Where are the opportunities in the next-generation? Hear the diverse opinions of these players, through light-hearted speculation based on internal interviews. Whether you're in games or film, industry or academia, or just sitting at home playing games, the excitement of this console transition-cycle is going to reach you. As an individual or a company, how can you respond to that?

Bio

Ian Shaw is the Chief Technology Officer for Electronic Arts UK-Studio, based in Surrey , and Technical Director for the Harry Potter franchise.Ian has been developing games commercially since 1991, starting with his own company on the Amiga and publishing with Sony/Psygnosis. Joining Bullfrog in 1994, he worked as a programmer, and eventually Head of R&D, on titles including Dungeon Keeper, Syndicate Wars, Populous 3. He became CTO after Electronic Arts acquired the studio, leading technology through the Playstation-2/Xbox transition, and partnering with both internal teams and external studios on Formula-1, Quake-3 and Harry Potter. Other commitments have included academic collaboration with University College London; advisory boards for Microsoft/Direct3D, Alias/Maya, Game Developers Conference Europe and LEAF festival; and judging Bafta Games Awards. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Cambridge University .

Prior to games Ian lived a rainy existence in Cumbria where he worked on databases, stock control, embedded systems and backup software. There he learnt to enjoy hill-climbing and cycling. Spare time is split between playing his piano or playing with his two baby boys - noisy activities, especially when combined.