Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGGRAPH symposium on Video games

Abstract

We are excited to introduce papers from the third annual Sandbox Symposium! This is our second year of printed proceedings, which features a compelling blend of papers on topics such as artificial intelligence, game design, education, and development techniques and tools. We had over 50 high-quality submissions and chose 23 papers to be presented at the conference. In addition to the papers, we also have three panels, one on gamer communities, another on character animation, and one featuring representatives from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). An addition this year includes morning workshops on a variety of timely game topics, including ethics in games, transmedia storytelling, new business practices and models, acting, new techniques, and women and games. Katie Salen and Raph Koster will provide the keynote addresses. This year's symposium features papers on both the theoretical and practical aspects of game development and design, and includes proofs of concept, case studies, critiques and explorations. The authors of these papers show a diversity of expertise and breadth of experiences that echoes the games community itself. They come from both academia and industry, or bridge the gap between; they have backgrounds in film theory, AI, education, philosophy, robotics, business, music, psychology, physics, narrative, programming, and cinematography. The genres of games evaluated and developed also vary: papers investigate first-person shooters, MMOs, mixed-reality games, 2-D platformers, and educational games, to name just a few. We hope to continue to serve as a site of scholarship on all aspects of games---practice, theory, design and participation. The symposium begins with an evening keynote address from Raph Koster that bridges the interests of the Sandbox and Web3D communities. The next morning features a full day of sessions. It begins with a series of workshops that bring together people on timely topics in game design, community, business, and development, and invites participants to collaboratively compose a takeaway that can be shared with the rest of the conference. The first paper session is "Secret Agents: AI, Game Agents and Databases," which presents three papers that highlight novel techniques to further develop the AI, game agent, and database capabilities of games. Opposite this is "Meaning, Metaphor and Mediation," with three papers that explore the philosophical and aesthetic sides of game design. The panel discussion, "Gamer Communities, Design, and Learning," involves looking at the way communities of games interact online and how feedback informs game design. The three papers in "Architecting Navigation and Behavior" discuss game development and design from navigational, robotics and artificial intelligence perspectives. "Learning Through Games: Four Exemplars" presents four models of using games in educational settings and for teaching purposes. "New Tools, Techniques, and Technologies" showcases four different development and design tools. The panel, "Four Views of Procedural Character Animation for Computer Games," illustrates four distinct aspects of procedural animation technology. Opposite this is an IGDA panel titled, "In the Production Trenches: Developers Tackle Roadblocks," which features game industry leaders. The final paper session features "The Game Mechanics Shop," with three papers that reveal insights into game mechanics and play. "3-D and Cinematography: Making Games Come Alive" brings together three papers on cutting-edge cinematography, camera, and 3-D techniques in game development. Finally, the event ends with a keynote address from Katie Salen, followed by the presentation of the "best paper award." We hope this program helps connect you with the latest trends, theories, scholarship and insights in the game community. We look forward to many more years of playing in the Sandbox!