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"The UT^2 game bot, created by computer scientists Jacob Schru, Igor Karpov and Risto Miikkulainen, won the Humanlike Bot Competition at the IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI 2012). "The idea of the competition is to evaluate how we can make game bots, non-player characters (NPCs) controlled by AI algorithms, appear as human as possible," explains Miikkulainen, professor of computer science in the College of Natural Sciences. "It is generally recognized that NPCs are relatively weak in most video games: their behavior is predictable and mechanical, and they often make mistakes that human players would be unlikely to make. Players often enjoy playing against other humans, because it provides a more interesting game experience. The goal of the competition is to promote more research in human-like bots, as well as evaluate how well we are currently doing in this area."

Abstract: "The purpose of this study aimed to construct an online competitive game-based learning system by using freeware for junior high school students and to assess its effectiveness. From the learning standpoints, game mechanisms including learning points, competition mechanism, training room mechanism, questioning & answering mechanism, tips, and feedback mechanism are taken into consideration while constructing the system. The system contains screens of Log-in, Game lobby, Waiting room, Player's room, Question & Answer, and Scoring. After the system was established, it was implemented in a 10 week teaching experiment. A total of 35 junior high school students participated in this teaching experiment. Both pre-test and post-test were administered and analyzed. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, containing domains of system operation, learning effectiveness, competition and incentive, and training room learning was also included to assess user's satisfaction. Descriptive analysis and independent t test were used to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study show that most students are satisfied with the four domains of the freeware constructed online competitive game-based learning system. Meanwhile, the online competitive game-based learning system is effective for junior high school students' learning."

A competition for youths to design adventures for Spore game, recognition of prizewinners at Electronic Arts, links to videos of winning concepts

TEMPE, AZ--(Marketwire - Dec 9, 2011) - The IEEE announced Tellus as the winner of the second contest in the SAVEEARTHGAME Playable Game Design Competition. The Tellus team created and submitted a fully functional game that challenges players to save the Earth based off real-world data and issues. IEEE collaborated...

"Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced the final winners of this year's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract awards-funds that are reserved for entrepreneurial small businesses using cutting-edge R&D to develop commercially viable technologies to solve tough problems. And there's something that may surprise you about the winning contracts: More than half-or 12 in all-are for games and game-related projects, more than in any previous year. That says a lot about the increasingly creative field of educational games, and the growing base of evidence indicating that games can be an important and effective component of our strategy to prepare a highly skilled 21st century American workforce."

Collaboration between startup and institute

Proposal to allow "experiment with AI bots," considering gaming competitions and Blizzard online games

"A WOMAN from Aylesbury has won a top competition to design a video game for the iPhone. Catherine Forsyth's team won the first ever UK competition to set up, make and design their own computer games, held at the Gadget Show Live at Birmingham's NEC."

Abstract: "Among numerous classical statistics paradoxes, N - uel (for N ℕ \ {1}, because N - uel where N = 1 is clearly not that interesting!) problem shows that the fittest of all competitors does not necessarily win this competition. Truel, Quadruel, and Nuel is simply an extension of a duel tournament, which involves more than two people ( Pirates of Caribbe an three - way sword fight serves as an appropriate visual representation). In addition, each N - uel player actually may possess different winning maximization strategy , since the Nuel tournament is known to illustrate that a fitter/better competitor in a mul ti - entry survival type competition does not necessarily possess significantly higher chance of survival than others. It is my desire to see this process: I want to visualize the N - uel process as a third - person observer, and if a person was playing this as a video game (which I plan on developing via Java Programming), I also want to visualize the winning strategies each video game participant follows."

"The National STEM Video Game Challenge is a multi-year competition that aims to motivate interest in STEM learning among America's youth by tapping into students' natural passion for playing and making video games. Join the new faces of game design and start designing today! .. Deadline is April 24, 2013.

Abstract: "Adolescent obesity is an increasing challenge, and pervasive social health games hold much promise for promoting sustained healthy behaviors. Researchers and d esigners of these systems have many potential theories and existing best practices at their disposal. Our study, grounded in participatory design, shows which ones matter - both for pervasive social health games and within the cultural context of a community we studied over the course of three years. We worked with 112 US middle school students from a lower - income community in a series of participatory design exercises focused on social rewards for everyday physical activity. In our analysis, we discuss design implications in four key areas : social presence, gender effects, incentives and competition. We show how these themes manifested in students' designs and why they were particularly important to our participa nts. We then use our findings to suggest design strategies for youth - focused pervasive social health games."

Abstract: "This paper explores the possibilities of game-based learning within the context of a graphic design education. A global network now exists that puts all professionals in competition with one-another, and in order to stay competitive as educators, we must be able to produce professionals that can solve problems creatively. However, traditional teaching methods may in some contexts be unable to provide the kind of education students need, and initial research suggests that game-based learning may be a viable solution. This study establishes a framework of good game-based learning principles and a design for a video game to be used in a teaching environment. Primarily target audiences are teenage students, roughly ages 10 - 14, and college level undergraduate students, ages 18 - 25, of all genders. This video game is intended to teach players situated meanings for key visual communication concepts of grid and modularity, in a way that allows them to create high level relationships between these and their creative work."

Three interactive video games designed by University of Houston students chosen for competition

indiePub announces video game development competition. Deadline for entries is December 15, 2011. Awards to presented at SXSW, March 9-11, 2012

"Presented at the 2nd. Games and Software Engineering Workshop, 34th. Intern. Conf. Software Engineering, Zurich, 9 June 2012"

"The indie videogame scene is playing host to a new trend - competitive multiplayer sports themed games. Titles like Hokra, BaraBariBall, Tennnes, and GIRP, among others, have been challenging traditional notions of what constitutes a sports themed videogame. The emergence and popularity of these games raises questions about how the culture of traditional sports relates to the still developing community of independent developers, journalists, scholars and enthusiasts that comprise the nascent indie scene. Looking through the lens of performance and performativity, this paper unpacks this new sports game trend, examining design, spectatorship, and group identity by way of interviews with key members of the indie game scene.

Abstract: Through a retrospective account of the evolution of China's online game industry, this paper examines the political, economic and cultural factors, with an emphasis on formal policy making, that have shaped the industry. Drawing on the theory of fragmented authoritarianism, this study finds that 10 Chinese online games are deeply shaped by the political environment of the autocratic Chinese system, which features inter-ministerial competition and intertwined state control and commercial interests. The current Chinese online market is combined with a strong private sector presence and a considerable government role. The Chinese government seems to have achieved its policy goal of helping Chinese companies to dominate the domestic market. However, the extensive and ambiguous government 15 policy and regulations, have, to some extent, restrains innovation. To that end, whether China can accomplish its three-stepped importation-substitution-creation strategy in this highly creative industry remains to be seen and warrants future investigation."

From the abstract: "This poster describes instructional strategies that match the information processing needs of adults with ASD. The poster is based on findings from a qualitative pilot study designed to identify best practices for teaching adults with ASD video game design. Data from semi-structured interviews with adult learners revealed direct, interactive, and experiential learning as instructional preferences along with the elimination of stressors (competition with others, limited time, and test taking)."

"The Becker College Department of Design announced the winning teams in the seventh bi-annual 24-Hour Game Jam, held from 5:00 p.m. on October 19 to 5:00 p.m. on October 20. The submissions were judged by a panel of Becker College faculty, advisors, and student representation, basing their ratings on each team's ability to represent the theme/object they received, the creativity of the game design, the quality of gameplay, overall appearance, and the fun factor."