GAMEON-ARABIA'2010, December 1-3, 2010, Alexandria, Egypt, 1st Call for Papers

GAMEON-ARABIA'2010
1st International
Middle Eastern Conference on Simulation
and AI in Computer Games

December 1 - 3, 2010
FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS

Alexandria, Egypt

Organized by
The European Technology Institute

Sponsored by:
EUROSIS
de Montfort University
IEEE UKRI-Spc
The Arab Science and Technology Foundation

Conference website

CONFERENCE AIM

The aim of the first annual Pan-Arabic GAMEON-ARABIA Conference (GAMEON-ARABIA'2010) on Simulation and AI in Computer Games, is to bring game developers from the Middle East in contact with local and international researchers and games people in order to exchange ideas on programming and programming techniques related to game development. Secondly it aims to steer young people from the Middle East into this industry by providing how-to tutorials and giving them the opportunity to show their ideas and demos to the gaming industry and to research facilities from outside the Middle East. Last but not least the conference aims to become the premier meeting point in the Middle East for those active in the field.
Just as its other counterparts in the rest of the world GAMEON-ARABIA will concentrate mostly on the programming and designing of games, with special emphasis on simulation, AI and fuzzy sets, and physics related computer graphics. Next to that, all of this will be fused in the topic of computer game design in stand-alone and networked games. Software providers will be able to show their latest packages and give hand-on tutorials for the participants.

Companies will also have the opportunity to seek new talent at this unique Middle Eastern event.

GAMEON-ARABIA'2010 consists of three core tracks, which cover, Gaming Methodology, Artificial Intelligence and Simulation, while the other tracks cover peripheral technologies closely linked to games design, like 3-D scalability, facial and skeletal animation, 3D in-game animation etc, Mobile Gaming and Gaming Applications...

CONFERENCE THEMES

Core Tracks

Game Development Methodology

Game Development Methodology, Game Design and Research Methods, Production Roles, Techniques and Process Management, Social and Technical Interactions in Art and Engineering, Participatory Media and Heterogeneous Development Approaches, Sociotechnical MOG Development, Communities and Sustainability, Business and Requirements Modeling for Game Projects, Software Architecture and Modeling in Games, Interaction Design and Usability in Game Contexts, Play Testing, Gameplay Experience Evaluation

Artificial Intelligence

Designing (Extensible) AI Engines with Built-in Machine Learning Technologies, Using Adaptive Markov Models, Using Decision Trees, Production Rules and Learning, Using Fuzzy Logic for membership functions and inference procedures, Using Rule Based AI or a Finite State Machine (FSM), Using Fuzzy State Machines (FuSM) or Cascaded FuSMs ,Using Artificial Life and layered AI Techniques, Level-of-Detail AI, Using scripting languages to govern NPC Bots, synthetic characters, or believable agents, Controlling simulated characters (Group Behaviour control) using f.ex. flocking algorithms based on extensible scripting systems, Cognitive Modeling: (combining geometric models and inverse kinematics to simplify key-framing. physical models for animating particles. Bio-mechanical modeling, behavioral modeling), Domain knowledge specification and character instruction, Creating AI Networks using supervised learning and genetic algorithms, and pathfinding, Using Databases using the winnowing algorithm, Using Multi-user Data Management.

Physics and Simulation

Collision detection, contact resolution and manifold generation (methods Lin-Canny, OBB Trees, I-Collide and Ray Tracing); Calculation optimization between objects; The closest point algorithm by Gilbert Johnson and Keerthi (GJK) between convex and union-of convex objects; Contact equation formulation (point-plane, edge-edge and sphere-plane); LCP (Linear Complementary problems) Based contact resolution; Iterative constraints and penalty methods for contact resolution, Micro-Collisions, Software Object Interaction.

Peripheral Tracks

3-D Scalability

MRM (Multi-Resolution Mesh) Technology and the Messiah and Lith Tech Engines; Scalable level of detail-oriented rendering ; Methods for scaling animation quality; Scaling animation quality, new animation steps, on interpolated key-frame animation or key-frame morphing; Bump mapping: emboss-dot product and environment mapped bump map (EMBM).

Facial Animation

Facial animation for Real-Time, Model Behaviour of 3D Modeling; Modelling the bone structure of faces, facial hair etc...

Skeletal Animation and Fully-Scaled Rendering

Physical Simulation, 3D Character Animation and physical controllers; Simulation performance; Rigid body physical animation and rigid body dynamics; Polygon Character Design and level of Detail under Technical Constraints; Particle systems, full polygonal models or sprites; Smooth rendered skins, soft skinning, head animations and full body animation (Skin, extrude and boolean, Design, composition and anatomy); Skeletal, skinning, single skin meshes; Creating Character Animation Assets; Real-Time motion Synthesis, Kinematics and Dynamics, Animating the real-time run cycle; T-Buffers and motion blur; Motion Capture Techniques.

3-D In-Game Animation

Creating and scaling special effects in Real-Time 3D: environmental weapon effects and general pyrotechnics, software used to produce single frame and animated textures, booth looping and linear, and the pivotal role of alpha channels. Modeling an animation of the geometry needed and the system used to encode additional engine-specific timing and trigger data into the files. The use of the engine particle system and scripting capabilities, Weighted vertices, Streaming SIMD Extension Overview (floating point instruction) ;Pre-rendered cinematics ; Scaling of special effects and texture tricks: particle systems for generating smoke and fire, texture tricks, for volumes, lens flares and onscreen pyrotechnics, Animation Blending.

Modelling of virtual worlds

Due to their complexity and size, virtual worlds used in next-gen games will have to be automatically generated, to a large extent, whether based on real data or fully imaginary. Representing objects and their relations in these worlds needs to take into account more data than simply their geometry or appearance. In addition, most objects in such worlds will typically require a high degree of adaptivity, in order to avoid most current rigid behaviours, as well as to cope with the need for really adaptive game-play in both entertainment and serious games. This theme focuses on tools and methods for achieving such goals.

AI and Simulation Tools

Silicon Graphics (MAYA, as a game prototyping environment), 3D Programming for Rage Programmable Shaders (Renderman), 3D Studio Max, Scratch, XNA, Delta 3D and other Open Source Games Software.

Design

Game Engine Design and game environment creation; Using rapid prototyping (NEMO-DEV) and generic technology (generic world building engine), portable code; Using Math for Game programming by solving simultaneous Equations; Using Modularity and isolation abstraction, data hiding, functional independence, cohesion and coupling; Using Java as an embedded Game scripting engine ; Procedural content placement, level design, enemy and entity placement; Using Databases in online Games; Programming in Linux, C++ and Visual Basic ; Programming Web Games in Java Scalable 3D games; Creating large 3D worlds; Creating Multiplayer online Games; Techniques for scaling game content, and approaches to scaling game content; C++ optimization Strategies and Techniques; 3D Engine optimization; Optimizing games for the MIPS RISC Architecture; Game design: User set set according to hard limits, pre-runtime profiling and runtime profiling History of Game Design.

Rendering

Rendering Equations and architectures; Image Based Rendering (polygon counts (throughput) and overdraw (filtrate); Photorealistic rendering using Open GL and Direct 3D ; Multi texture tricks like gloss mapping, dynamic environment mapping, detail texturing and bump mapping Spatial aliasing and Anti-aliasing and accumulation buffers; Setup, Rendering and Transforms ; Full floating point setup ; Perspective-corrected texture mapping, multiple filtering modes, sophisticated texture blending for special effects and effective looking transparency ; Classical local illumination equations and colour theory; Creating Reflections and shadows with stencil buffers and Z-Buffers; Light maps and changing texture coordinates, shadow maps, projected shadow maps; Methods for scaling lighting and shadows, lighting calculations ; Equation on a per pixel basis, pixel path and voxel animation; Procedural Texture Methods and Theory and Real-Time; Procedural Texture Implementation; Parametric Surfaces, Deforming surfaces, Curved surfaces and tri-linear flip-flopping Using NURBS (non-uniform rational B-splines) and other parametric surfaces for representing 3D Geometry; Matrix Manipulations; Methods for scaling geometry using parametric curves and surfaces in relation to polygonal models; Progressive meshes and subdivision surfaces.

On-line Gaming and and online-gaming security

As online gaming becomes more and more popular security issues now come into the forefront of secure game play using public key cryptography, symmetric key cryptography, digital signatures, authentication and available cryptographic toolkits. If you are designing or working on these issues you can,

Web Based Games

Creating and delivering web based games using HTML5, Flash etc..without the need for platform based software.

Voice Interaction

Using Intelligent Speech Synthesis Algorithms, Speech Processing, Voice Interaction, Speech Synthesizer; Interaction with AI-NPC's, Voice-Over Net Technology (one to one, and one to many).

Cognitive Psychology

applied to games, based on player to game interactions and biometric data analysis.

Affective Computing

affective gaming
affective user modeling
player emotion recognition

Artistic Input

Artistic input to game and character design.

Storytelling

Storytelling and Natural Language Processing.

Applications

• Wargaming methodology and techniques applied to strategic game design using Campaign managers, character generators, terrain generators. Multiplayer wargaming and Web Wargaming
• Serious Games applications
• Aerospace Simulations, Board Games etc...
• Games for training
• Games Console Design
• Gaming with Robots

Handheld Gaming Devices - Mobile Gaming

Gaming with I-Toy, WII and other handheld devices such as phones, Virtual Sat-Nav Gaming. Focusing on the man-machine interaction part.

CONFERENCE SITE
The conference will be held in Alexandria, Egypt from December 1-3.

CONFERENCE KEYNOTE
The keynote for the GAMEON-ARABIA'2010 will be announced later

INVITED TALKS
Proposals for invited talks can be sent in by SEPTEMBER 1st and emailed to philippe.geril@eurosis.org

TUTORIALS
Tutorials can be proposed in the following three categories:
T1- Introductory tutorials
T2- State of the Art Tutorials
T3- Software and Modelware Tutorials
Tutorial proposals should be emailed to Philippe.Geril@eurosis.org by SEPTEMBER 1st

POSTER SESSION
The poster session only features work in progress. Next to the actual poster presentation, these submissions also feature as short papers in the Proceedings.

STUDENTS SESSION
This session is for students who want to present their work in progress or part of their doctoral thesis as a paper. Student papers are denoted by the fact that only the name of the student appears on the paper as an author. They are published as short papers in the Proceedings.

DIVERSE ACTIVITIES
For demonstrations or video sessions, please contact Philippe Geril.
Special session will be set up for vendor presentations in co-ordination with the scientific program. User Group meetings for simulation languages and tools can be organised during the conference.

If you would like to arrange a meeting, please contact the Conference Chairs. We will be happy to provide a meeting room and other necessary equipment.Partners for projects session(s) will be organised by EUROSIS to give potential project teams or individuals the opportunity to present their research in order to link up with fellow researchers for future research projects. Those wishing to participate in this session need to send a proposal to Philippe Geril.

EXHIBITION
A special software exhibition will be held during the conference focused on simulation tools. For more information please contact EUROSIS for further details. Email: Philippe.Geril@eurosis.org