Expressive Intelligence Studio
Encyclopedia
The Expressive Intelligence Studio is a research group at the University of California, Santa Cruz
, established to conduct research in the field of game design
technology. The studio is currently being run by Michael Mateas, Noah Wardrip-Fruin
, Arnav Jhala, and Jim Whitehead, who work closely with the students in their research.
, where many game companies are located. In 2011, UCSC was listed 7th on Princeton Review's list of top graduate game design programs.
. This type of research in the field of game design is only being done in a small number of other institutions, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, University of Southern California
, and Georgia Institute of Technology
. According to Mateas, however, the program at the University of California, Santa Cruz
Expressive Intelligence Studio strikes a balance between technology and design.
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, established to conduct research in the field of game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
technology. The studio is currently being run by Michael Mateas, Noah Wardrip-Fruin
Noah Wardrip-Fruin
Noah Wardrip-Fruin is Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is an advisor for the Expressive Intelligence Studio. He is an alumnus of the Literary Arts MFA program and Special Graduate Study PhD program at Brown University...
, Arnav Jhala, and Jim Whitehead, who work closely with the students in their research.
History
When Michael Mateas formed the group back in 2006, his goal was to "stretch the students into being creative." He did not want the game design program at UCSC to be "just about photo-realistic graphics." Instead he wanted to form an ambitious group of students that grabbed the attention of the gaming industry. According to Noah Wardrip-Fruin, a major benefit for establishing the Expressive Intelligence Studio at UCSC is its proximity to Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, where many game companies are located. In 2011, UCSC was listed 7th on Princeton Review's list of top graduate game design programs.
Research
Most of the research done by the Expressive Intelligence Studio is done through major research projects, and focuses primarily on video game AI. PhD students in the program work closely with the advisors on these projects, which have a wide range of topics. Some of these topics include automated support for game generation, automatic generation of autonomous character conversations, story management, and authoring tools for interactive storytellingInteractive storytelling
Interactive Storytelling [IS] is a form of digital entertainment in which users create or influence a dramatic storyline through actions, either by issuing commands to the story's protagonist, or acting as a general director of events in the narrative...
. This type of research in the field of game design is only being done in a small number of other institutions, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. According to Mateas, however, the program at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
Expressive Intelligence Studio strikes a balance between technology and design.
See also
- Game studiesGame studiesGame studies or the new modern term "gaming theory" is the discipline of studying games, their design, players, and their role in society and culture more broadly...
- Interactive storytellingInteractive storytellingInteractive Storytelling [IS] is a form of digital entertainment in which users create or influence a dramatic storyline through actions, either by issuing commands to the story's protagonist, or acting as a general director of events in the narrative...
- New media studiesNew media studiesNew media studies is a fairly recent academic discipline that explores the intersections of computing, science, the humanities, and the visual and performing arts...
- New MediaNew mediaNew media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
- New Media ArtNew media artNew media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
- Game artificial intelligenceGame artificial intelligenceGame artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...