The Ninth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-13) was held in October 14-18, 2013 at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (www.aiide.org).
AIIDE-13 was intended to be the definitive point of interaction between entertainment software developers interested in AI and academic AI researchers. AIIDE-13 included invited speakers, research and practitioner presentations, playable experiences, project demonstrations, interactive poster sessions, product exhibits, and a doctoral consortium. While traditionally emphasizing commercial computer and video games, we invited researchers and developers to share their insights and cutting-edge results on topics at the intersection of all forms of entertainment and artificial intelligence, including games for impact, entertainment robotics, art, and beyond. AIIDE-13 is sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).
Papers
Because AIIDE-13 crosses disciplinary boundaries, submissions were evaluated based on their accessibility to both commercial game developers and researchers in addition to their technical merit.
Research Track
Research Track papers researched results that make advances towards solving known game AI problems, enable a new form of interactive digital entertainment, or use AI to improve the game design and development process. The novel technique had to be validated in a game prototype or test-bed, but need not be tested in a commercial game. Research Track papers were evaluated by the highest standards of academic rigor. The highest-rated papers were presented in a short lecture format. The next highest-rated group of papers were presented in a poster session.
Practitioner Track
AIIDE also solicited submissions from professional game developers and artists on the use of artificial intelligence in games and other cultural artifacts. While these practitioners were also invited to submit to the research track, we recognize that many would have neither the time nor the inclination to prepare full-length papers for archival academic publication. These authors were able instead to submit a 500-word extended abstract to the practitioner track. Practitioner track papers need not describe new technology. Still, they had to describe new ideas relevant to the AIIDE audience and must be based on experience creating deployed games or other cultural artifacts. These papers are exempt from the formatting and blind reviewing requirements for the research track.
Demonstrations
We invited researchers and practitioners to share insights and cutting-edge results from a wide range of topics and encourage the demonstration of (a) research systems in the context of existing commercial games, (b) new games authored by researchers, (c) contributions demonstrating the adoption and/or extension of AI research results in published games, (d) completely new forms of interactive digital entertainment made possible by AI research, and (e) other relevant work. Submissions had to contain a link to the demonstration materials, which could be a recorded demonstration session, an executable version of the demonstration with written instructions, or a detailed description of the demonstration heavily illustrated with screenshots. Please note that these materials are for review only and that all demonstrations were conducted live at AIIDE-13. Submissions were judged on technical merit, accessibility to developers and researchers, originality, presentation, and significance. Demonstration abstracts were published in the conference proceedings.
Playable Experiences
Practitioners and researchers who are developing innovative AI-based games or other interactive media (“playable experiences”) were invited to submit their work to the playable experiences track. We welcomed playable experiences that involve some articulable innovation in using AI that directly affects the user’s experience. This included novel game designs that leverage existing AI techniques and innovations in the techniques themselves that led to new kinds of playable experiences. Playable experience submissions had to be sufficiently complete and polished enough for naïve users to play them. Authors submitted a 500-word abstract describing the impetus behind the playable experience, how AI has motivated its design (or vice versa), and what they see as its primary innovation(s). The abstracts were published in the conference proceedings, and the authors had the opportunity to show their playable experience during the evening poster/demo session of the AIIDE conference.
Workshops
The AIIDE 2013 committee invited proposals for one- to two-day workshops to be held on October 14-15. Workshop participants had the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with a selected focus — providing an informal setting for active exchange among researchers, developers, and users on topics of current interest. Members of all segments of the AI in Digital Entertainment community as well as industry researchers were encouraged to submit proposals. Organizers were highly encouraged to propose alternative formats beyond paper/poster presentations, and encouraged the submission and presentation of position papers that discuss new research ideas. Workshop papers were published as technical reports and archived in the AAAI digital library.
Doctoral Consortium
AIIDE-13 featured a Doctoral Consortium in which Ph.D. students were invited to discuss and explore their research interests and career objectives with a panel of established researchers in AIIDE-related fields. The consortium was intended primarily for early-stage Ph.D. students who have either not yet proposed their thesis topic or have recently done so. Ph.D. students selected for the Doctoral Consortium had the opportunity to present their research proposals at the DC session and/or at the poster session. Additionally, each student was paired with a mentor, a senior member of the AIIDE community.
General Chair
Gita Sukthankar (University of Central Florida)
Program Chair
Ian Horswill (Northwestern University)
Local Arrangements Chair
Magy Seif El-Nasr (Northeastern University)
Sponsorship Chair
Kevin Dill (Lockheed Martin/Northeastern University)
Workshops Chair
Julian Togelius (IT University of Copenhagen)
Doctoral Symposium Cochairs
Gillian Smith (Northeastern University)
Adam Smith (University of Washington)
Playable Experiences Chair
Michael Mateas (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Starcraft Competition
Michael Buro and David Churchill (University of Alberta)