Technology for rich group interaction in networked games

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Canada has become a world leader in the development of networked games. Through these networks, gaming has become a highly social activity, allowing distant friends and family to keep in touch, and providing new collaboration and communication experiences for a wider range of people. Recent years have seen dramatic improvement in games' graphics, physics and artificial intelligence capabilities. However, there has been comparatively little improvement in games' support for social interaction. In this strategic project, we will develop novel technologies for improving the social interaction afforded by games. We will create toolkits that make it easier to develop multiplayer games, and that reconfigure game implementations to improve the player's quality of experience. We will also develop techniques that enable richer interaction between players: more expressive avatars, immersive integration of player voice into games, and the use of video to provide rich awareness information. Finally, we will develop techniques for supporting broader participation in games, allowing differently-abled people to participate in multiplayer games. Through our close interaction with five industrial partners, we will ground our work in a strong understanding of current industrial practice and requirements, and will provide a clear path to adoption and eventual commercialization of our results. Our partners work in areas that are highly relevant to the research, including game development, development tools, and provision of network services. The project will lead to the training of 21 highly-qualified personnel at the Ph.D., M.Sc. and advanced undergraduate levels. These graduates will have ideal training for future employment in Canada's burgeoning game-development industry.