1. Eight Serious Games at ICT: Lessons Learned and Challenges Identified Michael van Lent USC Institute for Creative Technologies September 4, 2015September 4, 2015September 4, 2015

2. Business of Games 60% of Americans play video games $25 Billion dollar industry worldwide (2004) $7.3 Billion dollars in the US (2004) $6.1 billion in 1999, $5.5 billion in 1998, $4.4 billion in 1997. $12 billion in 2006? One day sales records Halo 2: $125 million in a single day Harry Potter (Half-blood Prince): $140 million single day Consoles dominate the industry Most of the sales (Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube) Average age of game players is 30 Average age of game buyers is 37 55% of game players are men

3. Games vs. Learning Games = Learning

4. Serious games An entertaining virtual experience that’s purpose goes beyond entertainment Serious game purposes include: Education Training Communications Public Policy Marketing Mental Health Therapy Medical Diagnosis

5. Training objectives Originally just to validate the game design Focus of attention for Company Commander Commercial Partners Legless Productions Research technologies None Notes 4 month production cycle Full Spectrum Command Boardgame

6. Full Spectrum Command 1.0 Training objectives Military Decision Making Process Course of action development Course of action adaptation Commercial Partners Quicksilver Software Legless Productions Research technologies eXplainable AI Notes 60% of the CPU goes to AI

7. Full Spectrum Warrior Training objectives Squad-level command Squad-level team building Commercial Partners Pandemic Software Sony Imageworks Legless Productions Research technologies eXplainable AI Notes 2004 E3 Best original game Best simulation game

8. Full Spectrum Command 1.5 Training objectives Military Decision Making Process Course of action development Course of action adaptation Commercial Partners Quicksilver Software Legless Productions Research technologies eXplainable AI Adaptive Opponents Notes Funded by Singapore

9. Full Spectrum Leader Training objectives Platoon-level command Combined arms coordination Commercial Partners Quicksilver Software Legless Productions Research technologies Adaptive Opponents Notes First game that allows the player to shoot

10. Every Soldier a Sensor System (ES3) Training objectives Presence patrols Military intelligence gathering Commercial Partners Warner Bros. Online Research technologies None Notes 90 days from project start to fielded training system DoD 2006 Annual Modeling & Simulation Awards Training

11. Joint Fires & Effects Training System Training objectives Forward observer missions in urban environments Close-air support (CAS) calls for fire Commercial Partners BuzzMonkey Software Game Production Services Research technologies Adaptive Opponents Notes Installed at Ft. Sill Over 10,000 soldiers trained to date

12. ELECT ATO Training objectives Bi-lateral negotiation Cultural awareness Commercial Partners Real Time Associates Game Production Services Research technologies eXplainable AI Intelligent Tutoring Social & Cultural Simulation Notes Boardgame prototype

13. Lessons learned What is a video game vs a simulation? Video game: A virtual experience carefully designed to be entertaining (among other things) Simulation: A recreation of key aspects of reality in a virtual environment The two are not mutually exclusive Identify the learning objectives first Seems obvious in retrospect Guided learning is better than unguided discovery But both have their place Games must be part of a larger curriculum Practice and maybe demonstration

14. Lessons learned (con’t) Calling it a game just gets you in the door Games aren’t motivating, but games are fun which can be Calling it a game sets an initial expectation But you still need to make sure it’s a fun game Immersion helps learning A article of faith Best opponent isn't the strongest opponent Serious games have different requirements Graphics (FSW vs SLIM-ES3)FSWSLIM-ES3 AI

15. Serious games research challenges Educational Design Guided Experiential Learning Board game design prototyping Technology Adaptive Opponents eXplainable AI Intelligent Tutoring Virtual Humans Automated Story Director Social & Cultural Simulation Many others… Evaluation AOXAI Full Spectrum Command Full Spectrum Warrior Full Spectrum Command 1.5 Full Spectrum Leader ES3 JFETS ELECT ATO

16. Adaptive Game Intelligence Three inspiring occurrences: FSC game designers “tricking” the SMEs

19. Adaptive Game Intelligence Three inspiring occurrences: FSC game designers “tricking” the SMEs Looking behind the AI curtain in Age of Empires

20. Static Game AI Age of Kings Microsoft ; The AI will attack once at 1100 seconds and then again ; every 1400 sec, provided it has enough defense soldiers. (defrule (game-time > 1100) =>(attack-now) (enable-timer 7 1100)) (defrule (timer-triggered 7) (defend-soldier-count >= 12) =>(attack-now) (disable-timer 7) (enable-timer 7 1400))

21. Adaptive Game Intelligence Three inspiring occurrences: FSC game designers “tricking” the SMEs Looking behind the AI curtain in Age of Empires B-training at Ft. Sill

23. Adaptive Game Intelligence Most entertainment game AI is static and scripted Each level is played a small number of times Learning to beat the script is fun Variability is expensive Quality assurance is manageable Adaptation is risky Designer can’t control the player’s experience Serious games required variable and adaptive AI Each level is played a large number of times Prevent gaming the game Variability & adaptation are essential Address student’s specific needs Give instructors “sufficient” control

24. What does “Adaptive” mean? Adapts to the student’s history Variability Adapts to the student’s needs Pedagogical reasoning Adapts to the instructor’s input Semi-directed

25. Variable Behavior Previous efforts have varied individual behaviors Behavior parameters, behavior libraries… Usually less effective variations on a base behavior Our approach: Variability at the strategy-level Generate a new strategy for each game session Keep track the strategies the student has already seen Strategic behavior vs. Tactical behavior Two-level AI system: Strategy Planner + Execution System Planner: Generate an abstract strategy Execution System: Instantiation, execution & plan tracking Planner: Replanning

26. Planning Approaches Single agent, automated planning (LPG, SHOP…) Planning vs. Scripted student model

27. Planning Approaches Single agent, automated planning (LPG, SHOP…) Planning vs. Scripted student model Multi-agent, adversarial planning (AP, alpha beta...) Planning vs. Planning student model

28. Planning Approaches Single agent, automated planning (LPG, SHOP…) Planning vs. Scripted student model Multi-agent, adversarial planning (AP, alpha beta...) Planning vs. Planning student model Multi-agent, collaborative planning (ASD & ITS) Opponent works with the player but appears as an adversary Intelligent tutor helps steer the player

29. Collaborative Planning

30. Planning Approaches Single agent, automated planning (LPG, SHOP…) Planning vs. Scripted student model Multi-agent, adversarial planning (AP, alpha beta...) Planning vs. Planning student model Multi-agent, collaborative planning (ASD & ITS) Opponent works with the player but appears as an adversary Intelligent tutor helps steer the player Pedagogic key framing Instructor provides key frame world states Planner fills in the gaps providing a complete plan