AIIDE-08 Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS: AIIDE'08—The Fourth Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment

AIIDE'08—The Fourth Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence) will be held October 22–24, 2008 at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA

Submissions Deadlines

Papers and Industry Track abstracts due April 22, 2008
Extended abstracts for demonstrations due May 6, 2008

AIIDE'08 — the Fourth Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment — is intended to be the definitive point of interaction between entertainment software developers interested in AI and academic and industrial AI researchers. AIIDE'08 will include invited speakers, research and industry presentations, project demonstrations, and product exhibits. While traditionally emphasizing commercial computer and video games, we invite researchers and developers to share their insights and cutting-edge results on all topics at the interface of entertainment and artificial intelligence, including serious games, entertainment robotics, and beyond. AIIDE'08 is sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).

Papers

Because AIIDE'08 crosses disciplinary boundaries, submissions will be evaluated based on their accessibility to both commercial game developers and researchers in addition to their technical merit.

Research Track

Research Track papers describe AI research results that make advances towards solving known game AI problems or enabling a new form of interactive digital entertainment. The novel technique should be validated in a game prototype or test-bed, but need not be validated in a commercial game. Research Track papers are evaluated by the highest standards of academic rigor. The highest rated papers will be presented in short lecture format. We hope to offer the next highest rated group of papers the opportunity to present their work in a poster session. Applicants submit a paper of no more than 6 pages in the AAAI format for blind review (i.e. authors names and affiliations are omitted). All papers will be allocated 6 pages in the proceedings regardless of presentation format.

Industry Track

Individuals that have game development experience but lack the time or need for publishing rigorous academic papers can alternatively apply to the Industry Track. This track will include presentations of AI techniques, issues, or case studies from the perspective of implementing a product in the current commercial environment. Presentation proposals will be evaluated on their potential for conveying clearly elaborated ideas that have not been previously described to an adequate degree. Industry Track applicants submit an extended abstract describing the content of the proposed talk that also includes one paragraph describing their game industry experience. An extended abstract of two pages is sufficient, although any length up to that of a full paper (6 pages) is acceptable. Abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.

Example Topics (list is suggestive only)

Novel Solutions for Traditional AI Problems (Path planning, animation/camera control, tactical/strategic decision making, terrain analysis, user modeling)
AI Supporting Novel Game Concepts or Gameplay Elements (Interactive drama, narrative/character development, NPC coordination, NPC belief/attitude/emotion modeling)
AI Architectures for Games (Automata, scripting, planning, level of detail)
AI Support for Game Production (Game design, content creation, testing)
Other Entertainment Applications of AI Technologies (Robotics, natural language processing, reinforcement learning, neural networks, Bayesian networks, genetic algorithms, logic, rule based systems)
Commercial AI Implementations (Case studies, implementation analysis, comparative evaluations)

Submissions

Electronic abstract and paper submission through the AIIDE-08 paper submission site is required on or (preferably) before the dates shown in the timetable above. We cannot accept submissions by e-mail or fax.

Papers must be in trouble-free, high resolution PDF format, formatted for US Letter (8.5" x 11") paper, using Type 1 or TrueType fonts. Papers may be no longer than 6 pages including references, and formatted in AAAI two-column, camera-ready style (see the author instructions page). Please note that these formatting instructions are for final, accepted papers; no additional pages can be purchased at the review stage. In addition, the copyright slug may be omitted in the initial submission phase. Please also refer to the section below on preparing your paper for blind review.

Authors will receive confirmation of receipt of their abstracts or papers, including an ID number, shortly after submission. AAAI will contact authors again only if problems are encountered with papers. Inquiries regarding lost papers must be made no later than April 29, 2008.

Author Registration

Authors must register at the AIIDE-08 web-based technical paper submission site. The software will assign a password, which will enable the author to log on to submit an abstract and paper. In order to avoid a rush at the last minute, authors are encouraged to register as soon as possible.

Submissions to Other Conferences or Journals

AIIDE'08 will not accept any paper that, at the time of submission, is under review for or has already been published or accepted for publication in a journal or conference. This restriction does not apply to submissions for workshops and other venues with a limited audience.

Blind Review Process

Program committee members will identify papers they are qualified to review based on the information submitted electronically (the paper's title, keywords, and abstract). Their reviewing will be done blind to the identities of the authors and their institutions.

To prepare your paper for blind review, the first page, on which the paper body begins, should include the title, abstract, content areas, and ID number (if available), but not the acknowledgments and names or affiliations of the authors. The references should include all published literature relevant to the paper, including previous works of the authors, but should not include unpublished works.

When referring to one's own work, use the third person, rather than the first person. For example, say "Previously, Newell (Newell 1980) has shown that...," rather than "In our previous work (Newell 1980) we have shown that...." Try to avoid including any information in the body of the paper or references that would identify the authors or their institutions. Such information may be added to the final camera-ready version for publication.

Conference Registration

All accepted papers and extended abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. At least one author must register for the conference by the deadline for camera-ready copy submission. As AIIDE is an academic conference, all attendees including presenters pay a registration fee.

Demonstrations

We invite 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 published games, and d) completely new forms of interactive digital entertainment made possible by AI research. An electronic submission of a 2-page abstract and demonstration materials is required. Demonstration materials can take the form of 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; it is hoped that all demonstrations will be conducted live at AIIDE'08. Demonstration materials should be submitted at the AIIDE-08 submission site. Please select "Demo" under "Track." Demonstration authors should submit abstracts and materials by May 6, 2008. Submissions will be judged on technical merit, accessibility to developers and researchers, originality, presentation, and significance. Demonstration abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.

Exhibits

AIIDE'08 will have exhibit space available. Companies, publishers and other groups are encouraged to consider purchasing either a table top display or an exhibit booth. Exhibit space is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Please contact AAAI at aiide08@aaai.org for more information.

Important Dates

March-April: Authors register on the AIIDE web site
April 22, 2008: Electronic submission of Research/Industry Track papers/abstracts
May 6, 2008: Electronic submission of extended abstract for a demonstration
June 11, 2008: Notification of acceptance decision

Publication

All accepted papers and abstracts will be allocated six (6) pages in the conference proceedings. Up to two (2) additional pages may be used at a cost to the authors of US$ 275 per page. Authors will be required to transfer copyright of their paper to AAAI.

Organizers

Conference Chair
Michael Mateas
(University of California, Santa Cruz)

Program Chair
Chris Darken
(Naval Postgraduate School)

Organizing Committee Members
Ruth Aylett (Heriot-Watt University, UK), Kevin Dill (Mad Doc Software), Richard Evans (Maxis), Ana Paiva (Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal), Michael Youngblood (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Robert Zubek (Three Rings Design)

For additional information, please see www.aiide.org or email the conference organizers at aiide08@aaai.org.