Georgia Tech's stake in the gaming world is a mix of research, education, and culture, infused with limitless opportunities for development and experimentation. A new initiative, Games@GeorgiaTech, is aimed at bringing this sprawling gaming ecosystem into focus, and it started that effort this week with the launch of games.gatech.edu.
Led by Celia Pearce, associate professor of Digital Media, and Mark Riedl, assistant professor of Interactive Computing, Games@GeorgiaTech is designed to support the Institute’s leading game researchers, faculty and students in advancing digital game exploration and development.
“We’re seeking to leverage Georgia Tech’s leadership role in video games research and education by strengthening and incubating interdisciplinary games research and academic activities across the campus,” says Celia Pearce, co-chair of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) Conference, taking place next week at Georgia Tech.
Through the initiative, Georgia Tech's work and accomplishments in the gaming space can now be seen in one place at games.gatech.edu, which showcases advances in digital interactive entertainment and education. Users are able to find the latest in game scholarship, dive into dozens of research projects or play student-developed games (and find out how to make them).
The site is designed to be a single portal to explore the research projects, degree programs, news, events and student clubs that together shape gaming at Georgia Tech.
“Games have become a fulcrum for interdisciplinary research that encompasses a wide range of disciplines, from hardware and software engineering to computer science disciplines such as artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction,” says Mark Riedl, director of the Entertainment Intelligence Lab at Georgia Tech.
The impact in society is felt even more widely, he says, when one considers the numerous "serious" applications of games, from education to training or from healthcare interventions to incentivizing behavior change.
In conjunction with the DiGRA Conference, game researchers and developers from Georgia Tech will headline the Aug. 27 Games@GeorgiaTech Showcase, hosted by the GVU Center in the Technology Square Research Building. The Games@GeorgiaTech initiative is funded through the GVU Center Seed Grant Program and with support from the Institute for People and Technology.
