Engineering Commons^™

Convexity Applications In Single And Multi-Agent Control, Olli Nikodeemus Jansson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The focus of this dissertation is in the application of convexity for control problems; specifically, single-agent problems with linear or nonlinear dynamics and multi-agent problems with linear dynamics. A mixture of convex and non-convex constraints for optimal control problems is also considered. The main contributions of this dissertation include: 1) a convexification of single-agent problems with linear dynamics and annular control constraint, 2) a technique for controlling bounded nonlinear single-agent systems, and 3) a technique for solving multi-agent pursuit-evasion games with linear dynamics and convex control and state constraints. The first result shows that for annularly constrained linear systems, controllability …

Identifying And Evaluating Common Subgenres In Asymmetric Virtual Reality Games, Miah Dawes

Theses and Dissertations

Recent years have seen a significant growth in what designers and players call asymmetric virtual reality (AVR) games. This dissertation creates a framework that defines the relevant characteristics of AVR as a genre and describes five common genres of AVR games, including David(s) and Goliath, Hide and Seek, Perspective Puzzle, Order Simulation, and Lifeline. The core features of each subgenre are expounded. These subgenres are then evaluated using design workshops to observe novice game designs use these subgenres in their game design process. An analysis of the workshops found that the AVR subgenre framework may benefit novice game designers in …

Fifth Aeon – A.I Competition And Balancer, William M. Ritson

Master's Theses

Collectible Card Games (CCG) are one of the most popular types of games in both digital and physical space. Despite their popularity, there is a great deal of room for exploration into the application of artificial intelligence in order to enhance CCG gameplay and development. This paper presents Fifth Aeon a novel and open source CCG built to run in browsers and two A.I applications built upon Fifth Aeon. The first application is an artificial intelligence competition run on the Fifth Aeon game. The second is an automatic balancing system capable of helping a designer create new cards that do …

Object Tracking In Games Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Anirudh Venkatesh

Master's Theses

Computer vision research has been growing rapidly over the last decade. Recent advancements in the field have been widely used in staple products across various industries. The automotive and medical industries have even pushed cars and equipment into production that use computer vision. However, there seems to be a lack of computer vision research in the game industry. With the advent of e-sports, competitive and casual gaming have reached new heights with regard to players, viewers, and content creators. This has allowed for avenues of research that did not exist prior.

In this thesis, we explore the practicality of object …

Fitplay Games: Increasing Exercise Motivation Through Asynchronous Social Gaming, Dario Carlos Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Many factors contribute to people's physical inactivity, but among the leading factors is a lack of motivation. Fitness trackers have been shown to encourage an increase in exercise, but they are frequently abandoned within a few short months. For this thesis I developed and asynchronous-play social gaming platform, FitPlay Games, to fill the gap in motivation left by current fitness trackers. By providing users with a variety of asynchronous cooperative and competitive gaming styles, this platform enable them to find a motivation technique that works best for their lifestyle and fitness prowess. The platform encourages prolonged use of fitness trackers, …

The Effects Of Narrative And Achievements On Learning In A 2d Platformer Video Game, Joseph Fanfarelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Game design is a rigorous practice rife with complexity. The design of learning games is similarly complex to the design of their entertainment-based relatives. This complexity is partially due to the many interacting components that comprise games. The impacts of these individual components are not well understood. Advancing the understanding of how such component parts contribute to the formed game will inform decisions related to their inclusion and subsequent design within games. Achievements and narrative are two such components. They have been examined within gamified systems, but little research has studied them within the context of a serious game. The …

Soar Checkers - An Intelligent Checkers Playing Agent In Soar, Jithu Menon

All Theses

The classic board game of checkers is ideally suited for research in AI game-playing programs or agents. The objective behind Soar Checkers is to investigate if it is possible to create an agent-based game playing system that would beat novices with ease and at least challenge advanced novice to intermediate-level players by designing a rules-based expert system whose knowledge base consists of nothing more than the rules of checkers, and a set of guidelines for game-play based on good strategy. Soar was chosen as the platform for building this agent because it came built-in with features that facilitate creating rules-based …

A State-Of-The-Art Application Of Computer Technology-Vending Computer Generated Games For Profit, Stanley M. Levin

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The recent and rapid advances in micro electronics technology has resulted in the continued and dramatic reduction in the cost and size of logic circuits used in computers and computer interfaced devices. This technology now makes it possible to purchase a sophisticated computer system and multiple terminal devices for less than $60,000. The subject of this Research Report is to show the feasibility of applying this computer system, including 32 phone line interfaced video display terminals and a time sharing software package, to vend computer generated games for profit.