The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab is seeking research topic proposals for its Summer 2010 game development program:
The Lab seeks researchers who are interested in seeing their mature research put into practice as a game and who are able to devote a few hours a week towards this end at the MIT lab from June 7th through August 6th.
Interns from the Boston area and from Singapore collaborate on development teams each summer to create prototype games which demonstrate concepts based on accepted research topic proposals. Each team is required to create a 5-30 minute polished gameplay experience which demonstrates or explores a research topic. In addition, the game must target the production values of commercial casual games and be distributed online.
Depending on the research topic, the games created might apply some theoretical concept about design or development (e.g. new game design methods, new management methods), use a new technology that has not been used in games before, be an implementation of a specific set of innovative game mechanics (e.g. modeling a system that has not been implemented before), be an analytical tool to study players, or be an educational game to teach a topic.
Each development team will need an expert who can explain the core research and assess whether the game is effectively exploring it. Thus, research topic proposals will be required to select a researcher to participate in the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab summer program for the entire duration of June to August. The selected researcher will be required to visit Boston for at least the first two weeks of the summer program at a minimum. Selected researchers are also expected to collaborate with GAMBIT towards publication of the finished product: be it in academic venues such as conference or journal submissions, or through the professional game industry via festival submissions, commercial development or licensing opportunities.
Submissions
Interested persons should fill out the attached questionnaire and send it to Sara Verrilli <akiru@mit.edu>. All researchers currently receiving funding from GAMBIT should apply in this way as well.
Priority will be given to researchers funded by GAMBIT, Singaporean researchers, and researchers at MIT.
Deadline
5 February 2010.