Digital Recreation, Entertainment, Art and Media (DREAM) Group

Mandate

As its name implies, this research group is interested in issues that surround the areas of digital recreation, entertainment, art, and media. To that end, we have many research projects underway to investigate these issues, including the following:

Game design and technologies
Adaptive game systems
Believable agents and characters in games
Relationship and reputation modelling for video games
Automated difficulty adjustment in video games
Content analysis for video games
Algorithmic music composition and adaptation for video games
Storytelling support and automation in games
Serious games and applications of game design and technologies to non-entertainment applications
Virtual and augmented reality for entertainment and serious applications
Network latency management for real-time networked games
Network support for Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) video games
Game studies and curriculum in academia

People

The DREAM Group is led by Michael Katchabaw and Mark Daley of the Department of Computer Science at The University of Western Ontario.

Courses

Western currently offers several courses in these areas. In particular, the Department of Computer Science currently offers three courses specifically on issues in game development: Game Design (CS4483A/B), Game Engine Development (CS4482A/B), and Game Development Project (CS4480Y). Additionally, a Minor in Game Development is also available as a program module for those enrolled in Computer Science.

Further Information

As can be seen, this web site is currently under development. Please check back shortly for further information. In the mean time, please feel free to contact Michael Katchabaw or Mark Daley, and refer to their web sites for more DREAM-related information.