Thursday, July 17, 2014

Paper: Workflow patterns as a means to model task succession in games

Just had a paper accepted for ICEC 2014 (LNCS) with Simone Kriglstein and Guenter Wallner, colleagues from Vienna Austria.  Paper is found here.  In it, we seek to use workflow patterns to provide a formal basis for the modelling and simulation of user tasks in computer games.

Abstract. Over about the last decade, people involved in game development have noted the need for more formal models and tools to support the design phase of games. It is argued that the present lack of such formal tools is currently hindering knowledge transfer among designers. Formal visual languages, on the other hand, can help to more effectively express, abstract and communicate game design concepts. Moreover, formal tools can assist in the prototyping phase, allowing designers to reason about and simulate game mechanics on an abstract level.  In this paper we present an initial investigation into whether workflow patterns – which have already proven to be effective for modeling business processes – are a suitable way to model task succession in games.  Our preliminary results suggest that workflow patterns show promise in this regard but some limitations, especially in regard to time constraints, currently restrict their potential.

Ross

No comments: