[
    {
        "id": "fsp-796",
        "type": "thesis",
        "title": "Emergent Languages: Game Design for Communication with Artificial Agents",
        "author": [
            {
                "family": "Seraphine",
                "given": "Frederic"
            }
        ],
        "issued": {
            "date-parts": [
                [
                    2025
                ]
            ]
        },
        "genre": "Doctoral dissertation",
        "publisher": "The University of Tokyo",
        "DOI": "10.13140/RG.2.2.25637.67046",
        "URL": "https://www.fredericseraphine.com/publications/emergent-languages/",
        "language": "en",
        "abstract": "Through an interdisciplinary perspective between design, history, and philosophy, this thesis seeks to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in digital games and its ability to redefine video game design—a discipline that has historically struggled to adapt to rapid advancements in AI technologies. It examines the longstanding divide between AI research (both academic and industrial) and the game industry, where cutting-edge AI has often been limited to optimizing development pipelines rather than enriching the user-facing gaming experience. The core argument of this dissertation is that game design must embrace AI to bridge this gap and enable a fusion of scientific innovation with artistic expression. By critiquing the industry’s traditional reductionist approach—centered on loops and mechanics—it proposes a shift towards a design philosophy rooted in the player’s affective experience as an aesthetic framework for navigating the increasing complexities of creating games with advanced artificial agents. Key contributions of this thesis include: 1. A critical investigation into the historical and technical reasons behind the game industry’s limited adoption of advanced AI for player-facing experiences. 2. The introduction of a novel concept, neuro game design, which leverages neural networks and machine learning to craft dynamic, adaptive, and co-created game experiences. 3. The development of new design patterns and frameworks tailored for integrating neural AI into game design, balancing creative freedom with the ethical and technical challenges of AI-driven systems. 4. Insights from a case study, Project Trevor, which explores the creation of an empathetically motivated virtual pet agent. This project highlights both the immense potential and the significant challenges of incorporating neural AI into player experiences. Despite the growing sophistication of development tools and software, creating engaging and innovative games has become increasingly difficult as player expectations rise, and the complexity of game design deepens. This thesis contends that integrating AI into game design is essential for the future of the medium, offering a vision of games as dynamic ecosystems co-created by intelligent algorithms, players, and designers. While this shift introduces ethical, technical, and artistic dilemmas, it also provides opportunities to revolutionize narrative structures, gameplay mechanics, and player interactions. By embracing AI as a co-creative force, this dissertation envisions a future where game design evolves beyond its current limitations, empowering creators to lead the next technological revolution in entertainment—while ensuring that this transformation remains grounded in artistic integrity and resistant to the pitfalls of AI industrial dependency.",
        "keyword": "Game Design, Neuro Game Design, Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, Machine Learning, Game AI, Ludic Framework, Cybernetics, Emergence, Affective Computing, Non-Human Agency"
    }
]