CALL FOR PAPERS: AIIDE'09—THE FIFTH CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT
AIIDE'09—The Fifth Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence) will be held October 14–16, 2009 at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA

Submissions Deadlines
Papers and Industry Track abstracts due April 14, 2009
Extended abstracts for demonstrations due April 14, 2009
AIIDE'09 — the Fifth Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment — is intended to be the definitive point of interaction between entertainment software developers interested in AI and academic and industrial AI researchers. AIIDE-09 will include invited speakers, research and industry presentations, project demonstrations, interactive poster sessions, and product exhibits. While traditionally emphasizing commercial computer and video games, we invite researchers and developers to share their insights and cutting-edge results on all topics at the interface of entertainment and artificial intelligence, including serious games, entertainment robotics, and beyond. AIIDE-09 is sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).

Papers
Because AIIDE-09 crosses disciplinary boundaries, submissions will be evaluated based on their accessibility to both commercial game developers and researchers in addition to their technical merit.

Research Track
Research Track papers describe AI research results that make advances towards solving known game AI problems or enabling a new form of interactive digital entertainment. The novel technique should be validated in a game prototype or test-bed, but need not be validated in a commercial game. Research Track papers are evaluated by the highest standards of academic rigor. The highest rated papers will be presented in short lecture format. The next highest rated group of papers has the opportunity to present their work in a poster session. Applicants submit a paper of no more than 6 pages in the AAAI format for blind review (i.e. authors names and affiliations are omitted). All papers will be allocated 6 pages in the proceedings regardless of presentation format.

Industry Track
Individuals that have game development experience but lack the time or need for publishing rigorous academic papers can alternatively apply to the Industry Track. This track will include presentations of AI techniques, issues, or case studies from the perspective of implementing a product in the current commercial environment. Presentation proposals will be evaluated on their potential for conveying clearly elaborated ideas that have not been previously described to an adequate degree. Industry Track applicants submit an extended abstract describing the content of the proposed talk that also includes one paragraph describing their game industry experience. An extended abstract of two pages is sufficient, although any length up to that of a full paper (6 pages) is acceptable. Abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.

Example Topics (list is suggestive only)

AI Authoring Tools
Behavior-building, cognitive modeling, data collection and encoding
Novel Solutions for Traditional AI Problems
Path planning, animation/camera control, tactical/strategic decision making, terrain analysis
AI Supporting Novel Game Concepts or Gameplay Elements
Interactive drama, narrative or character development, NPC belief, attitude, or emotion modeling
AI Architectures for Games
Automata, scripting, planning, level of detail
AI Support for Game Production
Game design, content creation, testing
Other Entertainment Applications of AI Technologies
Robotics, natural language processing, reinforcement learning, neural networks, Bayesian networks, genetic algorithms, logic, rule based systems
Commercial AI Implementations
Case studies, implementation analysis, comparative evaluations
Submissions
Electronic submission of papers and extended abstracts is required. All Research Track submissions must be in PDF format, no longer than 6 pages including references, and formatted in AAAI two-column, camera-ready style (see the author instructions page). Industry Track submissions are preferred to be submitted in PDF format, must be no longer than 6 pages including references, and should be formatted in AAAI two-column, camera-ready style; however, we realize that this may be cumbersome to those not familiar with these requirements, so Industry Track authors may submit their content in any reasonable format for review and AIIDE will assign an editor to help meet publication formatting requirements for accepted work. Full submission instructions will be available at the AIIDE web site after March 2, 2009. Research Track papers and Industry Track extended abstracts must be submitted by April 14, 2009. All accepted papers and extended abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. At least one author must register for the conference by the deadline for camera-ready copy submission. As AIIDE is an academic conference, all attendees including presenters pay a registration fee. AIIDE-09 will not accept any paper that, at the time of submission, is under review for or has already been published or accepted for publication in another journal or conference.

Demonstrations
We invite researchers and practitioners to share insights and cutting-edge results from a wide range of topics and encourage the demonstration of a) research systems in the context of existing commercial games, b) new games authored by researchers, c) contributions demonstrating the adoption and/or extension of AI research results in published games, d) completely new forms of interactive digital entertainment made possible by AI research, and e) other relevant work. An electronic submission of a 2-page abstract and demonstration materials is required. Demonstration materials can take the form of a recorded demonstration session, an executable version of the demonstration with written instructions, or a detailed description of the demonstration heavily illustrated with screenshots. Please note that these materials are for review only; it is hoped that all demonstrations will be conducted live at AIIDE-09. Demonstration materials can be submitted electronically by email or FTP up-load. Demonstration authors should submit abstracts and materials by April 14, 2009. Submissions will be judged on technical merit, accessibility to developers and researchers, originality, presentation, and significance. Demonstration abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.

Exhibits
AIIDE-09 will have exhibit space available. Companies, publishers and other groups are encouraged to consider purchasing either a tabletop display or an exhibit booth. Exhibit space is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Please contact AAAI at aiide09@aaai.org for more information.

Important Dates
March-April: Authors register on the AIIDE web site
April 14, 2009: Electronic submission of Research/Industry Track papers/abstracts
April 14, 2009: Electronic submission of extended abstract for a demonstration
June 2, 2009: Notification of acceptance decision
Organizers
Conference Chair
Chris Darken
(Naval Postgraduate School)

Program Chair
G. Michael Youngblood
(University of North Carolina, Charlotte)

Organizing Committee Members
Vadim Bulitko (University of Alberta), Kevin Dill (Rockstar New England), Richard Evans (Maxis), Brian Schwab (Sony), Robert Zubek (Three Rings Design)

For additional information, please see www.aiide.org or e-mail the conference organizers at aiide09@aaai.org.