Tommy is joined by three of the developers behind ‘Little Learning Machines’: a puzzle game that entrusts players with teaching AI agents called Animos to solve puzzles in a variety of idyllic environments.

With a huge content update coming on September 5th to Steam, Tommy sits down with art director Nick Counter, technical lead Dante Camarena and community manager Fiona Firby from Transitional Forms to discuss the game and the year as they transition from early access to full launch, plus winning awards, delivering talks at GDC, and some of the other work they're up to as well!

Little Learning Machines is available right now on Steam, with a free update coming September 5th:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1993710/Little_Learning_Machines/

Catch the video version of this podcast on @AIandGamesPlus 

https://youtu.be/pG7-ubbNZFI

Find out more about Little Learning Machines via the links below.

Website: https://www.transforms.ai/little-learning-machines

Learning Companion (PDF): https://www.transforms.ai/learning

GDC Postmortem Talk: https://gdcvault.com/play/1034597/AI-Summit-Little-Learning-Machines

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Tommy is joined by Dr Christoph Salge and Victoire Herve from the University of Hertfordshire to talk about the 7th annual Generative Design in Minecraft Competition - an event where participants write AI systems to build settlements in Minecraft. We discuss how the project has continued to grow and persist for this long, the community that has thrived around it, and the big challenges still left to face in Minecraft settlement generation.

Find out more about the GDMC by visiting:

https://gendesignmc.wikidot.com/wiki:2024-settlement-generation-competition

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Tommy's riding solo in this episode, and so he decided to focus on games he's playing, projects he's involved in and the big stories in the news that are going down.

--

As mentioned, Tommy will be at the AI and Games Summer School for this year. It's running from June 17th-21st in Valletta in Malta, and early bird registration closes on March 1st.

http://school.gameaibook.org/

Plus, the first volume of 'Game AI Uncovered' - a new textbook series from games industry professionals on AI in commercial titles - is coming out on February 23rd. It will be available on Amazon and all major book stores.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Game-AI-Uncovered-Volume-One-by-Paul-Roberts-editor/9781032343235

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Branching Factor is back for 2024. We kickstart the year with George and Tommy sitting down to discuss the current state of the games industry, and where we see things going over the next 12 months.

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Business Enquiries: contact@aiandgames.com

Arrange Meeting: https://calendly.com/aiandgames

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In this month's episode, the rest of the team gets a well-earned break for the holiday season. Tommy sits down to reflect on the past year of content published across AI and Games, discusses his favourite games of the year, and answers viewer questions.

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In this month's episode, Tommy, George and Quang unpack the recent headlines made by game engine creator Unity as it sought to define its monetisation practices, and the reaction by the game development community. Our special guest Matt Gambell from YouTube channel 'Game Dev Guide' gives his perspective both as a content creator focussed on the Unity game engine, as well as a day-to-day game developer who uses it.

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Listen to my podcast 'Branching Factor', as I discuss game development and research with my co-hosts and guests:

https://shows.acast.com/branchingfactor

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Join our Community: https://discord.aiandgames.com

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George and Tommy hang out at Develop 2023 and discuss their experiences of trying to make a name for themselves in the games industry, and the value of attending an industry event in building networks and fostering communities.

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AI and Games Plus is the second channel for AI and Games: a series on research and applications of Artificial Intelligence in video games.

Follow 'AI and Games' for educational videos and essays:

http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGames

Follow 'AI and Games Plus' is dedicated to bonus content, deep-dive analysis, revisiting old topics and more:

http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGamesPlus

Listen to my podcast 'Branching Factor', as I discuss game development and research with my co-hosts and guests:

https://shows.acast.com/branchingfactor

Read Written Versions of Episodes: http://www.aiandgames.com

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A recording from Tommy's visit to the AI and Games Summer School ( @GameAISchool ), which ran in June 2023 at Microsoft Research in Cambridge. Our panel, explores aspects of AI for games and what the future of it might look like. With Tommy as moderator, this panel ran on day 3 of the event with the following panellists:

- Katja Hofmann (Microsoft Research)

- Duygu Cakmak (Creative Assembly)

- Oskar Stalberg (independent developer, creator of Townscaper)

- Wesley Kerr (Riot Games)

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AI and Games Plus is the second channel for AI and Games: a series on research and applications of Artificial Intelligence in video games.

Follow 'AI and Games' for educational videos and essays:

http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGames

Follow 'AI and Games Plus' is dedicated to bonus content, deep-dive analysis, revisiting old topics and more:

http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGamesPlus

Listen to my podcast 'Branching Factor', as I discuss game development and research with my co-hosts and guests:

https://shows.acast.com/branchingfactor

Read Written Versions of Episodes: http://www.aiandgames.com

Watch Livestreams: http://www.twitch.tv/aiandgames

Join our Community: https://discord.aiandgames.com

Buy our Merch: https://store.aiandgames.com

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In this episode of Branching Factor, Tommy and Mike sit down to celebrate 10 years of Dota 2. A game that Mike has thousands of hours in, and one that Tommy has observed with great interest, but has only played it for 87 minutes according to his Steam profile. So what better excuse than to mash these two people together to talk all about it! We discuss its origins, its impact on the games industry, and how its influence on AI persists despite the big headline news being in the rear-view mirror. 

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In this episode of Branching Factor, Tommy and Quang sit down with Mike and Gavin from the Bitmap Bureau to talk about their journey as indie game developers. Bitmap Bureau has been around since 2016, and has made a variety of games for modern platforms. But they're mostly known for 'Xeno Crisis': a game they kickstarted in 2018 and subsequently released on over a dozen platforms. From the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) and Neo Geo, all the way through to the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. We talk about what it's like to design and manufacture games like that for such a broad yet niche market, and all the fun that comes from running your own manual assembly line when sending off those Mega Drive cartridges to customers!

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Tommy is back in a solo episode of Branching Factor, in which we also welcome our first-ever guests. With AI for game development becoming an ever-popular topic of discussion, we welcome modl.ai CEO Dr Christoffer Holmgard, alongside Dr Julian Togelius, one of the company’s heads of research. Modl.ai is working on AI tools that support game developers and dig into the realities of how AI can be used to help optimise and improve game production workflows.

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In this month’s episode of Branching Factor, the whole team get together for the first time. Mike, Quang, George, Anne and Tommy meet up right before GDC in March to discuss games, gaming events, the gaming news and much more besides!

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After a summer hiatus the Branching Factor podcast is back! Sorry, I don't think we mentioned we were going talking a break, but hey - here we are!

Tommy fills you in on his travels, the work he's been up to, the stack of episodes we have coming up with some guests. But critically Tommy and George sit down to talk about an event they've put together with a group of friends and colleagues: the 2024 AI and Games Conference! Let's get into the origins of it, how we've set it up, why we think it's needed and more.

Find out more about the event and grab tickets at:

http://www.aiandgamesconference.com

Plus read up on the origins and particulars of the event on Substack:

https://www.aiandgames.com/p/introducing-the-ai-and-games-conference

--

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This episode is with our fourth, final, and equally amazing co-host: Dr Anne Sullivan. Anne is an Assistant Professor in Digital Media and head of the StoryCraft Lab at Georgia Tech. But more critically, she has years of experience in games both inside and outside of academia.

In this episode, we get into the realities of figuring out what 'creative computing' can be as a career. The lessons learned from working on some of the biggest franchises in gaming at Electronic Arts, and why making hand turkeys with AI researchers may well be the professional highlight of Anne's career.

You can follow Anne on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/annetropy

We'll be back soon with episode 5, in which we all sit down together on air for the first time.

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#podcast #gamingpodcast #researchpodcast

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In this episode, Tommy sits down with our third amazing co-host Dr Mike Cook, a senior lecturer at King's College London, on his career and perspectives in the field of automated game design. We discuss what automated game design actually is, what it means for AI to design games and interesting avenues you can pursue.

Follow Mike on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/mtrc

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Tommy and Quang sit down to discuss the challenges of crowdfunding your own Game Boy games at a time when the perceived value of games continues to change.

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Over our first four episodes, we sit down with each of the four co-hosts of Branching Factor. In this episode it's Quang Nguyen: the owner of micro game studio AsobiTech.

Follow Quang on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/QuangDX

https://twitter.com/asobitech

To catch episodes of Branching Factor early and ad-free, be sure to support AI and Games on Patreon.

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We're officially at DEFCON Podcast! Branching Factor kicks off with our inaugural episode as our brand-new podcast kicks into high gear.

Over our first four episodes, we sit down with each of the four co-hosts of Branching Factor. For this first go around, it's George Osborn: the former head of communications of the UKIE (the UK games industry trade representative) and now Director of Policy at Taso Advisory.

Follow George Osborn on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/georgeosborn

In this video we discuss, among others things:

- The changing face of the games industry

- The legal ground surrounding loot boxes

- Possible regulation coming towards the gaming sector

- That Microsoft/Activision deal

Plus some games discussed include...

- Mario + Rabbids (1 and 2)

- Pentiment

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 [2022]

Chapters

[00:00] Thanks to our Sponsors: Modl.ai

[01:40] Welcome to Branching Factor

[04:47] Meet George Osborn

[19:26] Playing Some Games

[33:38] The State of the Games Industry

[45:50] Epic Games and FTC Fine

[01:01:02] The Lootbox Problem

[01:17:42] The Microsoft/Activision Deal

[01:35:02] The Impending Future

[01:43:40] Wrapping Up

[01:46:57] Credits

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Welcome to Branching Factor!

This podcast talks about video games from various perspectives: as players, developers, and researchers. In each episode, our host Dr. Tommy Thompson sits down with co-hosts Dr. Anne Sullivan, George Osborn, Dr. Mike Cook, and Quang as they explore the gaming world. You'll hear about how video games are made, the goings-on of the games industry, what academic research in games is all about, and much more. We also interview guests from around the world to bring you an inside look at their experiences with games.

Branching Factor is brought to you by the AI and Games YouTube channel, watch episodes on AI and Games Plus, and become a Patron to support the show.

Watch episodes of Branching Factor on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGamesPlus

Learn About AI and Games: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGames

Become an AI and Games Patron: http://www.patreon.com/ai_and_games

Follow AI and Games on Twitter, Mastodon and TikTok

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Last week Tommy announced his new project 'Goal State', a series of online courses designed to teach people about AI for video games. It's going live on Kickstarter later this year, Here's Tommy replaying the livestream QnA hosted last week that answered as many answers as he could on the subject at this time.

Follow 'Goal State' on Kickstarter at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiandgames/goalstate

You can find out more about Goal State at:

https://www.aiandgames.com/p/introducing-goal-state

The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-host Quang Nguyen returns to Branching Factor as Tommy welcomes long-time friend of the show Jupiter Hadley to come and chat with us. Quang and Jupiter are two of the organisers behind ‘Brilliant Indie Treasures’: a games event running this summer on July 10th during the Develop conference in the British seaside town of Brighton.

You can find out more about the event itself, plus how to submit your own game or provide sponsorship at: https://brilliantindietreasures.com/

The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Tommy sits down with Mark Drew, the director of Villainous Game studios. Their next title, Harvest Hunt, launches on Steam on May 22nd.

We get into our shared history, my accent, making sure you survive your first indie game, the lessons learned from shipping anything to Steam, building a scalable game with a small team, and the benefits of having a publisher in those closing stages.

Check out the store page for Harvest Hunt on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2009620/Harvest_Hunt/

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The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Tommy is joined by longtime friend Melissa Phillips, who is now the director of the Games Leadership Network: a a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and improve leadership skills in the games industry. We dig into what it means to build leadership skills in games, why training is so vital and reflect on the projects we worked on together many years ago at Norwich Games Festival and the BAFTA YGD programme.

You can find out more about Games Leadership at:

https://www.gamesleadership.com/

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The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tommy and George are back for this episode of Branching Factor, recorded on the final day of the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC). The team reflect on the week that has passed, and just how valuable a solid nights sleep can be when caught up in all this madness.

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The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Overgard, aka the Viking Blonde joins Tommy for a chat about his career as a Twitch streamer supporting game developers, and the current state of the industry going into GDC 2024. The conversation covers everything from good indie games to monetisation models, surviving as a game developer, being a content creator, generative AI, crypto and Web3, EA' project 10 dollar, good dogs, British civility and much more besides!

Catch up with what Will's up to over at: https://www.twitch.tv/viking_blonde

The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this weeks episode, Ben Ridge of Unfathomable Audio (the guy who does our music) joins us to talk about working in game audio, plus Helldivers II, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, gaming news and more!

As mentioned in the news: the early bird registration for the Summer School for AI and Games closes on March 1st. Find out more at: https://school.gameaibook.org/

Plus, Game AI Uncovered is out now, get 20% off with code SMA21 until April 30th https://www.routledge.com/Game-AI-Uncovered-Volume-One/Roberts/p/book/9781032343235

Timestamps (for the ad-free version)

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:40] Discussing Game Audio with Ben Ridge
• [31:32] Games: Suicide Squad / Evil West
• [36:08] Dead by Daylight X Iron Maiden
• [42:48] Games: More Helldivers II
• [48:07] Games: Apex Legends
• [56:56] News: Game AI Uncovered / Summer School 2024
• [58:39] News: Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree plus Bloodborne!
• [01:10:20] News: Xbox Titles Coming to PS5 and Switch
• [01:16:14] News: No Big PS5 releases for 2024? Console sales to decline?
• [01:28:33] News: Nintendo's New Console Delayed to 2025?
• [01:32:30] Late-episode rambling
• [01:45:40] Credits

The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.