Data-driven Design for Interactive Entertainment

Abstract

Presentation of real-life examples of using today’s big-data technologies to inform and validate design and user experience in the area of interactive online entertainment. The scope of this talk will include a brief overview of the basics of “big data” and related tools used to both rapidly and visually analyze what is known as the “Player Journey”. Specific examples using animation and video will be presented to illustrate the power of this approach.

Bio

Craig Fryar is the Head of Global Business Intelligence at Wargaming.net, an award-winning online game developer and publisher, and a leader in the free-to-play MMO market. Based out of Wargaming Austin, Craig leads the worldwide data and analytic efforts, and is responsible for informing design, development, marketing and senior management with actionable insights and business intelligence.

Prior to Wargaming, Fryar was a Director of Analytics at Electronic Arts, informing design, development and marketing of AAA computer and console games, including Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3. He has served in executive positions leading high-performance, innovative teams in hardware and software technology at Apple, Dell, Seedstage and most recently, the International Accelerator.

Fryar holds a degree in Business and Communications from Texas Tech; married 33 years with 3 teens.

Quality of Experience For YouTube Users

Abstract:

YouTube users show what Quality of Experience characteristics are important to them by the way they watch videos.

Bio:

Richard Leider is the Engineering Manager of the YouTube Player Infrastructure at Google. The Player Infrastructure team is responsible for the client side of video playback for YouTube applications on TVs, game consoles, desktop and mobile web, Android and iOS. Richard was awarded a Master of Fine Arts from the Radio/Television/Film Program at Northwestern University in 1996.

Just Noticeable or Not: More Questions than Answers

Abstract:

Just Noticeable Difference (JND) refers to the minimal(critical) amount of “something” that must be changed for the difference to be detectable by humans. It plays important role explicitly and implicitly throughout our work and life, from sound to smell and from engineering to marketing. “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” (William Thomson); therefore, the scientific measurement and formulation for JND are the prerequisite for user-oriented designs and turning human perceptual (imperfect) sensitivities into system advantages in many circumstances, toward betterment of QoE and QoL (Quality of Life). In this talk, a holistic view will be first presented in JND research and practice, followed by the latest progress in the field, based upon our substantial exposure torelevant projects. As will be shown, JND modeling for visual signals has attracted much more research interestso far, while that for audio, haptics, olfaction, gestation and other forms of signals is expected to intensify. In essence, factors to influence JND also include utility, culture and personality, which are to be highlighted as well. The talk aims at facilitating and inspiring further exploration in JND research and applications.

Bio:

Weisi Lin received his Ph.D. from King’s College, London University, U.K. He served as the Lab Head of Visual Processing, Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Engineering. His areas of expertise include image processing, perceptual signal modeling, video compression, and multimedia communication, in which he has published 110+ journal papers and 200+ conference papers, filed 7 patents, and authored 2 books. He is an AE for IEEE Trans. on Image Processing, IEEE Signal Processing Letters and Journal of Visual Communication and Image Representation, and a past AE for IEEE Trans. on Multimedia (2011-2013). He has also served as a Guest Editor for 6 special issues in international journals.He has been a Technical Program Chair for IEEE ICME 2013, PCM 2012, and QoMEX 2014. He chaired the IEEE MMTC Special Interest Group on QoE (2012-2014). He has been an invited/panelist/keynote/tutorial speaker in 10+ international conferences, as well as a Distinguished Lecturer of Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association (APSIPA), 2012-2013.