Gaming Technology Efforts Off to Strong Start
By John Harauz
Vice President, CS Standards Activities
The IEEE Computer Society has launched a number of new initiatives in recognition of the new and distinct medium of videogames, whose technology includes many topics in computer engineering and computer science. The IEEE Computer Society has formed a Task Force on Game Technology under the Technical Activities and Conferences Board (CS-T&C) and a Game Technology Standards Study Group under the Standards Activities Board (CS-SAB).
As a business, game technology is worth tens of billions each year and includes many thousands of developers. This is a significant sector of the economy and the base of technical workers. Game engineering is a multidisciplinary application area and has a research/development focus that is currently pushing the design of desktop PCs, portables, cell phones, PDAs, processors, AI and graphics methods.
In recognition of this, a Game Technology Standards Workshop was held at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles on 6 February to lay the foundation for a new Game Technology Standards Committee (GTSC). Sponsored jointly by the SAB and T&C boards, the workshop was held to solicit input to help identify game technology professionals' needs and construct a standards roadmap that enjoins all relative stakeholders. The workshop was also intended to begin an initial needs analysis, designed to define the tasks and goals applicable to game engineering technology standards, and to determine how the Computer Society can best support these efforts.
Strategic participation included 13 people from the T&C Task Force on Game Technology, the IEEE Game Engineering Special Interest Group, the Computer Society and others. All workshop presentation slides and the workshop report are on the GTSC Liferay web portal.
Consensus discussion identified key issues surrounding standards in game technology, including the agreement that:
It is necessary to reach out to industry and convince gaming people who think we do not need standards;
Standards are needed but at a different level and they must be end-user driven;
Standards must be realistic for fast-moving technology and should formalize best practices;
There is a need to work with other standards committees and involve international participation, and a specific need to work with the International Games Developer Association (IGDA) in a complementary manner.
Possible areas for standardization identified include interfaces, taxonomy, process, data formats, video teleconferencing (social networks), generic Internet synchronous communication, and game interoperability (single interoperability standard). There is also a need to differentiate between commercial and serious game needs. Specific issues were identified in different areas:
- Serious games -- accessibility, access to content, and information assurance
- Usability -- look and feel, user interfaces, control schemes
- Interoperability -- working together and with other systems
- Durability -- technology changes, redesign reusability, redeploy, rearrange, and repurpose.
In conclusion, the group decided to move forward and produce a standards roadmap for game technology, prepare a set of policies and principles for the new Standards Committee, and actively utilize the Games Technology Standards Wiki for communication and production.
If anyone is interested in contributing to standards activities for game technology please contact me at j.harauz@computer.org
--------
Microprocessor Standards Committee Seeks Members
The IEEE Computer Society Standards Activity Board (CS-SAB) is interested in identifying individuals who have an interest in microprocessors. The Microprocessor Standards Committee (MSC) is one of the Society’s oldest standards committees, predating even 802.
The most used IEEE standard, the Floating Point Arithmetic Standard, is an MSC project, as will be the Interval Arithmetic Standard when completed. The members continue to develop new and interesting standards, such as the Standard Specification for Public-Key Cryptographic Techniques, the Standard for Transmission of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) Data within Local Area Networks, or the Standard for Transport Protocol for Time Sensitive Applications in Local Area Networks.
The MSC actively seeks new technology and has been responsible for starting projects that have launched several new standards areas such as Nanotechnology. MSC is looking for new members as well as new leaders. This is an opportunity to participate beyond your immediate job in creating innovative global standards.
For more information, contact Bob Davis at bob@scsi.com or (408) 857-1273 or John Harauz at j.harauz@computer.org or (416) 567-0874.
No comments:
Post a Comment