Laboratories in Quebec Video Gaming Industry and University Partnerships
The Example of Game Practices and Gamer Communities Research, and the Future Brought by Artificial Intelligence
Keywords:
Research laboratory, videogame industry, partnerships, user testing, game analytics, game practices, gaming communities, artificial intelligenceAbstract
Given the large production of video games in Quebec, the province has been able to develop an exceptional context of research partnerships between video game companies and university laboratories, each of which has developed an expertise specific to their field. In this article, the following question will first be asked: what kind of research is carried out in companies? The objective is not to make a systematic survey of the various forms of research carried out within all companies located in Quebec, but rather to identify the main realities experienced in gaming companies in order to answer a second question: what kind of research is not carried out those companies? The answer will be used to illustrate possible partnerships with researchers interested in gaming practices and in gaming communities, a research theme that is not often addressed by companies. Among the university gaming laboratories in Montreal, the example of the laboratory of the Université du Québec à Montréal will be briefly presented in order to situate researches that explicitly aims to understand identification, communication and social dynamics of gaming communities. The article concludes with an exposition of some of the future perspectives of research in this field, mainly related to the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
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