The Synthesis of Algorithmic Systems
Journal of the ACM (JACM)
The Computer from Pascal to Von Neumann
The Computer from Pascal to Von Neumann
Chris Crawford on Game Design
Collaborative games: lessons learned from board games
Simulation and Gaming - Symposium: Video games: Issues in research and learning, part 2
Queue - Game Development
Challenges of Online Game Development: A Review
Simulation and Gaming
Simulation and Gaming
The Long History of Gaming in Military Training
Simulation and Gaming
Some definitional suggestions for automata theory
Journal of Computer and System Sciences
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Current computer conflict simulation games, or wargames, are opaque in the sense that most of the game mechanisms are not directly visible to the players and are frequently not described in user accessible documentation, have a transient lifetime that is mainly shaped by the evolution of graphics hardware and processor speed, and do not, in contrast with, for example, the well-known abstract board games CHESS and GO, have the technical prerequisites for critical intellectual discussion that the thought-intensive and knowledge-rewarding character of these games seems to warrant. The main reason for this state of affairs is that many of the mechanisms of the games, and in particular the details of how the game state changes over time, are directly expressed in computer code. This is purely a technical problem, and it has a straightforward solution, namely, treating this information as data by creating a formalism for describing not just the game map and playing pieces but also all the game rules including the â聙聹sequence of play.â聙聺 The article suggests such a formalism and shows a complete specification of a simple, but complicated enough for present purposes, â聙聹introductoryâ聙聺 board wargame. This formalism, with tools that support it, can provide an unambiguous authoritative definition of the rules, accessible by both human and computer players; would allow existing board wargames to be played on a computer, without any simplifications or sacrifices of rule details; and may allow construction of more advanced computer players, since a complete formal specification of the game rules is available as input to them.