Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

We consider playing online games on peer-to-peer networks, without assuming servers that control the execution of a game. In such an environment, players may cheat the opponent by, for example, illegally replacing the cards in their hands. The aim of this paper is to examine a possibility of excluding such cheatings. We show that by employing cryptographic techniques, we can exclude some types of cheating at some level. Finally, based on our discussion, we implement the cheat-proof network “Gunjin-Shogi”, which is a variant of Japanese Chess.

An Eight Ball pool strategy algorithm with look-ahead is presented. The strategy uses a probabilistically evaluated game search tree to discover the best shot to attempt at each turn. Performance results of the strategy algorithm from a simulated tournament are presented. Players looking further ahead in the search tree performed better against their shallower-searching competitors, at the expense of larger execution time. The advantage of a deeper search tree was magnified for players with greater shooting precision.

In this paper we explore the tactical aspects needed for the creation of an intelligent computer-pool player. The research results in three modifications to our previous model. An optimization procedure computes the shot parameters and repositions the cue ball on a given target. Moreover, we take a look at possible heuristics to generate a sound selection of targets repositioning. We thus obtain a greedy but rather good billiard player.

When studying computer games several factors come into play. The issue of gender inequality has been a topic of many research projects in the past. The issue of culture is still in its infancy. Previous research regarding game-playing and gender issues seem to indicate that boys play more computer games than girls, that boys prefer more violent, action-oriented games in comparison to girls and that girls would prefer to play games with a feminine appeal. Intuitively it can be assumed that different cultures play different existing games at different frequencies. In this study grade ten school children (ages sixteen to seventeen) from one city in South Africa were questioned in order to establish if the same results hold true. The results indicate that there are no major differences in game playing between genders and cultures for this group. The conclusion is reached that especially with regard to gender the situation changed quite a bit over the past few years in comparison to research results found in the literature.