NetGames2002

           First Workshop on Network and System Support for Games

                             April 16-17, 2002

                           Braunschweig, Germany

        In cooperation with ACM SIG MULTIMEDIA (approval requested)

               http://wwwmc.tm.uni-karlsruhe.de/netgames2002/

   Games, in some respect, have always been a part of human life. Playing
   with others, competing to measure strengths and capabilities, is a
   pursuit of interest to most people. As technology has advanced, new
   types of games have arisen, and the old ones have evolved.

   The computer-based game exists in a large variety of forms, from
   shoot-em-ups to role-playing games to puzzles, and for largely varying
   endsystems, from standard PCs to specialized game-consoles to mobile
   telephones. Whilst single-player computer games have existed for
   decades, networked games have recently found widespread interest. For
   some of the more popular network-based multiplayer games, appropriate
   system and network support is required to provide the players with
   sufficient performance. For example, in an interactive real-time game,
   delays introduced by local processing and network transmission may
   cause inconsistencies in the distributed state of the game.

   Research into networked games is becoming increasingly popular. But
   from a technical point of view, the boundary between games and more
   'serious' applications is not always clearly defined. Flight
   simulators, for instance, may be seen as games but also as (semi)
   professional 'training tools'. The purpose of this workshop is to
   create a forum for all people, from both academia and industry, who
   are interested in the network- and system-oriented aspects of games,
   to discuss the issues and solutions arising in this application
   domain, to present new research results and to open questions.

   Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
     * Network Aspects of Games
     * Scalability
     * Real-Time Issues
     * Impact of Network and System-Induced Delays
     * Protocols for Networked Games
     * Quality of Service
     * Mobility
     * Consistency
     * Simulators
     * Usage Studies
     * Security
     * Cheating detection and prevention
     * Payment
     * Game Platforms
     * Middleware for Games
     * System Architectures
     * Games on Very Low Resource Endsystems

   The workshop is intended to be an active event, and attendees should
   not expect to merely sit and listen. To create a productive workshop
   environment, active participation will be strongly encouraged.

    Contributions

   Extended Abstracts of technical papers, work-in-progress reports, and
   position statements with a length of 5 pages (single space, 11pt font)
   should be submitted in PDF or postscript format. Submission
   instructions will be available on the web in January 2002.
   Authors of accepted papers will be invited to present at the workshop
   and publish full-length versions of their papers in the workshop
   proceedings. In addition to regular paper sessions, it is planned to
   have time for presentation of work-in-progress, position statements,
   outrageous opinions.

    Dates

   Submission deadline:           January 24, 2002
   Notification:                  February 18, 2002
   Final camera-ready manuscript: March 8, 2002
   Workshop:                      April 16-17, 2002

   [some changes to these dates might become necessary due to discussions
   with publishers]

    Chair

     * Lars Wolf, University of Karlsruhe

    Program Committee

     * Grenville Armitage
     * Jon Crowcroft, Cambridge University
     * Christophe Diot, Sprint ATL
     * Stefan Fischer, TU Braunschweig
     * Carsten Griwodz, University of Oslo
     * Hannes Hartenstein, NEC CCRLE
     * Tristan Henderson, University College London
     * Sugih Jamin, University of Michigan
     * Brian Neil Levine, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
     * Martin Mauve, University of Mannheim
     * Anthony Steed, University College London
     * Lars Wolf, University of Karlsruhe
     * Jianxin Jeff Yan, Cambridge University

    Organization

     Manuel Oliveira, University College London

     Lars Wolf, University of Karlsruhe