GUII Lab - About

About the Lab

Our Mission: Shaping the Future of Interactive Experiences

At the Game User Interaction and Intelligence (GUII) Lab, we believe that games are more than just entertainment—they are powerful platforms for learning, connection, and social change. Our mission is to pioneer the scientific understanding of player experience and to invent the next generation of intelligent, human-centered interactive systems. We bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI, data science, and human-computer interaction to create games and technologies that are not only engaging but also meaningful and impactful.

Our Story: A Legacy of Innovation

Founded in 2018 at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the GUII Lab was established to create a hub for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of games and AI. Since our inception, we have grown into a world-renowned center for game user research, securing over $3 million in collaborative grants and publishing dozens of award-winning papers at top-tier academic venues. Our work consistently pushes the boundaries of the field, from developing novel AI-driven game mechanics to creating serious games that tackle complex global challenges like climate change and mental health.

Meet Our Director

The GUII Lab is led by Dr. Magy Seif El-Nasr, a UC Presidential Chair and a globally recognized leader in the fields of game analytics, affective computing, and human-computer interaction. With over 150 published articles and several foundational books on game data science, her vision and expertise guide the lab’s strategic direction. Dr. Seif El-Nasr’s work is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of researchers and building strong, collaborative bridges between academia and the games industry.

Our Research Pillars

Our research is organized around two core pillars: developing foundational technologies and applying them to solve real-world problems.

Enabling Technologies: Inventing the Tools of Tomorrow. We build the foundational AI and data science techniques that power the next generation of interactive experiences.

Open Player Models: We create transparent, explainable AI models of player behavior that empower reflection, learning, and personalization.
Socially Intelligent AI: We design AI companions and systems that are emotionally and socially aware, leading to more empathetic and engaging interactions.
Player Experience Process Models: We develop novel methods to map, model, and visualize the entire player journey, turning complex data into actionable insights.

Applied Innovation: Games for Impact. We apply our technologies to create games and interactive systems that make a tangible difference in the world.

Games for Positive Mental Health: We design games that serve as tools for measuring and improving mental well-being, focusing on resilience, emotional regulation, and social support.
Games for Climate Action: We develop serious games that raise awareness, build resilience to climate hazards, and engage diverse communities in finding solutions.
Games for STEM Education: We create engaging educational games that make learning complex subjects like programming more intuitive, personalized, and effective.
The Future of Esports: We leverage data and AI to create advanced training, coaching, and analytics tools for the competitive gaming ecosystem.

Our Core Competencies

Our interdisciplinary team brings together a unique blend of technical and design expertise. This allows us to tackle complex challenges from every angle, ensuring our solutions are both technologically advanced and deeply human-centered.

Artificial Intelligence Modeling: Expertise in Bayesian Networks, Reinforcement Learning, and Deep Learning, applied specifically to model complex human behavior in games.
Data Visualization & Analytics: Proficient in using tools like D3 and Tableau, and experienced in building proprietary visualization systems to make complex data understandable.
User Experience (UX) Research: Mastery of a full spectrum of UX methods, from qualitative interviews to quantitative biometric analysis using eye-tracking and physiological sensors
Serious Games & Gamification: Proven ability to design, develop, and assess impactful serious games and to integrate gamification mechanics into a wide range of applications.
Game Development & Engineering: Deep experience with industry-standard engines like Unity and Unreal, as well as the development of custom AI tools for game content generation.

Join Us

Whether you are a prospective student, a potential industry partner, or a fellow researcher, we are constantly looking for new collaborators who share our passion for innovation.

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