Serious Games Research Group

Serious Games Research Group

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We are the Serious Games Research Group at the University of Calgary, Canada, led by Dr. Richard Zhao.

We are interested in serious games: games and gaming-related technologies for the purpose of training, learning, and education.

We develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (search and machine learning) to enable adaptive and personalized experiences, and for automated content generation.

The concept of a “game” extends beyond entertainment, as modern game engines (such as Unreal and Unity) are widely used for media production, simulations, and digital twins. We integrate immersive technologies (extended reality, virtual reality, eye-tracking technology) as part of the experience.

We are part of the IMPACT Research Cluster at the University of Calgary.


News

Congratulations to Parsa Rahmati!

Parsa’s paper, Enforcing Narrative Reliability and Epistemic Pacing in LLM-Driven Detective Games via Structured Knowledge Trees, has been accepted for publication in the Twenty-Second AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive...
Read More "Congratulations to Parsa Rahmati!"

National AI Summit

The National AI Summit was held successfully on August 10, 2026 in Calgary. Dr. Richard Zhao was a General Chair in the AI Adoption track.
Read More "National AI Summit"

News: Video Game Helps Neurodivergent Students

GEARS is a personalized, game-based tool that equips students with ADHD and learning disabilities to thrive in post-secondary education. Dr. Richard Zhao is the co-lead on the project. News article:...
Read More "News: Video Game Helps Neurodivergent Students"

Research

IVS (Immersive Virtual School)

GEARS (Gearing up for Education, Achieving Real-world Success)

Contact

Email: seriousgames (at) ucalgary.ca

Serious Games Research Group: ICT 716

Department of Computer Science
University of Calgary

2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada

If you are an industry professional looking for collaboration opportunities, please feel free to send us an email.

Prospective graduate students and any UCalgary undergraduate students looking for research opportunities, please look for more information on http://richardzhao.com/