Max Kreminski

Education

2017–. Ph.D. in Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz

2013–2017. B.A. in Interactive Entertainment, University of Southern California

Publications

Conference Papers

Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research Through an Interactive Storytelling Game. Edward F. Melcer, James Ryan, Nick Junius, Max Kreminski, Dietrich Squinkifer, Brent Hill, Noah Wardrip‑Fruin. CHI Late-Breaking Work on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI LBW), 2020.

Felt: A Simple Story Sifter. Max Kreminski, Melanie Dickinson, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS), 2019. Acceptance rate: 30%.

Evaluating AI-Based Games Through Retellings. Max Kreminski, Ben Samuel, Edward Melcer, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), 2019. Acceptance rate: 25%.

StoryAssembler: An Engine for Generating Dynamic Choice-Driven Narratives. Jacob Garbe, Max Kreminski, Ben Samuel, Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Michael Mateas. Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), 2019. Best paper honorable mention.

Immersive Design Fiction: Using VR to Prototype Speculative Interfaces and Interaction Rituals within a Virtual Storyworld. Joshua McVeigh-Schultz, Max Kreminski, Keshav Prasad, Perry Hoberman, Scott S. Fisher. Designing Interactive Systems (DIS), 2018.

Are Game Design and User Research Guidelines Specific to Virtual Reality Effective in Creating a More Optimal Player Experience? Yes: VR PLAY. Heather Desurvire, Max Kreminski. Design, User Experience and Usability (DUXU), 2018.

Workshop Papers

Generative Games as Storytelling Partners. Max Kreminski, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. FDG Workshop on the User Experience of Artificial Intelligence in Games (UX of AI), 2019.

Cozy Mystery Construction Kit: Prototyping Toward an AI-Assisted Collaborative Storytelling Mystery Game. Max Kreminski, Devi Acharya, Nick Junius, Elisabeth Oliver, Kate Compton, Melanie Dickinson, Cyril Focht, Stacey Mason, Stella Mazeika, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. FDG Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG), 2019.

Generators that Read. Max Kreminski, Isaac Karth, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. FDG Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG), 2019.

Gardening Games: An Alternative Philosophy of PCG in Games. Max Kreminski, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. FDG Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG), 2018.

Posters and Demos

Sketching a Map of the Storylets Design Space. Max Kreminski, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS), 2018.

Throwing Bottles at God: Predictive Text as a Game Mechanic in an AI-Based Narrative Game. Max Kreminski, Noah Wardrip-Fruin. International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS), 2018.

Doctoral Consortium Papers

Creativity Support for Story Construction Play Experiences. Max Kreminski. Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), 2019.

Talks

“Sifting Stories to Support Player Storytelling.” Roguelike Celebration 2019.

“Exploring Poemspace Through Procedural Erasure.” Computational Poetry Workshop 2019.

“Procedural Narrative Design with Parametrized Storylets.” Experimental AI for Games, Game Developers Conference 2019.

“Procedural Narrative Design with Parametrized Storylets.” Tech Toolbox, Game Developers Conference 2019.

“Making blackout poetry with computers!” !!Con West 2019.

“Gardening as a Mode of Play.” Roguelike Celebration 2018.

“Gardening as a Mode of Play.” Queerness and Games Conference 2018.

“Proceduralizing Character Development with Parametrized Storylets.” UCSC Games Showcase 2018.

“Crafting Compelling Character Arcs for Procedurally Generated Characters.” Roguelike Celebration 2017.

Teaching

Winter 2020. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 171 Game Design Studio II, University of California, Santa Cruz. Second phase of three-phase senior capstone sequence for game design majors.

Fall 2019. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 170 Game Design Studio I, University of California, Santa Cruz. First phase of three-phase senior capstone sequence for game design majors. Helped manage logistics for a 200-person class while mentoring several other junior teaching assistants. Met with three to four student game design teams per week to provide guidance during the iterative prototyping process.

Summer 2019. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 147 Generative Design, University of California, Santa Cruz. Project-focused upper-division game design course presenting a survey of generative methods.

Winter 2019. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 80K Foundations of Video Game Design, University of California, Santa Cruz. Introductory game design, development, and critique class. Led three sections per week, together consisting of more than 100 students total.

Fall 2018. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 176 Game Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz. Upper-division game design course focused on the design and analysis of systems in analog and digital games.

Summer 2018. Teaching Assistant, Computational Media 80K Foundations of Video Game Design, University of California, Santa Cruz. Introductory game design, development, and critique class. Taught three different game-making tools in five weeks.

Employment

Summer 2019. SIP Mentor, Science Internship Program, UC Santa Cruz. Mentored high school students working on computational media research projects.

2016–2017. Undergraduate Research Associate, USC Mobile & Environmental Media Lab. Design, rapid prototyping, and development of VR and AR experiences with Unity, C#, and SteamVR.

Summer 2016. Undergraduate Research Associate, USC Game Innovation Lab. Python scripting and data analysis to provide insights on player behavior in Mission: Admission, an educational game for high school students about the college admissions process.

2015–2017. Junior User Researcher, User Behavioristics. User research consulting; collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data on user behavior in mobile and VR games and apps.