Abstract
Video games are a significant part of audio-visual culture, and game engines are widely used not only for the construction of video games, but also arts projects, virtual reality experiences, and serious or educational games. This chapter presents a series of short summaries which describe student projects produced on the games and digital media BSc degree programmes at the University of Greenwich. These projects indicate interesting new directions in game engine experiences, and contribute towards emerging strands of practically-focused research in video games. Each project has involved background research into related literature and artefacts, which then informs the design, development and evaluation of a prototype product. The projects discussed here specifically explore themes related to adaptive music; representation of animal species; retro aesthetics; the design of artificially intelligent game characters; and the representation of hallucinations or intoxicated states in games. As a collection there are some common themes, and the projects collectively point towards novel ways in which game engines may generate experiences that activate the visual and auditory senses in ways that elicit empathy, emotions, memories, and awareness of unusual sensory states and systems.