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UIST 2001 will feature the first UIST Interface Design Contest. Contestants will have an opportunity to design and implement an interface to a real-time game application prior to the symposium. The game has been designed to accommodate a wide range of possible interfaces. During the competition contestants will use their interfaces to play the game against other contestants in a tournament. Prizes worth an estimated $2500 will be awarded to the winners. The goal of the contest is to encourage participants to explore interface software and technology in an applied setting, and to provide an opportunity for participants to showcase their work to the UIST community in an exciting and entertaining format.

Location (top)

The contest will be held during the opening reception of the 14th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2001), which will be held in Orlando, Florida from November 11-14, 2001. For more information on the conference please visit the UIST web site, http://www.acm.org/uist.

Tournament (top)

The goal of the design contest is to design the best interface you can for the application described below, and then to use your interface in competition with other design teams who will use their own interfaces.

Participants are encouraged to develop original UI techniques and/or devices to gain a competitive advantage. Novel visualizations of the game situation; pen-based input techniques; two-handed input techniques; PDA-based multi-user interfaces; incorporating various forms of artificial intelligence into the interface: these ideas and more are all appropriate for inclusion in your UI design. The only requirement is that your UI communicate with the game application through the API described below.

At each round in the tournament winners will be determined by their game scores. The highest-scoring participants in a given round will advance to the next round. Note that for each round in the competition the game becomes progressively more difficult, as explained below. The ultimate winner will be the last group not eliminated. Additional prizes will be awarded to the best single-user UI and to the best UI designed by an all-student team.

How to Enter (top)

Please note that the contest entry is separate from the conference registration.

• All entrants must be registered for the conference in order to be eligible to compete in the design contest.
  
  
• Complete a User Interface Design Competition Entry Form and email it to to mickey@merl.com (yes, you read that address correctly) no later than Friday, October 12, 2001.
  
  
• Entry Fees for the contest:
  • Student team: Free
    
    We have a limited number of free conference registrations for students participating in the design competition. Up to 3 free student registrations will be available for each student team. Free registrations will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we encourage student teams to enter early! Also note -- contest entry is always free for student teams.
  • University team: Free
  • Industrial team: $100/team (payable onsite at the conference)
  
  
  
• Logistics for the contest:
  • Contestants are required to be present at the conference and to provide all hardware and software required for running their interface and for connecting it to the LAN hub.
  • The standard setup for each team in the contest is a table (approx 4'x2.5'), two chairs, one power strip, and an Ethernet LAN connection to the game server. There will NOT be internet connections available. If your team has special requirements, please note this on the entry form.
  • The contest will be held on Sunday, November 11, 2001. Initial contest rounds will be held from 3-6pm with the final rounds being held during the Welcome Reception from 6-9pm. A final contest schedule will be available in late October.
  • Each team should plan to arrive no later than Sunday, November 11, 2001 at noon for the initial contest preparations.

A reference implementation UI has been provided to help you  get started with the game and to demonstrate how to use the API.  It is packaged in a ZIP file and can be downloaded below.  In addition to the reference implementation, the ZIP file also contains the server side classes, IDL definition file, and user guide associated with the game.

Downloads (top)

Changes to the reference implementation are not expected, but may be made if required.  Please revisit this page periodically to check for updated files. We also recommend checking the Frequently Asked Questions page for updated information and clarifications.
 

Reference Implementation (includes server side classes and IDL file)	last updated: 12 July 2001
User Guide	last updated: 26 April 2001

For more information, contact Kathy Ryall (ryall@merl.com).