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v. 1 : us ISBN 9780387964966
Description
Computer Games I is the first volume in a two part compendium of papers covering the most important material available on the development of computer strategy games. These selections range from discussions of mathematical analyses of games, to more qualitative concerns of whether a computer game should follow human thought processes rather than a "brute force" approach, to papers which will benefit readers trying to program their own games. Contributions include selections from the major players in the development of computer games: Claude Shannon whose work still forms the foundation of most contemporary chess programs, Edward O. Thorpe whose invention of the card counting method caused Las Vegas casinos to change their blackjack rules, and Hans Berliner whose work has been fundamental to the development of backgammon and chess games.
Table of Contents
(Volume I).- 1 Backgammon.- 1.1. BKG-A Program That Plays Backgammon.- 1.2. Backgammon Computer Program Beats World Champion.- 1.3. End Positions in Backgammon.- 1.4. Optimal Doubling in Backgammon.- 1.5. On Optimal Doubling in Backgammon.- 2 Chess.- 2.1. A Chess-Playing Machine.- 2.2. Chess-Playing Programs and the Problem of Complexity.- 2.3. Before the Jet Age.- 2.4. Recent Progress in Computer Chess.- 2.5. Master Level and Beyond.- 2.6. Experiences Gained in Constructing and Testing a Chess Program.- 2.7. Creating a Chess Player.- 3 Checkers (Draughts).- 3.1. Logical or Nonmathematical Programs.- 3.2. Some Studies in Machine Learning Using the Game of Checkers. I.- 3.3. Some Studies in Machine Learning Using the Game of Checkers. II-Recent Progress.- 4 Scrabble.- 4.1. A Scrabble Crossword Game-Playing Program.
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v. 2 : us ISBN 9780387966090
Description
Long before the advent of the electronic computer, man was fascinated by the idea of automating the thought processes employed in playing games of skill. The very first chess "Automaton" captured the imagination oflate eighteenth century Vienna, and by the early 1900s there was a genuine machine that could play the chess endgame of king and rook against a lone king. Soon after the invention of the computer, scientists began to make a serious study of the problems involved in programming a machine to play chess. Within a decade this interest started to spread, first to draughts (checkers) and later to many other strategy games. By the time the home computer was born, there had already been three decades of research into computer games. Many of the results of this research were published, though usually in publications that are extremely difficult (or even impossible for most people) to find. Hence the present volumes. Interest in computers and programming has now reached into almost every home in the civilized world. Millions of people have regular access to computers, and most of them enjoy playing games. In fact, approximately 80 percent of all software sold for use on personal computers is games software.
by "Nielsen BookData"