The Formal Computing Laboratory at the University of Québec in Chicoutimi is seeking excellent PhD candidates for a 3-year funded doctoral project on monitoring the project management of a video game by analyzing log files.
- Start date: September 1, 2024
Project Description
Video game development is a complex process, as it involves different actors from various fields, from digital artists to design the visual elements, programmers, designers, etc. All these people work in different areas, but collaborate on the development of the game features by setting up a production chain. This production chain includes, in particular, the use of a 3D engine and a version management tool. This development generally takes place iteratively, which allows for always having a usable version for testing or demonstration purposes.
The 3D engine and the version manager generate log files that help with the monitoring of development and debugging. A primary goal of this project is to develop automatic methods for processing log files in order to generate alerts that help prevent problems that could impact the production chain; in a way, these alerts will allow for an assessment of the “health” of the project in terms of good management practices. A second goal is to find a method to automatically identify, from the patterns of alerts to monitor, which logging elements should be inserted, as well as to adjust the level of logging and the quantity of elements to retain based on the health of the project.
Research Areas
- Good programming skills (Python, C#, C++)
- Knowledge of video game development or Java programming will be considered as assets
- Knowledge of 3D engines (Unity or Unreal Engine) and version management software (Perforce) will be considered as assets
- Skills in scientific communication and writing
- Strong interest in scientific problems and motivation to conduct independent and targeted research
Host Institution and Laboratory Presentation
The University of Québec in Chicoutimi (UQAC) is part of the largest university network in Canada. It is located in the Francophone region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, known for the beauty of its fjord and the majesty of its surrounding nature. UQAC welcomes 6,500 students annually, including more than 1,000 from 50 different countries. The computer science research program is particularly dynamic; it hosts two Canada Research Chairs, currently includes about twenty professors, 30 doctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and more than 100 master’s students.
The doctoral work will take place at the Formal Computing Laboratory, under the supervision of Prof. Sylvain Hallé, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Testing, Specification, and Verification of Computer Systems. The LIF specializes in the application of formal methods to testing and verification of various software systems. Previous projects by LIF faculty members have been carried out in collaboration with numerous companies, including Ericsson, Industrial Alliance, Ubisoft LaForge, Devicom, and Eckinox Media.
Research at LIF is internationally recognized and contributes to the development of concrete, high-quality software tools based on solid mathematical foundations. Notable long-standing projects developed at LIF include the BeepBeep 3 event stream processing engine [2], the Artichoke blockchain monitoring system [3], and the Petit Poucet data lineage library [4]. All these initiatives have been awarded and published at leading international conferences over the last decade.
Candidate Profile
A very good university master’s degree in computer science, management information systems, mathematics, or a related discipline is expected. In addition, we are looking for the following qualifications:
- Good programming skills (Python, C#, C++)
- Knowledge of video game development or tests and formal verification will be considered as assets
- Very good skills in scientific communication and writing.
- Very good knowledge of communication and writing in English.
- Strong interest in scientific problems and motivation to conduct independent and focused research.
The University of Québec in Chicoutimi is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion at all stages of its students’ curriculum; individuals from underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications will be evaluated by a panel of three faculty members of UQAC focusing on the above criteria. Initially selected individuals will be invited for an online interview to further assess their technical and communication skills.
Application Materials
Individuals wishing to apply are invited to fill out the online form at the address https://zfrmz.com/BGLMrz4QFYzkIOZxVtpD, making sure to select the LIF24-D4 contest and providing the following documents:
- Cover letter
- Curriculum vitae, including a) list of publications if applicable; b) names and contact information of at least two references
- Transcripts from the bachelor’s (license) and master’s (master) degrees
- A copy of the master’s thesis, if submitted
References
- A. Bédard, S. Hallé. (2021). Model Checking of Stream Processing Pipelines. In Proc. TIME, 5:1-5:17. DOI 10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2021.5
- S. Hallé. (2018). Event Stream Processing with BeepBeep 3: Log Crunching and Analysis Made Easy. Presses de l’Université du Québec, ISBN 978-2-7605-5101-5
- S. Hallé, R. Khoury, A. El-Hokayem, Y. Falcone. (2016). Decentralized Enforcement of Artifact Lifecycles. In Proc. EDOC, 1-10. DOI 10.1109/EDOC.2016.7579380
- S. Hallé, H. Tremblay. (2021). Foundations of Fine-Grained Explainability. In Proc. CAV, Springer LNCS 12760, 500-523. DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-81688-9_24
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