UROP Project

Building a Massive Open Online Coordination Game for Human–Machine Teaming Research

Human-AI teaming, Game Theory, Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) platform

Research Mentor: Marcos Müller Vasconcelos,
Department, College, Affiliation: Electrical and Computer Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: m.vasconcelos@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 4
Relevant Majors: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10 hours/week, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Network coordination games provide powerful insights into strategic behavior. However, such results are often derived in highly idealized settings, making them difficult to validate in real-world contexts. This project will develop a massive open online network coordination game platform in which human players and artificial agents (including bots powered by algorithms and large language models) interact, form teams, and compete against rival groups. By creating this experimental environment, we will test the predictions of theoretical models and uncover how boundedly rational human agents coordinate anonymously alongside machines.

Objectives:

1. Engage students in research by designing and developing a multiplayer online game platform that blends entertainment with rigorous experimental design.

2. Observe and measure emergent teaming behaviors when humans with limited rationality interact in networked coordination settings.

3. Collect and analyze experimental data to inform theories of autonomous teaming and support ongoing research in multi-agent systems.

Research Tasks: Task 1: Game design and platform development: Students will contribute to front-end and back-end coding, user interface design, and server management to ensure a scalable and engaging online environment.

Task 2: Bot and agent integration: Simple bots, advanced AI models, and potentially large language models will be embedded in the platform to serve as teammates or opponents, enabling diverse experimental conditions.

Task 3: Experimentation and data collection: Controlled experiments will be run with groups of players, both human and hybrid (human + bot), to track decision-making, coordination efficiency, and team performance.

Task 4: Analysis: Data will be analyzed statistically to identify emergent patterns of cooperation, conflict, and efficiency in team formation.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: 0. Enthusiasm and passion for gaming (required)

1. Software Development & Systems (recommended)
Basic programming experience (Python, JavaScript, or similar)
Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
Backend/server programming
Database management (SQL or NoSQL systems)

2. Game Development (recommended)
Familiarity with game engines
Experience designing multiplayer systems or network protocols

3. Artificial Intelligence & Bots (recommended)
Understanding of basic machine learning or reinforcement learning
Interest in agent-based modeling and integrating bots into interactive environments
Familiarity with large language models (LLMs) and APIs

4. Data Analysis & Experimentation (recommended)
Skills in data collection, cleaning, and analysis (Python, R, MATLAB)
Understanding of statistics and experimental design