Newswise — TORRINGTON, CONN. – << May 27, 2015 >> -- A decoded message from a distant galaxy provided the plans for a Quantum Mechanical 3D printer in Left Brain Games’ puzzle shooter, Dynamakr. Players feed patterns into the machine to create designs for new devices never seen before on Earth—devices so advanced, they’re like magic. Game play allows non-experts to participate in improving software security in Phase 2 of DARPA’s Verigames project.
Dynamakr from Left Brain Games is a puzzle shooter where players create groups of mysterious patterns to maximize their collective energy. The resulting energized patterns meld into a design that can create either destructive or beneficial particles. Players must collect beneficial particles while dodging and destroying destructive particles in a fast-moving, perilous tunnel full of obstacles and hazards.
To create Dynamakr, Left Brain Games worked in collaboration with Kestrel Technology and Texas Tech University. The team built on their experience and results from CircuitBot, the game they produced for the first phase of the project. Dynamakr and the server technologies that support it are more effective at supporting formal verification.
“We learned a lot in Phase 1 of DARPA’s Verigames project,” Andrew Keplinger, president, Left Brain Games, said. “Dynamakr combines improved user experience with advanced algorithms, resulting in more formal verification work as players challenge the game.”
DARPA wants to improve upon traditional formal verification—proving the absence of certain flaws in software code. Currently, formal verification is costly and time-consuming. The Verigames project was created to solve this problem through crowd sourcing using fun and engaging video games. Phase 1 launched five games in December 2013. Utilizing the information learned through game play in 2014, the development teams and mathematicians have created five new games for Phase 2.
For more information, please refer to the DARPA announcement.
Press Kit: http://www.verigames.com/Verigames_Phase2_PressKit.zip
About Left Brain GamesLeft Brain Games, Inc. is a privately held software and game development corporation. It designs, develops and produces unique, highly creative and cost effective interactive experiences. The company creates mobile apps, equipment simulators, virtual worlds and e-training solutions. Left Brain Games is located in Torrington, Connecticut.
About Kestrel TechnologyKestrel Technology LLC specializes in the development of sound semantic static analysis software products with applications in software security, verification, and hardening. Its core technology is abstract interpretation, implemented in a highly optimized, language-independent, abstract-interpretation engine. Kestrel Technology is located in Palo Alto, Calif. About Texas TechThe Department of Computer Science is home to 215 students and offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in computer science, as well as a graduate certificate and a masters degree in software engineering. Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a comprehensive research institution that includes law and medical schools with an enrollment of more than 33,000 students.
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