Description
Quantum computing is an emerging new computational technology. Though initially proposed as a means of simulating quantum phenomena, it was later found to also excel at more abstract tasks. A classic example of this is factoring, for which the space and time complexity are reduced from exponential to polynomial when using a quantum algorithm and quantum computing hardware.
The past decades have seen a great deal of progress in finding new applications for quantum computers, with optimization and constraint satisfiability being a recent focus. These developments raise the question of how quantum computers could contribute to game design and implementation, such as in procedural generation. Furthermore, the last decade has seen a large number of so-called ‘Quantum Games’. These all have some combination of using quantum physics as an inspiration for game mechanics, using the game for educational or scientific purposes, or running an aspect of the game on quantum hardware.
Given this momentum, and the fact that 2025 is the UN’s International Year of Quantum, now is an excellent time to ensure that game researchers are familiar with the basics of quantum computing. And though the technology will certainly not be powering the next Mario game, they can also become familiar with the current state of quantum games.
The tutorial will be composed of two parts, each 45 mins long. The first part will be a general introduction to quantum computing. In this we will introduce the building blocks of quantum computing, which are analogous to the Boolean circuit model of conventional digital computers. We will explain the elements that are similar, and the important points of difference. We will also describe the need for tailored quantum
Hardware to run these quantum gates, and the computational cost of emulating quantum computers with conventional hardware. This part will summarize topics from the first three lectures of Wootton’s course on quantum computation at the University of Basel (see here).
The second part will be a hands-on exploration on the basics of making quantum games. In this we will focus only on the type of ‘quantum game’ for which game mechanics are inspired by simple quantum effects, as can be implemented with a handful of quantum gates. This will ensure that they are understandable by those new to quantum computing. It also means that the games can easily run using emulation of quantum hardware on the participant’s own devices, without needing access to quantum hardware.
Prerequisites
The tutorial will be broadly aimed at all participants, or at least those who can follow a simple Python program.
Organizers
- James Wootton, University of Basel
- João Ferreira, Moth Quantum
- Daniel Bultrini, Moth Quantum