About Me

I am a PhD candidate at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences. I work on machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI for games.

My research combines traditional constraint-based models with modern machine learning techniques. Constraint-based models are reliable and guarantee playable outputs, while machine learning approaches are fast and scalable. By combining both, I build hybrid systems that generate diverse, high-quality game levels efficiently.

I also run quantitative and qualitative user studies and use statistical analysis to understand how players perceive AI-generated content. These studies help me design generative systems that match player expectations.

Portfolio

Interactive documents showcasing my research in machine learning, data analysis and games

  • Analysis of Robustness of a Large Game Corpus
  • - Formalizing sensitivity to input changes in structured discrete data for PCGML

    Publications

  • A Constraint-Based Graph Grammar Approach Unifying Level and Playthrough Generation
  • Seth Cooper, Mahsa Bazzaz
    Joint AIIDE Workshop on Experimental Artificial Intelligence in Games and Intelligent Narrative Technologies, 2025
  • Analysis of Robustness of a Large Game Corpus
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    10th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), 2025
  • Analysis of Uncertainty in Procedural Maps in Slay the Spire
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    The 16th Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG2025), 2025
  • Level Generation with Constrained Expressive Range
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    The 16th Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG2025), 2025
  • Stuck in the Middle Generating Levels without (or with) Softlocks
  • Seth Cooper and Mahsa Bazzaz
    The 16th Workshop on Procedural Content Generation (PCG2025), 2025
  • Guided Game Level Repair via Explainable AI
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    The 20th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), 2024
  • Sturgeon-MKIV- Constraint-Based Level and Playthrough Generation with Graph Label Rewrite Rules
  • Seth Cooper and Mahsa Bazzaz
    The 20th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), 2024
  • Controllable Game Level Generation- Assessing the Effect of Negative Examples in GAN Models
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    The 20th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), 2024
  • Literally Unplayable- On Constraint-Based Generation of Uncompletable Levels
  • Seth Cooper and Mahsa Bazzaz
    Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), 2024
  • Thirty-Three Years of Mathematicians and Software Engineers A Case Study of Domain Expertise and Participation in Proof Assistant Ecosystems
  • G Lincroft, M Cho, K Hough, M Bazzaz, J Bell
    Mining Software Repositories conference series 2024, 2024
  • Active Learning for Classifying 2D Grid-Based Level Completability
  • Mahsa Bazzaz and Seth Cooper
    IEEE Conference on Games 2023, 2023

    Experiences

    Graduate Research Assistant

    Jan 2023 - present
    Northeastern University
    • hybrid generative systems combining constraint-based models and deep learning for game level generation
    • Designed and conducted quantitative and qualitative user studies

    Graduate Teaching Assistant

    Jan 2023 - present
    Northeastern University
    • CS 3540 Game Programming * 3
    • CS 5340 Human Computer Interaction
    • CS3520 Programming in C++ * 3
    • CS5800 Algorithms

    Back-End Developer Intern

    Jul 2020 – Feb 2021
    Limoome
    • Node.js, Nest.js, TypeScript
    • PostgreSQL, Jest.js
    • Azure DevOps, Agile Development

    Teaching Assistant

    Feb 2020 - Jul 2020
    Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic)
    • CE 3102213 Algorithm Design course

    Certifications

    Game Design

    Aug 2021
    Coursera

    Gamification

    July 2021
    Coursera

    Skills & Proficiency

    Programming Languages

    Python TypeScript JavaScript Java C C++

    Machine Learning & AI

    PyTorch pandas NumPy scikit-learn SLURM

    Game Development

    Unity2d Unity3d Godot Babylon.js Blender Game Mechanics Game Design

    Web Technologies

    Node.js Nest.js Express.js Angular Vue.js HTML CSS SASS jQuery Bootstrap PHP

    Database Systems

    MySQL PostgreSQL

    DevOps & Version Control

    Git Azure DevOps