Alexander, a 34-year-old Software Engineer at JDriven, holds dual Dutch and Greek nationality. He earned his master’s degree in Game Studies from the University of Amsterdam, where he discovered his passion for gamification and software engineering. Alexander aims to bridge the gap between game development and software engineering, believing that both industries have much to learn from each other. He is dedicated to integrating technologies and methodologies from both fields. Additionally, he enjoys experimenting with new technologies and cutting-edge sdk's.
Multimodal Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is the art of using your own textual, visual and audio data to enhance prompts before they’re processed by a generative AI. Imagine users asking a question, the system querying your own data pool for answers, and then using generative AI to craft a coherent, relevant response… which is perfect for non-player characters (NPCs)! These are characters in video games that are not controlled by the player. Typically, NPCs have static and hardcoded responses, but with this approach we could make them more lifelike and fun to interact with!
We can take it even further. Imagine NPCs interacting with each other, having goals, and moving around dynamically, all driven by complex RAG workflows. This idea is exactly what Alexander has explored and wants to share with you!
Whether you’re a seasoned backend engineer or an adventurous developer seeking fresh ideas, Alexander will guide you through setting up basic to advanced RAG workflows. He'll demonstrate the challenges and benefits of using tools like Langchain4j to create RAG systems that provide up to date and factual answers.
Alexander’s goal is to offer an engaging and fun look at RAG, inspiring you to dive in and explore its potential yourself. Get ready for a session that mixes education and absurd fun to discover the inner workings of multimodal RAG!
Ever wondered what would happen if you used IntelliJ IDEA as a game engine? Probably not, but Alexander did, and it turns out, it’s absurd and a lot of fun! Join Alexander for a lighthearted yet insightful dive into the absurdness of using one of the most sophisticated IDEs to create games within your codebase because... well, why not?
In this talk, Alexander will walk you through his adventure of using the IntelliJ plugin platform to implement game logic, render graphics, and more. He’ll share the head-scratching moments, the "aha!" breakthroughs, and the plain stupidity of making this idea work. You'll see IntelliJ handling sprites, game physics, and maybe even a rogue mutable variable trying to destroy your cursor!
This session is for anyone who believes that the best projects are born from a spark of curiosity and a sense of fun. Discover how pushing the boundaries of your tools can lead to unexpected innovations and a lot of laughs along the way. After all, the most important work we do is often the work we find the most fun. Come ready to chuckle, learn, and maybe even be inspired to try your own offbeat experiments!
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