Email: tsracicot@uwaterloo.ca
Toben Racicot's research focuses on role-playing games; loot systems, character creation, adaptation, and digital magic circles. His dissertation examines affordances and constraints of RPGs to suggest revised mechanics to lessen the barrier of entry for gamers. Loot should be more findable, character creation should include fewer long-range choices, and more viable options for progression through combat, social interaction, and exploration.
Toben is the co-host and producer of The Games Institute Podcast, interviewing student and faculty researchers from the Games Institute at the University of Waterloo. He’s the recipient of the English Department's TA Award for Teaching Excellence (2020-2021) and Independent Graduate Instructor Award for Excellence in Teaching (2022-2023). He also designs tabletop games for the Environments of Change project headed by Dr. Steven Bednarski.
In addition to academic work, Toben creates comic books as a writer and letterer. He writes Crown & Anchor and Pilgrim’s Dirge. He letters Beastlands (Dark Horse Comics), Slightly Exaggerated (Dark Horse Comics) and Sidequest.