Welcome to the Games Institute

The Games Institute (GI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Waterloo, advancing the study of games, gamification, interactive technologies and immersive environments (AR/VR).

News Items

Our members are busy people; whether they’re taking their research to conferences, delivering keynote addresses, or running workshops at museums, we bring you the news to keep you informed on the latest research and activities.

Research Spotlights Blog

Every story offers an insider’s look into the Games Institute. How does brainstorming lead to new research directions? What really happens at the GI Game Jams? How does play-testing drive better game design? All this and more.

News

Mar. 16, 2022Games Institute Researcher Dr. John Muñoz to present “How NASA Has Translated Aerospace Research into Biofeedback Game Experiences” at the Game Developers Conference with collaborator and NASA Researcher Dr. Alan Pope
Games Institute postdoctoral fellow Dr. John Muñoz and NASA Distinguished Research Associate Dr. Alan Pope are presenting their research on biofeedback and games at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 21st.
Mar. 7, 2022University of Waterloo Announces Esports Collaboration with The University of Warwick in The UK
Games Institute Executive Director Neil Randall and other representatives from The University of Waterloo are working together on a trans-Atlantic collaboration with The University of Warwick, focusing on collegiate esports.

Members of the two schools have been meeting to share their experiences and discuss ways that they can help each other innovate and grow their esports programs.

UW Professor Ian Rowlands, Associate Vice-President, International, explains,
Jan. 20, 2022VR experience “Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation” (DOHR) peer-reviewed in Reviews in Digital Humanities
The virtual reality experience “Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation” (DOHR) was recently peer-reviewed in Reviews in Digital Humanities volume 3 issue 1 on January 18^th, 2022.

The DOHR project uses VR to explore the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children (NSHCC) as part of the curriculum for Grade 11 Canadian History students in Nova Scotia. NSHCC was opened in 1921 and operated until the 1980s and former Residents have come forward with stories of the physical, psychological, and sexual abuse they suffered there as children.

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Events

Apr. 19, 2022Imagined Histories of Sexual Technologies With Dr. Bo Ruberg
Today’s interactive and playful technologies are increasingly intersecting with technologies of sex. Yet these intersections also have long histories.

All upcoming events

Blog

Mar. 2, 2022“Objects to be looked at”: Misogyny in Gaming Panel with the UW Women’s Center for “Love Your Body” Week
Panel Overview

This collaboration between the Games Institute and the UW Women’s Center highlighted a considerable range of issues with misogyny, homophobia, and racism in gaming. The panel, moderated by Gioia Myers, was planned for “love your body week” and discussed the policing of women and LGBTQ+ people’s bodies in both games and game spaces.
Feb. 18, 2021CRIT Council's Pallavi Sodhi presents "Inclusive Board Game Design"
Pallavi Sodhi, Research Intern for the Council for Responsible Innovation and Technology (CRIT) and Dr. Jason Lajoie, Research Associate for CRIT, gave a guest lecture about inclusive board game design for students at Branksome Hall in Toronto.
Jan. 15, 2021 "My avatar – my self?": Mitchell Loewen's thesis published in Frontiers in Psychology
Do our self-perceptions influence our preferences when designing avatars in the games we play? GI members Mitchell Loewen and Dr. Lennart E. Nacke, with Dr. Christopher Burris of St. Jerome’s University, co-authored a paper about the psychology of preferences toward game avatar styles.