Welcome to the Games Institute
The Games Institute (GI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Waterloo, advancing the study of interactive and immersive technologies and experiences.
News Bites
Stay up-to-date with the latest GI activities. Our News Bites report on recent conferences, keynote addresses, and recent research activities of our members.
Research Spotlights
For more in-depth breakdowns of ongoing research projects, check out our Research Spotlights for full write ups of events and up close and personal testimonies with our researchers and members.
News
WatSPEED Arrives for Research Demo at the GI
On October 15th, Jennifer Bentley (Manager of Events and Engagement) and Karina Graf (Associate Director, Marketing and Digital Sales) from WatSPEED visited the GI for a demo of select research projects by GI members.
GI Faculty Members Named University Research Chairs
Congratulations to GI faculty members Drs. Lennart Nacke (Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business) and Marcel O’Gorman (English Language and Literature) who have been appointed University Research Chairs at Waterloo.
International Conference on Games and Narrative 2025 Puts out Call For Participation
The Games Institute is excited to announce the CfP for the upcoming International Conference on Games and Narrative 2025 (ICGaN'25). This year’s conference theme is “Adapt, Adopt, Adjust: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Adaptation, Storytelling, and Simulation” asks us to consider the power of adapted and adaptive narratives, experiences, genres, and mechanics.
Blog
Aspects of Play in Academia - Women of CHI PLAY 2023
From October 10th to October 13th, 2023, CHI PLAY took place at the Stratford School of Business and Interaction Design. In this retrospective, we sit down with GI faculty Drs. Cayley MacArthur, Jen Whitson and Leah Zhang-Kennedy who recount their experiences at CHI PLAY, including what makes it so unique, what they took away from the 2023 conference, and what advice they would give to those looking to attend in the future.
Pay it Forward: Five Lessons from a Departing Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Hector Perez worked with many Indigenous communities during his time as a postdoctoral fellow including the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba who often asked him, “When are you coming back?” One of the most valuable lessons Perez learned was that Indigenous communities would expect visitors, including researchers, to return to the community to share their research insights and participate in social gatherings. As Perez moves on to new opportunities, there are five lessons he wants to impart on our community.
Dr. Cayley MacArthur and the Quest for the Triple E (EEE) Degrees
Dr. Cayley MacArthur is a long-standing name in the Games Institute (GI) ever since the GI opened its physical doors to researchers and students. She’s spent time here working on her undergraduate and Master’s theses, her Doctoral research, and has officially joined the GI as a faculty member. As Assistant Professor, Dr. MacArthur teaches out of UWaterloo’s Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business. But how did she get here? Well, luckily, Dr. MacArthur took the time to answer questions we had for her about her time at the GI and her hopes of continuing on with her research.