The Games Institute acknowledges that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.
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
- Nov. 21, 2023The Psychology of Fun and Frustration
On September 27th Dr. Nick Bowman, Associate Professor of Emerging Media at the S.I Newhouse School of Public Communications at the Syracuse University, gave a lecture at the Games Institute titled “The Psychology of Fun and Frustration: Understanding the Demands and Interactivity.” The lecture covered interactivity-as-demand model based on research into video games and virtual reality technologies, highlighting its implications for game design and player psychology.
- Nov. 20, 2023GI Members Participate in Royal Society of Canada Symposium
For the first time in over five years, the Royal Society of Canada | La Société royale du Canada hosted their Excellence and Engagement Symposium in the Waterloo Region on November 15, 2023. The University of Waterloo was proud to present the varied and interdisciplinary projects the research institutes at the University engage in.
- Nov. 13, 2023Physiological Measures for Games and VR: Novel Tools and Approaches - A Workshop
Dr. John Muñoz - Chief Science Officer at J&F Alliance Group and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo - hosted an interactive workshop on October 4th, 2023. This workshop covered the exploration of biometrics (or physiological measures) in game user research, driven by advancements in sensing technologies and the increased accessibility of signal processing tools.
Events
- Dec. 7, 2023Workshop: History and culture through traditional games
- Dec. 12, 2023What Makes it Indigenous? On Readability and Forced Readability in Indigenous Media
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE ARE WORKING ON A REPLACEMENT EVENT AT A LATER DATE. PLEASE STAY TUNED!
Expanding on the article of the same name this talk will explore the concept of Readability and Forced Reliability of Indigenous culture in games media. This talk will make clear how Indigenous representation in media even by Indigenous creators can be subtly and not so subtly influenced by an overarching Colonial system.
Blog
- Nov. 20, 2023Dr. 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.
- Oct. 3, 2023The Legacy of the Stickers: A Snapshot of Florian Marcher's Time at the GI
Florian Marcher’s first contact with the GI was—like with many international students—with Dr. Lennart Nacke at a CHI conference. Then, through the suggestion of his master’s supervisor in Graz, Austria, Marcher applied as an International Visiting Graduate Student (IVGS) to Dr. Nacke not only for his guidance, but also for Dr. Nacke’s expertise in the field of Human Computer Interactions (HCI). After he was accepted, Marcher made the trip over to Waterloo, Ontario to make progress on his Master’s thesis “Procedural Generational Tools for Green Spaces” with a focus on their usability and feasibility.
- Sep. 26, 2023ICGaN 2023 - Isolation and Return Through the World of Hybrid Viewing
From May 15 – 19, 2023, the Games Institute (GI) hosted the second International Conference on Games and Narrative (ICGaN). It focused on the theme Isolation and Return: The Making of Narrative Worlds. Speakers from 40 universities joined from around the world explained how, societally, we have all been forced to consider and rethink personal and communal lives necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The final turnout of the 2023 conference resulted in 17 sessions, 47 unique presentations, 5 keynotes, 3 workshops, 4 academic game streams, and a game jam.
Meet our people
Gerald Voorhees
Associate Professor, Communication Arts
Gerald Voorhees is an Associate Professor in the Department Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo.