Future students

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If you have spent more than an hour at the Games Institute, you have probably found yourself drawn into a conversation about Lord of the Rings (LOTR) in some capacity, even if it’s not your cup of tea! Executive Director, Dr. Neil Randall has been writing and teaching about Tolkien since the late 80s as part of his Fantasy Literature classes, and his enthusiasm for LOTR is infectious, leading many students to pursue research in this area and many more LOTRs debates to play out during lunch at the GI. 

On November 22nd, GI membersDrs. Jennifer Whitson (Sociology and Legal Studies), Kristina Llewellyn (Social Development Studies), and Steve Wilcox (University of Wilfrid Laurier) discussed the intersection between education and games.

In partnership with the GI, AGE-WELL hosted a hybrid networking event for researchers, industry professionals, and advocates in public health and aging on November 18th. The event was managed by Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hector Perez (School of Public Health Sciences) and PhD students Adebusola Adekoya (School of Public Health Sciences) and Isabella Rosa Chawrun (School of Public Health Sciences)

On November 4th, Drs. Lai-Tze Fan and Jon Saklofske led a game jam workshop where participants explored how game environments and tools can encourage players and developers to pursue broader social, cultural, and interpersonal understandings.

On July 5th, GI membersDr. John Muñoz (J&F Alliance), Dr. Lili Liu (Dean of Faculty of Health), and Dr. Michael Barnett Cowan (Kinesiology and Health Sciences) came together to discuss the overlap between using games in areas of health.

Dr. Bo Ruberg presented on their upcoming book Sex Dolls at Sea: Imagined Histories of Sexual Technologies on April 18. The virtual talk explored the histories and stories surrounding the interactive and playful sexual technologies. Ruberg’s research includes the complex history of sex dolls and robots and how that history has been misrepresented, often pointing back to rudimentary sex dolls supposedly made by European sailors.

Emma Vossen Smiling at the Impact Awards Ceremony

If Emma Vossen’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because she is one of the earliest members of the Games Institute. She recalls the conversations in the basement of the PAS building on campus or the Rum Runner bar in downtown Kitchener (in 2013!) with Dr. Neil Randall and other graduate students about what the GI could be. After defending her dissertation in 2018 and setting out from Waterloo, she has returned to her old stomping grounds for the next stage of her career as the GI’s Research Communications Officer.

Before coming to Waterloo, Dr. Hector Perez held positions as a research assistant at a Mathematics Research Centre, as a project manager and later as executive assistant to the Vice-President of Administration and Finance at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico. He has travelled extensively (often teaching wherever he goes) and speaks five languages, in addition to understanding a few more.

Dr. Stuart Hallifax (HCI Games Lab) would describe his life as “falling backwards into every opportunity he’s been given.” So, how did he fall backwards into joining the GI? Stuart’s journey started in Leon, France, where he studied artificial intelligence for his Master’s in Computer Science.

Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Katja Rogers (HCI Games Lab) first met her supervisor and GI faculty member, Dr. Lennart Nacke (Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business), at CHI Play in 2016.

Future students

Lord of the Rings at the GI: A Critical Reflection on "The Rings of Power"

A Panel Discussion on Games and Education

Games, Aging, and Health: Networking Social, and Learning Event

Identity Politics Interventions: A Game Jam Workshop with Drs. Lai-Tze Fan and Jon Saklofske

A Discussion on Health and Games - Guest Panel

Imagined Histories of Sexual Technologies With Dr. Bo Ruberg

Dr. Emma Vossen: The Journey There and Back Again

Dr. Hector Perez on Innovating Interdisciplinary Research

Dr. Stuart Hallifax on his journey from an MA in France to UX at Ubisoft Montreal

Dr. Katja Rogers on Serendipitous Collaborations and her New Job at the University of Amsterdam

Departments Involved

Research Centres