Seminar

What if we could make complex social and cultural questions playable? And what if we could do so through interactions with familiar digital interfaces set in alternative presents and near futures? The work I will discuss sits at the intersection between the design traditions of speculative and critical design on the one hand, and the philosophies and best practices of game design, playful media and interaction design on the other.

With recent waves of layoffs, high-profile workplace harassment cases, and a notoriously short career length for gender minorities and people of colour, the transition of new workers into the game industry involves navigating a spate of barriers to equity and success that have been understudied in academic research. This panel talks about "The First Three Years", an ongoing longitudinal study of graduates of game programs in Canada and the United States, following the journey of 207 students as they move into the game industry.

This panel highlights emerging scholars in Black game studies. Panelists will present recent and/or ongoing work, sharing a glimpse of the emerging research questions animating the field. Topics include Black worldbuilding in and across games (Fletcher), perceptions of Black male exceptionalism in gaming cultures (Dashiell), and the relationship between avatar representation and Black user experience in social VR (DeVeaux).

Due to technological advancements, communicating with computer systems using natural language has become a casual phenomenon. Speech-based systems, like Siri or Cortana, have become widely popular among people due to their convenience. Speech interaction encompasses a social component as it reflects the fundamental human capacity for communication and enables interpersonal engagement through verbal exchange. This makes human-agent interaction an essential topic of research in the field of human-computer interaction.

Please join us at the Games Institute or virtually via Teams for a panel discussion on games and education with Drs. Jason Hawreliak (Brock University, Waterloo English Language and Literature Alum), Kristina R.

Join us on July 5th at 1:30 for a panel discussion with three Games Institute (GI) faculty members about their work in games and health. This event will be held both online and in-person and the GI. The panel will feature Dean of Health Dr. Lili Liu, Associate Professor Dr. Michael Barnett-Cowan and SYDE Instructor Dr. John Muñoz.

Canadian Cap and Trade Simulation (CCTS) is a serious game/simulation designed to teach undergraduate Chemical Engineering and Environmental Studies students about carbon tax and trade systems in Canada created by PhD candidate Alex Fleck and Dr. Jason Grove.

Hi everyone! Join Feminist Think Tank this Wednesday (February 16th) at 5:30pm for the second event in their ♀️Networked Feminisms Speaker Series: Activist Assemblies and Digital Practices♀️

Join Feminist Think Tank this Thursday, January 27th at 11:00am for the first event in their Networked Feminisms Speaker Series: Activist Assemblies and Digital Practices.

Bio: