Events

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.

Spectating digital games can be exciting. However, due to its vicarious nature, spectators often wish to engage in the gameplay beyond just watching and cheering. To blur the boundaries between spectators and players, we propose a novel approach called "Fused Spectatorship", where spectators watch their hands play games by loaning bodily control to a computational Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) system.

Since the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, Asia has remained the center of the manufacturing of video game hardware (China and Southeast Asia), the center of game innovation and the birthplace of most game genres (Japan), and the largest reliable resource of consumers (nearly half of game players reside in Asia).

This panel highlights emerging scholars in Asian/American games studies. Panelists will present recent and/or ongoing work, sharing a glimpse of the emerging research questions animating the field. Topics include He’s analysis of NPC discourse, particularly the phenomena of NPC streaming, as an Asiatic form, Ganzon’s examination of Filipino political activism in digital games that extend public and community spaces, and Howard’s inquiry on 'region locking' in online games as racial practices.

Please note that this is an in-person event at the Games Institute , EC1 at the University of Waterloo. Online participation may be accommodated for individuals with accessibility requirements, however, the workshop is designed for an in-person audience. Please reach out to the Games Institute (games.institute@uwaterloo.ca) if you would like to discuss the online option. 

This workshop hosted by Dallas Squire of Onkwehonwe Games offers participants the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the people of the Six Nations (also called Haudenosaunee) through Traditional Games. Interactive and hands-on, their approach to teaching is indigenous in its foundation.

Children are seeking their place in contemporary digital cultures, notably through the use of mobile devices, playing a variety of games with friends and accessing social networking platforms, resulting in interconnected performances in the digital setting. Therefore, it was necessary to base it on connective ethnography to track the interactions of a group of children between physical and digital spaces during playtime with peers.

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This event will be held in HYBRID format. Please join us in-person at the Games Institute, EC1 at the University of Waterloo or virtually through Microsoft Teams.

Speaker: Bruna Oliveira

Bruna is a Ph.D. candidate in Education at the Federal University of Sergipe and a visiting researcher at the University of Waterloo. She has been researching topics involving children's engagement with digital games, children's playful experiences with digital technologies, children as content producers, and research methodologies involving children in the digital era.

How should we conduct research in cooperation and partnership with Indigenous communities? What does it mean for Indigenous scholars and students to do research within the colonial structures and settler epistemologies of Western universities? The panelists, consisting of Indigenous students and researchers as well as settlers working with and for Indigenous communities, will share their perspectives and experiences on these questions. They will begin a conversation to help us consider these and other issues related to Indigeneity in the context of Western academic cultures and practices, and invite questions and discussion to develop our capacity to Indigenize research and scholarship.

Osteoporosis is a major bone disease in the world, increasing the risk of fractures, and that can be slow down by an healthy lifestyle. Therefore, physical activity is very important, but engagement is a challenge. Eléa's research aims to design active games (exergames) to increase engagement while improving physical health, and fitting to a population at risk of fall and fracture.

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This event will be held in HYBRID format. Please join us in-person at the Games Institute, EC1 at the University of Waterloo or virtually through Microsoft Teams.

Speaker: Eléa Thuilier

Eléa Thuilier is a PhD student at the university of Galway (Ireland). She has a background of software and computer science engineer in France. She's also part of the Canadian AGE-WELL network as an HQP. Her research focus on the use of technology for older adults.