On July 2nd, the Games Institute (GI) welcomed its latest postdoctoral fellow Dr. Geneva Smith. Dr. Smith, who is also an instructor of Game Design in Communication Arts and will be co-supervised by Drs. Lennart Nacke (Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business) and Mark Hancock (Management Science and Engineering). As a graduate student supervised by Dr. Jacques Carette at McMaster University, Dr. Smith was supported by the GI-led Interactive and Multi-Modal Experience Research Syndicate (IMMERSe network). Dr. Smith has previously appeared as a guest on the GI Podcast, which highlights her doctoral research and experience as a member of McMaster University’s G-ScalE Lab, a partner institute to the GI.
Dr. Smith’s research proposal for the position is funded by the Provost’s Program for Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars for a period of two years. Entitled “Stories for Social Change Towards Methods for Interactive Digital Narrative Development,” Dr. Smith will be studying how interactive digital narratives (IDN) can promote social change. The project is influenced by a variety of multi-media projects such as the interactive documentary Far Away From Far Away, which chronicles the lived experience of residents on Fogo island in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the video game Papers, Please, which positions the player as a border-crossing immigration officer in a fictional dystopian country that explores the tension inherent in immigration processes.
Dr. Smith is exploring how IDNs can increase understanding of complex social and societal issues like climate change, public health challenges, and humanitarian crises. We look forward to working with Dr. Smith and seeing this research develop!