News

Members of The First Three Years Project PhD candidate Kenzie Gordon (University of Alberta), Dr. Jennifer Whitson (Sociology & Legal Studies), Dr. Johanna Weststar (Western University), and Dr. Sean Gouglas (University of Alberta) published an op-ed in The Conversationto unpack why so many layoffs are currently happening in the games industry.

GI Faculty Member and Canada Research Chair (CRC) Dr. Lai-Tze Fan (Sociology and Legal Studies) recently appeared on a panel hosted by the TRuST Scholarly Network in collaboration with the Perimeter Institute and on the CTV news show The Mike Farwell Show to discuss her work on the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI).

Series editors Drs. Neil Randall (Executive Director) and Steve Wilcox (Alum) have already published two new edited collections as part of their Palgrave Games in Context series this year. Previous publications in the series have spoken on aspects of feminism within games, theory and practice within tabletop roleplaying communities, and critical reflections on games like Minecraft. The two latest additions to the series continue the critical examination of games within the context of our culture, technology, politics, and more.

On Thursday, November 17th, Dr. John Muñoz, Chief Science Officer at J&F Alliance Group and Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo, was interviewed by Angela Liu on Rogers TV.

In Spring 2023, the GI staff began the task of turning their office into a green-certified space.

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.

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.

"The Light Within”, an interactive outdoor light installation created by PhD candidate Ludwig Wilhelm Wall (Computer Science) and colleagues Nathan Fischer and Diana Train, has recently been moved to the lobby of East Campus 1. Having been displayed in two separate art public art exhibitions, the display will remain at East Campus 1 for the foreseeable future.

On Wednesday September 20th, GI Members turned out for The Urgency of Social Justice event at the Arts Quad on main campus for an event presented by the Gender and Social Justice (GSJ) program.