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.
Dr. John Muñoz - Chief Science Officer at J&F Alliance Group and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo - hosted an interactive workshop on October 4th, 2023. This workshop covered the exploration of biometrics (or physiological measures) in game user research, driven by advancements in sensing technologies and the increased accessibility of signal processing tools.
"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.
The Games Institute is happy to announce that three of its members, Drs. Lai-Tze Fan, Neil Randall, and Susan Roy have been recognized through The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The three have been awarded a sum of $412,000 for their respective groundbreaking research focuses.
On August 10th, Nima Zargham, a PhD candidate from the University of Bremen, presented and hosted an informal presentation and discussion on his recent research about human-agent speech interaction.
Congratulations to GI member Dr. Lai-Tze Fan (Sociology and Legal Studies) who was recently announced as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Technology and Social Change for her work with inclusive artificial intelligence (AI).
Drs. Gerald Voorhees and Daniel Harley, in association with the Anti-Racism, Decolonization, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADE) Committee at the Games Institute, are continuing their SSHRC-funded ADE for Game Communities: Workshop and Speaker Series with an additional 8 events this term. The Speaker Series is creating opportunities for meaningful equitable change in games academia and industry that requires active and inclusive community-building.