Games Institute Podcast

This month co-hosts Toben Racicot and Sid Heeg interview incoming GI Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Geneva Smith about her research into NPC emotional believability in games. Links: G-ScalE Lab at McMaster University. https://gscale.cas.mcmaster.ca/ “Start Your EM(otion En)gine: Towards Computational Models of Emo-tion for Improving the Believability of Video Game Non-Player Charact

This week co-hosts Toben (English Language and Literature) and Sid (Environment) interview faculty member Dr. Gerald Voorhees (Communication Arts), about his past, present, and future research on race, decolonization, whiteness, and masculinity in games. Voorhees reminisces on past research about masculinity and “Dadification” in games, and discusses his research in eSports e

Co-hosts Toben Racicot (English Language and Literature) and Sid Heeg (Environment) interview Computing and Software PhD candidate Sasha Soraine (McMaster University) about her experiences with games and games research. Sasha is part of the interdisciplinary Gaming Scalability Environment (G-ScalE) Lab at McMaster. Fun fact, G-ScalE was a part of the IMMERSe network that helped est

For our 50th episode, Toben (English Language and Literature) and Sid (Environment) interview OG GI member Dr. Emma Vossen about her academic life with games before becoming the GI’s Research Communication Officer. She discusses how she got into games as a kid, her time as EIC of First Person Scholar, and how much game studies has changed since she started her PhD in 2012. Links

This month, hosts Sid Heeg and Toben Racicot are joined by Pamela Maria Schmidt and AC Atienza as they discuss the games they've played in 2023 and are looking forward to in 2024. Catch the latest details about their experiences with Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, and some exciting indie games. All this and more on this special edition of the GI podcast! Stay in touch with

This week we are joined by Joe Tu, who is a PhD student and GI member pursing a degree in Systems Design Engineering. Follow along as we discuss Joe's experiences with gaming, his educational journey at The University of Waterloo, and his experiences/work at the GI. Further, we dive into the insights of Joe's recent project on incorporating heartrate monitors into gaming, and his g

This month we are joined by Shawn Desouza-Coelho, who is GI alumni, U-Waterloo Graduate with a Masters in English - Experimental and Digital Media, avid gamer and theatrical performer. Follow along as Shawn discusses topics around the amazing impacts of gaming in games like Final Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Baldurs Gate, and ­­­­plenty more. Shawn also explores his experien

This month we are joined by Dr. Derritt Mason, who is a associate professor in English at the University of Calgary. Follow along as Dr. Mason discucsses topics surrounding their love of video games, queer representation in games, and coming of age stories in gaming. Dr. Mason additonal dives into how adolescent roles are displayed in horror games, the unique aspects of "bildungsr

Dr. Neil Randall is not only the Executive Director of the Games Institute Research Facility at the University of Waterloo, but also an avid guide and participant in the fellowship of the Lord of the Rings universe. Here, he discusses interesting particulars in how the Lord of the Rings franchise has reconfigured itself through decades of adapatations. Alongside the scope of adapta

Dr. Lili Liu, Dean of Health at the University of Waterloo, and Dr. Hector Perez, Postdoctoral Fellow, discuss the concept of serious games and their application in research for the aging population This includes how Drs. Liu and Perez have used games in their research such as exercise games, games for memory, social interaction, and cognitive thinking. Their work has been used to