Games Institute Podcast

On this episode of the GI Podcast, co-hosts Sid Heeg and Dr. Emma Vossen sit down with the Rhetoricon Team. Led by Dr. Randy Harris of the English Language and Literature department at the University of Waterloo, the Rhetoricon project is the longest running project at the Games Institute. Dr. Harris' project examines rhetorical figures in language for the purposes of building ethical language lea...

In this episode of the GI Podcast, co-hosts Toben Racicot and Sid Heeg sit down with postdoctoral fellow Dr. Eugene Kukshinov and his work in social virtual reality and exploring the concept of presence within VR environments.  Bio: Dr. Eugene Kukshinov is a media psychology and HCI postdoctoral researcher. He got his PhD in Media and Communication from Temple University, USA. His focus is on unde...

This month, hosts Sid Heeg and Toben Racicot are joined by Pamela Maria Schmidt and Dr. Emma Vossen as they discuss the games they've played in 2024 and are looking forward to in 2025. Catch the latest details about their experiences with Balatro, It Takes Two, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. All this and more on this special edition of the GI podcast! Stay in touch with the Games Insti...

Co-hosts Toben Racicot (English Language and Literature) and Sid Heeg (Environment) interview Dr. Luke Potwarka (Recreation and Leisure) and Greg Mittler (Athletics and Recreation). Together they are the founders of  UWIN aka the University of Waterloo Interdisciplinary Network for Esports.  Sid and Toben chat with Greg and Luke about Esports sustainability, the possible inclusion of Esports in th...

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 Characters" -  http://hdl....

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 examining the performan...

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 establish the GI! F...

For our 50 th 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 First Person Scho...

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 the Games Instit...

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 goals for potenti...

 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 experience's in the early da...

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 "bildungsroman" in gaming,...

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 adaptation, our three...

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 with the intent...

This month, the GI podcast is joined by Dr. Daria Ho, who is a professor in History at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Daria Ho talks about her passion for history, her childhood with gaming, and the importance of performance and choice in teaching. Using avant garde teaching techniques, Dr. Ho talks about the incredibly creative and diverse experiences she and her students have shared through the...

Co-hosts Sid Heeg and Toben Racicot talk with Dr. Brianna Wiens and her involvement in social media activism campaigns, as well as her fresh take on integrating media theory into graduate and undergraduate level courses.  Show Notes: DOHR (Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation): https://dohrprojectca.wordpress.com/ MeToo: https://metoomvmt.org/ FTT (Feminist Think Tank): https://www.feminist-t...

Co-hosts Sid Heeg and Toben Racicot speak to Dr. Steve Wilcox about accessibility in gaming, First Person Scholar (FPS), Gamergate, his academic trajectory and social impact games!  Shownotes: Allergory: https://praxisgames.itch.io/allergory   Factorio:  https://www.factorio.com/ Learn more about FPS: http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/ Check out the projects Dr. Steve Wilcox undertook at the GI: h...

Dr. Oliver Schneider joins the GI Podcast to talk about custom board games, the origins of the Haptics Experience Lab (HX Lab), haptics and accessibility, Disney Research, and much more with hosts Toben Racicot and Sid Heeg!   Shownotes: Learn more about DualPanto:  http://oliverschneider.ca/dualpanto/   Check out CanHaptics: http://canhaptics.ca/   CanHaptics training course (CanHap 501 or MSCI 7...

AC Atienza joins Toben and Sid to discuss their pathway to becoming a board game designer and consultant, as well as their experiences in those roles. Learn about the board game industry, design philosophies, and the importance of hands-off playtesting.  Other topics covered include:  Why are there fewer resources for learning board game design as opposed to video game design? How does one get a j...

Toben returns to the podcast studio with new co-host Sid Heeg. They talk pandemic pasttimes, Sid's new academic trajectory, and what games have kept them busy throughout the COVID lockdowns.   To learn more about Sid Heeg: https://uwaterloo.ca/school-environment-enterprise-development/people-profiles/sid-heeg Hear more from Sid on the Games Institute Podcast: https://gamesinstitute.libsyn.com/010-...

Marisa Benjamin, co-host of the Game Institute Podcast, has moved on to other career endeavours. As a farewell, she guests in this exit interview episode to reflect on the experience of building the podcast and what comes next.

Lindsay Meaning talks examining colonialism in games and the games industry as the focus of her dissertation. From single-player RPGs like Assassin's Creed to board games like Settlers of Catan and Spirit Island, Lindsay has lots to say about colonialism's presence.

Cayley MacArthur joins the podcast to discuss her research into systems of inclusivity and human computer interaction. From knitting groups, to online gaming groups, technology brings people together, just like this podcast, and Cayley's research draws out interesting conclusions as to how digital gatherings can be improved and why they were so vital during COVID years.

Join DM Toben as he guides players Lindsay Meaning, Betsey Brey, Boris Ulyanskiy, and Leonid Moyzhes through an adventure during the International Conference on Games and Narrative's online sessions. The party receives an anonymous invitation to the Cryptid Nature Conservatory and have no idea what awaits them!

Nicholas Hobin, English PhD researcher, has devoted his research to understanding the portrayals of animals in video games. Until recently, animals in games has been an understudied topic in Game Studies. Nicholas is working hard to fill this gap, but there's still so much space to explore. Listen to him trace the roots of his work with Animal Studies, to close analyses of Red Dead Redemption 2 an...