Games Institute Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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 the Olympics, and their recent trip to the University of Warwick for future collaborative research efforts on Esports development and research.

Bios

Dr. Luke R. Potwarka Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the Spectator Experience and Technology Laboratory aka the SEAT Lab. His research involved thinking critically about sports spectatorship and consumer behaviour and wellbeing.

Greg Mittler is the Esports and Gaming Coordinator in the Department of Athletics and Recreation and an alumnus of Waterloo's Recreation and Business program. Greg has been involved in many parts of Camps and Athletics at UW for almost 20 years.

Shownotes

SEAT LAB: "Our international team of researchers investigate the role of sport spectator experiences in the promotion of individual health and well-being. To achieve this goal, we employ various technologies as both a methodology (e.g., social neuroscience, eye-tracking, second screens, etc), and a means of experiencing sport events (e.g., virtual reality, augmented reality, mobile devices). Our lab's current work focuses on developing a better understanding of the sport consumer experience using social neuroscience methodology. We are interested in addressing the extent to which brain system activation can predict engagement (i.e., flow) and involvement in the sport viewership experience."

UWIN's Mission: "The mission of our proposed network is to strengthen esports-related scholarship, teaching/learning, and student experiences at the University of Waterloo. We will advance this mission through socially just and equity-oriented approaches, which seek to make esports more accessible and inclusive spaces for all. Our mission will consider esports from a holistic wellbeing perspective, with considerations for potential physical, mental, social, and emotional benefits and harms of esports to participants and communities."

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.handle.net/11375/28699

"GLaDOS: Integrating Emotion-Based Behaviours into Non-Player Characters in Computer Role-Playing Games" -  http://hdl.handle.net/11375/21369 

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 of decreasing the effects associated with older adults living with dementia, and has led to collaborative research and design processes with First Responders in First Nations communities in Quebec, Canada.

Check out their work with the Aging and Innovation Research Project (AIRP):  https://uwaterloo.ca/aging-innovation-research-program/

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 implication of realism and role-play in the classroom. 

Teams: Daria.ho@uwaterloo.ca

Email: Daria.ho@uwaterloo.ca

DMZ Project Trailer: https://youtu.be/dr1KJpAdHrI

DMZ Project Documentary: https://youtu.be/E5pV4oSgoak

If you are interested in learning to play Gō with Dr. Daria Ho, please reach out through the above email. 

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-think-tank.com/ 

qLab (q collaborative): https://www.qcollaborative.com/

Dr. Brianna Wiens' Socials 

Instagram: aesthetic.resistance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/biwiens 

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: https://uwaterloo.ca/games-institute/steve-wilcox

Check out Dr. Steve Wilcox's Wilfrid Laurier University profile: https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-human-and-social-sciences/faculty-profiles/steve-wilcox/index.html 

Dr. Steve Wilcox's Socials

Personal website: https://www.helloworlds.ca/cv/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevemwilcox?lang=en 

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 720 at the University of Waterloo): https://wiki.canhaptics.ca/

One of Oliver's Disney research projects: https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/tactile-animation/ 

FeelCraft: http://oliverschneider.ca/feelcraft/ 

Check out Oliver's GI profile: https://uwaterloo.ca/games-institute/people-profiles/oliver-schneider

Oliver's personal website: http://oliverschneider.ca/ 

Learn more about the HX Lab: https://uwaterloo.ca/haptic-experience-lab/

Oliver's Twitter https://twitter.com/oschneid 

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 job in the board game industry?

What are the secrets to success with a board game Kickstarter?

What is the difference between input and output randomness in design?

Why are some games more fun to design than play?

How do you identify systemic problems while playtesting?

And what is Gen Con, the largest tabletop game convention in North America, really like?

SHOWNOTES:

Learn more about Wiggles 3D here: https://wiggles3d.com/

Check out Captain's Gambit: Kings of Infinite Space: https://www.cloudfallstudios.com/captainsgambit

About GenCon: https://www.gencon.com/aboutus

Who is Tom Vasel? https://www.dicetower.com/team-members/tom-vasel

Stardew Valley Board Game: https://shop.stardewvalley.net/products/stardew-valley-the-board-game

Azul: https://www.boardgamehalv.com/azul/

Cats: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/257814/cats

Contacts:

AC is reachable at: https://www.cloudfallstudios.com/

AC Atienza's Twitter: https://twitter.com/acatienz

You can learn more about the Games Institute at https://uwaterloo.ca/games-institute/

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-farming-simulators-and-achievement-hunting-with-sid-hee

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/010-farming-simulators-achievement-hunting-sid-heeg/id1465789684?i=1000451821829

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.