The Games Institute - University of Waterloo

This week the Game Development Club will be discussing Scriptable Objects, a useful Unity tool for improving game code architecture. Learn how you can use them to handle your game's data, keep track of game object instances during runtime, and create systems with them such as a modular messaging system. The talk starts at 4pm Thursday in the GI's Collaboration Space.

The GI would like to extend a warm congratulations to Michael Hancock, Judy Ehrentraut, and Adam Bradley who collaborated with Stitch Media on the video game Terrorarium. It's been selected for this year's IndiCade Showcase!

Dr. Randall on D-Day Games To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the launch of Operation Overlord and its D-Day invasions, which took place on June 6, 1944, Dr. Neil Randall will present a history of games that simulate thi…

iLunch - Positioning Within the Global VR Industry iLunch is Interactive Ontario's monthly lunch-and-learn series that provides skills development and networking to interactive digital media producers and those in other sectors wishing to learn more or collaborate with IDM creators. Each session includes lunch, a panel discussion or presentation, Q&...

We have the news you've been waiting for... Mark your calendars for GI Jam Fall 2018! Learn: Sept 27, Make: Sept 28-30

https://uwaterloo.ca/games-institute/uwgame-jam

Tickets on sale now, don't miss out!

GI Jam | Games Institute Waterloo Game Jam, also commonly called the GI Jam, is a thrice-annual, multi-day event hosted by The Games Institute (GI). Each of these events are open to the public and are designed to appeal to a wide variety of playful people. The upcoming Jam: Fall Term 2018

Want some faces to match the names? Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV5Yhh6RX1U&t=16s

It's nice to meet you, too.

Welcome to the Games Institute The University of Waterloo’s Games Institute (GI) is a multidisciplinary research centre at the University of Waterloo focused on the study of games, gamific...

If you are interested in diversity in games and games user research, join GI researchers at their upcoming workshop at ACM CHIPLAY 2018. CHIPLAY 2018 will take place October 28-31 in beautiful Melbourne, Australia.

Gaming With the Subaltern

subaltern: populations that are socially, politically, and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland

Workshop description:

How do individual differences affect results and methods in games user research, and individuals' gameplay experiences? What perspectives and experiences are shared by people across gender, ethnicity, age, ability, class, and other social power dynamics? Which of these identity effects are unique and which are shared across dynamics of oppression? What do game researchers and developers need to understand regarding identity dynamics when gathering data, interpreting results, or presenting information? What does intersectionality (i.e., the living combination of multiple identity and power dynamics) look like in gaming, game development and research? Our workshop is built around these key questions in the hope that shared insights will allow us to move from simply valuing "diversity" toward successful intersectional practices in research, development, and play.

This workshop represents an effort to gather a community of identity, power, and diversity researchers to share our knowledge and practices with one another, collectively understand the intersections of identity-factors (race, gender, sexuality, ability, neuroatypicality, etc.) and cross-cultural issues in games research and game design. Our shared knowledge will begin with the mutual building of known biases, player experience effects, and identified sites of player exclusion/marginalization. This will form a snapshot of gaming and research’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to real diversity in games and games user research (GUR). The group will map common identity factors to key research areas, revealing shared and unshared dynamics. This map will advance our collective practices and identify current, recurring barriers to diversity. It will also support the construction of a later summary document on key considerations for researchers and game developers working with diverse populations. The results of our workshop will be published to an online, publicly-available website for comment, critique, and open development.

To participate: Consult the workshop website for instructions, and submit your expression of interest to [email protected].
Submissions received by October 1st will be confirmed by October 4th, however, late submissions will be considered up to the date of the workshop. SWaGUR has contributed funding such that a limited number of participants with financial need may be supported.

Workshop website: https://subalterngur.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

gaming with the subaltern subaltern: populations that are socially, politically, and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland

Worth the read: The Beginning, Battle Royale, and the Convergence of Culture by GI member Christian Metaxas

B: The Beginning Meets Battle Royale | Too Far Gone What do Fortnite and B: The Beginning have in common? Too Far Gone explores the cultural pervasiveness of Battle Royale, and how modern anime is taking its cues from the video game phenomenon that's been sweeping the world.

A new touch display has been added to the Games Institute. You can learn more about how it came to be, here:

Using Touchscreen Technology in Medicine & Research - Mechdyne The University of Waterloo uses Mechdyne's touchscreen technology to enable medical professionals to interact with patient data in real time.

The Games Institute has partnered with the Technoculture, Art, and Games (TAG) lab at Concordia University on a games research exhibit display at THEMUSEUM in Kitchener. This exhibit is open to the public and will run until May 13th. Make sure to check it out!

The Games Institute Exhibit at THEMUSEUM | Games Institute The exhibit “INTERPLAY: Thinking Through Games” launches at THEMUSEUM on Friday, January 26, 2018-Thursday, May 10, 2018.

The GI Jam MAKE event is happening this weekend (Jan. 26-28) and we'd like to invite you to participate!

For information on how to register and the schedule of the GI Jam, please see

Waterloo Game Jam | Games Institute Waterloo Game Jam, also commonly called the GI Jam, is a thrice-annual, multi-day event hosted by The Games Institute (GI). Each of these events are open to the public and are designed to appeal to a wide variety of playful people. The upcoming Jam: Winter Term 2018