Current Position
Sept. 2016 – Current
Assistant Professor, Game Design & Development
Wilfrid Laurier University.
Assistant Professor, Game Design & Development
Wilfrid Laurier University.
EDUCATION
2010-2016
Ph.D. in English (Games, Comics, and Knowledge Mobilization
University of Waterloo
Ph.D. in English (Games, Comics, and Knowledge Mobilization
University of Waterloo
Through my dissertation I developed a theory and practice for mobilizing knowledge through media, with a focus on games and play. A portion of this thesis was argued through a game.
2008-2009
M.A. in Rhetoric and Communication Design
University of Waterloo
M.A. in Rhetoric and Communication Design
University of Waterloo
CONSULTATIONS
Sept. 2017 – Sept. 2018
Game Designer
Canadian Public Health Association
Game Designer
Canadian Public Health Association
Worked with public health experts, healthcare providers, and patients to design online training modules for sexual healthcare.
Jun 2016 – July 2019
Game Designer
Project VEGA
Game Designer
Project VEGA
Researched and designed a professional training game with healthcare providers and researchers at VEGA (Violence, Evidence, Guidance, Action), a project addressing family violence in Canada funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
PUBLICATIONS
2020
Games and Persuasion (forthcoming)
Routledge Handbook of Language and Persuasion.
Games and Persuasion (forthcoming)
Routledge Handbook of Language and Persuasion.
2019
Praxis Games: A Design Philosophy for Mobilizing Knowledge Through Play
American Journal of Play
Praxis Games: A Design Philosophy for Mobilizing Knowledge Through Play
American Journal of Play
2018
Illusions of Space and Time – An Ethical Approach to Temporality in Games
Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds.
Illusions of Space and Time – An Ethical Approach to Temporality in Games
Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds.
2015
On the Publishing Methods of Our Time: Mobilizing Knowledge in Game Studies
Implementing New Knowledge Environments Gatherings, Sydney 2014 and Whistler 2015.
On the Publishing Methods of Our Time: Mobilizing Knowledge in Game Studies
Implementing New Knowledge Environments Gatherings, Sydney 2014 and Whistler 2015.
Game Studies In Media Res: Beginning From The Middle-State (with Michael Hancock).
Loading…Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association.
Funded Projects
2018
Positive Play: Using a Sex Education Game to Reduce Stigma. (SSHRC Connection Grant, $8550).
Principal Investigator in collaboration with the Canadian Public Health Association.
Positive Play: Using a Sex Education Game to Reduce Stigma. (SSHRC Connection Grant, $8550).
Principal Investigator in collaboration with the Canadian Public Health Association.
Discarded
Game
As part of the “Positive Play’ Connection Grant I worked with a team of students to design and develop print-and-play card game for addressing biases in sexual health care.
2017
Gamesourcing a rhetorical figure ontology. (SSHRC Insight Grant $150,000).
Co-applicant.
Gamesourcing a rhetorical figure ontology. (SSHRC Insight Grant $150,000).
Co-applicant.
Editorial Positions
2016 – Present
Series Co-editor, Games in Context
Palgrave-MacMillan.
Series Co-editor, Games in Context
Palgrave-MacMillan.
CONFERENCE PAPERS
2019
Discarded: Developing a Game for Reducing Stigma in Sexual Healthcare.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Discarded: Developing a Game for Reducing Stigma in Sexual Healthcare.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Making Sense of Videogames: Approaching Games Through the Lens of Social Sensemaking.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
2018
Allergory: A Game About Friends, Food, & Allergies. (Game Demo).
Meaningful Play 2018.
Allergory: A Game About Friends, Food, & Allergies. (Game Demo).
Meaningful Play 2018.
(Re)thinking Empathy Games.
Meaningful Play 2018.
2017
Playable Publishing: How Participatory Platforms Can Integrate the Academy into the Fourth Estate.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Playable Publishing: How Participatory Platforms Can Integrate the Academy into the Fourth Estate.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Papers S’il vous plait. (Game Demo).
Canadian Game Studies Association.
2016
Designing Videogames for Knowledge Translation.
Canadian Communication Association.
Designing Videogames for Knowledge Translation.
Canadian Communication Association.
Ludic Topology: Towards an Ethical Theory of Game Time.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
2015
New Media and Intercultural Imagination: How Webcomics and Videogames Can Help Us Imagine a Better Future.
Crip Futurities – University of Michigan.
New Media and Intercultural Imagination: How Webcomics and Videogames Can Help Us Imagine a Better Future.
Crip Futurities – University of Michigan.
First Person Scholar: Talking to Games Academics, Enthusiasts and Professionals.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Commonplace Games.
Canadian Society for Digital Humanities.
Mobilizing Knowledge in Game Studies.
Sustaining Partnerships to Transform Scholarly Production.
2013
Pattern Recognition And Games (PRAGmatic) Project.
World Social Sciences Forum 2013.
Pattern Recognition And Games (PRAGmatic) Project.
World Social Sciences Forum 2013.
Why Games Studies Needs Middle-State Publishing.
Canadian Game Studies Association.
Invited Talks
2020
Inspiring Conversations: The Role of Games in Learning and Connecting.
Laurier Speaker Series. Waterloo, ON.
Inspiring Conversations: The Role of Games in Learning and Connecting.
Laurier Speaker Series. Waterloo, ON.
2017
Games for Health – The Present and Potential Future of Healthcare.
The Cutting Edge – Health and Technology Speaker Series. Toronto, ON.
Games for Health – The Present and Potential Future of Healthcare.
The Cutting Edge – Health and Technology Speaker Series. Toronto, ON.
Playable Publishing: Games, Play, and Accessible Scholarship.
Idea Exchange. Cambridge, ON.
2013
Feed-Forward Scholarship.” (Invited as guest speaker to represent ‘the next generation of scholars’)
SSHRC – Imagining Canada’s Future. Waterloo, ON.
Feed-Forward Scholarship.” (Invited as guest speaker to represent ‘the next generation of scholars’)
SSHRC – Imagining Canada’s Future. Waterloo, ON.
FEATURED PROJECTS
AllergoryGame
Allergory was developed as part of my doctoral thesis. It provides insight into life as a food allergic child, based on interviews with food-allergic children.
Games in ContextBook Series
A book series I co-edit focused on games and play in personal, social, and cultural contexts.
Game Studies 101Website
An archive of games, criticism, and scholarship, this site was created to introduce newcomers to game studies and design from various backgrounds.
Responding SafelyGame
A series of modules created to teach medical professionals how to respond safely to disclosures of family violence. Designed in conjunction with VEGA and developed by Stitch Media.
First Person ScholarWebsite
A middle-state publication that fosters informed discussion of games, play, and culture. I co-founded and was the first editor-in-chief of the site.