People

Professor Nacke teaches User Experience, Human-Computer Interaction, and Game Design at the University of Waterloo. As part of the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, the Department of Communication Arts, and the Games Institute, he is researching player experience in video games, immersive VR environments, and gameful applications. As a truly interdisciplinary researcher, he is cross-appointed and supervises graduate students in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Cheriton School of Computer Science. Together with co-researchers, he published the PXI — player experience inventory, gamification user types hexad scale, guidelines for biofeedback and sound design in games, and a book on games user research. Professor Nacke has served on the steering committee of the International Game Developers Association Games Research & User Experience Special Interest Group in the past, was the chair of the CHI PLAY conference steering committee from 2014–2018. His publications have won Best Paper Awards at the CHI, CSCW, and CHI PLAY conferences. He has published more than 100 scientific papers, which have been cited more than 10,000 times. He strongly believes in understanding users first to build more engaging games and compelling player experiences.

Dr. Katja Rogers is a graduate from the Computer Science PhD program of the Institute of Media Informatics at Ulm University, Germany. In her graduate studies, she was a visiting scholar with the St Andrews Computer-Human Interaction (SACHI) research group in Scotland, spent a semester abroad at the National Taiwan University, and undertook two research visits with the HCI Games Group in Waterloo. As a postdoctoral researcher within Dr. Lennart Nacke's research group, her research interests and current projects at the HCI Games Group focus on effects of audio on player experience, embodied interaction in mixed reality, how games and digital technologies can improve wellbeing, and fidelity / realism in virtual reality.

Dr. Hallifax received his Ph.D. from the LIRIS lab, SICAL team, based in Lyon France. He is working on adaptive gamification of digital teaching resources, under the supervision of Elise Lavoué, Audrey Serna, and Jean-Charles Marty and was working in the HCI Games Group for the summer of 2019 on a collaborative adaptive gamification project with Dr. Nacke and Dr. Tondello. His thesis is a part of the LudiMoodle project, financed by the e-FRAN project, a part of the “Investissements d’Avenir” (PIA2). His thesis goal is the production of a model that allows the adaptation of game elements to learner profiles, based on trace-based study, and fixed characteristics identified by questionnaires.

Dr. Kata Szita is a researcher with an interest in the behavioural and cognitive aspects of film, media, and extended reality experiences. She completed a Ph.D. degree in 2019 in cognitive film studies/neurocinematics at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. During her doctoral studies, she was visiting researcher at the Schools of Science and Art, design and architecture at Aalto University, Finland and at the School of Psychology at University College Dublin, Ireland. She is the recipient of a visiting fellowship from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Currently, she investigates moving-image, virtual reality, and augmented reality experiences with a particular focus on cognition, embodiment, physiological reactions, decision-making, and social behaviour. Her recently published doctoral thesis "Smartphone cinematics: A cognitive study of smartphone spectatorship" discusses the psychological and technological mechanisms of interactive viewing on mobile devices.

Joseph is a Master’s student pursuing a M.A.Sc in Systems Design Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Lennart Nacke at the University of Waterloo. He is currently working on an escape room board-game that uses physiological measures as a game mechanic. He enjoys doing photography.

Karina is a Ph.D. student pursuing a degree in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, under the supervision of Dr. Lennart Nacke. She holds an MSc in Information Technology with Business and Management from the University of Sussex in the UK, and a BSc in Information Technology from the University of Monterrey in Mexico. Her main interests include understanding player's behaviors and emotions by applying diverse games user research methodologies, specifically biometrics such as electromyography and galvanic skin response. She is also interested in the research of new methodologies and technologies that can help improve player's experience.

Derrick is a MASc student in Systems Design Engineering under SWaGUR, who comes from a mixed background of Computer Science and Digital Arts. He has a BFA degree in Creative Technologies from Virginia Tech in the USA with experience as a game and VR designer and developer. Derrick's research interests mainly involve game narratives and player emotions.

Iva currently works as UX Supervisor for Ubisoft and is a UXC certified HCI professional and part-time PhD student at the University of Salzburg. She is a passionate and tireless advocate for user needs and well-designed information displays. Her main fields of expertise within UX centre around cognitive neuroscience (CNS) and envisioning information of complex interfaces.

Ekaterina Durmanova has always held a passion for video games and their different applications, but since coming to the University of Waterloo and pursuing a bachelor in Global Business and Digital Arts at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, she has gained a passion for user experience and made it her mission to make a difference through games, the stories they tell and accessibility.

John is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of English. He holds an MA in English from the University of Waterloo and a BA in Honours English from the University of Alberta. His main research focuses on the real-time construction of narrative in sports and games. His current projects include decision making in interactive narratives and researching ways to combine knowledge translation and gamification.

Paula is a Brazilian PhD student in Computer Science at the University of São Paulo (USP), under Dr Seiji Isotani's supervision and Dr Lennart Nacke's co-supervision. She holds an MSc and BSc in Communication from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Her main interests are game design, gamification, UX and digital culture and she researches the use of subjective game elements in gamification frameworks applied to educational contexts.

Ahmed is currently a PhD candidate at Northeast Normal University, assistant lecturer at Helwan University, and a visiting researcher at the HCI Games Group. He holds an MSc and BSc in educational technology from Helwan University. His research interests include gamifying learning assignments and educational resources. As part of his research, he investigates different features of gameful design and approaches that might help for better understanding perceived experience. Moreover, he participated and published international studies in acknowledged and prestigious international conferences e.g. GamiFin, CSEDU, IEEE ICALT, eLmL, EITT.

Mel Edens is a software developer that got her bachelors from the University of Waterloo, who worked in both small start-up and large organization for few years. She is currently pursuing her graduate studies with the faculty of System Design Engineering, under the supervision of Dr. Lennart Nacke. She is working with financial corporations to develop gamification models. She believes that expertise has no value to a customer who doesn’t understand it, and gamification is the best way to simplify complicated concepts so that those with less knowledge can understand them. They can then make better decisions based on that understanding.

Alessandra is a Ph.D. student in the Cheriton School of Computer Science under the supervision of Dr Lennart Nacke and Dr Daniel Vogel. She holds a MSc in HCI-E from University College of London, where her supervisors were Dr. Nicolai Marquardt and Dr. Steven Houben. Alessandra has worked in industry for tech companies such as Google, Userzoom, DAZN, Shopify and Samsung R&D. Alessandra's main research interests are related to gamification and health. She's especially interested in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in children, and aims to create systems that will aid doctors and parents whilst also advocating for children who cannot do so for themselves. She is also interested in accessibility and believes that technology and gaming can create an environment of inclusivity and positive experiences for all.

Ally is a second-year Health Studies student at the University of Waterloo. She developed an interest in human-computer interaction after taking a Human-Computer Systems seminar course and volunteering at the HCI+Health Lab. She is interested in the implementation of technologies in healthcare, particularly in research topics involving mental health and gerontology. During her work term, she hopes to expand her knowledge about gamification and research methodologies. Ally also has a passion for photography and videography.

AJ is a second-year Health Studies student at the University of Waterloo and has always loved video games. Ever since he learned about human-computer interaction, he has been interested in learning more about how technology and video games can play a part in bettering the physical and mental health of different populations. He is very excited to learn more about how games can be used to reduce stigma around mental health as he volunteers at the HCI Games Group and the Games Institute.

Lydia Choong is an undergraduate Computer Science student at the University of Waterloo. She has played games all her life and has a love for game design, specifically in user experience. Her main interest in the field of human-computer interaction is its relation to UI/UX design and accessibility. She hopes to learn how human-computer interaction can be used to create intuitive and inclusive experiences, both in games and in other areas of life.