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.

Max is a postdoctoral researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab (UMTL) at Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. He holds a M.Sc in Media Informatics from Saarland University. His research focuses on using gamification elements in behavior change support systems, on factors influencing their perception and on ways to tailor them to users. During his research visit at the HCI games group, he works on a collaborative gamification project with Dr. Nacke and Dr. Tondello.

Paula is a Brazilian postdoctoral researcher 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 postdoctoral researcher at Beijing Normal University after graduating with a Ph.D. from Northeast Normal University, an 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 journals and conferences, e.g. International Journal of Educational Research, GamiFin, CSEDU, IEEE ICALT, eLmL, EITT.

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.

Works on immersion, presence, and critical studies of social VR.

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.

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.

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.

Lydia Choong is a Computer Science Master's 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.

Sukran is a PhD student in the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the Universität Hamburg in Germany, under the supervision of Dr Frank Steinicke and the co-supervision of Dr Lennart E. Nacke. Sukran holds a BA in Psychology from Yasar University, Turkey and an MSc in Cognitive Systems from Ulm University, Germany. Her main research interests focus on asymmetric mixed reality games, social interaction in VR games, VR exergames, accessibility, and well-being.

Hilda is a first-year Ph.D. student in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, under the co-supervision of Dr. Lennart E. Nacke and Dr. Leah Zhang-Kennedy. Hilda is passionate about human-centred research, particularly in video games, usable privacy and security. She holds a BS in Automation Engineering from South-Central University of Nationalities in China, a course-based MS in Information Systems Management from George Washington University, and a thesis-based MS in Security Informatics from Indiana University, United States. Before joining the University of Waterloo, Hilda was a Graduate Researcher at IoT Research Lab at Indiana University, where she worked with Dr. Jean Camp and published research studies on Public Key Infrastructure security, and privacy perceptions on IoT and during COVID.