Projects

HCI Games Group

Generative AI fundamentally shifts the dynamic between human and machine. It is not just about making machines easier to use anymore; it is about making them creative partners. Think about AI-generated content in art, writing, software development—AI is learning how to adapt and respond to human needs on the

User Experience (UX) describes a user’s perceptions and responses while interacting with a designed product, system, or service. Since we cannot control an individual’s perceptions and responses to a design, it is important to understand their needs so that we can design for and serve them. Our lab focuses on

HCI for Games is a subfield of human-computer interaction that focuses on designing and evaluating interactive games. It aims to create enjoyable, engaging, and meaningful gaming experiences by understanding user needs, preferences, and behaviours. Projects: Deceptive Game Design in Virtual RealityWe developed a VR Deceptive Game Design Assessment Guide as

Study reveals AI-assisted writing enhances readability but may miss critical insights, ‘human touch’. It advocates for reviewers’ focus on research quality and unbiased judgment, regardless of writing tools used.

Project Description Over the last decade, the free-to-play (F2P) game business model has gained popularity in the games industry. We examine the role of deceptive design during a game’s transition to F2P and its impacts on players. Our analysis focuses on game mechanics and a Reddit analysis of the

Tired of boring online meetings? We’re testing video, audio, & avatars to find the perfect mix. Early results show avatars boost engagement. Stay tuned for our findings on how to make meetings awesome.

In Social Virtual Reality (SVR), mediated social communication blends with simulated virtual environments and bodies.

Video games face the challenge of providing onboarding that motivates new players to engage with a game beyond their initial experience.

Social Virtual Reality (SVR) allows real individuals to communicate and engage in simulated physical environments and activities.

Presence, as a psychological state, is typically assessed using questionnaires. While many researchers in this field assume that these self-report instruments are standardized, the reliability of such questionnaires remains uncertain.

Social Virtual Reality (SVR) consists of multi-user digital platforms that afford various co-located activities and collaborations in simulated environments.

This project aims to identify key factors influencing tabletop game purchasing decisions by conducting a qualitative analysis of player perspectives.

We developed a VR Deceptive Game Design Assessment Guide as our deductive codebook method for comparing deceptive design in computer and VR games. We adopted Gray et al. [1]’s ontology of deceptive designs as our starting point as it is the most recent and comprehensive framework at the time

As the Canadian partner in this consortium, the HCI Games Group will focus on foundational research and usability studies to determine users’ needs and preferences for the context of an exergame for older adults. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Lennart Nacke, a group of postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate researchers

Evaluating user experience with affective measures is a field of growing importance in the human factors domain, because the emotional effects of engaging technology, such as movies, mobile networked devices, games and new media, are not well understood. Within this research theme, we are developing and validating robust new methods

The Saskatchewan-Waterloo Games User Research (SWaGUR) program brings together 11 researchers from 7 departments at the Universities of Waterloo and Saskatchewan with the long-term goal of training 85 HQP in GUR in an interdisciplinary environment in collaboration with our industrial partners to serve the needs of an important part of