Josh M
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Northeastern University
Expertise
game design, user experience research, human-computer interaction, game development, instructional design
Bio
I'm a PhD candidate studying game-user interaction and transformational games at Northeastern University. My research focuses on synthesizing game design principles with the psychology of learning and motivation to create seamless and engaging user experiences in non-game contexts. My primary specialization is in onboarding (tutorials) and complex learning in games, with specific focus on higher educational games and transformational games which train soft skills, such as language, music, and art. When I'm not researching games, I like to play and make them. I run a tabletop RPG campaign in a custom steampunk-fantasy system and a family-sized FFXIV free company. I also like to juggle, cook, and play the ukulele poorly.Project ideas
Design-Based Research: Creating a (Very Small!) Game
Developing games can be research too! Through design-based research (DBR), you can make a game that has educational value, or a game that helps players contribute to science (called citizen science games), or even just a game that does something unique that hasn't been done in a game before! Making a game is a usually a huge undertaking, so this project would have a very small scope and focus on time management, workflow, design, and iteration, with a proof-of-concept outcome. Some example game ideas could be: - a puzzle game about practicing algebra - a citizen science game about identifying birds - a game you play with your toes - a story-rich game about OCD - a party game you can play on Zoom
Game-User Experience Research Study
Explore the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and games user research (GUR) with a small research study that you design. We'll go through forming a research question and hypothesis, designing a qualitative and/or quantitative experiment, collecting and analyzing data, and writing up a report. This could even result in a scientific publication! Some example research questions could be: - How can game developers avoid unhealthy, "dark", and exploitative patterns of game design? - Are games becoming more open to LGBTQ+ topics? - What do players think about moral systems in games?