A Guest Lecture by Dr. Nicholas Bowman on October 27

[GI Research Communications]

Dear friends and colleagues,

We invite you to join us on Friday, October 27th at 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT for "The Psychology of Fun and Frustration" guest lecture from visiting scholar Dr. Nicholas Bowman at the Games Institute.

This lecture will be presented in a hybrid format and is free for all to attend. For those of you coming in-person to the Games Institute, refreshments will be provided. For those of you joining virtually, please register using Eventbrite<https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/guest-lecture-the-psychology-of-fun-and-frustration-tickets-472831109577?aff=oddtdtcreator>.



Please see the event abstract for additional information. Attached is the event graphic that we encourage you to share with your colleagues and networks!



Abstract: An enduring appeal of interactive entertainment media such as video games is that they invite the user to co-create the on-screen experience. More than an invitation, these experiences demand near-constant attention from players-and do so on myriad dimensions, including cognitive (problem-solving), emotional (affective reactions), apparatus (control or interface intuitiveness), exertional (physical activity) and social (attending to social agents). Individually and combined, these sources of demand are mediators for understanding the relationship between formal features of interactive media and intended (or unintended) outcomes of usage. This presentation will present and review an interactivity-as-demand model based on prior and ongoing research into video games and virtual reality technologies, with specific implications for game design and player psychology.

Speaker Bio: Nick Bowman (PhD, Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor of Emerging Media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. His research focuses on the uses and effects of interactive and immersive media, with specific interests in social media, video games, and metaverse technologies. He has published more than 125 peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-authored more than 200 competitively selected conference presentations. He is the editor of Journal of Media Psychology and associate editor for Technology, Mind, and Behavior. Recently, he completed a term as the Fulbright Taiwan Wu Jing-Jyi Arts & Culture Fellow and the National Chengchi University in Taipei, where he was researching the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social demands of virtual reality experiences, including video gaming and digital advertising campaigns. He is a lifelong gamer, part-time mechanic, and an excited-yet-skeptical futurist.
Sid Heeg, University of Waterloo
Research Communications Writer, The Games Institute
PhD Candidate, Sustainability Management
gamesinstitute-rcomms at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:gamesinstitute-rcomms at uwaterloo.ca>
I would like to acknowledge that the land on which we work and live today is the land traditionally used by the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. I recognize that the University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River. I also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws and philosophies of the Indigenous Peoples with whom we share this land today. As the Games Institute facilitates researchers of games, digital spaces, and interactive technologies, I will make space for Indigenous scholars, designers, commentators and creators to uplift voices that are marginalized in the academic and gaming community.




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