DiGRA Australia (DiGRAA) was founded in late 2013 as a local chapter of DiGRA. The board is comprised of a 4 person executive (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer), and 5 board members.
2018 – 2019 Executive Members
| President – Brendan Keogh | |
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Brendan Keogh is an ARC DECRA Fellow in the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology. He researches videogame development skill transferability across informal, formal, and embedded sectors. His previous research has focused on the phenomenological and textual aspects of videogame play and culture. He is the author of A Play of Bodies: How We Perceive Videogames (MIT Press, 2018) and Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops The Line (Stolen Projects, 2012). |
| Vice President – April Tyack | |
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April Tyack is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Aalto University, studying videogames and adjacent topics. Her recent work concerns meta-science, the use of psychological theory to explain aspects of player experience, and ordinary experiences of play. She has previously written on social play online, experiences of social relatedness in single-player videogames, and games for learning. She is currently a columnist at Metro Magazine, focusing on current events in Australian game-making scenes, and previously wrote for Haywire Magazine. |
| Treasurer – Jane Mavoa | |
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Jane Mavoa is a PhD candidate at The University of Melbourne. Her research is about children’s play in digital spaces, particularly in and around the game Minecraft. She is interested in connections and consistencies between children’s non-digital play and the ways that play happens in digital spaces. Her research also addresses popular discourse surrounding children’s use of screen based media. |
| Secretary – Benjamin Nicoll | |
| Benjamin Nicoll is a Research Fellow based in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on the history and critical theory of videogames and videogame platforms, with a particular focus on notions of technological failure and marginality in game history. He is currently working on a research project that examines the use and implementation of ‘game engines’ in Australian videogame and software development industries. | |
2018 – 2019 Board Members
| Seat 1 – Marcus Carter | |
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Marcus Carter is a Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney. His research explores social interactions in and around games. He has ongoing projects involving ‘Natural User Interfaces’ in Games, EVE Online, DayZ, Warhammer 40,000 and Candy Crush Saga. His recent publications can be found on his webpage. |
| Seat 2 – Laura M Crawford | |
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Laura M Crawford is a lecturer, consultant and PhD candidate in the area of attraction to screen violence. She speaks frequently at conferences nationally and internationally on this topic. She is heavily involved in Australia’s games community, speaking at and facilitating events and discussions pertaining to violence in games, psychology of design, independent game design and social issues within the industry. She teaches psychology of game design and game theory at Swinburne University of technology. |
| Seat 3 – Fraser Allison | |
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Fraser Allison is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. His PhD is on voice interaction in digital games. Much of his research looks at “negative” experiences in games such as embarrassment, dissonance, fear, guilt, distrust and character death. In 2020, he joined the DeathTech Research Team to study the future of cemeteries and the emerging role of digital technologies in mourning. |
| Seat 4 – Jane Cocks | |
| Jane Cocks is a PhD Candidate at the Engage Research Lab at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her research is focussed on developing a framework for designing games for behaviour change grounded in psychology theory and practice. Jane has completed Bachelor degrees in Behavioural Science and Health Science, Psychology Honours. She has been very involved in the Australian games community for the last 4 years; speaking, writing, and facilitating events relating to serious games, the psychology of games, and the relationship between games and mental health, both nationally and internationally. | |
| Seat 5 – Malcolm Ryan | |
| Malcolm Ryan is Director of the Game Design Development program at Macquarie University. His research examines the mechanisms for ethical decision-making in games such as Papers Please, The Walking Dead and Day Z. He is also interested in the relationship between gameplay and narrative. He also designs both tabletop and mobile games under the banner of WordsOnPlay, | |
2015-2018 Board
President – Marcus Carter
Vice President – Laura Crawford
Treasurer – Bjorn Nansen
Secretary – Melissa Rogers
Board members – Thomas Apperley, Martin Gibbs, Brendan Keogh
Student representatives – Mahli-Ann Butt, Benjamin Nicoll
2012-2015 Board
President – Martin Gibbs
Vice President – Thomas Apperley
Secretary – Laura Crawford
Treasurer – Marcus Carter
Board Members – Bjorn Nansen, Melanie Swalwell, Stewart Woods & Angela Ndalianis.