Janine Bower
Area of Research / Interest: Voice acting, representation, character/player connection, localization processes, digital materiality
Undergraduate Education Institution: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
Undergraduate Major: Spanish and Mandarin Chinese
Biography: As a lover of all things international and previous M.S. in STS grad, Janine is looking to blend a number of her interests into one impactful research project. Some of those interests include: adventures in open world completionism, testing out accents in the amateur voice acting world, and discovering tricky social science questions in the process. As a former administrator (CHOP Global Medicine, Drexel University), adjunct Chinese professor, and one-time K-pop blogger, she is excited to see how much further her South Jersey roots can take her. Email: bowerj6@rpi.edu
Peter Burr
Area of Research / Interest: Worldbuilding
Undergraduate Education Institution: Carnegie Mellon University
Undergraduate Major: Art
Biography: Peter Burr is an artist from Brooklyn, NY. His practice often engages with tools of the video game industry in the form of immersive cinematic artworks. These pieces have been presented internationally by various institutions including Documenta 14, Athens; MoMA PS1, New York; and The Barbican Centre, London.
Previously Burr worked under the alias Hooliganship and founded the video label Cartune Xprez through which he produced hundreds of live multimedia exhibitions and touring programs showcasing a multi-generational group of artists at the forefront of experimental animation. His practice has been recognized through grants and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Creative Capital Grant, and a Sundance New Frontier Fellowship.
Ysabelle Coutu
Area of Research / Interest: Affect in Games
Undergraduate Education Institution: Penn State University
Undergraduate Major: Information Sciences and Technology
Biography: Ysabelle hails from Central PA and is a graduate of both Penn State University (BS in Information Sciences and Technology) and Northeastern University (MS in Game Science and Design). Her interest lies in the intersection between art and technology, and her research topics include affect in games, design methodology, narrative, and user experience. She hopes to one day become a professor in the games field.
Zihan Feng
Area of Research / Interest: history and cultural heritage in games, sound and music designs in games, interactive storytelling, user experience design in games
Undergraduate Education Institution: New York University Shanghai
Undergraduate Major: Interactive Media Arts
Biography: Zihan Feng received his B.S. degree in Interactive Media Arts from New York University in 2022. Before starting his graduate study, he worked in multiple game companies in China in a variety of roles including level design, music design, programming, etc. His research interests include history and cultural heritage in games, interactive storytelling, sound design in games, and user experience design. Email: fengz5@rpi.edu
Matthew Hlady
Area of Research / Interest: Gamer ethics
Undergraduate Education Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Undergraduate Major: English and Western Laws & Ethics
Biography: Matt comes from a humanities-focused background and transitioned his love for stories and history into game development. He seeks to develop his technical skills while researching gamer psychology and the impact of games on players’ ethical choices. He writes scripts for Everbloom Games and fiction in his spare time. Email: hladym@rpi.edu.
Bryan Kim
Area of Research / Interest: Mental Disorder Digital Therapeutics
Undergraduate Education Institution: Purdue University
Undergraduate Major: Computer Graphics Technology
Biography: Bryan was born in Philadelphia, completed elementary and middle school in Korea and then returned to the United States to finish high school in Missouri. He attended Purdue University as Computer Graphics major to do CAD design. However, he realized that he wanted to do something that he loved and completed a Master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University to learn about game design, AR, VR, and game production. He was in the Fortnite department as a production intern after finishing his Master's, but wanted to do something more with game design. He has also started a project building digital therapeutic games for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Email: kimb9@rpi.edu.
Li Zheng
Hometown/Country: China
Area of Research / Interest: Game Design
Undergraduate Education Institution: Xi'an Polytechnic University
Undergraduate Major: Animation
Biography: Li is mainly engaged in the experimental production and theoretical research of VR games. Li published a chapter in the Handbook of Research on the Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media in 2020 and has published several monographs and more than ten papers in Chinese.
Pengze Zheng
Hometown/Country: China
Area of Research / Interest: Chinese Internet Cafe Culture
Undergraduate Education Institution: University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Major: Computer Game Design
Biography: Pengze Zheng was born in China and came to the United States to study game design and culture after high school. Zheng’s research direction includes the Chinese Game Industry, Chinese Game Culture, Chinese Society and Ideology, Game Analysis, and Game Adaptation and Localization. He currently focuses on Chinese internet cafe culture and its relationship with the Chinese game culture. Email: zhengp3@rpi.edu