Danielle Kleinerman is a PhD student and Lecturer in Digital Media: Production (at University College London) and Games Theory and Cultures (at the University of Hertfordshire). Her academic background is in English Literature and Film Studies and now specialises in teaching and working in Game Studies. Her thesis focuses on gaming cultural studies, and critiques the dynamic forces that operate within gaming cultures through co-constructed auto-ethnography, critical cartography, qualitative play interviews. She has presented on several occasions at the Digital Games Research Association.
Dr Bruno de Paula is an Associate Professor in Digital Media (Game Studies) at the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. A native from Brazil, Bruno has researched the intersections between video game cultures, game literacies, identities and game-making by non-mainstream groups. His most recently concluded research project focused on the intercultural (dis)encounters in videogame education within the internationalised Western higher education. His current research agenda focuses on the history of games and decoloniality (with special attention to video game cultures in the Global South), professional game development cultures in the Global South, and sports videogames.
Dr Alison Croasdale is a lecturer in Digital Media, Education, and Games at IoE-UCL. Her thesis (2025), titled ‘What is Missing and Found: Immersion and Engagement as Concepts and Pedagogy,’ explores digital game design and creative methods acting as ‘third text’ proxies to enable students to access challenging GCSE texts, and the conditions required for students to become ‘immersed’ or ‘engaged’ in their studies of texts. She holds MAs in Digital Media, Culture and Communication (IOE-UCL, 2016) and Critical Theory (MMU, 2008). Her recent papers have included, ‘Games and the Performance of Multilayer Identities’ at CEEGS (2024) and ‘Creating and Recreating Game Time’ for the ‘Video Games: Time and Nostalgia’ conference at the University of Exeter (2023). Prior to lecturing, she served as a secondary school middle leader and teacher of English and Media in East London.
Dr Xiaochun Zhang is a Lecturer in Translation Studies at University College London, specializing in video game localization and accessibility. She has published over 40 articles and book chapters in leading academic journals and with university publishers. Dr Zhang has led and participated in more than ten research projects, including national and international consortiums across Europe and China, with funding from the British Academy, Research England, and the European Commission. Currently, she is working on the AIAD project, aiming to enhance accessibility and inclusivity in video games through AI-facilitated audio descriptions. ORCID: 0000-0001-6334-6525
RESEARCH STUDENTS
Dody M.H. Chen is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) of University College London. Dody’s PhD project is about game streamers’ game localisation practices in live game streaming. With multiple identities such as a video creator and game reviewer, Dody aims to acquaint the public with game localisation theories while examining the research significance of social media’s impact on game localisation. Dody’s research interests include video game localisation, audiovisual translation, cultural adaptation, game streaming, esports, fandom, and media communication. Please see Dody’s portfolio at: https://dody-chen.carrd.co/
Ms. Yunke Deng is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Translation Studies, University College London. Yunke completed her MA degree in Translation Studies at the University of Bristol. Her research focuses on game accessibility, video game for the disabled persons, and user experience research.
Alex Habgood is professional archivist working at Rebellion Developments, supporting the digital curation of the company’s videogame assets. He has also been nominated to undertake a collaborative doctoral award at UCL, partnering with the British Film Institute (BFI), for the project Britsoft Unlocked. This PhD research will start in October 2025 and aims to explore progressive ways that videogame archives can be used and reused, to support the sustainable preservation of the UK’s videogame heritage. He also volunteers as an editor at Press Start, a student journal focused on game studies. Check out his blog/website at: https://www.bishbashbackup.co.uk
Chiara Haynes recently completed her MA in History of Art at University College London and will be starting a Collaborative Doctoral Award with Cardiff University, University of Exeter, and Imperial War Museums in October 2025. She has an industry background in museum educational programmes and higher education learning and development. Her research interests include visual communications and photography surrounding Empire, postcolonialism, and diasporic identities, particularly within decolonial praxis. She has also presented interdisciplinary papers on digital arts and iconography in videogames at the Digital Games Research Association. She is an advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion as a former EDI board member of the UCL History of Art Department and is an active member of the Women in Higher Education Network in the UK.
My name is Greg Mc Guinness, a second-level Mathematics teacher and PhD student in the Institute of Education, University College London. Currently I am completing my research in queer subjectivities in videogames, specifically focussing on monstrosity and the development of “Queer Identities” in dystopian Role-Playing Games.
My research interests are generally focussed on investigating the physical body as an archive of digital experiences, with a particular interest in queerness and monstrosity in Role-Playing Games. As such, my research utilises feminist materialist theories and cartographic methodologies, considering how (queer) player experiences map onto the games they play.
My research interests are generally focussed on investigating the physical body as an archive of digital experiences, with a particular interest in queerness and monstrosity in Role-Playing Games. As such, my research utilises feminist materialist theories and cartographic methodologies, considering how (queer) player experiences map onto the games they play.
Sara is a practising immersive artist and researcher; she is currently doing her PhD at UCL. The research interests of Sara revolve around the gamification of alternative news outlets— focusing on the increasing polarisation of such platforms by politically driven groups. Sara has also developed platforms such as: y0uph0ria_. The creation of this platform was an attempt to uncover non-knowledge through developing digitised archives of the inner experience (via Unreal Engine), greatly associated with unknowable and unutterable histories of violence. The methodology of theses spaces namely allowed for the binding of a physical and virtual function, in hope of leading y0u to further knowledge in a post-truth era.
I am Linjie Su, currently a UCL postgraduate researcher interested in digital cultural heritage and the development of aesthetic digital games within the museum context. My research theme is relevant to game design, remediation, digital curation, game-based learning, immersive experience and interactive storytelling. Also keen to research player-driven meaning-making and creative interpretation of art. I am also working as a lecturer of interactive design at the University of Westminster, School of Media and Communication. Mainly teaching undergraduate courses in Digital Art, Critical Generative AI for ART, Creative Technology and Design, Concepting for Games, UI/UX Design for Emerging Media (VR/AR/MR) Experience.
Kellynn Wee is a PhD student at UCL’s Department of Anthropology. Her research looks at tabletop roleplaying games in Singapore as a form of collaborative storytelling, particularly how this cultural practice relates to people’s experiences of sociality, uncertainty and self-making. Kellynn also convenes the AnthroPlay network and has made games such as Move Quietly and Tend Things as part of her multimodal approach to research.
Hi 👋 My name is Xuancheng Yu. I’m a PhD student at the Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS), advised by Dr Rocio Banos Pinero and Dr Xiaochun Zhang. I’m passionate about enhancing game accessibility for users with diverse abilities and designing interactive systems for social good. My current work explores accessible and inclusive video gaming for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing users. Previously, I completed my MSc in Translation and Technology (Audiovisual) at UCL and a BA in Localisation at Beijing Language and Culture University. Outside of research, I enjoy knitting, Chinese painting, gaming, and all forms of creative exploration! 🤖