GAMER Lab
(Gaming Arts, Media Experiences, and Research Laboratory)
The G.A.M.E.R. Lab is a multidisciplinary campus-wide initiative focused on education, design and creative work, research and scholarship, and community activities related to games, simulations, and virtual environments. G.A.M.E.R. Lab faculty and students work together in the classroom and research facilities. They design spaces and play games to explore digital games from various perspectives. The Virgina Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology sponsors this studio.
Education
Faculty associated with the lab from across campus work together to design and deliver courses from multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives about video game design, analysis, and criticism. Course offerings include a recent team-taught pilot course on game design and game studies and a planned minor in game design and analysis in conjunction with the Academy of Transdisciplinary Studies.
Design and Creation
A game lounge/maker space in Media Building 204 includes hardware, software, and other equipment for paper-and-pencil game prototyping, game coding, and gameplay for coursework and other student projects. A planned game studio space in the Newman Library will expand opportunities for creative work and play with games.
Social and Behavioral Research
The social and behavioral research branch of the lab, housed in Media Building 105, investigates the social dimensions and impact of video games, virtual environments, simulations, and related media technologies. Here, faculty and students work together to produce empirical research answering questions about video games’ content, effects, users, business, culture, and related technologies.
Community
The G.A.M.E.R. Lab works with student groups involved with games-related activities, including the Game Development Club, with which Zach Duer is affiliated, and the VESPA eSport Association (VESPA), advised by James D. Ivory.
Personnel
Faculty:
- Zach Duer, School of Visual Arts (photo and bio)
- James D. Ivory, Department of English (photo and bio)
Students
Undergraduate and graduate students from multiple majors participate in the upkeep of the lab alongside James D. Ivory and Zach Duer .
Contact
For more information, a tour, or to get involved, contact James D. Ivory