Dr Joseph Hesketh

University of York

Joseph Hesketh is a designer and researcher interested in how people learn to play games through gameplay, online media, and community interaction. His research focuses on designing for learning of games and his other work focuses on the technical side of game development and design. Joseph originally studied Engineering Mathematics at the University of Bristol. His degree focused on systems and mathematical modelling and simulation, the mathematics and implementation of AI and Machine Learning systems, programming in object-oriented programming languages such as C++ and Java, and developed ray tracers in computer graphics courses.

Now at the University of York, Joseph has been working on his design skills through courses on games design, user-centred design and evaluation, designing for accessible player experiences (through AbleGamers), as well as participating in game jams and game development courses for experience and technical design. He has also built upon his quantitative research skills from Bristol with qualitative research during his PhD including grounded theory and content analysis. Joseph’s current research involves player interviews and focus groups to understand how players learn to play Esport games, what tools they use to help learn Esport games, and what potential gaps in learning tools could be filled by computational interventions.