Tania Dales

University of York

Cross disciplinary researcher who holds a BA (hons) in English and Media Studies and MSc by research in Interactive Media.  

Studies and analyses player experience and engagement in order to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Predominantly interested in the potential for developing intentional uncanny audiovisual aesthetics and gameplay in video games.  My research aims to determine what makes a digital robotic or alien character uncanny through an in depth study of animation and speech. The intention is to make a development toolkit to aid the process of developing these digital uncanny others. The literature review will explore the vast quantity of relevant material within the fields of HCI, HRI and game theory. The research study will be approached using a range of well developed research methods used within HCI, HRI and game theory. 

These will include industry interviews and player experience surveys, the development of game prototypes analysed using qualitative data collection and Reflective Thematic Analysis, and the subsequent development of a toolkit to be tested in a workshop environment with game developers. This research and toolkit aims to be a useful asset to the character development process, whilst benefiting the relationship between the development process and player experience.