Tania Dales

University of York

Tania is an indie video game designer and developer, working with horror, science fiction and games which are a little strange, bizarre and uncomfortable. They adopt research through design methodology, utilizing game design artistic practices, and game development software in their studies. 

About Tania's research:

"My research is situated within character design, specifically in humanoid characters that elicit complicated and nuanced emotional reactions in players. These emotional reactions are those that creep in, linger, and last beyond the moment of play, rather than instantaneous responses like jump scares. 

We often experience these reactions when engaging with games that explore themes of body, cosmic and existential horror. 

My research looks at why these reactions occur, how we design our characters with these reactions in mind, and what is the role of bugs and glitches during existential gameplay experiences."