Melbourne Academic Games, Play, and Interactive Entertainment (MAGPIE)
About
Enhancing a thriving gaming scene that is safe and inclusive for all Australians. Games and play are central to the daily lives of many adults and children, and they enhance connections between families, young people, and communities. The Melbourne Academic Games, Play and Interactive Entertainment (MAGPIE) initiative supports interdisciplinary research, teaching, leadership and industry engagement in the field of game studies, including game design, play processes, player communities, narrative design, and creative technology industry cultures.
Did you know?
81% of Australians play videogames and 94% of Australian households have a device for playing videogames.
We have an explicit focus on inclusion and diversity in games studies, building on established connections with LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse and disability games networks and including support for First Nations and culturally diverse games research.
We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waterways of greater Melbourne, the people of the Kulin Nation, and recognise that The University of Melbourne Parkville campus is located on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people.
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Research
MAGPIE’s research has three interlinked research programs: storytelling, design, and participation.
1. Storytelling
Our Storytelling research program aims to explore innovative research into the narrative design of games, including games journalism, creative practice, creative writing and the use of emerging technologies such as AI. This research program will identify, investigate and create innovative game narratives that contribute to inclusive games culture.
2. Design
Our Design research program aims to broaden understanding and implementation of design processes, frameworks, and technologies involved in making games. This research program will also explore the application of games research to other domains such as social media, education, and aged care.
3. Participation
Our Participation research program aims to lead research into inclusive play, diverse play(er) cultures and practices, facilitating safe play, understanding play, policymaking and platform governance. This includes critical research into games, play and players, eSports and spectatorship, and creative technology industries.
Our team
A/Prof Eddie Paterson
Eddie’s research explores new innovations in inclusive narrative design.
Dr Lucy Sparrow
Lucy researches the ethical design of technology, including multiplayer games and moderation systems.
Dr Mahli-Ann Butt
Mahli-Ann researches questions of diversity in the cultures and industries of videogames.
Dr Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
Cass’ research explores narrative complexity, textual analysis and the teaching of videogames.
Resources
Launch posters
Check out our launch posters, showing the diverse range of MAGPIE research ideas:
Listen to our Spotify playlist
Publications
Paterson, Eddie, Cordner, Will and Timothy Williams, Once Upon a Pixel. CRC Press, 2020
Hadley, Bree, et al. Reinhabiting, Reimagining, and Recreating Ableist Spaces: Embodied Criticality in Art. The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Disability Studies, edited by Katie Ellis et al., 1st ed., Routledge: Taylor & Francis, 2024
Sparrow, Lucy A., et al. The Ethics of Multiplayer Game Design and Community Management. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, 2021
Sparrow, Lucy A., et al. Ludic Ethics: The Ethical Negotiations of Players in Online Multiplayer Games. Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media, 2020, 16:6
Sparrow, Lucy A., et al. Towards Ethical AI Moderation in Multiplayer Games. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2024, 8:CHI PLAY
Mejeur, Cody, et al. Feminist and Furious: Diversity Work(Ers) Against Game Studies of Empire! Games and Culture, 2021, 16:3
Butt, Mahli-Ann R., and Daniel Dunne. Rebel Girls and Consequence in Life Is Strange and The Walking Dead. Games and Culture, 2019, 14:4