About
Agnes
Selected Work
Recent Projects
Game Development
Shouting Match
A usability study of an alt. controller video game prototype
January 2023 - January 2024
Shouting Match is an alternative controller 2D fighting game that uses shout commands as a core game mechanics. Our goal is to improve emotional self-regulation and reduce tilt and harmful conduct in fighting gaming communities. In this preliminary user study we evaluate the usability and intuitiveness of our current, low-fidelity prototype.
Responsibilities
- Game prototype development using C#, Unity, and Arduino
- Player recruitment and usability study combining playtest and focus group
- Thematic content analysis of the transcription data
- Results are published in the conference proceedings of CHI-PLAY ’23
Game development
Doom Scroll Among Us Mod
An Among Us game mod to teach media literacy and combat misinformation
August 2022 - February 2024
Doom-scroll is an Among Us mod prototype to help people identify signs of misinformation, reflect on their experiences and learn from them.
Responsibilities
- Lead Developer of the game using C#, Bepinex, HarmonyX view GitHub Repository
- Translate conceptual design into game systems, requirement specification, and use cases
- Conduct playtesting, observe player interaction with the game and facilitate focus groups
- Analyze playtest data, turn the findings into design decisions, and write study report
- Mentor undergraduate students in C# and game development
survey and interview study
Toxicity in Multiplayer Online Games
Is toxicity a normal part of gaming culture?
February 2022 - Present
This study seeks to learn whether and to what extent online games normalize toxic culture among players. How harmful conduct may be reinforced, and how it circulates in these spaces. As an outcome, we hope to find ways to build better and more proactive solutions to reduce the spread of disruptive behavior.
Responsibilities
- Recruited participants and conducted a survey study with 602 players
- Ran descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis of survey data using R
- Conducted interviews on player experiences of toxic behavior in multiplayer online games
- Performed qualitative coding and thematic content analysis on the transcribed data
Literature review
Extremism in videogames
A systematic review of extant research on right-wing extremism and videogames
March 2021 - January 2022
A growing present of right-wing extremism in online game spaces is an increasing concern in the US today. Having a better understanding of how far-right actors operate in videogame platforms is vital in protecting players. To synthesize the state of existing research and identify future directions, we conducted a systematic literature review on right-wing extremism in videogames.
Responsibilities
- Study planning, formulate definitions, inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Identifying and gathering publications in several academic databases
- reading through the literature and conducting a thematic content analysis of the collected publications
- Organizing over 900 notes from the articles into themes and categories on a Miro board
- writing the paper for a peer reviewed academic journal: Games and Culture
