The official website for the Games User Research Summit NA .

© 2023 #gamesUR Summit

The #gamesUR Summit is proudly presented by the Games Research and User Experience Special Interest Group of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA GRUX SIG).

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#gamesUR Summit 2023 Committee

The #gamesUR Summit Committee is responsible for making this event happen every year. Below are the Committee Members for 2022. This committee rotates on an annual basis, so if you are interested in getting involved, don't hesitate to reach out to anyone on the committee to figure out how you can help!

Jump to the teams: Directors, Branding Team, Content Review Team, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team (DE&I), Fundraising Team, Logistics Team, Marketing Team, Public Relations Team (PR), Social Team, or Web Team.

Directors

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Luke Fraser

(He/Him)
Co-Director

Luke Fraser is a User Researcher at Sprung Studios, an external UX/UI Design agency where he gets to conduct research for studios across the gaming industry. He is looking forward to the opportunity of bringing everyone together for 2023’s #GamesUR Summit! Located in Vancouver, BC, he is an avid hiker and has a soft spot for metroidvanias.

Twitter: @luke_r_f
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Triskal deHaven

(He/Him)
Co-Director

Triskal is a User Experience Researcher at Meta Quest and has been working in virtual reality games for over three years. He also possesses over 10 years in logistics and planning. His favorite game genres are Souls-like, Metroidvania, and Co-operative. Outside of work and playing games, he loves adventuring in the real world with his doberman and working out at the gym with his partner.

Twitter: @TriskaldeH
LinkedIn: Triskal deHaven
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Alex Flint

(They/Them)
Assistant Director & PR Assistant

Alex Flint is a Junior Project Manager at PlaytestCloud, helping studios make better mobile games. They recently completed their Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, and their dissertation focused on comparing measures of perceived challenge in video games. Alex enjoys open-world RPGs and interactive narrative games. When they aren’t at their desk, you can find them figure skating or DJing 80’s rock.

A/V Team

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Adam Cockman

(He/Him)
A/V Lead

Adam Cockman (he/him) is a D&D enthusiast, a lawful-good human, and an aspiring dog owner. He is the co-founder and user researcher for his indie company, Autumn Realms Interactive. With a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Human Computer Interaction, he aims to create livable and memorable experiences for players to enjoy.
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Kei Yamamoto

(They/Them)
A/V Assistant

Kei is a User Researcher at Sprung Studios with somehow a lot of knowledge in A/V systems and broadcast tech. In their free time they VJ for live music events and climb mountains around Vancouver, BC. Their favorite games are Starcraft 2, Destiny 2, Dota 2 and Titanfall 2. The 2 makes it better.
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Mark Esparagoza

(He/Him)
A/V Assistant

I am Mark Esparagoza, I recently graduated from DigiPen Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Arts in Game Design. I specialize in Systems/UX and I have a passion for accessibility. Currently plays a TON of rogue likes and thinking of making my own. When I’m not gaming, I like to garden and my favorite plant is the Venus Fly Trap.

Branding Team

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Danielle Pelletier


Branding Lead

Dani is a User Research Analyst with Ubisoft Montreal, currently embedded on For Honor but also helping out with Rainbow Six: Siege and unannounced titles when needs arise. They also have a long standing passion for art and graphic design: virtually all of their free time is spent on some sort of creative endeavor, from digital painting to resin casting. They were Branding Lead for the 2020 and 2021 Summits, and after taking a break are thrilled to return to the Branding role for this year’s edition.

Content Review Team

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Amy Debbané


Content Lead

Amy Debbané is a User Experience Researcher at Arctic Wolf Networks. Previously she interned as a User Experience Researcher at Stadia and enjoys reading about and staying up to date with research in the gaming industry. When she isn’t playing action-adventure or RPG games, she is probably out taking her dog on a hike.
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David Liu


Content Assistant

David is a User Researcher at WB Games Montreal and currently leading a wide-variety of projects across different WBIE studios while overseeing the Montreal lab.

The GUR community played a big role in helping David to where he is today, so he joined the Summit Committee as a way to give back.

David loves all kinds of games, but has a soft spot for anything story-driven and JRPGs! Other interests include anime, manga and hockey (a typical Canadian).
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Monica Fan


Content Assistant

Monica Fan is a game design working at Pipeworks Studios. She is experienced in designing system and gameplay for existing franchise and IPs. Coming from a marginalized background she is passionate about create empathicatic and inclusive game design to help empower the players with diverse background. Before work in game she has a background in social science research as well as film/theater production. She is fascinate with the beauty of human mind and AI technology. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cat Zero.

DE&I Team

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Anna Waismeyer

(She/Her)
DE&I Lead

Anna Waismeyer is the Accessibility User Research Lead on the Xbox Research team as well as the user researcher for Double Fine studios. At Xbox, she has co-led the development of the accessibility user research program, including the creation of multiple gaming and disability participant panels as well as piloting new methodologies for games accessibility user research. Prior to joining Xbox, Anna earned her PhD exploring the cognition of young children, dogs, and squirrels by coming up with fun games for them to play that would shed light on their internal causal and spatial reasoning strategies. Anna loves to hike, make crafts, and play puzzle games with friends, family, and pets.
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Keven Bartlett

(He/Him)
DE& I Assistant

Keven Barlett is a User Research Associate at Xbox Research. He has moderated numerous studies developed training, documentation, and process improvements for the accessibility team. In his free time you can find him stargazing, playing D&D, and finding time to play video games (instead of researching them).

Fundraising Team

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Drake Levere


Fundraising Lead

Drake Levere is a user researcher at Sprung Studios. He has aPhD in Psychology, where his main line of research focused on romantic couples and sexuality. He has experience in both qualitative and quantitative research with expertise in intensive longitudinal design (AKA daily diaries).

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Hazal Ozlen


Fundraising Assistant

Hazal Ozlen is a User Researcher at WB Games Montreal. She received her BA in Psychology and MSc in Psychiatry/Neuroscience from McGill University. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, practicing yoga, and hiking. As a big fan of action-adventure and RPG games, Hazal loves to escape the reality and explore the video game worlds.

Logistics Team

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Dimitri Millange

(He/Him)
Logistics Lead

Dimitri is a localization team lead at Keywords Studios in Montreal and works mainly with SEGA on most of their new releases.

He has been passionate about video games since childhood and has always wanted to work in this industry.

After spending more than six years in different roles, he is happy to lead the logistics group for this 2023 summit that will bring us back together in Seattle and help user research grow even more!
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Ian Larson

(He/Him)
Logistics Assistant

Ian Larson is a PhD Candidate in the Informatics department at the University of California, Irvine. His research interests include alternative histories of video game adoption and prosocial design for more inclusive multiplayer communities. This is only Ian’s second year participating in the GRUX summit, but he’s excited to learn from the wonderful community of peers and get more involved. He’s an avid retro-gaming enthusiast and loves playing JRPGs and story driven narrative games.
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Jess Tompkins

(She/Her)
Logistics Assistant

Jess Tompkins is a UX Research Director at Skeleton Key studio. She holds a PhD in Media Arts and Sciences and has lended her qualitative expertise in research roles at Bethesda and EA. She has previously co-directed the GamesUR Summit in 2021, and is looking forward to supporting the logistics for the online portion of the conference this year.

Marketing Team

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Michelle P


Marketing Lead

Michelle is a deaf community manager and qualitative user researcher at Fatshark Games, currently working on Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. She’s looking forward to getting more people involved and engaged in the area of games user research through the 2023 #GamesUR Summit. She is located in the East Coast United States and enjoys co-op, action-adventure RPGs with branching storylines, and rhythm games.
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Elaine Zamudio


Marketing Assistant

Elaine Zamudio is a UX student at MSOE, an engineering school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is volunteering as a Marketing Assistant for the 2023 #gamesUR Summit as a way to give back to this community, which has helped guide her towards her career in gaming user research. When not busy with school and research projects, Elaine loves spending time with her family, hiking around Wisconsin State parks, and going to reggae concerts.

PR Team

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Natalie Gedeon

(She/Her)
PR Lead

Natalie Gedeon (she/her) is a User Researcher at Riot Games. There she supports the R&D department by informing early development of incubation projects. She holds a Master's of Science and Arts in Global Media Communications from the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California (respectively). Outside of the office, she spoils her cat, Nutmeg, attempts to bake recipes from the Great British Bake Off, and studies whatever language she is fancying at the time.
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Pranav Meda


PR Assistant

Pranav Meda is a UX Researcher at Hack for LA and a Staff Research Associate at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. He is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and Cognitive Science. As an avid gamer, his interest in games research stems from a desire to make video games more inclusive and accessible for those with mental disorders and representative of real-life human experiences. He is also interested in the application of games and gamified assessments for health technology.

Social Team

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Derrick Wang


Social Lead

Derrick Wang is an incoming PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo. His areas of research include User Experience, Virtual Reality, Gamification and Game Narratives. He is also interested in bridging game designers and players through comparative studies. Outside work, he is a heavy MMORPG player mainly focused on Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft.

Web Team

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Stephanie Puri

(She/Her)
Web Lead

Bethesda User Research Senior Manager. Sometimes writes code, sometimes herds cats. Would rather be outside.
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Patrícia Mendes

(She/Her)
Web Assistant

Patrícia worked as an Accessibility Consultant for Inklingwood Studios and is currently researching accessibility and usability in museum websites for her Master's degree in Museology. Her favorite game genres are retro, point-and-click, and boardgames.