Researcher

Haoyue Qin(Qin) is a PhD researcher in i-DAT on the CODEX International Postgraduate Research Network. Her research focuses on the integration of traditional Chinese culture into game design from a cross-cultural perspective.

Her research explores how to effectively embed elements of Chinese culture into games, addressing issues of narrative and expression in cultural-themed game projects. The aim is to enable players from diverse cultural backgrounds to understand the essence of Chinese culture while enjoying an immersive and engaging gaming experience.

This research strives to bridge cultural gaps through interactive storytelling and innovative design, contributing to a richer understanding of Chinese culture in the global gaming landscape. It examines various aspects, including game narratives, mechanics, interface interactions, and visual design, to ensure the seamless and meaningful incorporation of cultural elements into games.

Kumi is a design researcher and moving image designer. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Digital Art and Technology, focusing on the research theme ‘Playful Communication Design in the Context of Child Healthcare’. This research, employing participatory and co-creative design methods, aims to enhance communication between child patients and healthcare professionals while mitigating medically related mental trauma in children.

Prior to moving to Plymouth, she was a visiting lecturer at Joshibi University of Art and Design, a freelance design researcher at DXL Design Lab in UTokyo, and has extensive experience as a qualitative researcher. In this role, she provided insights to technology companies, helping them develop new products and services informed by user needs.”

Tom O’Brien is a member of the Immersive Vision Theatre team and a 3rd Year Digital Media Design student.

A photographer and digital artist by heart, Tom works across a range of mediums. He’s created dome productions, radio shows and infographics along concert and corporate photography for Plymouth-based company The Wardrobe Ensemble and charities including Pollenize, Animate and BASICS Devon. During his time at Plymouth University, he’s created meditation-based virtual reality experiences, dome experiences about the mindbending designs of M.C Escher and projection mapped stories of local heritage. He hopes to expand his future work in the immersive sector to a particular focus on healthcare and social experiences.

You can find more of his work here:
https://thomasobrienf37f.myportfolio.com/

Joanna is a Research Assistant in the Entrepreneurial Futures Immersive Project and Assistant Lecturer for Games Arts and Design. Joanna is a 3D generalist and designer who is constantly striving to learn as much as possible within 3D design, she has professional experience working as a 3D designer as well as teaching 3D arts.

Joanna has experience in traditional 3D modelling, texturing and animating across numerous programmes. She also has experience working in Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry, as well as experience in creating within the Unreal and Unity game engines for both personal and professional work.

Shangren Li is a PhD researcher in i-DAT on the CODEX International Postgraduate Research Network.

“Guided by Tai Chi cultural philosophy and integrated with Extended Reality (XR) technology, my research aims to enhance overall physical and mental well-being through an art healing system that fuses traditional culture with modern technological innovation.”

I’m an experimental filmmaker and academic. Currently I am pursing a PhD of ‘Chance in Filmmaking’ at the University of Plymouth. In terms of my work, I am way more interested in the process of how a creation is made, as opposed to the final piece itself.

I try to use ‘chance methods’ in order to aide in my creation process – for example prompts, restrictions, and arbitrary rules. These are used as an opportunity to increase my creativity, forcing me to think ‘out of the box’ and make new discoveries.

Serendipity and ‘the Butterfly Effect’ are both areas in which I have a keen interest – I try to take notes on each part of my process and am always amazed to see the unexpected paths my work has taken me. Watching mundane events snowball into interesting ones never gets old.

https://brandonjohnbarnard.com/

Joanne Dorothea-Smith, a British conceptual artist and academic, investigates the complexities of vision, perception, and representation through her interdisciplinary research and creative practice. Her work is deeply influenced by her experiences with autism and synaesthesia, and manifests in a fusion of photography, sound, moving images, writing, and printmaking, challenging traditional understandings of space and time.

Currently pursuing a PhD in Vision, Representation and Photography at the University of Plymouth, Joanne’s research critically analyses the authority of the camera in visual representation, proposing an alternative framework rooted in molecular and neurodivergent accounts of vision. Her approach incorporates a diffractive analysis, drawing from concepts in physics, historical narratives, and new-materialist theories, providing a unique perspective on the relationship between the eye and the camera apparatus.

Joanne’s artistic practice has been exhibited in the UK and internationally, where she reflects on themes of society, politics, and the environment through historical and scientific inquiry. Her notable exhibitions feature large-scale photographic installations and multimedia performances that engage with embodied practices and lived experiences. Joanne has been a Contemporary Fine Art Lecturer at Arts University Plymouth and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth. Furthermore, as a Research Convener for the Autism in Higher Education (HE) project “Constellations,” she worked collaboratively with themes aimed at integrating autistic perception into academic research, with a focus on fostering inclusivity and accessibility within higher education.