Games, game design & learning
Research on games and game design, including serious games, game-based learning, and the use of games to support learning, reflection, and engagement.
Research · Games · HCI · Interactive Systems
I research and develop games and interactive systems, with a background in HCI, computational creativity, and digital arts. My research ranges from serious games to music co-creation, while my game development work has a strong focus on 3D art.
About
My work is at the intersection of game design, digital arts, and HCI. I completed my PhD at Lancaster University and later joined UC Santa Cruz as a postdoctoral researcher, where I worked on NSF-funded research on serious games and community resilience. I’m part of the Game User Interaction and Intelligence Lab (GUII Lab), working with Professor Magy Seif El-Nasr. I also publish and review regularly in games and HCI, and serve as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Games.
Meu trabalho está na interseção entre game design, artes digitais e IHC. Concluí meu doutorado na Lancaster University e, posteriormente, fui pesquisador de pós-doutorado na UC Santa Cruz, onde trabalhei em pesquisas financiadas pela NSF sobre jogos sérios e resiliência comunitária. Faço parte do Game User Interaction and Intelligence Lab (GUII Lab), trabalhando com a Professora Magy Seif El-Nasr. Também publico e atuo regularmente como revisor nas áreas de jogos e IHC, e sou Editor Associado da IEEE Transactions on Games.
Research
Research on games and game design, including serious games, game-based learning, and the use of games to support learning, reflection, and engagement.
Human-computer interaction and interactive systems, with interests in computational creativity, music co-creation, generative systems, and experiences that explore sound as a primary form of interaction and expression.
How the design of interactive systems shapes communication, collaboration, negotiation, and shared decision-making.
Selected projects
Art Game · Computational Creativity
An art game in which exploring and interacting with a virtual environment contributes to the emergence of music, allowing players to implicitly collaborate in shaping a shared musical experience.
Serious Games · HCI · Collaborative Learning
Research on how player discourse, negotiation, and shared decision-making unfold in serious games for wildfire preparedness and community resilience.
VR · Interactive Musical System
A virtual-reality musical instrument that uses color-to-tone translation and meta-interactivity, allowing users to generate music through visual elements and create relaxing harmonic progressions without requiring musical expertise.
Selected publications
Mário Escarce, M. J. Johns, Shivam Shukla, Darian Lee, et al.
Foundations of Digital Games · FDG 2026
M. J. Johns, Mário Escarce, Alison Crosby, Yiyang Lu, et al.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · CHI PLAY 2025
Sai Siddartha Maram, Yash Malegaonkar, Niveditha Dudyala, Mário Escarce, Magy Seif El-Nasr
ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference · DIS 2025
Mário Escarce, M. J. Johns, Shivam Shukla, Darian Lee, et al.
Joint Conference on Serious Games · JCSG 2025
M. J. Johns, Yael Nidam, Mário Escarce, Linda Hirsch, et al.
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2025
M. J. Johns, Emmanuel Ezenwa Jr., Seunghyun Lee, Thomas Maiorana, et al.
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2024
Mário Escarce, Georgia Rossmann Martins, Leandro Soriano Marcolino, Elisa Rubegni
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · CHI PLAY 2023
Mário Escarce
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2022
Mário Escarce, Georgia Rossmann Martins, Leandro Soriano Marcolino, Elisa Rubegni
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · CHI PLAY 2021
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