Research · Games · HCI · Interactive Systems

I study how games and interactive systems can help people collaborate, learn, and make decisions together.

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.

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About

About me

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.

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Research

Research interests

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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.

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HCI, interactive media & computational creativity

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.

C

Collaborative interaction & decision-making

How the design of interactive systems shapes communication, collaboration, negotiation, and shared decision-making.

Selected projects

Research artifacts, games, and interactive experiments.

Jikan to Kukan game environment in its original warm-toned visual state

Art Game · Computational Creativity

Jikan to Kukan

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.

FireSafe Friends wildfire resilience game screenshot from Figure 1 of Talking Wildfire

Serious Games · HCI · Collaborative Learning

Discourse Analysis

Research on how player discourse, negotiation, and shared decision-making unfold in serious games for wildfire preparedness and community resilience.

Bubble Sounds virtual reality musical interface

VR · Interactive Musical System

Bubble Sounds

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.

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Selected publications

Recent work

Full publication list ↗
2026

Talking Wildfire: How Discourse in Serious Games Shapes Collaborative Learning and Preparedness

Mário Escarce, M. J. Johns, Shivam Shukla, Darian Lee, et al.

Foundations of Digital Games · FDG 2026

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2025

Wildfire Games: A Community Approach to Designing Serious Games as Interventions for Wildfire Preparedness

★ Best Paper Award

M. J. Johns, Mário Escarce, Alison Crosby, Yiyang Lu, et al.

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · CHI PLAY 2025

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2025

“Pray For Green, Play For Green”: Integrating Religion into Climate Change Serious Games

★ Best Paper Award

Sai Siddartha Maram, Yash Malegaonkar, Niveditha Dudyala, Mário Escarce, Magy Seif El-Nasr

ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference · DIS 2025

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2025

Fostering Collaborative Knowledge-Building and Resilience Through Player Discourse in Serious Games for Wildfire Preparedness

Mário Escarce, M. J. Johns, Shivam Shukla, Darian Lee, et al.

Joint Conference on Serious Games · JCSG 2025

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2025

Translating Social Dilemmas into Gameful Designs for Wildfire Resilience

M. J. Johns, Yael Nidam, Mário Escarce, Linda Hirsch, et al.

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2025

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2024

Participatory Design of a Serious Game to Improve Wildfire Preparedness with Community Residents and Experts

M. J. Johns, Emmanuel Ezenwa Jr., Seunghyun Lee, Thomas Maiorana, et al.

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2024

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2023

The Aesthetics of Disharmony: Harnessing Sounds and Images for Dynamic Soundscapes Generation

Mário Escarce, Georgia Rossmann Martins, Leandro Soriano Marcolino, Elisa Rubegni

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · CHI PLAY 2023

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2022

Meta-interactivity and Playful Approaches for Musical Composition

Mário Escarce

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · CHI EA 2022

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2021

A Meta-interactive Compositional Approach that Fosters Musical Emergence through Ludic Expressivity

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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Contact

Any questions or interest in collaboration?