Lauren Woolbright

I am a scholar of game design and environmental humanities with particular expertise in inclusive design practices in games. I am interested in how game environments tell stories and evoke emotions in players without relying on language. Representation is another aspect of my work, both in the games industry and in games as media. In particular, I am drawn to the ecoGothic, ecohorror, and the monstrous-feminine. I created the Games Research Lab at Flinders, which supports a community of scholars researching and making games. 

My research has followed some general themes:

1. How design decisions impact play, especially how more inclusive design practices can facilitate more appealing forms of play for everyone.

2. How environments impact and are impacted by human presence, both in and outside of digital worlds.

3. How representations of people who are traditionally marginalized might be undertaken ethically, both in theory and in practice.