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Jack Murray

Texts and Technology PhD Student

University of Central Florida

Biography

Jack Murray is currently a PhD student in the Texts and Technology program at the University of Central Florida. He received his Masters of Arts in Art, Technology, and Emerging Communication and B.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. Jack’s research interests include game design and development, analog and digital play, and esports communities. Jack’s current research is focused on the intersection of analog and digital games, the affective potential of games, and the relationship between games and computing technology. When not working on research, game projects, and complaining about board games, Jack likes to race cars, sword fight, and lay on the floor with his dog, Kiska.

Interests

  • Game Design and development
  • Analog and Digital Game Studies
  • Technology and Platform Studies
  • Affect and Queer Theory
  • Board Games
  • Esports
  • Werewolves

Education

  • PhD in Texts and Technology Student, 2023

    University of Central Florida

  • MA in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication, 2019

    University of Texas at Dallas

  • BS in Software Engineering, 2017

    University of Texas at Dallas

Skills

Game Design

Analog and Digital Games

Game Development

Engineering and Production

VR/AR Development

Virtual and Augmented Reality Experiences

Software Engineering

Java, C#, etc.

Recent Publications

More Than Just the Table: Analog Games as Computational Platforms

Analog game platforms are more than just individual material objects as the platform studies methodology would argue. Platform studies …
DOI

Talks and Presentations

“Board games as tool for describing computational thinking process”

This talk was given as part of the Board games and Learning panel at the AECT 2020 International Conference
Nov 5, 2020 1:00 PM University of Texas at Dallas
Slides

More than Just the Table: Analog Games as Computational Platforms

This talk and paper were a part of the proceedings for the FDG 2020 conference as part of the Game Criticsm and Analysis track.
Oct 21, 2019 7:56 PM Malta/Virtual
Slides

Super Baguettes, Space World Cup, and Moon Pope: Collaborative storytelling in megagames through metaplay

This was an asynchronous presentation presented during the 2020 ELO Conference. The presentation covers Megagames and digital …
Oct 21, 2019 University of Central Florida/Virtual

Masters Showcase: Massively Multiplayer Offline Games

Apr 26, 2019 University of Texas at Dallas

Live Action Role Playing: Narrative and the Boundaries of Play

Apr 13, 2019 Texas Tech University
See all talks

Projects

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All Analog Games Digital Games Weird Controllers Playable

As You Walk

Parser based Interactive Fiction written in Inform7. Wander through a procedurally generated, text-based, desert reflecting on the …

Days Inside

A small project made in Bitsy documenting the early days of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Days Inside

A short interactive fiction game made in Bitsy exploring the difficulties of Lockdown in 2020.

Different Strokes

A board game about mixing paint and creating collaborative art. Print and Play PDF available.

Freedom Financial Touch Wall

UI and Interaction programming for a project by 900lbs

Freedom Financial Touch Wall

UI and Interaction programming for a project by 900lbs

Kobold Wild Wingss

A 1 page RPG about Kobolds running a sports bar. Featuring Art by Taryn Henry

NCR Virtual Branch Environment

UI and Interaction programming for a project by 900lbs

Panopticon

Worked as a programmer for this project from UTD’s Narrative Systems Lab. A 2.5D platformer made in Unity 3D. Link to Trailer.

Poe Thinks

A web based generative poetry experiment based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe.

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Graduate Teaching Associate

University of Central Florida, Games and Interactive Media

Nov 2020 – Present Orlando, Florida
Instructor of record for Games and Interactive Media in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at UCF. Courses: Evolution of Games
 
 
 
 
 

Graduate Research Assistant

CHDR@UCF

Aug 2020 – Present Orlando, Florida
Research Assistant in the Center for Humanities and Digital Research at UCF. Game Design and Development Specialist.
 
 
 
 
 

Graduate Teaching Assistant

University of Texas at Dallas

Aug 2018 – May 2019 Texas
Teaching Assistant for Fundamentals of Game Design.
 
 
 
 
 

Interactive Developer

900lbs of Creative

Aug 2017 – Aug 2018 Texas
Developed interactive experiences in the Unity game engine.

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