Spectatorship Experience in Gaming/Esports – Opportunity at Masaryk University – Brno Czechia.

Job Overview

Spectatorship Experience in Gaming/Esports

Over the last years, the rapid advances in streaming technology and the rise of esports, spectating other people playing video games has become a mass phenomenon. This can range from small gatherings around the family table following a board game to large e-sport events attracting up to millions of viewers. This has opened up the potential for novel research at the intersection of spectator experiences and Human-Computer Interaction, for example: How can spectator experiences be facilitated in order to pro-actively involve spectators instead of being passive observers? How can an approach look like to make games more accessible for the audience, to spark interest, and to stimulate a feeling of togetherness? The aim of this PhD topic is to develop solutions to transform the act of spectating games/esports events from a passive (watching) to a more active – and engaging – experience to make it more inclusive. This will first require a requirement analysis for improving spectator experiences and to specify use cases that describe how to integrate the audience more actively and inclusive. Based on insights of this analysis and the uses cases, solutions will need to be developed. These solutions can range, for instance, from visualizations to technological solutions for empowering viewers (AR, VR, wearables, etc.) and integrated analytics/dashboards. In the last step, the developed solution(s) will need to be evaluated with the target users. This topic is suitable for PhD candidates interested in HCI, visualizations, and/or games user research.

Relevant Sources:
[1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237584
[2] https://esportshci.wordpress.com/
[3] https://seegamesws.wordpress.com/

General information

The student is expected to have (or be about to finish) a Master level education in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or related areas, with demonstrated overview in the field. Good knowledge of English language is expected as well as willingness to spend 3-6 months in a collaborating group abroad during the PhD studies; prior knowledge of Czech is not necessary.

Stipend

The applications will be evaluated by the department committee, whose members will choose the best applicant. The announced PhD position is funded with a stipend of net value at least 29 000 CZK per month (this amount consists of the standard doctoral stipend and the extra departmental supplement of 10 000 CZK per month). The stipend is granted to the successful applicant for the first 2 years, with an expected renewal (after an evaluation) for another 2 years. The total length of study is 4 years.

Application procedure

Applicants are advised to contact directly their prospective supervisor (as listed below) for more specific details, well ahead of the deadline. The final applications consisting of CV (including education, degrees and dates, publications/scientific presentations, skills/experiences in programming languages, project work, academic awards, etc.), motivation letter explaining why you apply specifically for this project and why you are the perfect candidate, transcript of the grades from the Master’s and Bachelor’s degree, two references (written or just two contact names), and possibly other relevant documents supporting the candidate’s excellence should be sent to the Head of the Department

• Assoc.Prof. Petr Matula, before the respective deadline for application (see above)

The candidates are still obliged to pass the standard admission procedure for doctoral study. The stipend can be awarded only after successfully completing the standard admission procedure.

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