NTX Gaming Symposium 2021

The NTX Gaming Symposium, hosted by TCU, will take place virtually on Saturday March 13th, 20th, and 27th.  We are excited to come together to discuss topics related to gaming and diversity. Each Saturday will include a keynote, roundtable, and interactive workshop or gaming session. The symposium will feature academic speakers, industry professionals and members of the North Texas gaming community. The event is free and open to students and the general public. We ask that you please register beforehand using the link below. We hope to see you there!

register now!

Keynotes

Ludo-Literary Pedagogy – Play, Theory, and Inclusive Curriculum Design

Saturday March 13th, 11:00 am CST
Dr. Johansen Quijano

Johansen Quijano is an Associate Professor of English at Tarrant County College, where he teaches courses on writing, rhetoric, literature, critical thinking, writing & games, and social media. Dr. Quijano earned a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he also lectures on rhetoric & technical communication. He also holds two graduate degrees from the University of Puerto Rico in both English literature and in education with a focus on linguistics & language acquisition. He has published a number of articles and chapters on gaming theory & criticism, ed-tech, and ludic narratives. He is currently working on a manuscript on Final Fantasy & Gender that dissects and critically analyzes representations of gender in all the mainline Final Fantasy titles. He has also worked with various organizations to host video game related events to raise awareness of various causes, including mental health, social isolation, and personal disenfranchisement, and how games can help in improving the conditions of members of the community.

Dr. Quijano also has a storied record as a gamer. He began playing video games at the tender age of 2, and quickly went on to master every Atari 2600 game he got his hands on. As he grew up, he became one of the few people who were able to consistently beat CONTRA without the Konami Code and finish both NES Zelda games. During the 16-Bit console wars he took SEGA’s side while building a reputation in the arcades as “untouchable” when it came to the SNK fighting games. In college, when eSports began their rise in popularity, he began playing Dance Dance Revolution until eventually he became state champion two years in a row. Most recently, Quijano held a Top-10 spot in the 2019 release of Samurai Shodown for two months and is now a respected player in various Genshin Impact communities. He has also earned 100% trophies in all Final Fantasy games released for a Sony console.

Endgame Racism: MMORPG’s ‘Crusader’ Narrative, the Walkthrough

Saturday March 20th, 11:00 am CDT
Dr. Cynthia Haynes

Cynthia Haynes is Director of Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design Ph.D program and Professor of English. Her research interests are rhetoric, composition, multimodal pedagogy, virtual worlds, critical theory, computer games studies, and the rhetoric of war and terrorism. She co-chairs the RCID PhD program Games/Cinema Colloquium. Her recent book, The Homesick Phone Book: Addressing Rhetoric in the Age of Perpetual Conflict (Southern Illinois University Press, 2016) won the 2017 Rhetoric Society of America annual book prize. She is currently working on a book manuscript, Unalienable Rites: The Architecture of Mass Rhetoric.

A Strong Fire and Community-Engaged Design: Game Design Postmortem

Saturday March 27th, 11:00 am CDT
Dr. Wendi Sierra

Wendi Sierra is an Assistant Professor of Game Studies at Texas Christian University, where she teaches about a variety of topics related to games studies (including learning, representation, and narrative). Her book, Todd Howard: Worldbuilding in Tamriel and Beyond, analyzes the worldbuilding style that has made Howard’s games critical and commercial successes from Morrowind to Fallout 4. Her game, A Strong Fire, teaches select vocabulary in the Oneida language through interactive narratives and mini-games.