October 20, 2022, 5-6pm
Lecture Space 103, Bldg 72

Esports are big business and business wants you watching esports at in-person venues. However, it’s hard to beat the experience of watching Twitch from the comfort of your own couch (probably without pants) so how do we design the future experience of esports to be sustainable for both fans and the economic juggernaut surrounding it? This talk will describe six dimensions of the fan experience and how esports can benefit from human-computer interactions and human-factors psychology research to create novel esports experiences that blend the real and the virtual, open new fields of study like esports games user research, and bring esports to a wider audience through technology support tools.

BIO
Laura Levy is a human-factors psychologist and Research Director of Gaming & Esports Applied Research (GEAR) at the Georgia Institute of Technology specializing in esports and games user research focusing on esports player health and safety, esports as STEAM engagements for K-12 students, and novel esports fan entertainment experiences. Working with industry and government organizations, Levy leads a research center studying factors impacting esports stakeholder participation in the industry, and has created and evaluated tools and interventions that establish positive impacts on a variety of esports stakeholders including fans, players, staff, and medical professionals. She has a BS in Zoology from the University of Florida, a MS in Biology and a MS in Psychology from Georgia Tech, and PhD in Psychology from Georgia Tech.