I am a Professor of Game Studies, specialising in player behaviour and analog games, including tabletop roleplaying games.
My work examines the ways in which players understand the worlds around them – as players, fans, producers and consumers. I have written widely on aspects of gaming including gender in games, representation and diversity, the ways in which players tell stories and understand narratives in games, and on types of games which are typically overlooked. My work extends beyond the digital to examine gaming worlds such as roleplaying, boardgames, fan communities and conventions. Currently my work examines the ways in which tabletop roleplaying games have affected gaming culture, for example through livestreams, actual plays such as Critical Role, and their subsequent influence on rules and the ways in which tabletop games are played.
I have consulted for gaming companies about playful experiences and players including Candy Crush (King Games) and Sony Playstation.
I am a Hugo award finalist and organise large science fiction conventions, and am Chair of the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_MacCallum-Stewart
Professional memberships and activities
Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA)
- Member (2016 – present)
- Distinguished Scholar (2018 – present)
- Vice President – (2012 – 2016)
- Chair, UK chapter (2016- present)
AHRC – peer reviewer
ESRC – peer reviewer
World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
- Chair, Glasgow in 2024 (2016 – present)
- Member (2011-present)
British Science Fiction Association (BSFA)
HEA – Senior Fellowship (2021).
Academic qualifications
- PhD, The University of Sussex
- BA, The University of Sussex
Expertise
- Videogames
- Digital Games
- Play and Playfulness
- Gender and Representation
- Narratology
- Roleplaying Games
- Boardgames
Research interests
- Game Studies
- Tabletop Roleplaying Games
- Videogames
- Digital Games
- Play Studies
- Gender and Representation in Games
- Narratology
- Roleplaying
- Boardgames
- Fans and Fandom
Grants
AHRC Networking Grant – Under-Represented Voices in Scottish Science Fiction and Fantasy (2022)
Teaching
I supervise a number of PhD and MA students on topics including roleplaying, larp, gender and representation in games, narrative in games and Games Studies Theory. Please get in contact for further details or if you are interested in pursuing a doctorate in Games Studies at Staffordshire University.
Publications
Rerolling Boardgames (with Douglas Brown). 2020. Macfarland Press. 147667079X.
The Science Fiction of Iain M Banks. (with Nick Hubble and Joe Norman). 2019. Canterbury: Gylphi Press 9781780240541
Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Fantasy Fiction (with Jude Roberts). 2016. Routledge. 9781472447531
The Game Love Reader (with Jessica Enevold) 2015. Macfarland Press. 0786496938
Online Games, Social Narratives. 2014. Routledge. 0415891905