Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I'm a queer games researcher and interaction designer working with queer videogames and tabletop games.
I'm an award-winning design researcher focusing on the queer independent games community, Lecturer in Interaction Design at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), and Visiting Fellow to the inaugural Hunt-Simes Institute in Sexuality Studies at the Sydney Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre. I also run a creative videography studio, Jump to Glide ↗.
Professional accolades include the initiation and curation of the Good Design Award in Social Impact winner, Pride at Play, and designing and implementing front-end of the Victoria Premier's Design Award Finalist, Early Algal Warning System. I received the inaugural CSIRO Medal for Diversity and Inclusion for raising awareness of LGBTQIA+ communities in the organisation. In 2023, the Australian Broadcast Corporation selected me as part of the ABC TOP 5 Arts media residency program.
I have exhibited at the Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney Footbridge Gallery, Queen Victoria Market, Carlisle Street Arts Space, Victorian Pride Centre, and Tin Sheds Gallery. Published essays in Public Books titled "Queer Lives Are Not Side Quests" with Dr Cody Mejeur, The Conversation AU, and Bloomsbury Handbook on Games and Sex/Sexuality (in press). Media coverage includes ABC Arts, ABC Radio National, Kotaku Australia, GamesHub, Checkpoint Gaming, Triple J Hack, Triple R, What Happens Next, Monash Lens, and Concrete Playground.
The wide-range gamut of public art, games research, and written essays in the portfolio and researcher profile demonstrates an ongoing desire for making queer games visible and accessible to the public. I am specifically interested in examining how videogames and tabletop games are becoming means of individual expression in the Asia Pacific region. In my free time, I train with a musical theatre vocalist, bake delicious sourdoughs, and practise barebow archery with my boyfriend.
Research interests
I am a firm believer in making research open and accessible to everyone, and so I provide as many links as I can below.
Visualising Queer Indie Games. Pride at Play, FDG 2022, GCAP 2022.
My research aims to make indie games more accessible to the public, and tell their stories. I am the lead curator for Pride at Play (2023) that aims to put queer indie games on the map for games made in Oceania and the Asia Pacific. The Arcade (2014) is a University of Sydney Union initiative where I curated Australian games for them. My research has been wonderful spending time doing this work. Publications and talks include Public Books, The Conversation AU, MSU Digital Humanities 2021, and interviews (Monash 2022, Monash 2023, Critical Distance: Keywords in Play).
Inspiration Networks in Game Design. PhD Thesis, DiGRA Journal, Roguelike Universe.
I studied game jams both big and small to understand how ideas were remixed, linked, and manifested in videogames, and then applied what I call an "inspiration network" to map roguelike games. Publications, demos, and talks include Global Game Jam, ANSAC 2018, ICGJ 2017, Meaningful Play 2016, DiGRA Australia 2016, DiGRA Queensland 2016, DiGRA 2015, DiGRA Australia 2014, and Meaningful Play 2014.
I have given over 70 public talks since 2013 in both academic and industry events, and have organised 7 conferences including DiGRA 2017, SIGGRAPH Asia 2019, ICGJ 2020, FDG 2021, VIS4DH 2022, VIS Arts Program 2023, and Games Symposium for Oceania and the Asia Pacific. I also ran 'Computer Graphics on the Web' meetup in Melbourne in 2016-2018.
Other notable publications include 'Passionately resilient beyond disciplines' (in press, Edited Book on Asian Design Education), chartjunk for visualisation (led by Dr Phil Gough), and remote sensing (led by Dr Tim Malthus).
Supervision interests
I work across queer studies, video games, and creative technologies across multiple fields of practice. My current project, Visualising Queer Independent Games, seeks to critically examine authentic representations of gender and sexuality. As a researcher and designer, I am interested in supervising higher degree research working with LGBTQ communities and giving back to them in tangible and intangible ways.
University Service
Academic Services
- Games Symposium for Oceania and the Asia Pacific - General Chair
- IEEE VIS Arts Program 2023 - General Chair
- VIS4DH 2022 Workshop - Organising Committee, Communications and Lab Talks Chair
- FDG 2021 Conference - Organising Committee, Communications Chair
- ICGJ 2020 - Organising Committee, Online Chair
- SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 - Demoscene Co-Chair
- DiGRA 2017 Conference - Organising Committee, Web Chair
- SIGGRAPH Student Volunteer (2011-2017)
Monash University
- MADA Education Comittee (2021-)
Monash teaching commitment
- 2023—Present: CDS2523 Creative Visualisation (Chief Examiner and Lecturer)
- 2020—Present: CDS2704 Web Design (Chief Examiner and Lecturer)
- 2020—Present: CDS2601 Digital Audio/Video (Chief Examiner)
- 2020—2022: VCM4029 Designing Interactive Systems (Chief Examiner and Lecturer)
- 2022: MDC5210 and MDC5310 Interaction Design Studios 2 & 3 (Lecturer)
- 2021: CDS2001 Communication Design Studio 3 (Lecturer)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Design, Doctor of Philosophy, Idea Network Visualisations in Game Jams & Roguelike Games, University of Sydney
18 Feb 2013 → 14 May 2019
Award Date: 14 May 2019
Software Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours), Software Engineering (Advanced Studies), Griffith University
17 Feb 2009 → 24 Jul 2012
Award Date: 24 Jul 2012
3D Animation and Visual Effects, Diploma, Metamorphosis - Visual Effects, Vancouver Film School
24 Jul 2007 → 22 Aug 2008
Award Date: 22 Aug 2008
External positions
SSSHARC Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sydney
16 Feb 2024 → 2026
ABC TOP 5 Arts Researcher in Media Residence, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
9 Oct 2023 → 20 Oct 2023
Junior Visiting Chair, University of Sydney
13 Feb 2023 → 3 Mar 2024
Videographer and Director, Jump to Glide
19 Sept 2013 → …
Research area keywords
- Queer theory
- Data Visualisation
- Queer studies
- Video games
- Game studies
- Creative and critical methodologies
- Board games
- LGBTQIA+ Wellbeing
- Design education
- Sexuality studies
- Game Jams
- Queer game studies
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Games Symposium for Oceania and the Asia Pacific
Australia Council for the Arts
14/06/23 → 15/06/23
Project: Research
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MultiViz: Australian Urban Superdiversity: Developing an Accessible Geostatistical Visualisation Tool
Gamlen, A., Goodwin, S. & Ho, X.
1/08/21 → 31/07/22
Project: Research
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Queer Indie Games on itch.io, 2013-2022
Ho, X., Perez Escobar, R. & Tran, N., 2022, Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games. Karpouzis, K., Gualeni, S., Pirker, J. & Fowler, A. (eds.). Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
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Conceptualising Inspiration Networks in Game Design
Ho, X., Tomitsch, M. & Bednarz, T., 2015, In: Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. 2, 1, p. 36-66 31 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
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Infinite Colours
Ho, X. & Krol, S., 2023Research output: Non-textual form › Design / Architecture › Research
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Listen - Look up! Listen - Look down! Experiencing the counter-city through a sonic and augmented reality experience of urban undergrounds in southeast Melbourne
Briggs, NA. C., Buckley, J., Chesworth, D., Coyne, T., Farr, A., Harper, L., Ho, X., Heyns, A. L., Leber, S., Melo Zurita, M. D. L. & Raby, O., Nov 2023, In: Cities. 142, 15 p., 104513.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile
Prizes
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Victorian Premier’s Design Awards - Digital Design (Finalist) - Early Algal Warning System
Ho, Xavier (Recipient), Malthus, Tim J. (Recipient), Botha, Elizabeth (Recipient), Anstee, Janet (Recipient) & Lehmann, Eric (Recipient), 17 Dec 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
CSIRO Medal for Diversity and Inclusion
Ho, Xavier (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) 2020 iAWARDS - ACT Public Sector & Government, Winner: Graincast
Lawes, Roger A. (Recipient), Butler, Roger (Recipient), Sharman, Christopher (Recipient), Factor, Dave (Recipient), Ho, Xavier (Recipient), Nguyen Mueller, Thanh (Recipient), Pasanen, Joe (Recipient), Horan, Heidi (Recipient), Hochman, Zvi (Recipient), Ota, Noboru (Recipient), McMiddlin, Andrew (Recipient), Harvey, Owen (Recipient), Guan, Xinlong (Recipient), Bunday, Alex (Recipient) & Avanto, Renzo Alvarado (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
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ABC TOP 5 Arts
Xavier Ho (Contributor)
9 Oct 2023 → 21 Oct 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event
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IEEE VISAP 2023 - Artist Talk
Xavier Ho (Contributor)
25 Oct 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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NERD NITE MELBOURNE: How deep is the hole? Not the rabbit. Queer indie games!
Xavier Ho (Contributor)
8 Nov 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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IEEE VIS Arts Program 2023
Xavier Ho (Organiser), Rebecca Xu (Organiser) & Uta Hinrichs (Organiser)
4 Oct 2023 → 29 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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'Queerer than ever': Centering and celebrating queer indie games
Xavier Ho (Contributor)
30 Mar 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
Press/Media
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Queer Lives Are Not Side Quests
Xavier Ho & Cody Mejeur
14/10/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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ABC RN: 'Xavier Ho, ABC Top 5 Arts resident'
3/11/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: What Happens When We Stop Playing?
18/08/23 → 25/08/23
2 Media contributions
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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Sexual consent education program wins $1.1 million research boost
Lee Wallace, Victoria Rawlings & Xavier Ho
31/07/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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