Xavier Ho

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Xavier Ho

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0171-5097
20142025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

I'm a queer game researcher and interaction designer working with queer videogames and tabletop games.

I am a queer Taiwanese migrant living in Bunurong Country, southeast of Naarm. My research investigates LGBTQIA+ narratives in videogames and tabletop games through game design, creative works, archival research, interviews, and exhibitions. I am a Senior 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, and the 2025 Powerhouse Research Scholar in Residence. 

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 host panels at furry conventions with my boyfriend and performs in talent shows as a musical theatre vocalist.

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

  • Digital Games Research Association of Australia (DIGRAA) - Elected Member (2024-Present)
  • Digital Games Research Association of Australia (DiGRAA) Conference 2024-2025 - Organising Committee, Experimental Track
  • Furry Studies 2024-2025 - General Co-Chair
  • 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 Equity, Diveristy, and Inclusion Committee (2023-Present)
  • MADA Education Comittee (2021-2024)

 

Monash teaching commitment

  • 2024—Present: ADA3406 & ADA5406 MADA Internships (Chief Examiner)
  • 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 (also in 2024) Interaction Design Studios 2 & 3 (Lecturer)
  • 2021 & 2025: 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):

  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

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

Powerhouse Research Scholar, Powerhouse Museum

18 Mar 2025 → 17 Mar 2026

Elected Ordinary Member, Digital Games Research Association of Australia

22 Mar 2024 → …

SSSHARC Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sydney

16 Feb 2024 → 30 Jun 2025

ABC TOP 5 Arts Researcher in Media Residence, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

9 Oct 2023 → 20 Oct 2023

Hunt-Simes Junior Visiting Chair in Sexuality Studies, University of Sydney

13 Feb 2023 → 2 Mar 2025

Research area keywords

  • Queer theory
  • Queer studies
  • Video games
  • Game studies
  • Creative and critical methodologies
  • Board games
  • LGBTQIA+ Wellbeing
  • Design education
  • Sexuality studies
  • Game Jams
  • Queer game studies
  • Furry studies

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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