Meet our team

Dr Mariza Dima Mariza is a Reader in Games Design. She specialises in User Experience and User Interface design for developing meaningful and engaging interactions particularly using mobile, AR and haptic technologies. She has worked between academia and the creative industries as an interaction designer and creative technologist in R&D projects combining engineering and design approaches grounded on theoretical contexts of narrative, affective dramaturgy, and audience/player engagement. Her reseech interests are in experience design methdologies for cyber-physical environments, and applied games for social innovation (live action, role playing, digital). A keen knowledge hunter, she is often inspired by and experiments playfully with perspectives from different fields that could offer a useful alternative lens on user experience design and then turns them into a tool for designing engaging experiences. Her design approach is holistic and experiential where the designer embeds and immerses herself in a collaborative design process and views it as an educational and transformative experience rather than participating in it as a design expert. She also consults on strategies for devising and developing digital projects and user interactions in the creative industries and has expertise in design methods for collaboration and co-creation. User Experience and User Interface design for multi-sensory body-based interactions with a focus on Augmented and Mixed Reality Games for Change – using games for awareness and social innovation Mariza’s work has been published and exhibited widely in leading academic conferences such as SIGGRAPH Asia, CHI, HCI International, British HCI, NordiCHI. UI/UX Design for Games, Games Programming (Python), Concept Communication, Studio Practice

Dr Andra Ivanescu I am a Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for the Games Design BA at Brunel University London, where lead modules across our undergraduate programme and contribute significantly to curriculum development. My teaching focuses on equipping students with the critical and practical skills needed to analyze and create within the dynamic field of video games. I am committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative learning environment that encourages students to engage deeply with the cultural and societal dimensions of games. My research complements my teaching, focusing on issues of representation, censorship, nostalgia, and genre in games, as well as the role of music and sound in shaping player experiences. This interdisciplinary approach enables me to bring fresh insights into the classroom, connecting academic theory with real-world applications in game design and analysis. In addition to my academic responsibilities, I contribute to the wider research community as a board member for organizations such as British DiGRA and the Ludomusicology Research Group, reflecting my dedication to advancing the study of games both within and beyond the university setting. Game Censorship and Regulation Video Game Music and Ludomusicology Gender and Representation in Games Genre Conventions in Video Games Popular Music and Nostalgia Policy and Public Engagement Game Studies Ludomusicology Cultural Studies Gender Studies Popular Music Studies Game Studies Game Genre Research Methods Socio-Cultural Studies Ludomusicology Throughout my time at Brunel I have taught modules at every level of our taught programmes (FHEA L4, L5, L6 and L7). I have also successfully supervised both undergraduate and MA dissertations (2017-present), with one of my MA dissertation students winning the Dean’s Prize in 2017. I have also received two Student-Led Teaching Awards nominations for Best Tutor/Supervisor. I am also an HEA Fellow.

Dr Ivan Girina Ivan Girina is a Senior Lecturer in Game Studies and holds a PhD in Film and Television Studies from the University of Warwick, his research is currently focused on digital games asethetic, particualrly its relationship with cinema and larger visual media landscapes. Ivan is also co-founder and member of the Editorial Board of the international academic journal G|A|M|E – Games as Art, Media and Entertainment. He has published on a variety of topics such as: cinematic games; video game agency; film and new media; media literacy and education; and Italian regional cinema. I am Module Convenor for: FM2608 (BA) - Game Studies 2: Concepts and Analysis FM3615 (BA) - Theory Project: Business & Development FM3616 (BA) - Theory Project: Game Analysis GD3600 (BA) - Film and Video Games GD5600 (MA) - Interdisciplinary Module GD5604 (MA) - Game Studies: Cocepts, Contexts & Analysis

Dr Brent Ferguson Brent is a Lecturer in Games Sound and Music. They are also a performer, composer, and scholar of videogame music. Brent's research interest are in music and multimedia, the weaponization of music, and arranging videogame music for the guitar. Their co-written research has appeared in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy (2020), the Journal of Sound and Music in Games (2021), and the edited collections Nostalgia and Videogame Music (2022, edited by Can Askoy, Vincent Rone, and Sarah Pozderac-Chenevey) and The Intersection of Animation, Video Games, and Music (2023, edited by Lisa Scoggin and Dana Plank). Brent has also presented at conferences such as the American Musicological Society (2017), the North American Conference on Video Game Music (2020, 2021) and the Ludomusicology Research Group Conference (2020, 2021). Brent also performs on the classical and electric guitars, as well as keyboard instruments. They have performed with American groups Mothership: A Led Zeppelin Experience and Q: The Music of Queen for over a decade. Brent also performs with Dr. Michael Averett as the MIENT Duo, and they released their first album, ...souls like birds, under the Centaur record label. They had the privelege of performing Eric Roth's RPG National Anthem Variations at Naka-Kon in Overland Park, Kansas in 2022. Brent has also performed with various jazz groups including the River City Jazz Band, the Solid Brass Jazz Ensemble and the Randy Runyon Project on piano/keys. Brent's compositions have appeared in a variety of independent videogames, as well as the concert stage. To find out more, please visit their website here. Brent's research interest are in music and multimedia, the weaponization of music, and arranging videogame music for the guitar. Ludomusicology Critical Studies in Music Popular Music Film Music Music Videos Game Audio 1 Game Audio 2 Dynamic Audio and Implementation