Co-Directors
Dr Richard Cole is Lecturer in Digital Classics at the University of Bristol. His research focuses on how the history and culture of antiquity intersects with new media, in particular video games, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Previously, he worked as a researcher on the multidisciplinary Virtual Reality Oracle project at the University of Bristol. Richard has published on the role of video games and historical fiction more broadly in shaping public perception. He co-founded the Lab with Dr Xiaochun Zhang in September 2022.
Dr Michael Samuel is Lecturer in Digital Film and Television at the University of Bristol. His research is positioned from the intersection of film, television and games and digital technologies. He has published on television, games and digital culture. He is currently writing about slow games and the American small town, games and heritage, and investigating the capacity of games to elicit empathy for those living with postnatal depression.
Interns
Ms Claudia Jones was the Bristol Digital Game Lab intern in 2022-23, a role she held while studying for a Master of Arts in Black Humanities. She is a former librarian from the United States of America. Her research interests include Black historical narratives in video games, Black digital bodies, and games as archives.