David Gonçalves

PhD Student

I’ve finished my BSc in Graphic Design. During three years, I developed several printed, physical and digital graphic artifacts, acquiring knowledge on the different technical, material and human conditions when solving a design problem - in particular, editorial design, information design, illustration, branding, and packaging.

Driven by an ambition to create software and, more specifically, video games, I enrolled in a MSc in Informatics, which I completed at the end of 2020. My MSc dissertation focused on designing games for groups with mixed visual abilities, leveraging the design of asymmetric ability-based roles. Working closely with people with visual impairments, I developed games that offered the opportunity for friends and family to share a moment of conviviality, not readily available elsewhere.

I started my PhD in 2021, inspired by the social relevance of digital play, and potential to open doors to a more inclusive society. In my PhD thesis, I aim to operationalize asymmetry and modularity in game design to enable radically different styles of play in the same game. I expect to create and promote multiplayer gaming that caters to different player needs and preferences, while maintaining the benefits of a shared experience.

Publications

A Living Framework for Understanding Cooperative Games

Pedro Pais, David Gonçalves, Daniel Reis, João Godinho, João Morais, Manuel Piçarra, Pedro Trindade, Dmitry Alexandrovsky, Kathrin Gerling, João Guerreiro, André Rodrigues

CHI 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May, 2024

The Trick is to Stay Behind?: Defining and Exploring the Design Space of Player Balancing Mechanics

David Gonçalves, Daniel Barros, Pedro Pais, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues

CHI 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May, 2024

Promoting Family Play through Asymmetric Game Design

Pedro Pais, David Gonçalves, Kathrin Gerling, Teresa Romão, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues

CSCW 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, October, 2024

Social gaming: A systematic review

David Gonçalves, Pedro Pais, Kathrin Gerling, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues

CHB 2023 ‑ Computers in Human Behavior, July, 2023

“My Zelda Cane”: Strategies Used by Blind Players to Play Visual-Centric Digital Games

David Gonçalves, Manuel Piçarra, Pedro Pais, João Guerreiro, André Rodrigues

CHI 2023 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April, 2023

Projects