Dr Jen Beeston

University of York

Jen is currently working as a Lecturer in HCI in the Department of Computer Science (University of York) whilst writing up her PhD. She has a multidisciplinary background, from studying subjects such as environmental science and media production and having worked in various jobs such as grassland research, flood risk management, and plasterboard quality. 

She feels extraordinarily fortunate to have been able to do research into her lifelong hobby of playing digital games. In particular, Jen feels it is important that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy gaming should they wish. As such, her research has been aimed at exploring the experiences of people with disabilities in playing games, beyond how various technologies can support play. Jen’s research is focused particularly on the social experiences of players with disabilities in-game and within the broader gaming community. She has worked alongside the charity AbleGamers with the aims of investigating these player’s experiences of gaming, what effects alternative controls have upon play, and what it’s like for these players in multiplayer or online games. 

Jen is broadly interested in HCI, user experience, player experience, inclusivity, social play, and game communities. Outside of her work, she enjoys walking, thinking, reading, crochet, art, and tabletop roleplaying games.