Research Areas
Over two decades of interdisciplinary research spanning artificial intelligence, serious games, education, virtual reality, game design, and experimental archaeology.
Artificial Intelligence
Research in AI spans multiple domains, from foundational work on neural network confidence estimation to contemporary applications of large language models in public services. Current work focuses on AI in education — exploring how AI tools can enhance learning outcomes, support assessment, and provide personalised feedback at scale. This includes investigating neural network confidence calibration: understanding when AI systems know what they know, and more importantly, when they do not.
A significant strand involves the practical deployment of LLMs for public services and the ethical frameworks required to govern their use. This includes advisory work with New Zealand government agencies on responsible AI adoption, risk assessment, and policy development. The research addresses core questions about transparency, bias, accountability, and the societal impact of AI-driven decision-making in high-stakes public contexts.
Serious Games
Serious games research explores how game mechanics and design principles can be applied to address real-world challenges in health, cognition, and behaviour change. Key projects include games designed to support cognitive health in elderly populations, targeting conditions such as dementia through gamified memory training and cognitive exercises. Other work addresses mental health applications, creating interactive experiences for individuals with autism, ADHD, and epilepsy.
Beyond health, this research extends into gamification of energy use — designing systems that incentivise sustainable behaviour through game-like feedback loops — and gamification of education incentives, where game mechanics are used to drive student engagement and motivation. The underlying principle is that well-designed game systems can produce measurable behavioural outcomes in non-entertainment contexts.
Computer Science Education
Created New Zealand's first university-level game development courses in 2004 at the University of Otago, establishing a pathway that has since been adopted and adapted across the country. Research in CS education focuses on innovative assessment methods that more accurately measure student understanding and encourage deeper learning.
Central to this work is the development of confidence-based marking (CBM) systems, where students indicate their confidence in each answer, rewarding well-calibrated self-assessment and penalising overconfidence. This approach targets metacognitive skills — teaching students to know what they know. Additional innovations include gamified marking systems that use game mechanics to make assessment more engaging, and the design of 72-hour Git-based examinations that assess authentic software development practices in realistic timeframes, replacing artificial exam conditions with genuine problem-solving scenarios.
Virtual Reality
VR research focuses on using immersive technologies to address social and medical challenges. A primary project explores VR for children in medical isolation, providing social connection and collaborative play environments for young patients who are physically separated from peers during treatment. Related work investigates VR as a tool for combating loneliness in migrant communities, creating virtual social spaces that bridge geographical and cultural distances.
Additional research covers collaborative learning in VR, examining how shared virtual environments can enhance group learning outcomes, and simulation sickness — a critical barrier to VR adoption. Understanding the physiological and perceptual causes of VR-induced discomfort is essential for designing systems that are accessible to all users. VR research has been presented internationally, including demonstrations at events in Kosovo and the New Zealand Science Festival.
Game Design & Development
Research in game design and development covers the technical and human-centred aspects of creating interactive software. This includes human-computer interaction (HCI) in game contexts, software architecture for real-time systems, graphics programming, and GPU programming for high-performance rendering and computation.
A particular contribution is in game analytics, including a book chapter on the WebTics telemetry system — a framework for collecting, processing, and analysing player behaviour data at scale. This work bridges the gap between game design intuition and data-driven development, enabling developers to make informed decisions about player experience based on empirical evidence rather than assumption.
Experimental Archaeology
Over nine years, 13 traction trebuchets have been designed, built, and tested as part of an experimental archaeology programme investigating medieval siege technology. This hands-on research challenges conventional assumptions about the construction, operation, and military effectiveness of human-powered siege engines, providing empirical data where historical records are incomplete or ambiguous.
The research has been published in the EXARC Journal, contributing to the broader field of experimental archaeology by demonstrating the value of physical reconstruction and iterative testing. Each trebuchet build incorporates lessons from previous iterations, progressively refining understanding of rope materials, beam proportions, sling dynamics, and team coordination.
Government & Industry Consulting
Advisory work with government agencies, international organisations, and New Zealand industry on AI, education, games, and technology strategy.
New Zealand Government
Ministry of Education
AI policy advice, digital literacy frameworks, and technology integration in schools and tertiary education.
NZQA
Assessment integrity in the age of AI, qualification frameworks, and automated marking systems.
TEC
Tertiary Education Commission — AI strategy for tertiary sector, workforce development, and innovation funding.
Reserve Bank of NZ
AI risk assessment, technology governance, and data-driven decision-making in financial regulation.
DIA
Department of Internal Affairs — Digital services, AI in public service delivery, and content regulation.
MBIE
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment — AI innovation policy, technology sector strategy, and R&D investment.
Ministry of Health
Health technology assessment, serious games for health outcomes, and AI in health service delivery.
Statistics NZ
Data science capability, AI-assisted analysis, and statistical methodology in the age of machine learning.
ACC
Accident Compensation Corporation — AI applications in injury prevention, claims processing, and rehabilitation support.
International
KLM Airlines
Gamification and interactive systems for airline operations and customer experience.
L'Oreal UK
Gamification strategy and interactive engagement systems for consumer products.
Fraunhofer IDT, Germany
Research collaboration on applied technology, innovation transfer, and serious games applications.
University of Groningen
Academic collaboration on game-based learning, AI research, and computer science education.
Coventry University
Collaborative research on serious games, game design education, and applied computing.
Tallinn University
Research partnerships in game-based learning, digital culture, and educational technology.
New Zealand Industry
Flick Electrical
Gamification of energy consumption, user engagement systems, and behavioural change through game mechanics.
IBM NZ
AI strategy, technology consulting, and enterprise innovation in the New Zealand context.
Inspera
Digital assessment platform development, AI-assisted examination, and online testing integrity.
Business South
Technology strategy, innovation workshops, and AI capability building for regional businesses.
PPTA
Post Primary Teachers' Association — AI in secondary education, teacher professional development, and technology policy.
Gore Health
Health technology advisory, serious games for patient engagement, and digital health innovation.
Norsk Tipping
Game design consultation, responsible gaming systems, and player behaviour analytics.
NZ Police College
Simulation-based training, serious games for law enforcement education, and scenario-based learning systems.
Research Output
Published across AI, serious games, game analytics, CS education, VR, and experimental archaeology.
A full list of publications, citation data, and co-author networks is available on Google Scholar. Research output spans journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, and technical reports across all listed research areas.
View Google Scholar Profile ↗