Research outputs per year
Research outputs per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am Course Leader for BA (Hons) Computer Games Art and Senior Lecturer teaching across our games and creative technologies courses, with specific expertise in games design, art, and programming.
I have been developing games independently for 13 years and have taught game development for almost 10 years.
Research Interests
My research focuses on the application of cognitive psychological perspectives to the design and development of story-focused digital games. I acquired my PhD in 2022, which involved the proposal of psychologically-informed principles for game design that intentionally facilitate narrative interpretation as a form of play.
My research also informs the practical development of digital games that operationalise findings from research; the first commercial release from my research is the upcoming story game White Lake.
Teaching Responsibilities
I teach across all four of our games courses on a range of topics in game design, art, and programming.
Modules Taught
Level 4
- 3D Modelling
- Art Studio
- Game Development
Level 5
- Design Games
- Programming APIs
Level 6
- Advanced Graphics Techniques
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Matthew Higgins is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
- 1 Similar Profiles
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Baby Got Beanz
Dansey, N., Uddin, M. J., Howell, P., West, C., Limpens, A. & Higgins, M., 28 Jan 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Artefact
Open Access -
Designing player-conscious achievements
Howell, P., Limpens, A., Higgins, M., Jerrett, A. M. L. & Uddin, M. J., 10 Sept 2024, (Accepted for publication) Trophy Cases: The Theory, Design, and Cultural Politics of Video Game Trophies and Achievements. Scheiding, R., Staines, D. & Ganzon, S. (eds.). Lexington Academic BooksResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Interpretation as play: a cognitive psychological model of inference and situation model construction
Higgins, M., 31 Oct 2023, Interactive Storytelling: 16th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2023, Kobe, Japan, November 11–15, 2023, Proceedings, Part I. Holloway-Attaway, L. & Murray, J. T. (eds.). Springer, p. 3-20 17 p. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; vol. 14383).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile10 Downloads (Pure) -
The Big Games Stream @ The University of Portsmouth - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
Howell, P., Higgins, M. & Jerrett, A. M. L., 1 Nov 2023Research output: Non-textual form › Artefact
Open Access -
The Last of Us – a show that surprised and challenged audiences, even those who had played the game
Higgins, M., 17 Mar 2023, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
Open Access
Thesis
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Cognitive psychological principles for game design to facilitate narrative interpretation as play
Higgins, M. (Author), Howell, P. M. (Supervisor), Dansey, N. R. (Supervisor) & Eyles, M. C. (Supervisor), Sept 2021Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File
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BioStEAD: Biographical Story-games for Enhancing Awareness of Disability
Howell, P. (PI), Higgins, M. (CoI), Uddin, M. (CoI), Turnbull, T. (CoI), Habens, A. (CoI), Nunkoosing, K. (CoI) & Haydon-Laurelut, M. (CoI)
28/05/18 → …
Project: Research
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Interpretation as Play
Higgins, M. (PI), Howell, P. (CoI), Dansey, N. (CoI) & Eyles, M. (CoI)
1/09/16 → …
Project: Research
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Sprint Project: Psychological Exploration of Narrative Design in Games (PENDinG)
Higgins, M. (PI) & Howell, P. (CoI)
1/06/23 → 31/07/23
Project: Research
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What We Take With Us
Jerrett, A. (PI), Howell, P. (Team Member), Higgins, M. (Team Member) & Dansey, N. (Team Member)
1/10/19 → 1/03/24
Project: Innovation
Activities
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Cogent Arts & Humanities (Journal)
Howell, P. (Guest editor) & Higgins, M. (Guest editor)
Jun 2024 → Jun 2025Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity
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Efrei Paris Engineering School of Digital Technologies
Dansey, N. (Visiting lecturer) & Higgins, M. (Visiting lecturer)
14 Mar 2024 → 15 Mar 2024Activity: Visiting an external organisation types › Visiting an external academic institution
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Larian Studios
Howell, P. (Visiting lecturer), Limpens, A. (Visiting lecturer), Higgins, M. (Visiting lecturer), Uddin, M. (Visiting lecturer), Dansey, N. (Visiting lecturer), West, C. (Visiting lecturer), Ramirez Gomez, A. (Visiting lecturer) & Jerrett, A. (Visiting lecturer)
4 Mar 2024Activity: Visiting an external organisation types › Visiting an external non-academic organisation
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Get In The Game 2024
Dansey, N. (Organiser), Nickbakhsh, M. (Member of programme committee), Uddin, M. (Member of programme committee), Rayner-Tickner, J. (Member of programme committee), Higgins, M. (Member of programme committee), Jerrett, A. (Member of programme committee) & Smith, J. (Member of programme committee)
14 Feb 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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TIGA Games Industry Awards 2023
Limpens, A. (Participant) & Higgins, M. (Participant)
16 Nov 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Prizes
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Excellence in University / Industry Collaboration Award 2023
Limpens, A. (Recipient), Howell, P. (Recipient), Higgins, M. (Recipient), Uddin, M. (Recipient), Jerrett, A. (Recipient) & Dansey, N. (Recipient), 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence 2023: Internationalisation
Dansey, N. (Recipient), Higgins, M. (Recipient), Ralph-Donaldson, T. (Recipient), Hull, A. (Recipient) & Andrews, M. (Recipient), 28 Nov 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)