CV

EDUCATION

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Ph.D., Digital Media, 2023
Advisor: Brian Magerko
Doctoral Minor in Music Technology

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
M.S., Digital Media, 2021
Advisor: Brian Magerko

DREXEL UNIVERSITY
B.S., Game Design and Production, 2019
Minor in Music Theory and Composition

APPOINTMENTS & EMPLOYMENT

YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, CT
August 2023 – present
Postdoctoral Research Associate, XR Pediatrics
Jointly funded with Drexel University’s Entrepreneurial Game Studio
● Oversaw multi-institution collaborative project aimed at educating adolescents and young adults, as well as their caregivers, about cancer treatment
● Part of a research team developing XR intervention aimed at reducing infection spread in NICU units
● Oversaw graduate student team working on multiple game projects centered on participative efficacy and awareness of online privacy topics

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Atlanta, GA
August 2022 – May 2023
Graduate Research Assistant at Expressive Machinery Lab
● Developed code complexity analysis tools to model EarSketch users’ knowledge of programming concepts
● Prototyped co-creative AI agent to offer music suggestions, code suggestions, and error diagnostics to high school students

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Atlanta, GA
May 2022 – August 2022
Graduate Teaching Assistant/Instructor of Record
● Undergraduate Game Design Studio course
● Course description: This project-based studio course provides students with the opportunity to practice designing digital and analog games using rapid prototyping and iterative design. Students will practice game design techniques in hands-on assignments and projects centered on user experience, mechanics, playtesting, and game development.

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Atlanta, GA
August 2019 – May 2022
Graduate Research Assistant at Expressive Machinery Lab
● Developed code complexity analysis tools to model EarSketch users’ knowledge of programming concepts
● Prototyped co-creative AI agent to offer music suggestions, code suggestions, and error diagnostics to high school students

DREXEL UNIVERSITY, Philadelphia, PA
June 2019 – August 2019
Part-Time Associate Researcher at Entrepreneurial Game Studio
● Writer for outside grant applications
● Managed and coordinated content weekly incubator meetings
● Mentored undergraduate summer researchers

SCIENCE WARP, Claremont, NH
June 2019 – August 2019
Part-Time Educational Game Designer
● Prototyped art assets for physics-based sailing game for elementary school students
● Provided design recommendations and pedagogical strategy for continuation of project after exit

DREXEL UNIVERSITY, Philadelphia, PA
September 2017 – April 2018
Program Assistant Co-Op at Entrepreneurial Game Studio
● Writer for outside grant applications
● Maintained and administrated incubator program for student game developers
● Designed & programmed minigames for Hacktion cybersecurity mobile game

DREXEL UNIVERSITY, Philadelphia, PA
June 2016 – August 2016
STAR Scholar at Entrepreneurial Game Studio
● Researched best practices for designing digital learning environments
● Developed design recommendations for Skyscraper Games educational website
● Assisted in planning and running programming workshops for local middle school students

GANNETT FLEMING, Lebanon, NH
June 2014 – August 2015
Programming Intern
● Developed C# libraries for the company’s TAROS Rail Operations Software
● Implemented licensing module and compression library for files
● Developed UI testing components using WPF UI Automation and Named Pipes
● Prototyped Rail Traffic Controller model merge application for large passenger rail corporation

PUBLICATIONS

Conference Papers

Truesdell, E.J.K., and Madera, M. (2024). “Creative Sense-Making Analysis for the Representation of Collaboration in Embodied Play.” Accepted to the 2024 IEEE Conference on Games (IEEE CoG).

Truesdell, E.J.K., and Magerko, B. (2023). “Three Design Themes for Collaborative Alternative Controllers.” In Proceedings of the 2023 conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2023).

Truesdell, E.J.K., Smith, J.B., Mathew, S., Katuka, G.A., Griffith, A., McKlin, T., Magerko, B., Freeman, J., and Boyer, K.E. (2021). “Supporting Computational Music Remixing with a Co-Creative Learning Companion.” In Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Computational Creativity. [Best Long Paper, Student-Led]

Smith, J., Truesdell, E.J.K., Freeman, J., Magerko, B., Boyer, K.E., and McKlin, T. (2020). “Modeling Music and Code Knowledge to Support a Co-creative AI Agent in Education”. In Proceedings of the 21st International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference (ISMIR 2020).

Journal Articles

Rahimi, S., Smith, J.B., Truesdell, E.J.K., Vinay, A., Boyer, K.E., Magerko, B., Freeman, J., and McKlin, T. (2024). “An Automated, Unobtrusive, Formative Assessment of Creativity in a Computer Science and Music Remixing Learning Environment.” Accepted to Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.

Short Papers

Tian, V.K., Truesdell, E.J.K., and Lee, F.J. (2024). “You Are Under Watch: Designing an Uncomfortable Pervasive Game for Critical Reflection and Player Equity.” Accepted to the 2024 International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2024).

Demo and Workshop Papers

Rahimi, S., Smith, J.B., Truesdell, E.J.K., Vinay, A., Boyer, K.E., Magerko, B., Freeman, J., and McKlin, T. (2023). “Validity and Fairness of an Automated Assessment of Creativity in Computational Music Remixing.” Workshop on Automated Assessment and Guidance of Project Work at the 24th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education.

Truesdell, E.J.K. (2021). “Curve-Based Level Generation for a Full-Body VR Rhythm Game.” In Proceedings of the 17th AAAI conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment.

Other Scholarly Publications

Truesdell, E.J.K. (2023). “Designing Controllers for Collaborative Play.” Doctoral Dissertation in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

INVITED TALKS

Lecture. “Sensemaking and Collaboration in Play.” Indiana University. February 2024.
Lecture. “Sensemaking and Collaboration in Play.” Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. February 2024.

GAME FESTIVALS

alt.ctrl.GDC 2023. Haber Dasher, Finalist.
MAGFest Indie Arcade 2024. Haber Dasher, Selection.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS & DOCTORAL CONSORTIA

Weser, V.U., Crocker, A., Murray, T.S., Truesdell, E.J.K., Marks, A.M., Hieftje, K., and HIPSTER Team (2024). “NICU Stakeholder Input to Inform Content of a Virtual Reality Infection Prevention Educational Experience Targeting NICU Patient Families.” Presented at the 2024 Virtual Medicine Conference.

Truesdell, E.J.K. (2022) “Uncovering Patterns in Collaborative Play with Alternative Controllers.” Presented at the 17th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games.

Truesdell, E.J.K. (2019). “Event[0] Game Narrative Review.” Presented at the 2019 Game Developers Conference Narrative Summit.

Truesdell, E.J.K. (2017). “The Five Pillars of Effective Curriculum Development.” Presented at the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

PROJECTS & CREATIVE WORK

TRIP: A COSMIC ADVENTURE FOR TWO, May 2022 – May 2023
Controller and gameplay development
Created and developed an asymmetrical two-player alternative controller game in which two players work together to pilot a spaceship with hallucinogenic graphics.
HABER DASHER, September 2021 – present
Controller and gameplay development
Created and developed an alternative controller game using a massive two-player bowler hat. Haber Dasher was selected as a finalist for alt.ctrl.GDC 2023 and was selected for inclusion in the 2024 MAGFest Indie Arcade.
PhDuh, March 2022
Guest
Discussed PhD research on alternative game controllers.
STILL ON THE WATER, July 2017 – June 2019
Design, 3D Modeling, Public Relations
Collaborated on a 4-person team to develop a virtual reality kayaking experience exploring memory and small interpersonal interactions. This project was selected for presentation at the 2019 Intel University Games Showcase.
THERE’S BEEN A MURDER, September 2018 – June 2019
Team Lead, Interaction Programming, Public Relations
Collaborated on a 9-person interdisciplinary team to develop virtual reality murder mystery game as a senior design project at Drexel University. Responsibilities included programming several of the game’s puzzles and the game’s interaction-driven soundtrack.
CAFFEINE!, September 2018 – June 2019
Composer, Performer
Wrote and premiered CAFFEINE! duet for alto saxophone and piano.
EXCITECAST, February 2018
Guest
Discussed work on Hacktion, a pervasive mixed-reality mobile game to teach consumer cybersecurity.

AWARDS & HONORS

President’s Fellowship, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019 – 2023
Student Who Makes A Difference, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, 2014