Marcelo de Vasconcellos - Researcher, Lecturer, Game Designer

I'm a designer and researcher in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and for the last ten years, I have been researching and developing games for health, focusing on health communication, citizenship, social participation and science communication.

I have been involved in other academic initiatives, like being one of the founders of the game studies journal Acta Ludica and the chair of the Health Track of the Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames).

I also work on the development of analog games, digital games, gamification projects and similar initiatives for serious and entertainment purposes.

I have almost 20 years of experience as a lecturer and speaker, dealing with game-related themes, interactive narratives, new media, design thinking and speculative design.

PhD in Sciences

Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

2009 - 2013

My PhD dissertation investigated the potential of digital games, and, particularly, massive online digital games for public health communication in Brazil. You can download it here (in Portuguese).

M.A in Visual Arts

Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro

2000 - 2002

My master thesis relied on concepts from Cognitive Anthropology and Media Ecology to investigate how graphic designers were making the passage from graphic design for printed media to web design. You can download it here (in Portuguese).

Graduation in Graphic Design

Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro

1996 - 1999

At the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I was trained to design compelling visual solutions for all kinds of concepts and products. My final visual project was a fictional book collection called "Lewisianas".

Researcher and Designer

Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

2006 - Current

At Fiocruz, I have worked designing websites, printed material and, since 2011, I have been researching and developing digital and analog games and other ludic experiments.

Professor

Estácio de Sá University

2001 - Current

I conducted research on game design methods and taught undergraduates from the courses of Internet Development and Digital Games about Game Design, Game Studies, Digital Media and Graphic Design.

Visiting Scholar

Breda Univ. of Applied Sciences

2019

As a visiting scholar at BUas, I conducted research about simulation/gaming from the perspective of collective health, science communication and public services.