• Max Chen (she/her)
  • Known Alias: Jingru Chen
  • mjchen@wpi.edu
  • Fuller Lab B16
  • 100 Institute Rd
  • Worcester, MA, USA 01609

Hello!

I am a PhD candidate in Computational Media at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), advised by Gillian Smith and Erin Solovey. I am a member of the WPI Intentional Design Studio and WPI HCI Lab. My research explores the intersection of computational creativity, game design, and human-computer interaction, with a focus on how algorithm-assisted design influences creative agency and reflective thinking. I investigate procedural and generative tools in game development, examining their impact on design iteration and evaluation.

My recent work focuses on developing and refining reflective-prompting toolkits to help game designers effectively incorporate multimodal amplified feedback, commonly known as "juice" and "game feel" in the game design community.

As a research assistant at WPI Academic & Research Computing, I design, develop, and evaluate digital media products, AR and VR that support and promote faculty research, teaching, scholarship, and external partnerships.

Prior my life as a game designer and HCI researcher, I majored in Pharmaceutical Engineering and obtained a Bachelor’s degree from University of Technology (WHUT), Wuhan, China in 2020. I worked with Prof. Yihua Yin in particle drug delivery system, and interned as clinical research associate at Novartis. Through these experiences, I discovered the potential benefits of informative systems and immersive technologies in the medical industry, particularly in the areas of rehabilitation training and education. The COVID-19 pandemic led me to consider the potential and challenges of remote learning in immersive environments, which ultimately inspired me to transition into a developer and HCI researcher.

If you are interested in my work or simply want to chat about unconventional game controllers, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to send me an email and that's how epic begins.