TOM BYERS

My research focuses on how time, pacing, and engagement are designed and experienced in digital systems, particularly video games. I approach these questions through the lens of temporal design – the design choices that structure and signal the availability and pacing of engagement – drawing from HCI, game studies, and media studies to understand how systems shape attention and cultural participation.

Recent Publications:

Byers, T., Gibbs, M., & Nansen, B. (2026). From Quarters Per Minute to Daily Quests and Seasons: Developer Perspectives on Temporal Design in Video Games. In Conference Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026). https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3790636.
– Best Paper Honourable Mention Award

Byers, T., & Nansen, B. (2026). Are video game developers using AI? Players want to know, but the rules are patchy. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/are-video-game-developers-using-ai-players-want-to-know-but-the-rules-are-patchy-274850.

Byers, T., Gibbs, M., & Nansen, B. (2026). Time in Digital Games: A Comparative Map of Temporal Constructs. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. DiGRA. https://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/2830

Byers, T. (2026). Play Against the Clock: Postdigital Play and Polychronicity. In A. Bacalja, B. Robinson, & G. Dishon (Eds.), Gaming in a Postdigital World (pp. 47–60). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-21035-7_4

Byers, T., Gibbs, M., & Nansen, B. (2025). Evaluating Time in Play and Temporal Satisfaction: Time-Centric Language in Video Game User Reviews on Steam. In Conference Proceedings of the 37th Australian Conference on Human–Computer Interaction (OzCHI 2025). https://doi.org/10.1145/3764687.3764693.

Byers, T. (2025). Time and Change in Virtual Worlds: Understanding Ludo-Solastalgia. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, Special Issue: ‘Time, Play and Games’, 17:2, pp. 221–234, https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw_00121_1.

Byers, T., Gibbs, M., & Nansen, B. (2025). Selling Time: Time-Centric Language in Video Game Marketing on Steam. Conference Proceedings of DiGRA 2025 Conference: Games at the Crossroads, 2025(2). https://doi.org/10.26503/dl.v2025i2.2434.

Ford, H., Sidoti, F., Falk, M., Pietsch, T., & Byers, T. (2024). How Australian places are represented on Wikipedia (No. 2). University of Technology, Sydney. https://wikihistories.github.io/reports/2024.

Byers, T., & Nansen, B. (2024). Understanding Content Creation: An Exploration of the Social, Technical, and Professional Elements of Video Game Content Creation. In Conference Proceedings of DiGRA 2024 Conference: Playgrounds. https://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/2240.

For my full list of publications, please see my Google Scholar profile.