MAPPING SPACES OF RESISTANCE IN VIDEOGAMES

This project is about spatial claims. From a decolonial point of view, how can we lay spatial claims over the space of video games? As the physical space, the cyber realm is a technological overlay of space in which power struggles, capitalists and neoliberal agendas are in play. Therefore, in this thesis, I lay out case studies in which people make spatial claims through the gamespace. I am concerned with two performances of democracy: One is participation, and the other is protest. Both are essential facets of civic engagement and have carved a significant space in game studies over the past decade. Following a grounded theory logic, this research comprises three cycles of synthesis that embrace three claims: a spatial claim, a digital claim, and a claim over code.

HAMZA BASHANDY, PhD

Ludic Portfolio of Research and Design
hamza.bashandy[at]carleton.ca

I am an architect and game scholar. I teach in the Interactive and Multimedia Design undergarduate program and in the master and PhD program, specialized in digital media at the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Design at Carleton University. My research sits at the intersection of urban issues and playful simulations, particularly examining the implications of playful interventions and computer simulations in participatory design and social movements...

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

01. A Design Toolkit of Ludic Contentious Politics
FDG 2025, Graz, Austria

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE
02. Mapping Spaces of Resistance in Videogames
FNRS Dissertation, Liège, Belgium

03. Playing in a Lost Space
Heterotopia Zine 009 on Power

04. Urban Rant Notebook
Indpendant Research

ARCHITECTURAL & GAME DESIGN

01. City.Craft

Workshop and Analysis of Minecraft in Spatial Design

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
02. Return to Sender
Research Creation Project, TAG Centre

03. Playful Memory
Research Design Labo LNA, ULiège.

04. Oshtoora Festival
Design Build MADA Architects, Cairo.

DIS-PLAY LAB

FOR LUDIC DESIGN AND SPATIAL PLAY @CarletonU
Active Call

MSc & PhD on Co-Design & Urban Sim Play
Start Date: January/September 2026

Research Assistants & MS.c. Opportunities
M.Sc. -> September 2025 / January 2026
RA-ships -> Flexibile

ACTIVE PROJECTS
The Crowd Problem in Videogames
SSHRC-funded project, Ottawa, Canada