THE CROWD PROBLEM IN VIDEO GAMES

SSHRC FUNDED PROJECT


Crowd simulation poses a challenge for both amateur and experienced game developers. It requires designing ordered systems out of what is often perceived as (dis)order.  The main objective of this project is to trace the epistemic roots of inherited violence in protesting crowds in videogames. Additionally, this project aims to study and explore novel ways for players to interact with non-violent crowds in video games by proposing heuristic frameworks that are accessible even in fast-paced development contexts, such as game jams.

iI you have a research background in crowd simulation, character animation, interactive media, game development, or computational design. A technical background in agent-based modelling tools such as GAMA or NetLogo, machine learning frameworks like Unity ML-Agents, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn, as well as computer vision tools like OpenCV, feel free to reach out for potential opportunities for collaboration.

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