Dr Niall Moody

Contact info

n.moody@abertay.ac.uk

+44 (0)1382 30 8747

Biography

I am a part-time Lecturer in Game Audio and Design, currently leading delivery of CMP407: Audio Programming, and teaching on DES207: Media Production with Kayleigh MacLeod, Dayna Galloway, Euan Dempster, Dayna Galloway, Ege Sezen and Alexander Tarvet.

My research interests are focused on treating players as game designers: empowering players to design and re-design the games they play - as they are playing them - and flattening the traditional hierarchy between game designer and player.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Electronics with Music at the University of Glasgow, followed by a Masters in Music Technology and a subsequent PhD in Music Technology, both also from the University of Glasgow.

Outside of my work at Abertay I am an artist and independent game developer, working as part of Biome Collective. A full list of my non-academic work can be found on my personal website.

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Teaching
Research

CMP407 - Audio Programming: A broad introduction to audio programming in a games context. The module covers topics from the high level (how sound works, game audio middleware, etc.), to the low level (how to code audio effects, synthesizers, etc.). I am module lead for this module.
DES207 - Media Production: A module introducing students to the processes and challenges involved when developing a game as part of a team. I teach on this module alongside Kayleigh MacLeod, Dr Dayna Galloway, Dr Euan Dempster, Ege Sezen and Alexander Tarvet.
DES404 - Honours Project: A student-led practical project accompanied by a thesis. I am a student supervisor on this module.

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More Information

Outreach

Gatehouse Music Society Game Audio Workshop: A 2-hour workshop introducing teenagers to the recording and implementation of sound for videogames. Run for the Gatehouse Music Society in 2022.
Folk Games Workshop: A 2-hour workshop on the playing and sharing of folk games. Run for The Overkill Festival, Netherlands, 2022.
making it up as we go along: A playthrough of the game making it up as we go along with members of the public. making it up as we go along is one of the outputs of my ongoing Game Design as Play research project. Run for The Overkill Festival, Netherlands, 2022.
Playing Along: An interactive talk on game design, presented in collaboration with Yann Seznec. Presented at Continue Edinburgh 2018 and BFI Video Games Day 2018.
Generation ZX(X): An event organised by Dr Mona Bozdog in 2018. The event celebrated the Timex factory where ZX Spectrums were made, and the women who made them. I contributed the game Breaking Out of the Frame. The Generation ZX(X) games were also exhibited at the opening ceremony for the V&A Dundee.