Andrei Zanescu

Thesis title: Blockbuster Resonance in Games: How Assassin's Creed and Magic: The Gathering Simulate Classical Antiquity

Andrei is a PhD graduate from the Communication Studies department. His background is located in liberal arts, philosophy and communications.

His MA thesis was about the representation of Balkan cultures in the Witcher series and the broader stakes concerning Balkanism in cultural industries. His research then primarily focused on broadening the work started during his MA.

His doctoral dissertation work focused on the simulation of real-world cultures in large-scale AAA games. His work also intersects with semiotics, sociology and museum studies.

He also split his time among three other projects. He's been part of the Streaming at the Margins project, headed by Dr. Mia Consalvo, which deals with the daily lives and experiences of videogame live streamers. He's also worked with Dr. Martin French and Marc Lajeunesse on the gamblification of videogames (the inclusion of gambling mechanics and logics in videogames and afferent platforms). Lastly, He's been part of the Humour and Games project (along with Marc Lajeunesse and Scott Dejong) sponsored by the TAG research centre. This project’s focus was interviewing games academics and professionals on the intersection of humour and games.