Interactive media
Games, narrative systems, tangible play, interactive exhibitions, and computational interpretation.
Scholar-artist • computational media • AI ethics • craft
Karen Royer, PhD
Computational Media Scholar, Designer, and Educator
I work across computational media, craft, AI, games, and critical design, with a focus on guiding creative technology projects from concept to completion through material inquiry and interdisciplinary production.
Featured work
Projects and exhibitions
Worcester, MA • 2024–2025
Facing AI Dissertation & Exhibition
Explore my dissertation projects which included an exhibition at WPI’s George C. Gordon Library exploring hybrid craft, generative AI, and augmented reality systems.
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Chicago, IL • 2024
The Matrix of Discomfort
A critical AI artwork and quilt-based research project exhibited at the Creativity & Cognition Conference Exhibition at Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago.
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WPI • 2019
All Through the Night Thesis
A tangible and AR-based game environment examining social and design constraints in hybrid play systems.
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Festival work • Game board
A Mile in My Shoes
A mixed-media project shown through IndieCade, Different Games, and Boston Festival of Indie Games finalist programming.
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Different Games • 2018
Inscribe
A mixed-media egg board game exhibited at Different Games in October 2018. The project belongs with the earlier material game works and archive collection.
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NSF-funded research • 2019–2022
Procedural Patchwork / Code Crafters
NSF-funded research and community-centered generative design work connecting quilters, computing, and creative tools.
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Teaching + creative technology
Computational Media
Projects and teaching that connect design, code, media theory, interactive experiences, generative systems, and collaborative production methods.
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Research practice • Ongoing
Hybrid Physical and Digital Storytelling
Research and creative practice exploring how tangible materials, mixed media, and interactive systems can support embodied forms of narrative and interpretation.
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Earlier work • Archive
Archive
Earlier mixed-media projects, interactive experiments, fabrication studies, material games, and historical portfolio work.
Enter archive →Hybrid media
Physical and digital systems
Production and research framework
Frameworks organized by practice area
Creative technology production
Team coordination, prototyping, workshops, stakeholder communication, and iterative development pipelines.
Critical making
Material experiments that use craft processes to examine AI, bias, authorship, embodiment, and technological culture.
Software and methods
Tools organized by practice area
Creative coding & game engines
Unity 3D, C#, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, web development, generative design systems.
AR / VR / spatial media
HoloLens, AR/VR development, mixed-reality prototyping, immersive interaction design.
Digital fabrication & visual production
Maya, Adobe Creative Suite, image editing, 3D asset workflows, visual documentation.
Teaching & project leadership
Instructional design, curriculum design, workshop facilitation, agile project management, team leadership.
Research
Critical inquiry through computational and material systems.
My research interests include game development and production methodologies, project management in creative technology, critical AI studies, generative and procedural design, Research through Design, creative collaboration systems, computational media curriculum, and hybrid physical/digital storytelling.
Peer-reviewed publications
- Royer, K., Smith, G., & Telliel, Y.D. (2024). The Matrix of Discomfort: Reimagining Critical AI Artwork through a Lens of Organic Creative Spaces. Proceedings of C&C ’24.
- Mirecki, V., Spitaels, J., Royer, K., Graves, J., Sullivan, A., & Smith, G. (2022). “My Brain Does Not Function That Way”: Comparing Quilters’ Perceptions and Motivations Towards Computing and Quilting. DIS ’22.
- Graves, J., Royer, K., Smith, G., & Sullivan, A. (2021). Procedural Patchwork: Community-Focused Generative Design for Quilting. C&C ’21.
Research leadership
Project leadership across AR educational production, HoloLens development pipelines, Unity and Maya workshops, interdisciplinary student teams, synchronous online curriculum, and publicly showcased game projects.
Teaching
Computational media and creative production.
Spring 2022
Adjunct Professor / Course Instructor, Critical Media Studies
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Delivered critical media studies and computational design instruction.
- Supported student production pipelines, milestones, team iteration, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Spring 2020
Teaching Assistant, Storytelling in Interactive Media and Games
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Supported approximately 40 students through transition to synchronous online instruction.
- Reviewed virtual collaborative assignments and provided Zoom-based team mentorship.
2020–2024
Fellow, IDeaS Studio / Intentional Design Studio
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Designed graduate-level curriculum in Designing Interpretive Computational Media.
- Produced Unity, Maya, HoloLens, and Serious Games curriculum and workshops.
Curriculum vitae
CV and professional profile
For the full academic and professional record, download the current CV. The web version below highlights education, research leadership, teaching, publications, exhibitions, and technical skills.
Karen Royer, PhD
Location: Binghamton, NY
Email: arundeldesign@gmail.com
Education: PhD, Computational Media, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2025; MS, Interactive Media and Game Development, WPI, 2019; BS, Related Art, University of Vermont, 1987.
Selected skills: Creative coding and game engines; AR/VR and spatial media; digital fabrication and visual production; instructional design and project leadership. See the Applied Media section for the expanded software layout.
Contact
Workshops, teaching, exhibitions, and collaboration.
For academic teaching, creative technology workshops, exhibition opportunities, or research collaboration, contact me by email.