Dr Douglas Brown

Head of Games

Formerly employed by international games developer and publisher Square-Enix and credited on several of their high-profile titles including the award winning Final Fantasy XII, Doug made the move into higher education from the games industry just as games design courses were being founded, and has contributed to games being taken seriously by academia.

He holds a BA in English from Oxford University, and an MA and PhD in Digital Games from Brunel University. Having previously built up and led a leading games design university course at Brunel, Doug was attracted to the Falmouth approach to games development by its focus on entrepreneurship, teamwork and view of games as an art form.  

Fascinated by games of all kinds, from board games to text adventures to AAA titles, Doug has always seen games as a medium with the most immense potential for reshaping how we engage with stories and messages. He has published work on games and franchise adaptation, MMO-RPG design and game analysis, as well as contributing to consultations on game content regulation with the UK government. He has a wealth of experience teaching theory courses that complement and synergise with games design learning. His current project is a book on how 'suspension of disbelief' can be seen to be working in games, focusing on the Metal Gear Solid series. With numerous connections in the games industry and games academia, Doug's focus is on developing the Games courses at Falmouth towards a distinctive and effective programme of study, and helping unlock Cornwall's potential as a hub for indie game development. 
Dr Douglas Brown staff picture

Contact details

Telephone 01326 259266
Email douglas.brown@falmouth.ac.uk

    Qualifications

    Qualifications

    Year Qualification Awarding body
    2012 PhD Digital Games Brunel University
    2007 MA Digital Games Theory & Design Brunel University
    2005 BA English Oxford University

    Research Interests

    Research Topics

    • Digital Games Design
    • Digital Games theory
    • Narrative in games
    • Suspension of Disbelief
    • Games and Storytelling
    • Games and Adaptation
    • Media convergence and Transmedia Storytelling

    Research Outputs

    Publications and research outputs

    Book Section

    Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2019) To Disney Infinity and Beyond - Star Wars Videogames Before and After the Lucasarts Acquisition. In: Disney’s Star wars: Forces of Production and Promotion. University of Iowa Press, Iowa, USA, pp. 123-135. ISBN 9781609386436
    [img]

    Krzywinska, Tanya ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-4144 and Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2015) Games, Gamers and Posthumanism. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television. Palgrave Handbooks . Palgrave Macmillan, London, UK, pp. 192-201. ISBN 9781349577019 Item availability may be restricted.
    [img]

    Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2015) Adaptive Harmonics - Star Trek's Universe and Galaxy of Games. In: The Star Trek Universe: Franchising the Final Frontier. Chapter 12 . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, USA, pp. 133-145. ISBN 978-1-4422-4985-1
    [img]

    Krzywinska, Tanya ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-4144 and Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2015) Games, Gamers and Posthumanism. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television. Palgrave Macmillian UK, London, pp. 192-201. ISBN 9781137430328 (online) 9781349577019 (print)
    [img]

    Krzywinska, Tanya ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-4144 and Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2015) Online Games and Genre. In: International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society. John Wiley & Sons/Blackwell, Oxford. ISBN 978-1-118-29074-3
    [img]

    Report or Working Paper

    Scott, Michael ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490, Parker, Alcwyn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-1229, Herring, Phoebe, Greer, Terry, Hickey, Kat, Rothwell, Sandra and Krzywinska, Tanya ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-4144 (2022) Space on Earth: Assessing the Feasibility of Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality for a Visitor Experience. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)
    [img]

    Conference or Workshop Item

    Mitchell, Alexander, Scott, Michael ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490, Walton-Rivers, Joseph, Watkins, Matt, New, Warwick and Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2022) An Exploratory Analysis of Student Experiences with Peer Evaluation in Group Game Development Projects. In: Proceedings of the 2022 United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research Conference, September 1-2, 2022, Dublin, Ireland. (In Press) Item availability may be restricted.
    [img]

    Mitchell, Alexander ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5630-2620, Greer, Terry ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8510-1577, New, Warwick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0790-266X, Walton-Rivers, Joseph ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3406-0584, Watkins, Matt ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4196-2276, Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 and Scott, Michael ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490 (2021) Student Perspectives on the Purpose of Peer Evaluation During Group Game Development Projects. In: United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research Conference, September 2 - 3, 2021, Glasgow, United Kingdom. (In Press)
    [img]

    Scott, Michael James ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490, Parker, Alcwyn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-1229, Powley, Edward ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7317-7304, Saunders, Rob, Lee, Jenny, Herring, Phoebe, Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 and Krzywinska, Tanya ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-4144 (2018) Towards an Interaction Blueprint for Mixed Reality Experiences in GLAM Spaces: The Augmented Telegrapher at Porthcurno Museum. In: Proceedings of the 32nd BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference, 2-6 July, 2018, Belfast, NI.
    [img]

    Book

    Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2020) Rerolling Boardgames. Studies in Gaming . Mcfarland and Company, Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4766-7079-9 Item availability may be restricted.
    [img]

    Thesis

    Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2012) Game-Playing-Role. Doctoral thesis, Brunel University.
    [img]

    Dataset

    Mitchell, Alexander ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5630-2620, Scott, Michael ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490, Walton-Rivers, Joseph ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3406-0584, Watkins, Matt ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4196-2276, New, Warwick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0790-266X and Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2022) Peer Evaluation Questionnaire. [Dataset] (Unpublished)
    [img]

    Review

    Brown, Douglas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6662-6629 (2016) Book Review: Game Play by Paul Booth. Intensities, 1 (8). ISSN 1471-5031
    [img]

    Research Students

    Research degrees examined

    I have examined one PhD student at Brunel University. 

    Number of research degree examinations

    1

    Teaching

    Areas of teaching

    • Games Design
    • Games Theory
    • Game Writing

    Courses taught

    • BA(Hons) Digital Games
    • MA Digital Games

    Related Courses

    Computing For Games BSc(Hons)
    Computing For Games_2022

    Computing for Games BSc(Hons)

    Master the skills needed to shape the games of the future by studying games through the lens of comp...

    Computing for Games BSc(Hons)
    Games student working on digital game artwork on a screen.
    Games Academy Slideshow 03

    Game Development BA(Hons)

    Join a community of people who have a passion for games. From day one, you’ll work as you would wi...

    Game Development BA(Hons)
    Animation of red wooden house on stilts
    Game Art - 2023

    Game Art BA(Hons)

    Develop your creative capabilities while honing the skills you’ll need to make it as a successful ...

    Game Art BA(Hons)