Kenton Taylor Howard, Ph.D. — Assistant Professor of Games & Interactive Media

About

Researching how games mean, and how players remake them

I am an Assistant Professor in the Games and Interactive Media Department at the University of Central Florida, where I've taught since 2018. My research examines representation and identity in games — particularly through modding, interactive fiction, and critical/creative game-making — with a focus on queer representation, narrative design, and the tools writers and designers use to build interactive stories (Ink, Twine, and beyond).

My doctoral work, Critical Modding: A Design Framework for Exploring Representation in Games, developed a design framework for using game modification as a method of critical inquiry. That thread continues through my creative practice, including interactive fiction projects like Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart and Life in the Megapocalypse, and my book The World of Fallout (Routledge, 2023).

Alongside research and creative work, I've coordinated undergraduate programs, chaired curriculum and hiring committees, and mentored dozens of students through directed studies, thesis committees, and studio capstone projects.

Current Role

Assistant Professor, Games & Interactive Media

Institution

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Doctorate

Ph.D., Texts and Technology (UCF, 2021)

Years Teaching

17+ years, higher education

Education

Academic background

University of Central Florida Ph.D., Texts and Technology August 2021 · 4.0 GPA

Dissertation: Critical Modding: A Design Framework for Exploring Representation in Games

Florida Atlantic University M.A., English — Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature August 2012 · 3.6 GPA

Thesis: Religious Violence in Frank Herbert's Dune series

Flagler College B.A., English, Minor in Creative Writing December 2008 · 3.6 GPA · Writing Center Volunteer

Experience

Academic & administrative appointments

Full-time, part-time, and administrative roles across four institutions.

August 2026 – Present

Assistant Professor

Games and Interactive Media Department, University of Central Florida

August 2018 – May 2026

Lecturer

Games and Interactive Media Department, University of Central Florida

August 2024 – August 2025

Undergraduate Digital Media Program Coordinator Admin

Nicholson School of Communication, University of Central Florida

August 2019 – May 2020

Deputy Assistant Director Admin

Games and Interactive Media Program, University of Central Florida

January 2013 – June 2018

English Instructor

General Education Department, Keiser University, Daytona Beach, FL

August 2012 – December 2012

Adjunct English Instructor

English Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL

August 2012 – December 2012

Adjunct English Instructor

English Department, Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, FL

August 2009 – July 2011

Graduate Teaching Assistant & Writing Center Consultant

English Department, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL

Teaching

Courses taught at UCF

Undergraduate and graduate courses in the Games and Interactive Media Department.

Undergraduate

DIG 2000 — Introduction to Digital Media
DIG 2500 — Fundamentals of Interactive Design
DIG 3043 — Evolution of Video Games
DIG 3480 — Computer as a Medium
DIG 3728 — Game Testing
DIG 3811 — User Centered Design
DIG 4713 — Game Design
DIG 4715C — Game Production
DIG 4720C — Casual Game Production
DIG 4725C — Game Design Workshop I
DIG 4726C — Game Design Workshop II
DIG 4906 — Instructional Experiences in Undergraduate Teaching

Graduate

DIG 5487 — Media Aesthetics
DIG 6136 — Design for Interactive Media
DIG 6647 — History and Theory of Interactive Media
DIG 6551 — Theory and Practice of Interactive Storytelling
DIG 6817 — Contemporary Topics in Interactive Media: Game Studies

Earlier — English & Composition

English Composition I & II, Research Writing, Professional Writing, American & English Literature (Keiser University, Florida Atlantic University, Embry-Riddle, Daytona State College)

Research

Publications & presentations

Books, articles, proceedings, and talks on representation, modding, and interactive narrative.

Books & Book Chapters 3

2023 — Howard, K. The World of Fallout. Routledge.
2020 — Cox, D. and Howard, K. The Unofficial Ink Cookbook. Published online at github.com/videlais/Unofficial-Ink-Cookbook.
2023 — Howard, K. "Life in the Megapocalypse" (Interactive Fiction Game). In Reimagining the Humanities, eds. B. Mauer & A. Salter. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.

Academic Journal Publications 3

2019 — Howard, K. "Free-to-Play or Pay-to-Win?: Casual, Hardcore, and Hearthstone." Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association, 4(3), 147–169.
2019 — Howard, K. "Nonlinear Narrative in Fallout 2." One Shot: A Journal of Critical Play and Games, 1(1). Digital Essay / Game.
2018 — Murnane, E. and Howard, K. "Stacking Magic: The Flexible Simplicity of Analog Rules." Well Played, 7(1), 84–99.

Conference Proceedings Publications 11

2026 — "Remaking the Red Death: An Interactive Fiction Post-mortem." Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Arts Festival. Proceedings.
2024 — "The (un)Lucky Carder: Inscryption, Submission, and Metafictional Games." Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Arts Festival. Proceedings.
2021 — "Queerness and Modification in Mainstream and Indie Games." 32nd ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media, HT '2022. Proceedings.
2020 — "Learning about Queer Representation through Mods." 31st ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media, HT '2020. Proceedings. Blue Skies paper.
2019 — "A Design Framework for Learning about Representation in Video Games Through Modification of Narrative and Gameplay." ICIDS 2019, Salt Lake City, UT. Proceedings. Doctoral Consortium.
2019 — Howard, K. and Donley, R. "Using Ink and Interactive Fiction to Teach Interactive Design." ICIDS 2019, Salt Lake City, UT. Published poster paper.
2019 — "Romance Never Changes...Or Does It?: Fallout, Queerness, and Mods." DiGRA '19 Proceedings.

Workshops, Roundtables, Art Installations & Exhibitions 12

2026 — "ReMasque of the Red Death – 1.0 Release." ACM Hypertext Conference, London. Game demonstration. (Forthcoming)
2026 — Howard, K., Martinez, L., Bryan, J. and Barton, A. "Theorizing a Formal Anthology of Video Games." International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA). Roundtable.
2024 — Howard, K. and Cox, D. "Dynamic story creation across game platforms using the narrative language ink." DiGRA Conference, Guadalajara, Mexico. Workshop.
2024 — "Retelling the Tell-Tale Heart: 1.0 release." Foundations of Digital Games Conference, Worcester, MA. Game demonstration.
2024 — "MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research." ICFA, Orlando, FL. Theory Roundtable.
2022 — Howard, K. and Cox, D. "Creating Fantastic Interactive Fiction with Inky." Virtual ICFA. Workshop.
2022 — Cox, D. and Howard, K. "Crash Course on Ink." Narrascope. Workshop.
2022 — "Life in the Megapocalypse." ICFA, Orlando, FL. Game presentation / author reading.
2020 — "Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart." Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Exhibition. Art Installation.
2019 — Howard, K. and Donley, R. "Using Ink and Interactive Fiction to Teach Interactive Design." ICIDS 2019. Poster Presentation — Award Winner: Best Poster.
2018 — "Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart." UCF Celebrates the Arts, Orlando, FL. Art Installation.
2017 — Foley, C., Howard, K., Kretzschmar, M., Murnane, E. and Raffel, S. "Defining and Questioning the Terms 'Casual' and 'Hardcore' in Video Games." HASTAC, Orlando, FL. Roundtable.

Conference Presentations 28

2025 — "Prototyping an Interactive Masque of the Red Death." Virtual ICFA.
2025 — "The Art of Quitting: When Players Quit Playing Video Games." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2024 — "The (un)Lucky Carder: Inscryption, submission, and metafictional games." Electronic Literature Organization Conference.
2023 — "Life in the Megapocalypse: A critical making post-mortem." HASTAC 2023, Brooklyn, NY.
2023 — "The (un)Lucky Carder: Inscryption, submission, and metanarrative games." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2022 — "The (un)Lucky Carder: Inscryption, submission, and metanarrative games." Video Games as a Common Ground, Zadar, Croatia.
2022 — Cox, D. and Howard, K. "Be Gay, do Code: Challenges for Teaching Game Design and the Need for Queer Code Pedagogy." Console-ing Passions, Orlando, FL.
2021 — "Queerness and Modification in Mainstream and Indie Games." 32nd ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media.
2021 — Cox, D., Howard, K. and Klimas, C. "Platform as a Service: Community Labor and Platformization of Ink and Twine." Electronic Literature Organization Conference. Roundtable.
2021 — "Teaching Game Design in a Pandemic." Online Education: Teaching in a Time of Change.
2021 — "Retelling the Tell-Tale Heart: An Interactive Transmedia Project." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2020 — Howard, K., Donley, R., Cox, D., and Murray, J. "IF.then(): Teaching Programming Concepts Using Interactive Fiction." Narrascope, Champaign, IL.
2019 — "A Design Framework for Learning about Representation in Video Games Through Modification of Narrative and Gameplay." ICIDS 2019, Salt Lake City, UT.
2019 — "A Pedagogical and Critical Framework for Learning About Tropes and Representation Through Video Games." Foundations of Digital Games, San Luis Obispo, CA. Doctoral Consortium.
2019 — "Romance Never Changes...Or Does It?: Fallout, Queerness, and Mods." DiGRA, Kyoto, Japan.
2019 — Howard, K. and Donley, R. "Integrating and Assessing Interactive Design through Interactive Fiction using Ink." Narrascope, Boston, MA.
2019 — "Remediating Collectible Card Games: From Magic to Hearthstone." Popular Culture Association National Conference, Washington, D.C.
2019 — "Romance never changes...or does it?: Queering Fallout 4 through mods." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2018 — "Romance never changes...or does it?: Queer relationships and modding in Fallout 4." Different Games Conference, Worcester, MA.
2018 — "Free-to-Play or Pay-to-Win?: Casual and Hardcore Game Structures in Hearthstone." DiGRA, Turin, Italy.
2018 — "Using Video Games to Teach and Assess Audience and Revision in First-Year Composition." Computers and Writing, Fairfax, VA.
2018 — "Magic and Hearthstone: Remediating Collectible Card Games." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2017 — Murnane, E. and Howard, K. "Stacking Magic: The Flexible Simplicity of Analog Rules." Popular Culture Association Southern Conference, Savannah, GA.
2017 — "First-year writing and the zombie apocalypse: Composition, audience, revision, and Organ Trail." PCA/ACA National Conference, San Diego, CA.
2017 — "Casual and Hardcore Game Structures in Hearthstone." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2016 — "Literary Theory and Nonlinear Video Games." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2015 — "Narrative Structure in Fallout: New Vegas." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2014 — "The Shortening of the Way: Religious Violence and the Creation of Empire in Frank Herbert's Dune." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2013 — "'The Moon Fell:' Religious Violence in Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah." ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2012 — "Virtual Victory and Real Defeat: Game Space in William Gibson's 'Burning Chrome.'" ICFA, Orlando, FL.

Conference Moderation & Reviewing 14

2026 — Reviewer, Foundations of Digital Games Conference.
2024 — Reviewer, Electronic Literature Organization Conference.
2024 — Subreviewer, Foundations of Digital Games Conference.
2023 — PC Member (Interactive Narrative Design; Theory, History and Foundations) & Reviewer, ICIDS 2023.
2023 — Reviewer, HASTAC Conference.
2022 — Moderator, Virtual ICFA — panels on capitalism/apocalypse and fan folklore.
2020 — Scientific Committee & Reviewer, Electronic Literature Organization Conference.
2019 — Panel chair, "Investigating Ms. Marvel," ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2018 — Panel chair, "Game Theory Deluxe: Neocolonialism, Lovecraft, and Russian Formalism," ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2017 — Panel chair, HASTAC — critical language in Spanish courses / multimodal depression diagnosis.
2017 — Panel chair, "'Playing' in the Classroom and Beyond," PCA/ACA, San Diego, CA.
2017 — Panel chair, "Fun and Games Featuring Death, Melancholy, and Magic Circles," ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2015 — Panel chair, "Transmedia/Transverse Storytelling," ICFA, Orlando, FL.
2014 — Panel chair, "Empire and Dune, Part I," ICFA, Orlando, FL.

Creative & Digital Work

Digital projects

Interactive fiction, games, and tools built with Ink, Twine, Ren'Py, and custom software.

2021

Life in the Megapocalypse

Web-based Ink game prototype created as part of my doctoral dissertation on critical modding.

InkInteractive Fiction

2018

Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart: Ink Version

Web-based Ink game letting players work through a digital retelling of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart."

InkWeb

2018

Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart: Installation

Interactive audio / touch-based installation adapting the same Poe story for physical exhibition.

InstallationAudio/Touch

2017

Grad Student Simulator

Ren'Py visual novel prototype in which the player advises a friend navigating graduate school.

Ren'PyVisual Novel

2017

Retelling The Tell-Tale Heart

Inklewriter narrative offering multiple alternative tellings of Poe's classic story.

Inklewriter

2016

Fallout Character Database

Database allowing users to create, save, and modify narrative information about Fallout characters.

PHPMySQL

2016

Nonlinear Narrative in Fallout 2

Twine game offering a critical analysis of Fallout 2 grounded in digital and new media theory.

Twine

Service & Mentoring

Committees, mentorship, and program leadership

Leadership roles are highlighted; expand for the complete record.

Hiring Committee Chair ×2

Undergrad Curriculum Chair

Assessment Committee Chair

Program Coordinator

Academic Committees & Service 21

2025–Present — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Member; Policy & Planning Committee Member — Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2024–25 — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Member, College of Sciences, UCF.
2024–25 — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Chair, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2024–25 — Instructor/Lecturer Hiring Committee Chair (1 full-time position), UCF.
2023–24 — Student Success Committee Member, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2022–23 — Instructor/Lecturer Hiring Committee Chair (3 full-time positions), UCF.
2021–23 — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Member, Nicholson School of Communication, UCF.
2021–23 — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Co-Chair, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2020 — Graduate Curriculum Committee, Ex Officio Member, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2019–20 — Graduate Curriculum Committee Member, Nicholson School of Communication, UCF.
2019–20 — Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Chair, Games and Interactive Media Department, UCF.
2019–20 — Assessment Committee Chair, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2018–19 — Foundations Committee Member, Games and Interactive Media Program, UCF.
2017–18 — Health and Wellness Committee Member, Keiser University.
2013–18 — Student Success and Retention Committee, Keiser University.
2016 — General Education Assessment, Keiser University.
2015–18 — General Education Department — Minutes Taker & Record Keeper, Keiser University.
2015 — Student Appreciation Committee, Keiser University.
2013 — Faculty Colloquium, Keiser University.

Graduate & Undergraduate Mentoring 25+

2026 — Directed Independent Study — Matthew Nepywoda, Game Platformer Prototype.
2025–26 — Directed Independent Study — Andrew Brooks, MMORPG Research Paper.
2025–26 — Student Internship Supervisor — Shawn Oosterban & Anthony Mota, Game Design Projects.
2025–26 — Graduate Studio Committee Chair — Anais Piquon (RPGMaker Project), Colby Callarik (Seahorse Memory), Lucas Sanchez (Pale Rider).
2025–26 — Graduate Studio Committee Member — Paloma Rincon-Barrantes (The List), Ignacio Vergara (Scriba), Kevin Le (Unity Project).
2024–25 — Graduate Studio Project Chair — Jessica Cox, Ghost Town.
2024–25 — Graduate Thesis Committee Member — Oumaimi Khalfi, emotion classification of Whisper V3.
2024–25 — Graduate Studio Committee Member — Emrys Murphy, The Return.
2024 — Student Internship Supervisor — John Keith, Resilience Inc.
2024 — Directed Independent Study — Andrew Thomas (NFT interoperability prototype); Griffin Mara (Goblin Mode).
2023–24 — Graduate Studio Project Chair — Jemon Golfin, Cost of Living Simulator; Co-chair — Towela Banda; Member — Mikaeyla Gensler.
2023 — Student Internship Supervisor — Dylan Hall (Universal Creative); Ben Rochberg (ETZE).
2022–23 — Directed Independent Study — Peyton Paul, Cheyenne Fielder.
2020–21 — Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship — Lisa Le, Game Design.
2020–21 — Graduate Studio Committee Member — Cameron Tolentino (Pygmalion); Michele Ritter (Some Space).
2020 — Student Internship Supervisor — Christian Mendoza, Institute of Simulation and Training.
2019–20 — Honors in the Major Committee Member — Eric Sarver; Amy Schwinge.

Toolkit

Skills & software

Programming Languages

HTML

CSS

PHP

MySQL

Digital Software

Unity

Twine

Inklewriter

Inky

Ren'Py

Max 7

Git

Contact

Let's talk games, narrative, or research

Open to collaboration on interactive fiction, game studies research, conference panels, and student mentorship.

Kenton.T.Howard@gmail.com