Erica Masserano
Lecturer, Indie Game Development MA (Online)
Erica is Lecturer (Final Major Project Supervisor) on the Indie Game Development MA. She is an educator, researcher and creative practitioner working in game design, interactive storytelling, media studies, creative writing and community-led projects. She has been involved in making state of the art narrative games since 2002, first as QA, editor, translator and transcreator for AAA clients and more recently as a consultant, researcher and designer for indie games. She works closely with academic, community and industry partners to create games that are interesting and fun while also centring ethical storytelling, enabling fresh approaches that speak to new audiences and foreground accessibility. Erica’s creative practice takes place at the intersection of creative writing and game design and most recently employs experimental approaches to autobiographical and biographical narratives in interactive storytelling and live performance. She also designs indie TTRPGs as part of London-based collective Goblin Futures.
Her published and forthcoming work includes articles and chapters on ethical approaches to complex real life topics in games, narrative research approaches to playtesting and user experience, and the role of storytelling, creativity and collaboration in refugee and community education led by learners. She designs courses, teaches and supervises also at the University of Surrey, where she organises the Writing Gaming Guest Lecture Series with industry professionals, and University of Southampton, Winchester School of Art. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies which she gained as a Stuart Hall Foundation Scholar. As part of her interdisciplinary academic and creative work, Erica has been funded by the British Academy, Games and Innovation Nexus, Prima Vista Literary Festival, University English, University of East Anglia, University of Bristol, University of East London, Open Society University Network, Refugee Education Initiatives and Journalismfund Europe.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | PhD in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies | University of East London |
| 2015 | Master of Arts in Cultural Studies | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| 2014 | Master of Arts in Creative and Professional Writing | University of East London |
| 2012 | Bachelor of Arts in English and Cultural Encounters | Roskilde University, Denmark |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
Game design, games studies, playtesting, digital and interactive storytelling, media studies, creative writing, life writing, narrative research, cultural studies, translation and translation studies, antiracism, gender and queer studies, intersectionality, community education, critical pedagogies, ethics in the arts, interdisciplinary and experimental methodologies.
Areas of teaching
- Game design, game studies, games writing, digital and interactive storytelling, media studies
- Creative writing, life writing, English literature, fantasy and sci-fi literature
- Narrative research, cultural studies
- Investigative journalism, magazine journalism, journalism studies
- Translation and translation studies
- Antiracism, gender and queer studies, intersectionality, ethics in the arts
- Community education, refugee education, critical pedagogies, student-led learning
- Research design, interdisciplinary and experimental methodologies
- Employability and portfolios
Professional Engagement
Social, community and cultural engagement
Since 2025, Erica has been collaborating with the Estonian Writers' Union in view of a residency within the Prima Vista Literary Festival in Tartu where she will be curating a week of games and literature-related event in cultural and creative centre Aparaditehaas and participating to it as a writer and artist. The week will feature public performances, exhibitions, screenings, panels and game jams led by a range of UK and Estonian artists. Tartu is a UNESCO City of Literature and part of the Creative Cities network.
Since 2019, she has been convening the Life Writing Module at the Open Learning Initiative (OLIve), first at the University of East London, then at University of Bristol. OLIve is a programme for asylum seeker and refugee learners who want to study in the UK. In 2022, she was the Programme Administrator and created the currently running online programme. She co-led the OLIve Writers Group with alumni and students, organising and participating to a range of academic and creative events in London, Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. She also provides academic and employability tutoring and pastoral care for alumni.
From 2019 to 2024, she has been engaged in various community-led storytelling project taking place in partnership with local organisations and libraries, most prominently in the East of London. CityLife: Stories for Change was a research, creative and community-based life writing project running life writing workshops that joined community elders and creative writing students from the University of East London and the University of East Anglia. The project was funded by the British Academy and published two anthologies of life writing.
Engagement with professional associations and societies
Erica is a member of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of East London. The Centre's mission is to build knowledge and understanding of the related issues of migration, refugees and belonging. CRMB aims to foster interdisciplinary conversations and provide a space for debate and creative thinking amongst academics, practitioners, activists, migrants, and refugees.
She has also been a member of the Science Fiction Research Association and the Oral History Society.
