GAMES RESEARCH · PLAYER EXPERIENCE · LIVEOPS

Understanding Player Engagement in Digital Games

I'm Tamsin Isaac, a PhD researcher at the University of York exploring how limited-time events shape player engagement and experience in digital games through player research, data analysis and industry collaboration.

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Research at a Glance

A mixed-methods research programme exploring limited-time events across games, players and industry.

2,670+ Games Analysed

Player Diaries

& Interviews

349+

Limited-Time Events Analysed

Research → Practice

Industry Knowledge Exchange

Research Themes

My research explores limited-time events from three interconnected perspectives: their design, player experience, and application in practice.

Mapping Limited-Time Events

How limited-time events are designed across digital games.

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Understanding Player Experience

How players experience and respond to time-limited content.

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Research in Practice

Translating research into practice through industry collaboration.

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LATEST HIGHLIGHT

Playing Against the Clock: A Cross-Platform Taxonomy of Limited-Time Events

IEEE Conference on Games 2026

A cross-platform study of more than 2,600 games across Steam and Google Play, developing a taxonomy of how limited-time events are designed and implemented.

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