Dr. Peter Howell
BSc (Hons), PGCert, MSc, PhD, FHEA, GMBPsS
Employment History
Senior Lecturer
July 2016 - Present
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University of Portsmouth
I am the course leader for the BA (Hons) Computer Game Design course, Co-Chair of the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries Practice-Research Group, Co-Chair of the Faculty Ethics Committee, and Director of our in-house Game Development and Publishing Studio, Port in the Storm.
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I coordinate modules in Game Design, Game Art, Psychology for Game Designers, Paper Prototyping and Iterating, and Polishing and Launching Game Projects. I supervise BSc, BA, MSc, MA, and PhD student projects.​
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More information is available on my university staff profile.
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External Examiner
I am an external examiner for Queen's University Belfast's Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Games Technologies.
November 2024 - November 2028
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Queen's University Belfast
External Examiner
I am an external examiner for the City of Liverpool College's Game Design and Concept Art course.
October 2021 - October 2025
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Open University (City of Liverpool College)
External Examiner
I was an external examiner for Staffordshire University's Esports undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and their postgraduate Game Development course.
September 2019 - September 2023
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Staffordshire University
External Examiner
September 2017 - September 2021
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University of Suffolk
I was an external examiner for the University of Suffolk covering their games technology and games design courses at undergraduate and masters levels.
External Examiner
January 2016 - September 2020
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Nottingham Trent University, Confetti Institute
I was an external examiner for Nottingham Trent University's Confetti Institute, covering their games technology and games art courses.
Game Designer
September 2011 - December 2013
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The Chinese Room
I was the co-designer on the horror-adventure title Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, available across PC and console platforms.
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My responsibilities involved scenario design, implementation, and testing, including level editing, in-engine game asset creation, and taking a lead gameplay scripting role using the HPL2 engine's AngelScript API.
Lecturer
July 2014 - July 2016
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University of Portsmouth
I coordinated Level 6 Games Research and Game Psychology units along with Level 5 Paper Prototyping. I also led Level 4 workshops teaching 3ds Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash, as well as supervised BSc and MSc student projects.
Lecturer
September 2012 - June 2014
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University of Portsmouth
I was hired as part of a new team that designed, planned, and delivered the curriculum for the college's new Gaming and Computing BTEC course, converting the existing IT Practitioners course.
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I coordinated Level 3 3D Modelling and Game Platform Technologies units, along with Level 4/5 Game Development units for an accompanying HNC/HND course. I also lead the practical component of Level 3 Website Design and Development for IT students.
Part-Time Lecturer
September 2011 - June 2014
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​University of Portsmouth
I provided hourly-paid lecturer cover while I was completing my PhD. My main responsibility was to coordinate Level 6 Games Research and Level 4 workshops teaching 3ds Max. I also provided personal tutoring for Level 4 students.
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Additionally, I undertook exam invigilation, was an associate member of the Advanced Games Research Group, sat on the Faculty Research Degrees Committee and the Graduate School Management Board as a student representative.
Academic Support Tutor
September 2010 - December 2011
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University of Portsmouth
I worked in the School of Creative Technologies' study support centre where I provided one-to-one academic and practical skills sessions for students.
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This included academic research and writing skills, 3ds Max, Photoshop, and other art and graphics skills, as well as basic C++ and C# code support.
Professional Skills
Game Design Theory
Specialising in:
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Paper Prototyping Techniques
Level Design & Gameflow
Game Balancing
Interactive Narrative Design
Player Psychology
Games and Player Culture
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Game Development
Experienced with:
Unreal Engine 5
Unreal Engine 4
GameMaker/GML
3ds Max
Substance Painter
Substance Designer
Photoshop
Teaching & Research
Primary Disciplines:
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Curriculum Development
Qualitative Methods
Design Research
Practice Research
Game/Player Psychology
Game Art
Experienced FE/HE Lecturer
Qualifications & Awards
University of Portsmouth
PhD
British Psychological Society
Graduate Member (GMBPsS)
University of Derby
MSc Psychology (Distinction)
University of Portsmouth
PGCert
Higher Education Academy
Fellow (FHEA)
Fareham College
Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS)
University of Portsmouth