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The School of Film, Media & Theatre takes special pride in the unique journeys of its doctoral students. Consider, the recently minted Andy Kemp-Wilcox (Ph.D. - Moving Image Studies, '22) Kemp-Wilcox had a successful career in designing mobile games but decided one day that he wanted to dig deeper into the appeal and implications of video games.
After spending eight years in the video game field, Kemp-Wilcox decided he wanted to make a change in his life. With this, he made the decision to leave the video game industry and pursue his Doctorate degree.
While doing his research on Graduate programs across the country, Kemp-Wilcox pronounced his intentions to join the Moving Image Studies Doctorate Program at Georgia State. Kemp-Wilcox explained why Georgia State was the perfect place for him to obtain his Doctorate degree.
“Georgia State was a great fit for me because I was a non-traditional student,” Kemp-Wilcox explained. “I was older, I had a career, and I had kids. Picking up moving across the country was less desirable than being close to home. I knew that Georgia State had a prestigious program and was a great option. It’s a great campus and has great faculty members. I was really fortunate that they accepted me.”
Kemp-Wilcox says that he had a great time being a GSU student and is very thankful for his time in the Doctorate program.
“My experience at Georgia State was great,” Kemp-Wilcox said. “I loved the faculty and fellow students in the department. There would always be people there to encourage me and help me with whatever I needed. I never had any problems.”
As for every doctorate program student, a dissertation is required to earn your degree. Kemp-Wilcox channeled his video game passion and entitled his dissertation Bosses, Mobs, and Trash: A Transactional Approach to videogame Narrative Through Co-opposition. His dissertation makes a case to look at the villains and oppositions in video games as a key way of analyzing how video games teach lessons and structure gameplay.
“My dissertation really emerged from the number of readings I was doing,” Kemp-Wilcox explained. “My faculty advisors guided me towards some work that was a little non-standard in the field of game studies because I was having some frustration with the way game studies dealt with narratives. So, I reached out to the author of a book called Media in Mind, Dr. Daniel Reynolds, who currently teaches at Emory. His book really helped me solidify the idea and from there it was off and running. I followed his research and sort of molded it with my experience as a game designer.”
“The main idea is just about explaining how video games produce experiences and produce narratives and stories through opposition. To think about opposition in a productive way, not as two things trying to defeat or conquer one another.”
Kemp-Wilcox says he hopes that his research will help people play video games in a different light.
“After reading my dissertation, I’m hoping that they understand the relationship the players have with games is more complex and deeper than they understand. When players pick up video games, it’s not just a toy to them. It means more than that.”
During his years in the Doctorate program. Kemp-Wilcox says he was pushed to his limits and learned a lot about himself in the process.
“I think a lot of Ph.D. students who may come from any outside track (no master’s degree), deal with imposter syndrome. It is such a difficult thing to deal with, and I dealt with it for years. The biggest lesson I learned was to stop second-guessing myself and to push forward. My advisors were instrumental in helping me overcome my own mental rollercoaster.”
After recently completing the program, Kemp-Wilcox says he is proud of himself for finishing and would recommend the program to anybody.
“I would absolutely recommend this program to others,” Kemp-Wilcox said. “If this is what you want to do, and you want this degree, and you want to push through, the faculty will guide you through it.
“The organizational structure of the material is so varied. There are several things you can do within the program such as film, television, video games, etc. There are so many different angles you can take that you never feel restricted. You have a lot of room and time to establish what you want to do, and the faculty will always support you.”
Since earning his Ph.D., Kemp-Wilcox has accepted a job at the University of Arizona where he will serve as the Assistant Professor of Practice in Video Game Studies. Kemp-Wilcox says he will always be grateful for his time at Georgia State, and is thankful for the amazing support he received.
“I am so happy that I chose to attend Georgia State. I’d like to thank the entire advising committee. Dr. Greg Smith, Ethan Tussey, Jennifer Barker, and the entire department was great. That trio was like oxygen for me when I was struggling, and they have all been incredibly helpful.”