I am a FRQSC-funded doctoral candidate in Concordia University’s Communication program where my dissertation research focuses on videogame afterlife, fandom, and intellectual property law. My ongoing projects include:

• Cataloguing early videogame consoles and home computing technology, while running programming (workshops, game jams, and lectures) focused on hacking, modding, and homebrewing.

• Studying online communities that maintain and iterate upon the SNES/SFC during its commercial afterlife, which manifest through ROM hacks, reproduction cartridges, emulators,  randomizers, and amateur archives.

• Working with Game Arts International Network to investigate the state of unions and co-operatives in the North American videogame industry.

Some of my recent work includes: Background Checks: Disentangling Class, Race, and Gender in CRPG Character Creators in Games & Culture, See You Next Mission: An Analysis of the Super Metroid VARIA Randomizer in ROMchip, and postcard-sized adventures published as part of the Mammoth Island Adventure Club.

In my spare time, I hack videogames and co-run the TTRPG design collective Mammoth Island Games. My game design work has received tens of thousands of downloads and has been featured in books, news programs, contests, and more.

Feel free to reach out if you are looking for a guest lecturer, need someone for a podcast or news story about old videogames, want some reading recommendations, or just want to say “hi”! The best ways to get in touch is through email (michael.iantorno@gmail.com).