Professor Erik Champion and I just published a special issue of the journal Digital Creativity as guest editors: ‘Creative digital escape rooms’. Digital Creativity, 37(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2026.2656147
Author: Susie
Secrets in the Stacks Playtesting
Earlier this month, we playtested Secrets in the Stacks in the wonderful Mortlock Wing of the State Library of South Australia with members of the amazing State Library staff, and it was everything I hoped it would be! Secrets in the Stacks is a hybrid TTRPG and escape room-style mystery game designed specifically to be played in this extraordinary space.
Set in Adelaide in 1899, the game invites players to explore the social and political currents of the era – elements such as access to libraries and education, women’s suffrage, the rise of unionism, and everyday life 19th century South Australia. Playing in the room the game was built for really brought the design to life – there is something truly special about watching a game come alive in its intended environment.
This project began as a research initiative at Adelaide University, supported by a university grant and the generous in-kind partnership of the State Library SA Staff. It is a genuine privilege to work alongside such a talented team including Professor Erik Champion, Claire Chivell and Joshua McLean, as well as special thanks to Patrick Bujega and Claire Wald at the State Library for their support and enthusiasm throughout the project so far!
We are still deep in development, and I cannot wait to share where this goes next!
Science News Explores feature
Recently, I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Science News Explores, a US-based science publication written for kids and young people, about my work as a game and narrative designer.
The article focuses on how games can be used to communicate neurodivergent experiences. It draws on my game Life (Re)Sounding and on my own experiences of navigating sensory overload and the world around us that is often not designed with neurodivergent people in mind.
What I appreciate most about this piece is the audience it is written for. Having these conversations early matters. Games can help young people understand that there is no single “normal” way to experience the world, and that difference is not something that needs fixing, rather we can share our experiences through games and stories and connect with each other.
You can read the full article here: https://www.snexplores.org/article/game-designer-neurodivergent-gaming
I am grateful to Science News Explores for speaking with me, and for making space for neurodivergent stories.
Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University
I’m delighted to share that I’ve been promoted to Senior Lecturer: Games Design and Digital Media at Adelaide University, effective 1st January! What a wonderful way to say goodbye to UniSA and hello to Adelaide University as the merger process completes. It feels like the perfect transition into a new chapter.
This promotion is a recognition of a lot of hard work, care, and collaboration over the years, and I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me along the way. My colleagues, mentors, collaborators, and students at UniSA have shaped me as an educator, researcher, and designer, and I’m deeply grateful for the encouragement, trust, and opportunities I’ve had.
I’m looking forward to continuing to champion meaningful, inclusive, and transformative work in games and digital media at Adelaide University. Here’s to a year shaped by collaboration and care, collective social change, brave ideas, and work that makes a real difference for our communities. 💛🎮✨
(Re)Defining Creativity: Call for Chapters/ Abstracts
Neurodivergent creativity is powerful, diverse, and we think not celebrated enough! We’re so excited be putting together a book exploring the creative and diverse ways that neurodivergent people think, play, learn, and create, and we want your chapter!
Writing, art, games, visual essays – whatever expresses your ideas counts. This collection embraces creativity in all its forms! 
We’ve also made a 3 minute YouTube video Call for Chapters that you can watch here:
Prefer to read a traditional written Call for Chapters?
https://www.authorea.com/…/1336853-call-for-papers…
Submit your abstract by December 31, 2025 using the Google Form: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdxxdTqBhW…/viewform…
Edited by Susannah Emery, KJ Hepworth, & Michele Jarldorn
Games for Change Asia-Pacific 2025 @ ACMI
I was incredibly honoured to give the closing keynote at this year’s Games for Change Asia-Pacific Summit, held at ACMI in Melbourne. My talk explored social empathy in game design – and I spoke about how games can help us understand each other’s experiences more deeply, and how design choices can invite compassion, connection, and reflection through inciting Social Empathy.
It was such a joy to share the day with so many wonderful speakers from across the region – I learned so much from the sessions on sustainability, behaviour change, mental health, education and training, and accessibility and representation. The range of ideas and perspectives was inspiring, and it reminded me how much potential games have to create meaningful change in the world.
As part of my keynote, we hosted a live play session of Life (Re)Sounding, turning the whole cinema into a collaborative play experience! Huge thanks to the incredible tech team who made sure everything ran smoothly — and a special shout out to the XBox controller extender dongle, which somehow worked for almost the entire length of the cinema!
Thank you so much to the organisers, and especially to Daniel Teitelbaum and Ceri Hutton, for all their hard work bringing the best conference of the year to life.
I can’t wait for next year’s summit! 💖