Joel Zika
Biography
Dr. Joel Zika is an immersive media specialist who studies the entertainment industry and creates contemporary design works from that research. He holds a PhD from Swinburne University in Melbourne for which he was granted an Australian Postgraduate Award. Joel’s dissertation focused on dark rides and what the history of indoor ride design can teach contemporary media producers. The study used cutting edge virtual reality technology to examine artifacts of historic entertainment then built unique interactive outcomes from that research.
As a media designer Dr. Zika has led projects in virtual reality film, documentary, interactive animation and public installation for over 15 years. Recently his creative works have screened at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, Federation Square in Melbourne and Dark Mofo in Hobart. A key aspect of his research and future endeavors lies in the application of game engines for the location-based entertainment sector and virtual production. His work features in the books ‘Darkness and Light in Australia Art’ and ‘Digital Light’ from Fibreculture books.
Joel is best known as the creator of the Dark Ride Project, an initiative to conserve and study the heritage of haunted entertainment. Dr. Zika’s recent documentary film pieces on this topic have garnered global media attention with appearances on the BBC’s Global Service and countless news articles worldwide. He has spoken about the impact of haunt culture on User Experience Design at events around the world including Austin’s South By Southwest, Toronto’s VRTO and the Themed Experience and Attractions Symposium.
Dr. Zika has worked in higher education for over 20 years and joins KSU from appointments at Deakin University and RMIT Universities in Melbourne, Australia.