James has 20 years’ experience working in the animation and games industry, as founder and director of The People’s Republic of Animation and then as founder and lead designer at games company Six Foot Kid. During this time, he designed and directed animated films, VR experiences and video games for a global audience. James completed a PhD focused on narrative VR for education. The PhD by Publication features articles published in Q1 journals including Computers & Education and Virtual Reality, as well as Thin Ice VR, a twenty-minute VR documentary James wrote and directed, which traces the steps of Sir Ernest Shackleton while at the same time highlighting the impacts of climate change on the Antarctic. Thin Ice VR recently exhibited at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, and at the South Australia Museum in partnership with the Adelaide Film Festival.
 
James’ ongoing research focus is on the design and development of embodied narrative VR, taking a practice-based approach in combination with mixed-methods research.