Photography by Kelsey C. Doyle
Dr. Alex custodio (they/them)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2026-2028)
University of British Columbia | Okanagan Campus | Sylix Okanagan Nation Territory
Email Address: alex.custodio@ubc.ca
Personal Website URL: www.alexcustodio.com
Research Interests: aarts-based ethnography, research-creation, game making, speculative design, queer and trans media studies, platform studies, sociotechnical imaginaries, critical play, embodiment and games, digital archiving
Dr. Alex Custodio is an interdisciplinary scholar, designer, and illustrator whose interests lie in media history, game studies, and informal, collaborative design practices. They hold a PhD from Concordia University, where their SSHRC-funded doctoral dissertation examined the Nintendo Game Boy through modding and repair, interrogating the asymmetrical power relations among players, platforms, and producers. They are the author of Who Are You? Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance Platform (MIT Press, 2020), and have co-authored journal publications in Game Studies, Digital Creativity, and Utopian Studies. Outside academia, Alex has collaborated on advocacy projects funded by the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada to advance more equitable futures. In 2024, they authored the inaugural Pink Triangle Press Pink Paper, a foundational report on 2SLGBTQIA+ representation in Canada’s film, television, and video game industries. Building on the report’s insights, they lead the research for PTP’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Screen Sector Workplace Initiative, aimed at advancing a safer, more affirming sector through top-down training and resourcing.
Dr. Alex Custodio is currently pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (Supervised by Dr. Fiona P. McDonald), and they are undertaking the project, Resilient Imaginaries, aims to amplify the voices of queer and trans artists through an arts-based ethnography of games
Education
Concordia University, Doctorate in Humanities 2026
Concordia University / Master’s of Arts in English Literature 2018
Concordia University / Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature and Creative Writing (Honours) 2016