Game Research @Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium

On November 21, game scholars from all over The Netherlands and well beyond gathered in Erasmus University’s Education Lab in Rotterdam for the Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium, titled “Diversity, Sustainability, and Social Well-Being in Game Design, Industry Practices and Player Experience”. It was a great event, and well organized by our EUR colleagues!

A sizable group of researchers from Utrecht were present during the day, and many also presented their ongoing research projects. Below you will find a list of presentations. If you are interested in any of the projects, feel free to contact the researchers!

Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies
by Julian Frommel (presenter, UU) and Regan L Mandryk (University of Victoria)

How To Tame a Toxic Player
by Michel Wijkstra (presenter), Katja Rogers (UvA), Regan L Mandryk (University of Victoria), Remco Veltkamp, and Julian Frommel.

Character Bleed in Dungeons & Dragons: A Longitudinal Study on the Impact of Personality Design and Customization
by Maxime Scholte Albers

Franchise-Hacking Magic: The Gathering as a Platform for Climate Communication and Resilience
by Laura op de Beke, Timo Fluitsma (presenters) and Stefan Werning

The Magic: The Gathering decks created for the project presented in this last paper was also present in demo form to be played during lunch.

Maxime Scholte Albers presenting her work

Researchers

dr. Julian Frommel

 Julian Frommel is an assistant professor in the Interaction/Multimedia group. He is interested in the design and implementation of interactive digital systems that provide enjoyable, meaningful, safe, and healthy experiences for users. In one research line, he addresses hate in online games. His research also investigates how interactive systems can help mitigate their negative outcomes in adaptivity and intervention approaches.

Michel Wijkstra

Michel is a PhD Candidate with the Interaction and Multimedia group. The subject of his work is toxic behaviors and harassment in multiplayer games. This broad topic includes detection and prevention techniques and analysis of the causes and effects of this type of behavior. In his work he has assessed the current state of the design space for intervention systems and is currenly working on various ways of adressing toxicity. He also teaches game programming and serious games courses and supervises both bachelor and master theses.

Maxime Scholte Albers

dr. Laura op de Beke

 Assistant professor of interactive media, screens, and interfaces; background in literary studies and game studies.

drs. Timo Fluitsma

 As a faculty member at Utrecht University, my academic journey began with a focus on theatre education, and later evolved into a specialisation in new media and green media, with a particular emphasis on game research. Currently, I'm teaching theatre, new media and storytelling courses.

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