Games Beyond Entertainment
Within this research theme, we situate all research on games and play where entertainment is not the main goal. Rather, games and play are studied in their capacity to persuade, steer, sell or in other ways influence the player through its design. This includes the many examples of serious games and gaming (educational, political, commercial) as well as the various forms and applications of gamification. We look both at the potential of, and provides critical reflection on these developments.
Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School
This is a reflection of the third and final “summer” school of the Shape2Gether Erasmus+ project that took place a month ago in Bochum, Germany.
Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum
Connected to our project Playing the Hidden Curriculum, we’re recruiting a fully funded PhD student at Utrecht University/University Medical Center Utrecht. The PhD will be conducting research into the “hidden curriculum” prevalent at Utrecht University, using games and play as heuristic to explore the hidden curriculum’s goals and rules (i.e., prevalent norms, social and institutional
Sea level game creates climate awareness among young people
Can a board game help young people better understand sea level rise? Over the past two years, Nieske Vergunst, a researcher at Utrecht University’s Freudenthal Institute, explored this question. She developed the Sea Level Game, tested it with various youth groups, and analyzed its impact. The findings? After playing the game, participants felt more aware
Taking Perspectives with Game Design: Teachers wanted for pilot!
The participants of the Playing Perspectives workshop at the Onderwijsfestival at Utrecht University are fully engaged in conversation. The striking photo on the table is what they’re talking about. Because what do you see in this photo? What stands out and what is your interpretation? This turns out to be quite different for each participant.
A new game that opens up your mind
Have you ever received a message from someone who’s number is not in your phone? We’ve all been in that situation before, trying to guess who the mystery sender is. This all-too-common situation is one of three starting points of Open Mind, a creative ‘whodonnit’-type educational game. Players have to talk to various characters –
New digital escape room MedievalMe brings the Middle Ages to life
How do you spark excitement for medieval history in secondary school students? Sanne Frequin, art historian and Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, has the answer: MedievalMe. This innovative Dutch serious game immerses students in the medieval worldview.
Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Malta summer school
Hello again! We are five student from Utrecht University who for the past few months have been participating in the Erasmus+ Project Shape2Gether, an initiative to teach students how to communicate complex information relating to climate change using new media technologies. This piece is a retrospective of the second ‘summer school’ on the islands of Malta.
Game Research @Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium
On November 21, game scholars from all over The Netherlands and well beyond gathered at Erasmus University for the Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium. Many researchers from Utrecht presented their projects.
Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!
The Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY) was recently held in Tampere, Finland. Our researchers were strongly involved in the organization (serving as papers chair, student volunteer chair, and workshop organizers) and presented a variety of contributions.
Meet the Makers: Roos Groothuizen
The Transmission in Motion research group is organizing another Meet the Maker event, this time focusing on media artist Roos Groothuizen who works primarily with playful media.