Theme: 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.
![Partners: Utrecht University and Delft University of Technology. Sleepcare is supported by Philips, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), and The National Initiative Brain and Cognition](https://gameresearch.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/1026/2024/02/SleepCare-300x199.jpg)
A virtual sleep coach in your pocket
Researchers from Utrecht University, the University of Amsterdam and TU Delft have developed an app that helps users learn to sleep better
![Still from a movie showcasing the Utrecht University crowd simulation plug-in for the Unity game engine.](https://gameresearch.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/1026/2024/02/ControlTheCrowd02-300x169.jpg)
Crowds deciphered: simulation and control of the masses
We have researched a model for simulating crowds in big infrastructures, at events, and in computer games.
![Cover of the book playful identities: ludification of digital media cultures](https://gameresearch.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/1026/2015/01/9789089646392-playful-identities-200x300.webp)
Playful Identities – The Ludification of Digital Media Cultures
The edited volume Playful Identities Digital deals with media technologies that increasingly shape how people relate to the world, to other people and to themselves. This prompts questions about present-day mediations of identity.