Gotland Game Hub · First floor, G-building (G30, Staff Kitchen)
Join Andrew Phelps and Lissa Holloway-Attaway for two 20-minute talks on game design, development and research.
Andrew Phelps · Georgia Tech
20 years of game design in 20 minutes
A flash-forward recap of how game design became a field of study, the major milestones along the way, and what comes next.
Andy is an artist, designer and professor with over 25 years of experience in the field. He was the founding director of RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media.
Lissa Holloway-Attaway · University of Skövde
Making Games and Being Messy: (Or what’s the trouble with game development and research?)
Lissa builds on Andy’s talk to explore the messy relationships between games, people, materials and environments. Drawing on new materialism and inclusive, non-human design perspectives, she reflects on making and researching games within systems we can’t fully control.
The awards were presented at Campus Gotland on 9 September, marking the first time DRIVE recipients have been celebrated on the island. DRIVE is UU Innovation’s recognition for students who have taken their ideas beyond the university and begun creating engagement around them – for example from users, customers, partners or investors.
This time, UU Innovation chose to recognise six of the student-led studios participating in SpawnPoint, a new incubator programme for game studios and creative technology within Hite at Science Park Gotland. The 18-month programme supports teams not only in developing their games, but in building viable studios around them, with coaching and support in areas such as studio formation, funding, publishing and bringing their work to market.
The six DRIVE recipients are:
Snappy Joints Studio – Ivan Sazonov and Gabriele Stasi, developing Project Paradox
Gather Studios – Boman Karlsson, Johanna Mäkelä and Dennis Silén, developing Stick Together
Ferryfolk Studio – Mathies Stöhr, Carl Bjelkelöv, Emil Popovic, Yasser Azzam, Ladan Roohian, Gabriele Stasi, Hadi Derbieh, Emma Klasson, Nils Eriksson, Elias Uddin and Sebastian Ohlsson, developing Hollowtone
POTIONS! studios – Felix Wernqvist, Artjoms Stepanovs, Hanna Alvelais and Philipp Rossbach, developing SCROOBLIES
Stargazing Games – Albin Thornell, Mikael Söderman and Jiao Rosenqvist, developing Natura: Reborn
Worst Combo – Jean Carnesecchi, Dani-Alys Rizal, Miranda Angyal and Alex Schneider, developing Fight the Odds
For students in game development, forming a team and finishing a game is already a considerable undertaking. Turning that team into a studio introduces a different set of challenges: finding an audience, building partnerships, securing funding and publishing opportunities, and creating an organisation capable of continuing beyond a single student project.
SpawnPoint’s first cohort began this summer, with a focus on business development, market validation, financing strategies and connecting the studios to investors and the wider Swedish games industry.
We are very happy to see these teams taking those next steps, and to see their entrepreneurial work recognised by UU Innovation.
Congratulations to Snappy Joints Studio, Gather Studios, Ferryfolk Studio, POTIONS! studios, Stargazing Games and Worst Combo!
Posted on - Comments Off on Application is open for DONNA Day 2026! CategoriesBlog
Don’t miss the chance to join DONNA DAY as we celebrate ten years of supporting and connecting the next generation of women, trans, and non-binary game developers.
📅 October 14-15, 2026
📍Skövde, Sweden
🎟️ Participation fee: 500 SEK
What’s included?
Two days filled with networking opportunities, talks and workshops with industry professionals.
Ticket to Sweden Game Conference (Oct 15-16)
Lunch, fika and dinner party
Free lodging for students travelling from outside of Skaraborg during the whole conference
