Category: Guest Lectures

Join us for our lecture in the Erasmus EDGE Event Series: “Immersive Aesthetics: VR, Larp, and Art” by Nadja Lipsyc! This bonus event is part of our Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership for curriculum development in transformative game design.

When: Monday, June 17 from 7:00-8:30pm CEST
Where: Online on Zoom

Register at this link. 
RSVP at this link.

Link will be provided to registrants on the day of the event. Make sure to sign in with the same name you used to register.

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Description:
This research explores the aesthetics of immersive and interactive storytelling in Virtual Reality, around the development of a role-playing game inspired by the film Stalker (1979) by Tarkovsky. Named Lone Wolves Stick Together, this VR experience borrows from larp (live action role-play), video games, sound installations, and film to explore how to use the full creative potential of digital immersion. As the first larp fully developed as a standalone VR experience, Lone Wolves Stick Together poses as a proof of concept of the viability and intuitivity of the form, but also opens reflections on ethics of technology and co-creation. The wider discussion around VR and larp will bridge towards transformation: through role-play, but also through virtual bodies and prosthetics, and through reality-testing as a mean to seek personal and social change.

Presenter bio:
Nadja Lipsyc is a game designer, artist, and researcher with an education in neuroscience and audiovisual production. She recently completed her PhD in Artistic Research at the The Norwegian Film School. She works with videogames, film, VR stories, experimental theater, installation art, larp and teaches at the Oslo school of Architecture and Design. Her work often stages surreal and symbolic universes tied to contemporary critical questions.

The presenter is a volunteer for Erasmus EDGE, a joint Higher Education Cooperation Partnership project between Uppsala University, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Dragons’ Nest, Chaos League, and Avalon Larp Studio.

This series is hosted by the Games & Society Lab at the Department of Game Design, Uppsala University Campus Gotland. The series explores the use of analog role-playing games as vehicles for lasting personal and social change.

* * *Learn more about Erasmus EDGE here.

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Graphic design by Kate Blomgren and Daria Shpak.

Sarah Lynne Bowman, on behalf of EDGE
Senior Lecturer, Department of Game Design
Uppsala University Campus Gotland

Join us for our lecture in the Erasmus EDGE Event Series: “Game Technologies in Larp and Tabletop RPGs” by Taisto Suominen from Turku University of Applied Sciences! This event is part of our Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership for curriculum development in transformative game design.

When: Tuesday, May 7 from 7:00-8:30pm CET
Where: Online on Zoom

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/22uhwfud
RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/mscmnavt

Link will be provided to registrants on the day of the event. Make sure to sign in with the same name you used to register.

Erasmus EDGE is a joint Higher Education Cooperation Partnership project between Uppsala University, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Dragons’ Nest, Chaos League, and Avalon Larp Studio.

Welcome to join this seminar organized by Svenska spelforskarrådet (Council of Swedish Games Researchers) to learn more about pathways to the game industry.

When: Wednesday April 10, 13.00-14.30
Where: Zoom
What: Information about industry careers in games

The Swedish and international game industry is growing and more people study games and game development. We now see vocational training in game development as well as bachelor study programmes in different academic areas (IT, humanities, media, media technologies, game design…).

In this seminar we aim to explore different ways to join the game industry. A panel of experts will discuss questions such as: what kind of competencies are attractive? What do game studios look for when they hire? What can you do to optimize your chances of finding a job? What are the possible careers in the game industry today?

At this seminar, you will get a deeper understanding of these questions and others, as well as an excellent opportunity to ask representatives from education and industry about their thoughts on the topic of pursuing a career in the game industry.

The panel consists of:

• Marcus Toftedahl (Moderator, Game dev business coach), Science Park Skövde
• Sahar Asadi, Director of AI Labs at King
• Martin Annander (Freelance Game Developer), Playtank Sweden
• Mea Nilimaa (Head of Business Development), G.Round
• Diego Navarro (PhD Student/Adjunct Lecturer), Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH)
• Ran Zhang (Bonny) (Senior lecturer), Högskolan i Skövde

We’re delighted to announce the lecture “Play and Growth: Connecting Games to Developmental Psychology” by Pär Nyström and Joshua Juvrud!

When: Tuesday, March 26, 7-8:30pm CET
Where: Online on Zoom
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/5dc54c87
RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/yn6vbnjp

Link will be provided to registrants on the day of the event. Make sure to sign in with the same name you used to register.

Description:

During this lecture, we will present a timeline from birth, to the adolescent gamer, and to playful adults, examining how the environment and biological conditions influence development and play. We will use pieces from our research repertoire, which includes both methodological and theoretical points, to build a platform for understanding the developmental perspective. An overarching theme is how psychological processes interact with different environments, such as various cultures or digital environments, and how we work in practice to understand development through measurement and analysis. We will describe the ways in which we seek to understand how different game players (with different traits and experiences) interact with various game mechanics, and are in turn affected by game experiences. Such game experiences throughout development can affect learning, expertise, prosocial behavior, and more.

Presenters bio:

Pär Nyström is an associate professor at Uppsala Child and Baby Lab in the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University. His research areas include the development of perceptual, cognitive, and social abilities during infancy, as well as in older children and teenagers. The research questions encompass both neuropsychiatry and fundamental research on how culture and the environment impact development. Pär has extensive experience with various methods, such as eye-tracking, EEG, motion capture, and other quantitative methods. He has also developed software for data collection in inaccessible environments and for creating transparent analysis workflows. An overarching interest is the transition between “average” and “extreme” and how this zone is influenced by categorical cutoffs in different environments.

Joshua Juvrud is an assistant professor at the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University. His work is focused at the intersection of two fields: in developmental psychology, he seeks to understand how children learn about the world through studying the social cognitive processes involved in development. In games research, he explores individual differences in game players across all ages, and the interaction between human psychology, play, and the design of games. Joshua has extensive experience in psychophysiological and quantitative measures in these areas, including eye-tracking, pupilometry, galvanic skin response, and heart rate.

This series is hosted by the Games & Society Lab at the Department of Game Design, Uppsala University Campus Gotland. The series explores the use of analog role-playing games as vehicles for lasting personal and social change.