Category: Guest Lectures

WEDNESDAY (Tomorrow) · 30 September · 15:00

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.

Lissa is an Associate Professor in Media Arts, Aesthetics and Narration and leads Skövde’s GAME Research Group. With a background in theatre, literature and digital culture, she works across digital art, electronic literature and games.

See you there! 

We are pleased to invite you to Gotland Game Hub, featuring a talk at 15:00, organized in collaboration with the Seminar Series at the Focus Area of Games and Creativity, Gotland Research Forum.

📅 When: Wednesdays, 13:00–17:00
📍 Where: H-Building, Campus Gotland (Strandgatan 7, the Old Residence)

This week’s program at GGH:

·       13:00 – Doors Open: Enjoy coffee, snacks, and cookies while networking, playing games, or exploring new ideas.

·       15:00 – Short Talk: Patrick Prax, Associate Professor, Department of Game Design, Uppsala University – “Why Making is the New Playing”

·       15:30 – Open Mic: Share your own game-related projects, events, or collaboration ideas.

·       17:00 – Wrap-Up: Conclude the session inspired and energized.

About the Talk:
Games have long been recognized as a way for players to understand societal systems through rules and experiences. In this talk, Patrick Prax argues that play is only the first step. To deepen understanding, designers should create games that invite players into the designer’s role themselves, enabling a richer, hands-on engagement with systems and their complexities.

About the Speaker:
Patrick Prax is a researcher specializing in the co-creation of game design, focusing on how societal values shape video game design and their broader social impacts. His research explores players’ game literacy and the opportunities and challenges of digital games, including their potential for learning and promoting sustainable policies, as well as risks such as addiction and radicalization.

We look forward to welcoming you for an afternoon of games, ideas, and inspiration!