News from the Department
Summer school 2016 to focus on improving health through game design
2016-03-18
A two week course will be arranged this summer in Visby within the framework of EIT Health, an EU health research consortium where Uppsala University plays a leading role. The course allows students from a variety of fields to develop game concepts with the specific aim of encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle is a central part of EIT Health’s mission, and to this end the course 'Innovation Game - a summer school applying serious game design in healthcare and education' has been developed. During the course, students will work together in teams and develop game concepts that provide a solution to specific and real challenges within the healthcare system. There are several reasons Visby has been chosen as the location for the course.
'The Department of Game Design at Campus Gotland has a unique set of skills. The island of Gotland is already facing the types of healthcare challenges that can be expected in the near future throughout the western world: An ageing, geographically widespread population living far away from hospitals. This situation increases the relevance of the challenges our students take on,' says Catharina Svensson, course coordinator and professor at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology at Uppsala University.
The idea is that the participants in the multi-disciplinary teams will contribute different perspectives and experiences. Anyone with an undergraduate degree and a good command of English is eligible, and practicing professionals are also welcome to take the course. The teachers come from different fields, from psychology to innovation – and of course from the Department of Game Design at Campus Gotland in Visby, where the course will be held.
'We want to show the participants how innovative processes can solve need-based problems, and how their knowledge and skills can contribute to tackling the challenges facing healthcare systems within the EU,' says Catharina Svensson.
The staff at the Department of Game Design is looking forward to the new course.
'The summer school gives us opportunities to share our knowledge and experience with a wider audience. It allows us to take the strong user engagement found in games and applying it on a social service, in this instance supporting people’s ability to actively take responsibility for their own health and successfully work towards their goal,' says Adam Mayes, lecturer at the Department of Game Design.
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Three Teams Nominated at Swedish Game Awards
Swedish Game Awards will be held 8-9 September 2023 in Stockholm. Among the nominated games are three teams from the Department of Game Design!
www.gameawards.se/nominees-2023
Fail Fail Succeed
Ball Bash
Haunted Heist -
Nordic DiGRA (Digital Game Research Association)
The Nordic DiGRA Conference returns this spring 2023, this time in Uppsala. This will be a fully in-person two-day event on 27–28 April 2023. Almost half of our staff from the Department of Game Design will be attending and presenting.
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Presentation at GDC in San Francisco
Game Developers Conference, GDC, was held in San Francisco, California in May 2023 connecting the Global Game Development Community in one place. One of the speakers was Associate Professor Patrick Prax from the Department of Game Design, together with other colleagues.
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SkillMill is presented in international conferences
SkillMill is an app that helps students identify, understand, and verbalize their soft skills development. The app was developed in collaboration with representatives from several different Nordic universities together with game design students and project managers from the Department of Game Design with EU funding from Erasmus+ Programme.
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Game Design at Almedalen Week
Come listen to one or all of the seminars that the Department of Game Design is participating in during Almedalen Week 2022.
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Co-creation of a Serious Game About Radiotherapy
The Department of Game Design and the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Uppsala University co-created a serious game for children undergoing radiotherapy for cancer treatment. The project has received quite a bit of attention in Swedish and local media (available in Swedish only).
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Alumni Days December 9-10
Meet former game design students and hear how their careers have developed after they left us. They have a lot of good advice for you and are always interested in hearing about your own projects and goals and expectations.
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Congratulations, Professor Doris Rusch!
The installation of new professors at Uppsala University is taking place in Uppsala this week. And among them is our very own first professor in Game Design, Professor Doris Rusch--Congratulations!
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Game Devs of Color Expo: Kayode Shonibare-Lewis speaks on September 25, 2021
One of the speakers at the Game Devs of Color Expo, teaches at the Department of Game Design, Kayode Shonibare-Lewis.
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Upptalk with Professor Doris Rusch
Listen to Uppsala University's first professor in Game Design, Professor Doris Rusch, in Upptalk Weekly, 16 november, kl 12-12.30: "Game Design, Witches and Transformation".
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Games that create meaning - interview with researcher and Senior Lecturer, Doris Rusch
Doris Rusch, researcher and senior university lecturer at the Department of Game Design on Campus Gotland, describes how we can create games that evoke thoughts and deep, meaningful experiences.
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Co-creative game design at TEDx Uppsala University
Patrick Prax from the Department of Game Design was one of the seven speakers selected for the latest TEDx Uppsala University. His talk 'The Players make the Game – Co-creative Game Design' discusses how games are co-created by players and the possibilities and potential risks involved.
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Game Educators Summit 2017
HEVGA teams up with Uppsala University and Gotland Game Conference to expand international goals.
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Summer school 2016 to focus on improving health through game design
A two week course will be arranged this summer in Visby within the framework of EIT Health, an EU health research consortium where Uppsala University plays a leading role. The course allows students from a variety of fields to develop game concepts with the specific aim of encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
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New publications: Therapeutic and educational theory and role-playing games
The Transformative Play Initiative has three new publications to share:
- Elektra Diakolambrianou and Sarah Lynne Bowman, "Dual Consciousness: What Psychology and Counseling Theories Can Teach and Learn Regarding Identity and the Role-Playing Game Experience."
- Josefin Westborg and Sarah Lynne Bowman, "GM Screen: The Didactic Potential of RPGs" and "Cheat Sheet: What We Can Learn from Edu-Larp and Other (Non-TT) RPGs."
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Announcing Erasmus+ EDGE: Empowering Game Design Education with Transformative RPGs
Announcing the launch of Empowering Game Design Education with Transformative Role-playing Games (EDGE) — An Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Higher Education! The EDGE consortium consists of Uppsala University (Sweden), Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Dragons Nest (Greece), Chaos League (Italy), and Avalon Larp Studio (Norway).
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Ritual: The Importance of Framing Transformational Experiences
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Ritual: The Importance of Framing Transformational Experiences” by Caro Murphy!
When: Tuesday, October 3, 7-8:30PM Central European Summer Time (CEST)
Where: Online on ZoomRegister here: https://tinyurl.com/eh3462e5
Link will be provided to registrants on the day of the event.
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Introducing the Master's in Transformative Game Design (60 cr.)
The Department of Game Design is starting a Master's in Transformative Game Design (60 cr.) with an emphasis on the use of analog role-playing games as a vehicle for personal and social change!
At the Department of Game Design, we are building upon our Certificate Track by offering a Master's programme of 60 credits. The courses are taught entirely online at half-speed (50% or 20 hrs per week), mostly asynchronously with video calls for playtesting.
The Master's is intended for professionals who want to integrate RPGs into their leisure, educational, or therapeutic games, e.g. teachers, counselors, youth workers, spiritual directors, coaches, business trainers, etc.
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Three Teams Nominated at Swedish Game Awards
Swedish Game Awards will be held 8-9 September 2023 in Stockholm. Among the nominated games are three teams from the Department of Game Design!
www.gameawards.se/nominees-2023
Fail Fail Succeed
Ball Bash
Haunted Heist -
Nordic DiGRA (Digital Game Research Association)
The Nordic DiGRA Conference returns this spring 2023, this time in Uppsala. This will be a fully in-person two-day event on 27–28 April 2023. Almost half of our staff from the Department of Game Design will be attending and presenting.
-
Presentation at GDC in San Francisco
Game Developers Conference, GDC, was held in San Francisco, California in May 2023 connecting the Global Game Development Community in one place. One of the speakers was Associate Professor Patrick Prax from the Department of Game Design, together with other colleagues.
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Transformative Game Design: Freestanding Graduate Courses and Certificate 2023-2024
The Transformative Play Initiative at Uppsala University’s Department of Game Design is offering four (4) freestanding Master's level courses in Autumn 2023-Spring 2024!
These courses focus on the applied use of analog role-playing games as vehicles for personal and social change, whether facilitated in-person or in online environments. The courses are online, half-time, and freestanding. Anyone with a Bachelor’s degree can apply for the courses and take them from anywhere in the world.