Welcome to the Games & Society Lab
At the Games & Society Lab, our students and faculty are dedicated to the research and development of playful, interactive experiences. The aim is to advance our understanding of games as media and push the boundaries of what games can be.
The Games & Society Lab is a research hub at the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University Campus Gotland. Our researchers investigate how games impact the lives of designers, players, communities, and the broader society at large. We view games not as distinct from the “real world,” but as valid and meaningful experiences. Our research explores games as part of larger psychological, social, and cultural systems within which players operate.
Click here for the Games and Society website and archive
Click here to learn more about the Transformative Play Initiative Seminar 2022: Role-playing, Culture, & Heritage
Research at the Games & Society Lab
Our work focuses on three overall categories of research. These categories are often interdependent, mixing and overlapping with one another.
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Psychology of play,
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Cultures of play, and
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Transformative play.
Our students and faculty come from all parts of the world and bring together a broad range of design and research interests. We study a wide variety of digital and analog games. Some examples include virtual, text-based, tabletop, board, live action role-playing (larp), and freeform games. The lab focuses on games in a variety of contexts. We study games taking place for their own sake, such as in leisure settings. We also investigate games designed for specific purposes, such as educational and therapeutic environments.
Students and faculty work together in the lab sharing their varied cultural backgrounds and expertise. We regularly cultivate collaborations with outside academics, researchers, developers, and industry leaders. The lab also hosts guest lectures, workshops, and roundtable discussions from international experts in the field.
Read more about how we explore Psychology of Play.
Read more about how we explore Cultures of Play.
Read more about how we explore Transformative Play.
Read about all our ongoing research projects.
News From The Games & Society Lab
For more news, see News and Events
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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.
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Lecture: "Playing with Perspective: Metareflection and Immersion in Embodied Role-playing” by Hilda Levin
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Playing with Perspective: Metareflection and Immersion in Embodied Role-playing” by Hilda Levin!
- When: Tuesday, February 21, 7-8:30PM Central European Summer Time (CEST)
- Where: Online on Zoom