News & Events from the Games & Society Lab
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Ritual: The Importance of Framing Transformational Experiences
2023-09-06
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.)
2023-09-06
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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Transformative Game Design: Freestanding Graduate Courses and Certificate 2023-2024
2023-02-08
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
2023-01-25
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
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Event: "Forgotten Gems: Early Role-playing Game Theory" by J. Tuomas Harviainen
2023-01-03
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Forgotten Gems: Early Role-playing Game Theory” by J. Tuomas Harviainen!
When: Tuesday, January 24, 7-8:30pm Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: Restorying Trans Game Studies: Playing with Memory, Fiction, and Magic for Transformative Identity Work
2022-11-07
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: “Restorying Trans Game Studies: Playing with Memory, Fiction, and Magic for Transformative Identity Work" by Theresa Jean Tanenbaum!- When: November 29, 2022, 7-8:30pm
- Where: Online on Zoom
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Transformative Play Initiative Seminar 2022: Program and Registration
2022-06-23
Registration is now live and the programme is available for the in-person and online tracks for the Transformative Play Initiative 2022!
Where: Cramérgatan 3, Room B51, 621 57, Visby, Sweden
When: October 20-21, 2022
Online: Zoom -
Transformative Play Initiative Roundtable -- Spring 2022
2022-05-05
Join us for our next roundtable in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series, this time with Lauri Lukka, John Stavropoulos, Elektra Diakolambrianou, Yeonsoo Julian Kim, and Katrin Geneuss!
When: Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 7:00 – 8:30 pm CEST (Central European Summer Time).
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: Town Hall / Spring 2022
2022-04-13
Announcing our second Town Hall Meeting in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series! Town Halls feature lightning talks from experts in the field to spark conversation, as well as group discussions among community members interested in the use of analog role-playing games as vehicles for lasting personal and social change. We welcome you to share experiences, brainstorm ideas, and network at this game design think tank.
When: Tuesday, April 19, 2022, 7 – 9:00 PM CESTWhere: Online on Zoom
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Call for Papers: Transformative Play Initiative Seminar 2022
2022-03-21
Announcing the Transformative Play Initiative Seminar at Uppsala University Campus Gotland in Sweden, October 20-21, 2022! Organized by the Games & Society Lab at the Department of Game Design with financial support from the Sustainable Heritage Research Forum (SuHRF), this hybrid online and in-person event will feature short academic presentations by researchers and practitioners in the fields of Role-playing Game Studies and adjacent activities. The theme for this seminar is Role-playing, Culture, and Heritage.
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“To Play or Not to Play: Edu-Larp in Curricular Settings" by Katrin Geneuss
2022-03-17
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: “To Play or Not to Play: Edu-Larp in Curricular Settings" by Katrin Geneuss!
When: March 29, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: "Journey into Fear: Horror as a Vehicle for Healing and Transformative Play" by Yeonsoo Julian Kim
2022-03-17
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Journey into Fear: Horror as a Vehicle for Healing and Transformative Play” by Yeonsoo Julian Kim!
When: March 15, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: "Beyond the Couch: Psychotherapy and Live Action Role-playing” by Elektra Diakolambrianou
2022-02-16
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Beyond the Couch: Psychotherapy and Live Action Role-playing” by Elektra Diakolambrianou!
When: Feb 22, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Coming in 2022-2023: Freestanding Graduate Courses and Certificate in Transformative Game Design
2022-02-11
The Transformative Play Initiative at Uppsala University’s Department of Game Design is offering four (4) freestanding graduate-level courses in Autumn 2022-Spring 2023!
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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Event: "Innovating for Growth: Designing a Culture of Safety in Games" by John Stavropoulos
2022-01-30
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Innovating for Growth: Designing a Culture of Safety in Games” by John Stavropoulos!
When: Feb 8, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: "Designing Intensity: A Case Study of an Extraordinary 24h Scenario Session” by Lauri Lukka
2022-01-18
Join us for the first lecture in our Spring 2021 season of the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Designing Intensity: A Case Study of an Extraordinary 24h Scenario Session” by Lauri Lukka!
When: January 18, 7 – 8:30 PM, Central European Time (CET)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: Town Hall / Fall 2021
2021-12-02
Announcing our first Town Hall Meeting in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series! This event will feature group discussions and networking opportunities for people interested in using role-playing games as vehicles for change, as well as three excellent lightning talks to spark conversation.
When: Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 7:00 – 9:00pm Central European Time.
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: Roundtable / Fall 2021
2021-10-29
Join us for our first roundtable in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series, this time with Whitney “Strix” Beltrán, Johanna Koljonen, Diana J. Leonard, Jaakko Stenros and Allen Turner!
When: Tuesday, November 9, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Central European Time.
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: "Disrupting Monkey, Laughing Raven: The Magic of the Trickster's Dance" by Allen Turner
2021-10-14
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Disrupting Monkey, Laughing Raven: The Magic of the Trickster's Dance” by Allen Turner!
When: Tuesday, October 26, 7-8:30pm Central European Time (CEST)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Transformative Play Initiative at Knutepunkt
2021-10-06
Members of The Transformative Play Initiative are presenting at the Edu-larp Conference (4 October 2021) and at the Knutepunkt conference in Oslo (7-10 October 2021). -
Event: "Why Do Humans Play? Exploring the Functions, Benefits, and Meanings of (Dark) Play" by Jaakko Stenros
2021-09-24
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Why Do Humans Play? Exploring the Functions, Benefits, and Meanings of (Dark) Play" by Jaakko Stenros.
When: Tuesday, October 12, 7-8:30pm Central European Time (CEST)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: Playing for Pain: Benefits, Pitfalls, and Strategies for Role-playing Marginalized Characters
2021-09-10
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "Playing for Pain: Benefits, Pitfalls, and Strategies for Role-playing Marginalized Characters” by Diana J. Leonard!When: Sept 21, 2021, 7:00-8:30pm Central European Summer Time (CEST)
Where: Online on Zoom -
Event: The Personal and the Political: Playing and Designing for Transformation in Nordic Larp
2021-09-01
Join us for our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: "The Personal and the Political: Playing and Designing for Transformation in Nordic Larp” by Johanna Koljonen!
- When: September 7, 2021, 7-8:30pm Central European Summer Time (CEST)
- Where: Online on Zoom
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Event: Everything is the Self: Designing Character Ensembles for Player Catharsis
2021-07-07
Join us for our first lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series, "Everything is the Self: Designing Character Ensembles for Player Catharsis" by award-winning game designer and depth psychologist Whitney "Strix" Beltrán!
- Date: Tuesday, July 13
- Time: 19.00-20.30pm Central European Summer Time (CEST)
- Online on Zoom
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Announcing the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series
2021-06-29
We are pleased to announce the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series at Uppsala University's Department of Game Design. Starting in July 2021, the series will feature monthly events, including lectures and roundtables, from prominent thinkers and practitioners interested in using role-playing games as vehicles for change. We will also hold Town Hall Meetings for group discussions and lightning talks from community members on topics pertaining to transformative play. These events will take place on Zoom and will be archived in YouTube for posterity. -
The Games & Society Lab Speaker Series: Cale Passmore
2021-06-21
The Games & Society Lab speaker series continues!
The series invites practitioners and researchers in and around game design to present their work, thoughts, and process. In this episode, Cale Passmore talks about discrimination and representation in digital games and gives us a set of best practices they’ve developed. -
The Games & Society Lab Speaker Series: Marie Jarrell
2021-05-12
The Games & Society Lab speaker series continues!
The series invites practitioners and researchers in and around game design to present their work, thoughts, and process. In this episode, Dr. Marie Jarrell talks about embodied identification, the connection you get from controlling a game character. Can playing games change the way we see ourselves? Can it change how we see the people around us? -
The Games & Society Lab Speaker Series: Henrike Lode
2021-04-28
The Games & Society Lab is happy to announce the first episode of our new Speaker Series!
The series invites practitioners and researchers in and around game design to present their work, thoughts, and process. In this first episode, Henrike Lode talks about perseverance, experimental prototyping and some of the joys and challenges of being a game developer. -
Game or Watch
2021-04-16
We're excited to announce new cutting-edge research published by the journal IEEE Transactions on Games by our own Joshua Juvrud and Magnus Johannson, along with Gabriel Ansgariusson and Patrik Selleby! This study measures what happens in the mind when participants watch and play video games.
Games & Society Lab
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