🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
Last week, GAME STUDIES WATCHLIST quietly turned six. No fanfare, just another issue landing in your inbox. Six years of weekly musings on games and deals — and if we make it another six with your support (Buy Me a Coffee), I might finally be able to afford a Dr. Pepper (or two) as fancy as Rintaro Okabe’s.
Please do tell ... what was the greatest year in the history of video games? 1998, when masterpieces seemed to ship every other week? 2004, when online gaming stopped being a niche and became infrastructure? 2013, when blockbusters started to feel like prestige culture? Or is it right now when more games release than ever before, and our only real problem is that we don’t have time to play them all? The question sounds nostalgic, but it’s actually strategic ... because what we call a “great year” says less about the calendar and more about what we value most: creative breakthroughs, technological leaps, or that rare moment when hype, hits, and heart all align. I came across a video essay called The Greatest Year of Gaming Ever by Raiden Valentine and thought ... well, that's no small task here. Now, let's see!
"1998 was a big year for gaming and many of the years events and releases would impact the industry and shape it into what it is today."
https://youtu.be/eYan6vjUCdY?si=yOcWB5mudwwa9Yx4
So, as I have mentioned above, trying to crown a single “greatest year” in video game history might sound like barroom nostalgia, but it opens up a surprisingly rich set of questions about how our favorite medium (is it? isn't it?) evolves. Any answer immediately forces us to define the criteria: Are we measuring aesthetic innovation, commercial impact, technological breakthroughs, player communities, critical recognition, or long-term cultural influence? A year dense with canonical releases may look different from one that quietly reshaped distribution models, monetization structures, or participatory cultures. It also exposes the tension between industry metrics (revenue, player counts, engagement hours) and cultural metrics (experimentation, authorship, genre formation, representational shifts). From a Game Studies perspective, the debate becomes a lens for examining cycles of consolidation and disruption, the role of platforms versus products, and the way collective memory constructs “golden ages.” In other words, arguing about the best year means revealing the frameworks we use to understand games as an artistic form, a technological system, and an economic ecosystem all at once. Again: No small task.
*
Congrats to Minel Guler who has publisher her second first-author article Gaming perceptions, coplaying, and social support: A two-study examination in Familiy Relations. Adopting a strength-based approach, this study examined how individuals’ perceptions of the relational impact of gaming relate to their perceived social support. It further explored whether the frequency of playing video games with family members and romantic partners mediates this relationship.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.70098
Thanks to Nick Taylor, I became aware that special issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication is officially live! The main topic is Games & Storage, and I the contribution titles alone are very promising. How about Containing feminism at games industry parties or Unzipping my library: containing the Game Boy’s history in the Analogue Pocket? I am all in! https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcsm20/42/5
For all my German speaking readers, I may point to my new thought experiment which reads Arc Raiders as a hybrid multiplayer experiment where PvE and PvP mechanics intertwine to create constant tension between cooperation and betrayal. I focus on the “Downed State” as a crucial moment of lost agency that exposes the game’s moral and social dynamics. To intensify this fragility, I dare to propose a speculative “Last Spark” mechanic, allowing downed players a risky final act of resistance. The idea reframes defeat as conditional agency and reinforces the game’s
Last week, GAME STUDIES WATCHLIST quietly turned six. No fanfare, just another issue landing in your inbox. Six years of weekly musings on games and deals — and if we make it another six with your support (Buy Me a Coffee), I might finally be able to afford a Dr. Pepper (or two) as fancy as Rintaro Okabe’s.
Please do tell ... what was the greatest year in the history of video games? 1998, when masterpieces seemed to ship every other week? 2004, when online gaming stopped being a niche and became infrastructure? 2013, when blockbusters started to feel like prestige culture? Or is it right now when more games release than ever before, and our only real problem is that we don’t have time to play them all? The question sounds nostalgic, but it’s actually strategic ... because what we call a “great year” says less about the calendar and more about what we value most: creative breakthroughs, technological leaps, or that rare moment when hype, hits, and heart all align. I came across a video essay called The Greatest Year of Gaming Ever by Raiden Valentine and thought ... well, that's no small task here. Now, let's see!
"1998 was a big year for gaming and many of the years events and releases would impact the industry and shape it into what it is today."
https://youtu.be/eYan6vjUCdY?si=yOcWB5mudwwa9Yx4
So, as I have mentioned above, trying to crown a single “greatest year” in video game history might sound like barroom nostalgia, but it opens up a surprisingly rich set of questions about how our favorite medium (is it? isn't it?) evolves. Any answer immediately forces us to define the criteria: Are we measuring aesthetic innovation, commercial impact, technological breakthroughs, player communities, critical recognition, or long-term cultural influence? A year dense with canonical releases may look different from one that quietly reshaped distribution models, monetization structures, or participatory cultures. It also exposes the tension between industry metrics (revenue, player counts, engagement hours) and cultural metrics (experimentation, authorship, genre formation, representational shifts). From a Game Studies perspective, the debate becomes a lens for examining cycles of consolidation and disruption, the role of platforms versus products, and the way collective memory constructs “golden ages.” In other words, arguing about the best year means revealing the frameworks we use to understand games as an artistic form, a technological system, and an economic ecosystem all at once. Again: No small task.
*
Congrats to Minel Guler who has publisher her second first-author article Gaming perceptions, coplaying, and social support: A two-study examination in Familiy Relations. Adopting a strength-based approach, this study examined how individuals’ perceptions of the relational impact of gaming relate to their perceived social support. It further explored whether the frequency of playing video games with family members and romantic partners mediates this relationship.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.70098
Thanks to Nick Taylor, I became aware that special issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication is officially live! The main topic is Games & Storage, and I the contribution titles alone are very promising. How about Containing feminism at games industry parties or Unzipping my library: containing the Game Boy’s history in the Analogue Pocket? I am all in! https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcsm20/42/5
For all my German speaking readers, I may point to my new thought experiment which reads Arc Raiders as a hybrid multiplayer experiment where PvE and PvP mechanics intertwine to create constant tension between cooperation and betrayal. I focus on the “Downed State” as a crucial moment of lost agency that exposes the game’s moral and social dynamics. To intensify this fragility, I dare to propose a speculative “Last Spark” mechanic, allowing downed players a risky final act of resistance. The idea reframes defeat as conditional agency and reinforces the game’s
YouTube
The Greatest Year of Gaming Ever
1998 was a big year for gaming and many of the years events and releases would impact the industry and shape it into what it is today.
I go through the biggest releases and events to document how the year unfolded in gaming.
All footage was either recorded…
I go through the biggest releases and events to document how the year unfolded in gaming.
All footage was either recorded…
core theme: survival shaped by uncertainty, trust, and strategic risk. https://titel-kulturmagazin.net/2026/02/16/digitalspielkultur-arc-raiders/
I hope, I do not have to repeat myself here. Please support Aftermath (not only for stories like this one): "Bluepoint Games, an American studio specialising in remakes like the God Of War Collection, the Ico & Shadow Of The Colossus bundle, Uncharted Collection and Demon's Souls, has been shut down by Sony after five years of ownership, during which time the company did not release a single remake, with Bloomberg reporting that "roughly 70 employees will lose their jobs" as a result." https://aftermath.site/sony-buys-remake-studio-shuts-them-down-and-lays-off-70-workers-without-releasing-a-remake/
... yeah, and this is ... funny, i guess?: "Nintendo executives reaffirmed that the upcoming controller will be awesome for about the same length as a few TikToks."
https://paletteswap.site/different-colors/virtual-boy-switch-2-peripheral-about-to-be-fun-as-fuck-for-like-five-minutes/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
I hope, I do not have to repeat myself here. Please support Aftermath (not only for stories like this one): "Bluepoint Games, an American studio specialising in remakes like the God Of War Collection, the Ico & Shadow Of The Colossus bundle, Uncharted Collection and Demon's Souls, has been shut down by Sony after five years of ownership, during which time the company did not release a single remake, with Bloomberg reporting that "roughly 70 employees will lose their jobs" as a result." https://aftermath.site/sony-buys-remake-studio-shuts-them-down-and-lays-off-70-workers-without-releasing-a-remake/
... yeah, and this is ... funny, i guess?: "Nintendo executives reaffirmed that the upcoming controller will be awesome for about the same length as a few TikToks."
https://paletteswap.site/different-colors/virtual-boy-switch-2-peripheral-about-to-be-fun-as-fuck-for-like-five-minutes/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
TITEL kulturmagazin
Digitalspielkultur | Arc Raiders | TITEL kulturmagazin
Zwischen Kooperation und Kaltem Krieg: Das fragile Beziehungsgeflecht von PvE und PvP in Arc Raiders: Mit einem spekulativen Vorschlag von RUDOLF THOMAS INDERST zur dramatischen Rehabilitierung der…
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
I assume, there are many ways to measure time: geological eras, console generations, presidential terms ... and then there’s the release cycle of Half-Life. Civilizations have risen, fallen, rebooted, and shipped live-service roadmaps in the time it has taken us to collectively whisper the words “Half-Life 3” into the algorithmic void. And yet, mention Gordon Freeman and an entire generation straightens its back like it just heard the HEV suit power up. Some games age. Half-Life simply enters another phase of theoretical physics.
https://youtu.be/6HyfFBuo0oQ?si=HULQScUEfStqN78u
I guess, it has become clear, that examining Half-Life is not just about celebrating a classic; it is about understanding how a single title can reshape entire paradigms of game design and player engagement. Its integration of narrative and mechanics, environmental storytelling, and level design innovations provide fertile ground for analyzing the evolution of immersive first-person experiences. By unpacking its development, expansions, mods, and ports, we as scholars and researchers can trace the interplay between technological possibilities, creative vision, and community-driven modifications, offering insights into authorship, collaboration, and player agency in game production.
One might add, that the franchise’s enduring legacy allows for critical reflection on the cultural, industrial, and historiographical dimensions of games. Discussions of its controversial ending, mod culture, and reinterpretations through remakes illuminate broader questions in Game Studies around canon formation, reception theory, and the socio-technical contexts of gaming. Studying Half-Life thus exemplifies how a single work can serve as a nexus for interdisciplinary scholarship, connecting historical, theoretical, and critical approaches in meaningful ways.
***
Sam Sorenson is asking one of those "simple" questions: "Does the MDA Framework Apply to Tabletop RPGs?" His answer is breaking the heart of so many game design 101 courses round the globe: "No, it doesn’t. I’d argue it doesn’t even apply to videogames." And you should read the whole argument right here: https://samsorensen.blot.im/does-the-mda-framework-apply-to-tabletop-rpgs
A new issue of Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds has been released! And I, especially, am very eager to read about What went wrong with Cities: Skylines II, according to the players by Dom Ford. Here's all the juicy stuff: https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/jgvw/17/3
The United Nations is now treating video games as more than just entertainment; for the first time, it’s looking at them as arenas where violent extremist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram have been quietly operating, using immersive play, community features, and virtual spaces to spread propaganda and recruit members. In partnership with governments in Japan and Australia, industry partners, and researchers at Northeastern University, a new U.N. initiative aims to turn this dynamic on its head by leveraging the same qualities that make games compelling. https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/20/united-nations-video-games-extremism/
Frans Mäyrä points out on LinkedIn, that "students in the games journalism course in our Game Studies Master's Degree Program have again published interesting new articles in the PlayLab Magazine." Find all the articles right here: https://www.tuni.fi/playlab/
Apparently even Mario Kart has a food economy now. Bananas aren’t just
I assume, there are many ways to measure time: geological eras, console generations, presidential terms ... and then there’s the release cycle of Half-Life. Civilizations have risen, fallen, rebooted, and shipped live-service roadmaps in the time it has taken us to collectively whisper the words “Half-Life 3” into the algorithmic void. And yet, mention Gordon Freeman and an entire generation straightens its back like it just heard the HEV suit power up. Some games age. Half-Life simply enters another phase of theoretical physics.
Today we are taking on a big one - the crazed story of Valve's first masterpiece - the shooter that changed a genre and an industry - HALF LIFE We're not only going to unpick the crazy story of it's development, explore it's incredible legacy and discuss it's highly controversial ending - but also trace it's descendants - strange expansions, baffling mods, unlikely ports and one of the most enthralling remakes ever made. It's part critique, part retrospective, part review and part history lesson - obviously full of spoilers and obviously full of my opinions
https://youtu.be/6HyfFBuo0oQ?si=HULQScUEfStqN78u
I guess, it has become clear, that examining Half-Life is not just about celebrating a classic; it is about understanding how a single title can reshape entire paradigms of game design and player engagement. Its integration of narrative and mechanics, environmental storytelling, and level design innovations provide fertile ground for analyzing the evolution of immersive first-person experiences. By unpacking its development, expansions, mods, and ports, we as scholars and researchers can trace the interplay between technological possibilities, creative vision, and community-driven modifications, offering insights into authorship, collaboration, and player agency in game production.
One might add, that the franchise’s enduring legacy allows for critical reflection on the cultural, industrial, and historiographical dimensions of games. Discussions of its controversial ending, mod culture, and reinterpretations through remakes illuminate broader questions in Game Studies around canon formation, reception theory, and the socio-technical contexts of gaming. Studying Half-Life thus exemplifies how a single work can serve as a nexus for interdisciplinary scholarship, connecting historical, theoretical, and critical approaches in meaningful ways.
***
Sam Sorenson is asking one of those "simple" questions: "Does the MDA Framework Apply to Tabletop RPGs?" His answer is breaking the heart of so many game design 101 courses round the globe: "No, it doesn’t. I’d argue it doesn’t even apply to videogames." And you should read the whole argument right here: https://samsorensen.blot.im/does-the-mda-framework-apply-to-tabletop-rpgs
A new issue of Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds has been released! And I, especially, am very eager to read about What went wrong with Cities: Skylines II, according to the players by Dom Ford. Here's all the juicy stuff: https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/jgvw/17/3
The United Nations is now treating video games as more than just entertainment; for the first time, it’s looking at them as arenas where violent extremist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram have been quietly operating, using immersive play, community features, and virtual spaces to spread propaganda and recruit members. In partnership with governments in Japan and Australia, industry partners, and researchers at Northeastern University, a new U.N. initiative aims to turn this dynamic on its head by leveraging the same qualities that make games compelling. https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/20/united-nations-video-games-extremism/
Frans Mäyrä points out on LinkedIn, that "students in the games journalism course in our Game Studies Master's Degree Program have again published interesting new articles in the PlayLab Magazine." Find all the articles right here: https://www.tuni.fi/playlab/
Apparently even Mario Kart has a food economy now. Bananas aren’t just
YouTube
The Game You Cannot Escape - Half Life & Black Mesa Retrospective & History
Go to https://buyraycon.com/IFAVGOPEN to get 15% off. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring!
The channel arrives late for work thanks to the Patrons - https://patreon.com/IFinishedAVideoGame
Use code RIDICTIE for 50% off your first month!
TWITCH - https://ww…
The channel arrives late for work thanks to the Patrons - https://patreon.com/IFinishedAVideoGame
Use code RIDICTIE for 50% off your first month!
TWITCH - https://ww…
fruit, they’re infrastructure; mushrooms aren’t lunch, they’re venture capital; and somehow we’ve all agreed that throwing produce at each other is a coherent macroeconomic system. Late capitalism, but make it kart racing. https://youtu.be/nKOXAMevnZg?si=YoFd1MzvY7ITsHpc
... oh, and please check out our beautiful new channel photo by Philip Schäfer for Game Studies Watchlist ❤️!
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
... oh, and please check out our beautiful new channel photo by Philip Schäfer for Game Studies Watchlist ❤️!
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
YouTube
The Bizarre Food Economy of Mario Kart World
#sponsored Be kind to yourself this year. Using Zocdoc is FREE - visit https://www.Zocdoc.com/BANDERCOOT to find and instantly book an appointment with a top-rated, in-network doctor today.
Today we're taking a deep dive into the food economy of Mario Kart…
Today we're taking a deep dive into the food economy of Mario Kart…
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
"[T]his is (hopefully) the first in a series of many, many nerdy science-related video game videos, where i cover the biomes of the world and how they show up in some of our favorite indies." Yes, I know! Of course I know! And I know that you know! I could never have ignored such a sentence in the description box under a video essay. It draws me in like magic! I HAD to act. So today, I present nocaps' thoughts!
https://youtu.be/oogENt7XVbQ?si=ZuBNk9i__XCJe1sX
This video essay explores how indie games depict real-world ecological biomes, borrowing the concept familiar from games like Minecraft. It highlights titles that thoughtfully translate environmental science into interactive worlds. Beginning with ecology-focused games such as Terra Nil and Horticular, which center on restoring ecosystems, the essay then moves through major biome types: tropical forests (e.g., Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, Call of the Sea, Tchia), deserts (Journey, Sable), Mediterranean landscapes (Alba: A Wildlife Adventure), temperate forests (Pacific Drive, The Long Dark, Firewatch), boreal regions, and tundra environments (Shelter 2). Across these examples, nocap argues that many indie developers treat environment as a central character, designing ecosystems, geography, and climate that shape gameplay and storytelling, while also demonstrating how games can function as informal introductions to ecological thinking and environmental awareness.
For us game scholars and researchers, examining how games represent biomes and ecosystems matters because environmental design is not merely aesthetic but fundamentally shapes mechanics, narrative, and player experience. Many indie titles use ecology, climate, terrain, flora, fauna, and resource flows, as a system that structures exploration, movement, survival, and storytelling, effectively turning the environment into an active agent rather than a passive backdrop. Studying these representations helps us understand how games model complex natural systems, communicate ideas about biodiversity and environmental change, and foster forms of ecological awareness through play. At the same time, comparing different biome depictions across games highlights how developers translate real-world geography into interactive rules and affordances, making digital environments a productive site for analyzing the intersection of simulation, environmental imagination, and cultural attitudes toward nature.
This reminds me that I still don't have an in-game photo mode on my Xbox when I'm exploring the surface of Ark Raiders ... what's wrong with the developers??? ;)
***
On CBC, reporter Linus Mulherin, explains to me: "Acadia Centre for Critical Play asks questions about how video games shape our culture, world"! In German we'd add a "REDE!" behind that sentence. The Acadia Centre for Critical Play is a newly opened centre at the university which aims to allow academics and students to study our favorite child. Kudos to Prof. Jon Saklofske and academic librarian Mike Beazley!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/acadia-centre-video-game-research-9.7069676
"Did you know we had a newsletter?" Actually, no, Institute of Digital Games - University of Malta! #sadpuppy But thanks for letting me (and all my readers know)! I am sure that your "updates about events, published research, short-form articles covering #gamedesign #gamestudies and #gameAI" will be a rich part of my media diet from now on. https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/931492/emails/177213394810570721
I had the great pleasure to talk to Victor Navarro-Remesal about his new book Zen and Slow Games on my podcast show Game Studies. Please tune in and enjoy! https://megaphone.link/NBNK1716576384
The Science MashUp is a dynamic, research‑oriented highlight of the annual Lange Nacht der Computerspiele symposium at HTWK Leipzig. Blending short academic talks with fast‑paced Pecha Kucha presentations, the format has been exploring current trends and diverse perspectives in gaming culture since 2020 in an engaging and
"[T]his is (hopefully) the first in a series of many, many nerdy science-related video game videos, where i cover the biomes of the world and how they show up in some of our favorite indies." Yes, I know! Of course I know! And I know that you know! I could never have ignored such a sentence in the description box under a video essay. It draws me in like magic! I HAD to act. So today, I present nocaps' thoughts!
https://youtu.be/oogENt7XVbQ?si=ZuBNk9i__XCJe1sX
This video essay explores how indie games depict real-world ecological biomes, borrowing the concept familiar from games like Minecraft. It highlights titles that thoughtfully translate environmental science into interactive worlds. Beginning with ecology-focused games such as Terra Nil and Horticular, which center on restoring ecosystems, the essay then moves through major biome types: tropical forests (e.g., Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, Call of the Sea, Tchia), deserts (Journey, Sable), Mediterranean landscapes (Alba: A Wildlife Adventure), temperate forests (Pacific Drive, The Long Dark, Firewatch), boreal regions, and tundra environments (Shelter 2). Across these examples, nocap argues that many indie developers treat environment as a central character, designing ecosystems, geography, and climate that shape gameplay and storytelling, while also demonstrating how games can function as informal introductions to ecological thinking and environmental awareness.
For us game scholars and researchers, examining how games represent biomes and ecosystems matters because environmental design is not merely aesthetic but fundamentally shapes mechanics, narrative, and player experience. Many indie titles use ecology, climate, terrain, flora, fauna, and resource flows, as a system that structures exploration, movement, survival, and storytelling, effectively turning the environment into an active agent rather than a passive backdrop. Studying these representations helps us understand how games model complex natural systems, communicate ideas about biodiversity and environmental change, and foster forms of ecological awareness through play. At the same time, comparing different biome depictions across games highlights how developers translate real-world geography into interactive rules and affordances, making digital environments a productive site for analyzing the intersection of simulation, environmental imagination, and cultural attitudes toward nature.
This reminds me that I still don't have an in-game photo mode on my Xbox when I'm exploring the surface of Ark Raiders ... what's wrong with the developers??? ;)
***
On CBC, reporter Linus Mulherin, explains to me: "Acadia Centre for Critical Play asks questions about how video games shape our culture, world"! In German we'd add a "REDE!" behind that sentence. The Acadia Centre for Critical Play is a newly opened centre at the university which aims to allow academics and students to study our favorite child. Kudos to Prof. Jon Saklofske and academic librarian Mike Beazley!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/acadia-centre-video-game-research-9.7069676
"Did you know we had a newsletter?" Actually, no, Institute of Digital Games - University of Malta! #sadpuppy But thanks for letting me (and all my readers know)! I am sure that your "updates about events, published research, short-form articles covering #gamedesign #gamestudies and #gameAI" will be a rich part of my media diet from now on. https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/931492/emails/177213394810570721
I had the great pleasure to talk to Victor Navarro-Remesal about his new book Zen and Slow Games on my podcast show Game Studies. Please tune in and enjoy! https://megaphone.link/NBNK1716576384
The Science MashUp is a dynamic, research‑oriented highlight of the annual Lange Nacht der Computerspiele symposium at HTWK Leipzig. Blending short academic talks with fast‑paced Pecha Kucha presentations, the format has been exploring current trends and diverse perspectives in gaming culture since 2020 in an engaging and
CBC
Video games ‘are infused in our culture’: Acadia University’s centre aims to study them | CBC News
Acadia University's newly opened Acadia Centre for Critical Play is aiming to promote research into video games, welcoming academics of all levels from across the humanities and social sciences.
entertaining way. Their call for participation is now online! https://computerspielenacht.htwk-leipzig.de/nav/startseite-computerspielenacht/der-science-mashup-1
I also just came across this on Kotaku by Zack Zwiezen: Just five days after the United States joined Israel in airstrikes on Iran that have claimed hundreds of lives, the official White House Twitter account posted a video featuring a killstreak animation from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This marks yet another instance of President Donald Trump and his administration exploiting gamer culture and memes in official government content, turning deadly international conflict into a spectacle reminiscent of a video game. https://kotaku.com/trump-white-house-uses-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-kill-streak-to-celebrate-killing-people-in-iran-2000675983
... last but certainly not least, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially received the invitation to my PhD disputatio! So, Transformers, roll out, and Avengers, assemble on March 18th at the University of Vechta (a charming town in northwestern Germany, home to a surprisingly impressive first-division basketball team)!
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
I also just came across this on Kotaku by Zack Zwiezen: Just five days after the United States joined Israel in airstrikes on Iran that have claimed hundreds of lives, the official White House Twitter account posted a video featuring a killstreak animation from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This marks yet another instance of President Donald Trump and his administration exploiting gamer culture and memes in official government content, turning deadly international conflict into a spectacle reminiscent of a video game. https://kotaku.com/trump-white-house-uses-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-kill-streak-to-celebrate-killing-people-in-iran-2000675983
... last but certainly not least, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially received the invitation to my PhD disputatio! So, Transformers, roll out, and Avengers, assemble on March 18th at the University of Vechta (a charming town in northwestern Germany, home to a surprisingly impressive first-division basketball team)!
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
If someone tells you "I want to tell you about Death Stranding", you do not say, sorry, but I have to do something better. Especially not, it this someone is Monty Zander! So let's all get together and listen to his story.
https://youtu.be/uTr74l85ZjQ?si=-yt2p4pX18sN2-Tn
This video essay blends a father's letter to his one-year-old son with a granular close reading of Death Stranding, framing Hideo Kojima's polarizing "walking simulator" as a profound meditation on failure, connection, and human interdependence amid catastrophe. Through meticulous breakdowns of gameplay systems, from BT encounters and void-outs to timefall mechanics and the game's signature "cogisms" (over-explained lore, on-the-nose names like "Die-Hardman," absurd product placements), the essayist reveals how Kojima's design turns friction, isolation, and logistical tedium into philosophical tools, recasting ludonarrative dissonance as deliberate humanist parable. For Game Studies scholars, it's a standout example of long-form video essay as performative analysis: weaving Huizinga's Homo ludens, unreliable narrators, and motifs like rope vs. stick into an autobiographical frame that models the game's ethics of care. Equal parts optimistic apocalypse tale and parenting manifesto, it argues Death Stranding's surreal optimism, rainbow heralds of doom, glitchy bridge babies, teaches resilience through play, making it essential viewing for anyone tracing contemporary ludodystopias or Kojima's auteurist imprint on blockbuster game design.
***
The planned edited volume Video Game and Memory invites contributions exploring the intersections of Memory Studies and Game Studies. The collection focuses on how video games represent, shape, and mediate memory, addressing themes such as nostalgia, trauma, collective memory, game narratives, design practices, and player experience. Scholars are invited to analyze specific games, genres, platforms, or gaming cultures through theoretical perspectives from both fields. Abstracts (400–500 words plus short bio) are due 12 April 2026.
https://www.memorystudiesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CfP-Video-Game-Memory.pdf
In the German-language contribution “Gender, Games und #Gamergate: Digitale Spiele als Diskursarenen politischer Auseinandersetzungen”, Arno Görgen examines how debates around gender representation and the controversy of #Gamergate reveal digital games as arenas of political conflict. The article situates these debates within broader theories of “the political,” showing how struggles over representation, journalism, and gaming culture reflect wider societal tensions. https://gespielt.hypotheses.org/9976
A recent article from Boston University asks a familiar question: Are video games bad for you? Drawing on a new study published in Frontiers in Communication, the piece suggests the answer is more nuanced. Surveying nearly 350 students, researchers found many players use games as a way to cope with stress, regulate emotions, and build resilience, highlighting that the psychological impact of gaming depends less on gaming itself than on what people play and why.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2026/are-video-games-bad/
I talked to two wonderful game researchers on my podcast Game Studies (proud part of New Books Network): Carlin Wing on her book Bounce Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play (published by MIT Press) and Kaitlin Tremblay on her book Life is Strange (published by Boss Fight Books). Please tune in and don't be too shy to share these two conversation gems!
https://newbooksnetwork.com/bounce-balls-walls-and-bodies-in-games-and-play
https://newbooksnetwork.com/life-is-strange
In his article “A Seeming Change: Quasimorph and the Critique of Anarcho-Capitalism”, recently published in the journal Games and Culture, game researcher James Cartlidge examines how the roguelike extraction shooter Quasimorph models and critiques anarcho-capitalist ideology through its narrative, worldbuilding, and procedural systems. Drawing on debates in political
If someone tells you "I want to tell you about Death Stranding", you do not say, sorry, but I have to do something better. Especially not, it this someone is Monty Zander! So let's all get together and listen to his story.
https://youtu.be/uTr74l85ZjQ?si=-yt2p4pX18sN2-Tn
This video essay blends a father's letter to his one-year-old son with a granular close reading of Death Stranding, framing Hideo Kojima's polarizing "walking simulator" as a profound meditation on failure, connection, and human interdependence amid catastrophe. Through meticulous breakdowns of gameplay systems, from BT encounters and void-outs to timefall mechanics and the game's signature "cogisms" (over-explained lore, on-the-nose names like "Die-Hardman," absurd product placements), the essayist reveals how Kojima's design turns friction, isolation, and logistical tedium into philosophical tools, recasting ludonarrative dissonance as deliberate humanist parable. For Game Studies scholars, it's a standout example of long-form video essay as performative analysis: weaving Huizinga's Homo ludens, unreliable narrators, and motifs like rope vs. stick into an autobiographical frame that models the game's ethics of care. Equal parts optimistic apocalypse tale and parenting manifesto, it argues Death Stranding's surreal optimism, rainbow heralds of doom, glitchy bridge babies, teaches resilience through play, making it essential viewing for anyone tracing contemporary ludodystopias or Kojima's auteurist imprint on blockbuster game design.
***
The planned edited volume Video Game and Memory invites contributions exploring the intersections of Memory Studies and Game Studies. The collection focuses on how video games represent, shape, and mediate memory, addressing themes such as nostalgia, trauma, collective memory, game narratives, design practices, and player experience. Scholars are invited to analyze specific games, genres, platforms, or gaming cultures through theoretical perspectives from both fields. Abstracts (400–500 words plus short bio) are due 12 April 2026.
https://www.memorystudiesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CfP-Video-Game-Memory.pdf
In the German-language contribution “Gender, Games und #Gamergate: Digitale Spiele als Diskursarenen politischer Auseinandersetzungen”, Arno Görgen examines how debates around gender representation and the controversy of #Gamergate reveal digital games as arenas of political conflict. The article situates these debates within broader theories of “the political,” showing how struggles over representation, journalism, and gaming culture reflect wider societal tensions. https://gespielt.hypotheses.org/9976
A recent article from Boston University asks a familiar question: Are video games bad for you? Drawing on a new study published in Frontiers in Communication, the piece suggests the answer is more nuanced. Surveying nearly 350 students, researchers found many players use games as a way to cope with stress, regulate emotions, and build resilience, highlighting that the psychological impact of gaming depends less on gaming itself than on what people play and why.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2026/are-video-games-bad/
I talked to two wonderful game researchers on my podcast Game Studies (proud part of New Books Network): Carlin Wing on her book Bounce Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play (published by MIT Press) and Kaitlin Tremblay on her book Life is Strange (published by Boss Fight Books). Please tune in and don't be too shy to share these two conversation gems!
https://newbooksnetwork.com/bounce-balls-walls-and-bodies-in-games-and-play
https://newbooksnetwork.com/life-is-strange
In his article “A Seeming Change: Quasimorph and the Critique of Anarcho-Capitalism”, recently published in the journal Games and Culture, game researcher James Cartlidge examines how the roguelike extraction shooter Quasimorph models and critiques anarcho-capitalist ideology through its narrative, worldbuilding, and procedural systems. Drawing on debates in political
YouTube
Death Stranding Critique - Letters from the End of the World
Hi son, it's Dad. I want to tell you about Death Stranding.
BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/montyzander.bsky.social
PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/montyzander
LORE DUMP: https://www.youtube.com/@LoreDump
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4U8lB6…
BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/montyzander.bsky.social
PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/montyzander
LORE DUMP: https://www.youtube.com/@LoreDump
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4U8lB6…
philosophy and game studies, the analysis argues that the game portrays anarcho-capitalism as a “quasi-morph”: a supposed systemic break that in fact intensifies capitalism’s coercive and monopolistic tendencies. The article highlights how games can function as ideological laboratories where political systems are simulated, experienced, and critically examined through play.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15554120261425348
... in March 2006, Final Fantasy XII was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2. Square Enix’s ambitious RPG introduced a more open world structure and the Gambit combat system. For many players and scholars alike, this moment marks a kind of “birth era” for modern JRPG experimentation, it's really hard to believe that this influential title is now nearly two decades old.
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15554120261425348
... in March 2006, Final Fantasy XII was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2. Square Enix’s ambitious RPG introduced a more open world structure and the Gambit combat system. For many players and scholars alike, this moment marks a kind of “birth era” for modern JRPG experimentation, it's really hard to believe that this influential title is now nearly two decades old.
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
Sage Journals
A Seeming Change: Quasimorph and the Critique of Anarcho-Capitalism - James Cartlidge, 2026
This article examines how Quasimorph, a turn-based roguelike extraction shooter, models and critiques anarcho-capitalism through its narrative, worldbuilding, m...
🔊 *AHOI there, game studies operators!*
This week's video essay of my selection is by Michael Coorlim and it chronicles a full playthrough of Sierra's Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, created by ex-cop Jim Walls to simulate authentic patrol procedures, from timed locker room prep and vehicle walkarounds to DUI arrests and felony stops. Officer Sunny Bonds tackles drug rings and murders in Leighton, CA, escalating from beat cop to undercover narcotics operative infiltrating high-stakes poker at Hotel Delforia, culminating in a raid on crime lord Jesse Baines.
https://youtu.be/cPjns-LPDf0?si=0FeNdlJVjeXikfnq
Copaganda, the strategic portrayal of police as heroic and infallible, finds fertile ground in Game Studies as digital games simulate procedural realism drawn from ex-cop creators, embedding players in "authentic" law enforcement routines that normalize authority while obscuring systemic violence. This is compelling because games' procedural rhetoric, enforcing rule-bound obedience through fiddly mechanics like vehicle checks or timed briefings, doubles as ideological training, priming players for real-world compliance and countering critiques of police brutality, much like post-Floyd media backlash. Scholars thus probe how such simulations launder cop narratives into interactive "training tools," revealing tensions between ludonarrative immersion and the medium's potential for abolitionist counter-play.
... and whenever I read about Copaganda, I can only think about Propaganda, a hypnotic 2000 track by Norwegian indie rock band Briskeby from their album Brand New Car, sung by Lise Karlsnes with brooding synths and a pulsing beat. https://youtu.be/kX2DzmmGYhg?si=FBpWvjpmnmD2tlOr
***
Sebastian Möring has updated his reading list for in-game photography and it currently contains almost 50 items. I find this all pretty exciting since in-game photography, enabled through dedicated photo modes, marks a pivotal shift in digital games, transforming players into curators of virtual aesthetics. Unlike screenshots, these tools, seen in Death Stranding or The Last of Us Part II, offer cinematic framing and post-processing, encoding developer intent into player expression while raising questions of authorship and virtual realism. Positioned at the intersection of Game Studies and Photography Theory, it bridges gameplay, fan production, and platform economies as player images circulate as cultural artifacts. So check out Sebastian's updated list right here: https://sebastianmoering.com/basic-readings-on-in-game-photography/
The Brunel Games Research Lab, together with colleagues from Goldsmiths University, London College of Communication, and independent game creators, is hosting a free side event at the London Games Festival: "Why Games Education?" on April 17th from 3–7pm at the V&A in South Kensington. This unconference asks the big questions: Where is games education thriving and where is it falling short? How can creative teaching connect to an industry that's constantly reinventing itself? And where do we go from here? No fixed agenda, no passive audiences – you shape the conversation. Get your tickets right here: https://festival.games.london/side-events/54
Elon Musk's proposal to "gamify" US federal government via his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) transforms bureaucracy into a real-time strategy system with leaderboards, XP mechanics, and crowd-sourced spending "quests." While leveraging gamification's behavioral incentives for efficiency, experts warn of oversimplification, as metric-driven competition risks short-termism over institutional stewardship. This techno-libertarian approach, echoing platform capitalism, raises concerns about democratic legitimacy when algorithmic leaderboards displace pluralistic policy deliberation. Now, this all sounds interesting to you? Here's the whole article with the backgorund by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian: https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/mar/17/elon-musk-gamify-government
On LinkedIn, I just learned that the Ukrainian
This week's video essay of my selection is by Michael Coorlim and it chronicles a full playthrough of Sierra's Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, created by ex-cop Jim Walls to simulate authentic patrol procedures, from timed locker room prep and vehicle walkarounds to DUI arrests and felony stops. Officer Sunny Bonds tackles drug rings and murders in Leighton, CA, escalating from beat cop to undercover narcotics operative infiltrating high-stakes poker at Hotel Delforia, culminating in a raid on crime lord Jesse Baines.
https://youtu.be/cPjns-LPDf0?si=0FeNdlJVjeXikfnq
Copaganda, the strategic portrayal of police as heroic and infallible, finds fertile ground in Game Studies as digital games simulate procedural realism drawn from ex-cop creators, embedding players in "authentic" law enforcement routines that normalize authority while obscuring systemic violence. This is compelling because games' procedural rhetoric, enforcing rule-bound obedience through fiddly mechanics like vehicle checks or timed briefings, doubles as ideological training, priming players for real-world compliance and countering critiques of police brutality, much like post-Floyd media backlash. Scholars thus probe how such simulations launder cop narratives into interactive "training tools," revealing tensions between ludonarrative immersion and the medium's potential for abolitionist counter-play.
... and whenever I read about Copaganda, I can only think about Propaganda, a hypnotic 2000 track by Norwegian indie rock band Briskeby from their album Brand New Car, sung by Lise Karlsnes with brooding synths and a pulsing beat. https://youtu.be/kX2DzmmGYhg?si=FBpWvjpmnmD2tlOr
***
Sebastian Möring has updated his reading list for in-game photography and it currently contains almost 50 items. I find this all pretty exciting since in-game photography, enabled through dedicated photo modes, marks a pivotal shift in digital games, transforming players into curators of virtual aesthetics. Unlike screenshots, these tools, seen in Death Stranding or The Last of Us Part II, offer cinematic framing and post-processing, encoding developer intent into player expression while raising questions of authorship and virtual realism. Positioned at the intersection of Game Studies and Photography Theory, it bridges gameplay, fan production, and platform economies as player images circulate as cultural artifacts. So check out Sebastian's updated list right here: https://sebastianmoering.com/basic-readings-on-in-game-photography/
The Brunel Games Research Lab, together with colleagues from Goldsmiths University, London College of Communication, and independent game creators, is hosting a free side event at the London Games Festival: "Why Games Education?" on April 17th from 3–7pm at the V&A in South Kensington. This unconference asks the big questions: Where is games education thriving and where is it falling short? How can creative teaching connect to an industry that's constantly reinventing itself? And where do we go from here? No fixed agenda, no passive audiences – you shape the conversation. Get your tickets right here: https://festival.games.london/side-events/54
Elon Musk's proposal to "gamify" US federal government via his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) transforms bureaucracy into a real-time strategy system with leaderboards, XP mechanics, and crowd-sourced spending "quests." While leveraging gamification's behavioral incentives for efficiency, experts warn of oversimplification, as metric-driven competition risks short-termism over institutional stewardship. This techno-libertarian approach, echoing platform capitalism, raises concerns about democratic legitimacy when algorithmic leaderboards displace pluralistic policy deliberation. Now, this all sounds interesting to you? Here's the whole article with the backgorund by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian: https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/mar/17/elon-musk-gamify-government
On LinkedIn, I just learned that the Ukrainian
YouTube
Police Quest 1: Is it Copaganda?
Consider subscribing to the channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPeDM2RA_lyVQmjuR5Aq5ww/?sub_confirmation=1
-----
Michael Coorlim is a science fiction author and game developer.
You can find my work here: http://www.mcoorlim.com
If you're interested…
-----
Michael Coorlim is a science fiction author and game developer.
You can find my work here: http://www.mcoorlim.com
If you're interested…
Association for Game Research and Game Education has announced an open competition for the creation of the official logo of the Association. Please find further info right here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zHvIA3SMwFB40jEPyausGUatFlcGFtXE/view
... and last but not least friendos of the tape ... here's what we call a real "Leckerbissen" for you! https://gamehistory.org/cgdc-1989-tapes/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
... and last but not least friendos of the tape ... here's what we call a real "Leckerbissen" for you! https://gamehistory.org/cgdc-1989-tapes/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
Video Game History Foundation
Live from GDC... 1989! 21 hours of vintage talks from early gaming luminaries | Video Game History Foundation
We've digitized the recordings from one of the earliest GDC conferences, available for the first time in 37 years.
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
Let's say ... Kratos is a genocidal force of rage rebranded as a remorseful father, whose path to “redemption” is made palatable only by keeping the full weight of his atrocities at a safe, mythic distance. Would you agree? If not, why? No worries, let's sit down together (have some creatin and something something alpha) and think about it, while we listen to Arcane Workshop and his latest essay How Stories Forgive the Unforgivable.
https://youtu.be/8bM1rhXCDZ0?si=Rb-xWpX1hDK0Y43_
This essay argues that God of War (2018) reimagines Kratos as a figure struggling with fatherhood, guilt, and the fear of passing his own destructive nature onto his son, transforming the series from a spectacle of violence into an intimate story about breaking cycles of harm; it emphasizes that while the original games celebrated power and brutality, the reboot shifts toward quiet, emotional storytelling centered on Kratos and Atreus. The journey to fulfill Faye’s final wish becomes less about mythic conflict and more about the painful distance between a father and son. At the heart of this is a universal parental fear: that one’s own flaws will damage one’s child. Kratos’s mantra, “we must be better,” reflects a desperate attempt to prevent that outcome. However, the essay highlights a key tension: Kratos’s past atrocities, mass destruction, countless deaths, are never directly confronted. Instead, they remain abstract, allowing players to sympathize with his struggle without fully grappling with what he has done. This distance lets the story function as myth, where characters represent ideas rather than fully accountable individuals. The narrative reinforces this theme through parallels like Baldur and Freya, showing how a parent’s fear and control can ruin a child, sometimes beyond repair. These mirrored relationships deepen the central idea that love, when driven by fear, can become destructive.
***
Right now, winter is back (or so it seems in Munich), that's why this position has come to my attention: Florence School of Fine Arts is hiring a new Docente di Game Design in the Florence Metropolitan Area and this might just be your next great adventure! The course is project-based, focusing on creating the story and characters for a potential video game, ideally drawing from the students' experiences in Florence. It does not involve software use. The instructor should have strong English proficiency and preferably experience teaching international students. https://www.theflorenceschool.org/
Episode 7 of The Game Developers’ library podcast has been released; this time they read Tynan Sylvester’s book Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences. And I laughed very hard when they explained: "It’s very good, except when it’s not!" Tune in to find out more: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tynan-sylvester-designing-games-a-guide-to/id1816921939?i=1000756490637
I got interesting news via Astrid Ensslin: "And here it is: the shiny new website of the "D-A-CH" (German-speaking countries') Game Studies Chapter of DiGRA (the Digital Games Research Association)." Finally, after all this time, one might have started to suspect it was a myth, like the German summer or a finished dissertation. But there it is, in all its long-awaited glory. Welcome to the digital light, folks! https://creativegames.org.uk/DACH/
The AKGWDS is accepting submissions for the 2026 Elizabeth Magie Prize for outstanding theses in game studies and game research. Eligible are Bachelor’s and Master’s theses (and comparable final projects) that focus on games, play, or ludic media from any disciplinary perspective.
Let's say ... Kratos is a genocidal force of rage rebranded as a remorseful father, whose path to “redemption” is made palatable only by keeping the full weight of his atrocities at a safe, mythic distance. Would you agree? If not, why? No worries, let's sit down together (have some creatin and something something alpha) and think about it, while we listen to Arcane Workshop and his latest essay How Stories Forgive the Unforgivable.
Kratos destroyed Greece. Drowned its people, extinguished its sun, unleashed plague and famine on tens of thousands. The God of War Norse saga asks us to forgive him for it — and we do, gratefully. This essay examines the narrative machinery that makes that forgiveness possible.
https://youtu.be/8bM1rhXCDZ0?si=Rb-xWpX1hDK0Y43_
This essay argues that God of War (2018) reimagines Kratos as a figure struggling with fatherhood, guilt, and the fear of passing his own destructive nature onto his son, transforming the series from a spectacle of violence into an intimate story about breaking cycles of harm; it emphasizes that while the original games celebrated power and brutality, the reboot shifts toward quiet, emotional storytelling centered on Kratos and Atreus. The journey to fulfill Faye’s final wish becomes less about mythic conflict and more about the painful distance between a father and son. At the heart of this is a universal parental fear: that one’s own flaws will damage one’s child. Kratos’s mantra, “we must be better,” reflects a desperate attempt to prevent that outcome. However, the essay highlights a key tension: Kratos’s past atrocities, mass destruction, countless deaths, are never directly confronted. Instead, they remain abstract, allowing players to sympathize with his struggle without fully grappling with what he has done. This distance lets the story function as myth, where characters represent ideas rather than fully accountable individuals. The narrative reinforces this theme through parallels like Baldur and Freya, showing how a parent’s fear and control can ruin a child, sometimes beyond repair. These mirrored relationships deepen the central idea that love, when driven by fear, can become destructive.
***
Right now, winter is back (or so it seems in Munich), that's why this position has come to my attention: Florence School of Fine Arts is hiring a new Docente di Game Design in the Florence Metropolitan Area and this might just be your next great adventure! The course is project-based, focusing on creating the story and characters for a potential video game, ideally drawing from the students' experiences in Florence. It does not involve software use. The instructor should have strong English proficiency and preferably experience teaching international students. https://www.theflorenceschool.org/
Episode 7 of The Game Developers’ library podcast has been released; this time they read Tynan Sylvester’s book Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences. And I laughed very hard when they explained: "It’s very good, except when it’s not!" Tune in to find out more: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tynan-sylvester-designing-games-a-guide-to/id1816921939?i=1000756490637
I got interesting news via Astrid Ensslin: "And here it is: the shiny new website of the "D-A-CH" (German-speaking countries') Game Studies Chapter of DiGRA (the Digital Games Research Association)." Finally, after all this time, one might have started to suspect it was a myth, like the German summer or a finished dissertation. But there it is, in all its long-awaited glory. Welcome to the digital light, folks! https://creativegames.org.uk/DACH/
The AKGWDS is accepting submissions for the 2026 Elizabeth Magie Prize for outstanding theses in game studies and game research. Eligible are Bachelor’s and Master’s theses (and comparable final projects) that focus on games, play, or ludic media from any disciplinary perspective.
YouTube
How Stories Forgive The Unforgivable
Kratos destroyed Greece. Drowned its people, extinguished its sun, unleashed plague and famine on tens of thousands.
The God of War Norse saga asks us to forgive him for it — and we do, gratefully. This essay examines the narrative machinery that makes…
The God of War Norse saga asks us to forgive him for it — and we do, gratefully. This essay examines the narrative machinery that makes…
If you’ve recently completed an excellent thesis in or around game studies, or supervised one, this is a great opportunity for recognition within the German-speaking game studies community. Full details on eligibility, deadlines, and submission procedures can be found on the AKGWDS website. https://akgwds.de/2026/03/20/elizabeth-magie-preis-des-akgwds-fuer-abschlussarbeiten-2026-game-studies-spielwissenschaft/
... and last but not least ... 65 years alrady? Time for some S E G A history! https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/sega-at-65/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
... and last but not least ... 65 years alrady? Time for some S E G A history! https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/sega-at-65/
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
Arbeitskreis Geisteswissenschaften und Digitale Spiele
Elizabeth-Magie-Preis des AKGWDS für Abschlussarbeiten 2026 (Game Studies / Spielwissenschaft) - Arbeitskreis Geisteswissenschaften…
Zum zweiten Mal nun schreibt der Arbeitskreis Geisteswissenschaften und digitale Spiele einen Preis für junge Wissenschaftler*innen aus, der bereits eingereichte und benotete Abschlussarbeiten auszeichnen soll, die sich mit…
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
HeroQuest will always hold a special place in my heart... so, let’s not dwell on that any further (nor on the PC game that always brought my underperforming computer in the playroom to its knees). BUT: On my first visit to a small Munich shop full of board and role-playing games, as a young customer I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted something called Advanced HeroQuest. Naturally, I splashed out a week’s pocket money and... swapped it a month later with my oldest friend Michael for his copy of StarQuest (originally: Space Crusade). I know, I know, yet another... foolish act of my youth. Right, enough CV drama! Let’s talk about today, let’s talk about the video post by Jordan Sorcery.
"Advanced Heroquest was Games Workshop’s 1989 follow-up to the tabletop phenomenon HeroQuest. [...] n this video history Jordan Sorcery explores the development of the game, the business reasons behind its existence, the material that was released to support it, and the legacy that it has left."
https://youtu.be/EwRSf05stEg?si=H1E_Ws6zyMod1OPz
From my perspective of a game studies and design scholar, Advanced HeroQuest marks an important transitional moment between traditional tabletop systems and modern dungeon-crawling design. Building on the great accessibility of HeroQuest, it introduced procedural dungeon generation, asymmetrical player roles, and a rules framework that supported emergent narrative rather than fixed scenarios. This shift reflects an early move toward systems-driven play, where unpredictability and replayability become central design goals, anticipating mechanics later refined in both tabletop RPGs and digital roguelikes. At the same time, its complexity reveals the tension between simulation depth and usability, making it a valuable case study in how designers balance player agency, system transparency, and cognitive load.
***
For over a decade, Hamish Black’s channel Writing on Games has demonstrated that games invite the same attention we bring to literature or film. In our conversation for TITEL kulturmagazin, he reflects on criticism, creative practice, and the uneasy condition of contemporary game culture.
https://titel-kulturmagazin.net/2026/03/31/digitalspielkultur-interview-with-writing-on-games/
Here's a Game Developer article that reports DICE game designer Jac Carlsson used his background in dance choreography to improve Battlefield 6’s visual clarity, movement feedback, and overall “game feel,” arguing that good FPS design depends on a tight input-response loop rather than aesthetics alone. He frames battlefield movement, firing, and damage as part of a rhythm that must feel intuitive and physically legible to the player, making “the player the performer” in a system where action, feedback, and emotion continuously shape one another. More info: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/using-choreography-to-enhance-battlefield-6-s-game-feel
The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Delaware needs an adjunct instructor to join their team, teaching "Introduction to Game Studies" and an upper-level class in Fall 2026. More info: https://www.udel.edu/faculty-staff/human-resources/careers/part-time-jobs/ But hold on, there's more: The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) in Berlin is looking for a Professor of Game Design with a focus on Creative Coding / Game Programming, check out what they have to offer right here: https://university-ue.jobs.personio.com/job/2577878
Connectist (Istanbul University Press) calls for papers for a special issue on Game Studies, inviting interdisciplinary submissions exploring games as cultural artifacts across aesthetics, communication, design, digital humanities, media studies, philosophy, and arts. The CFP emphasizes critical analyses of videogames' practical, aesthetic, and societal implications, fostering dialogue between Game Studies and established humanities fields to address how games reflect longstanding debates while suggesting novel approaches.
More info:
HeroQuest will always hold a special place in my heart... so, let’s not dwell on that any further (nor on the PC game that always brought my underperforming computer in the playroom to its knees). BUT: On my first visit to a small Munich shop full of board and role-playing games, as a young customer I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted something called Advanced HeroQuest. Naturally, I splashed out a week’s pocket money and... swapped it a month later with my oldest friend Michael for his copy of StarQuest (originally: Space Crusade). I know, I know, yet another... foolish act of my youth. Right, enough CV drama! Let’s talk about today, let’s talk about the video post by Jordan Sorcery.
"Advanced Heroquest was Games Workshop’s 1989 follow-up to the tabletop phenomenon HeroQuest. [...] n this video history Jordan Sorcery explores the development of the game, the business reasons behind its existence, the material that was released to support it, and the legacy that it has left."
https://youtu.be/EwRSf05stEg?si=H1E_Ws6zyMod1OPz
From my perspective of a game studies and design scholar, Advanced HeroQuest marks an important transitional moment between traditional tabletop systems and modern dungeon-crawling design. Building on the great accessibility of HeroQuest, it introduced procedural dungeon generation, asymmetrical player roles, and a rules framework that supported emergent narrative rather than fixed scenarios. This shift reflects an early move toward systems-driven play, where unpredictability and replayability become central design goals, anticipating mechanics later refined in both tabletop RPGs and digital roguelikes. At the same time, its complexity reveals the tension between simulation depth and usability, making it a valuable case study in how designers balance player agency, system transparency, and cognitive load.
***
For over a decade, Hamish Black’s channel Writing on Games has demonstrated that games invite the same attention we bring to literature or film. In our conversation for TITEL kulturmagazin, he reflects on criticism, creative practice, and the uneasy condition of contemporary game culture.
https://titel-kulturmagazin.net/2026/03/31/digitalspielkultur-interview-with-writing-on-games/
Here's a Game Developer article that reports DICE game designer Jac Carlsson used his background in dance choreography to improve Battlefield 6’s visual clarity, movement feedback, and overall “game feel,” arguing that good FPS design depends on a tight input-response loop rather than aesthetics alone. He frames battlefield movement, firing, and damage as part of a rhythm that must feel intuitive and physically legible to the player, making “the player the performer” in a system where action, feedback, and emotion continuously shape one another. More info: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/using-choreography-to-enhance-battlefield-6-s-game-feel
The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Delaware needs an adjunct instructor to join their team, teaching "Introduction to Game Studies" and an upper-level class in Fall 2026. More info: https://www.udel.edu/faculty-staff/human-resources/careers/part-time-jobs/ But hold on, there's more: The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) in Berlin is looking for a Professor of Game Design with a focus on Creative Coding / Game Programming, check out what they have to offer right here: https://university-ue.jobs.personio.com/job/2577878
Connectist (Istanbul University Press) calls for papers for a special issue on Game Studies, inviting interdisciplinary submissions exploring games as cultural artifacts across aesthetics, communication, design, digital humanities, media studies, philosophy, and arts. The CFP emphasizes critical analyses of videogames' practical, aesthetic, and societal implications, fostering dialogue between Game Studies and established humanities fields to address how games reflect longstanding debates while suggesting novel approaches.
More info:
YouTube
The History of Advanced Heroquest
Advanced Heroquest was Games Workshop’s 1989 follow-up to the tabletop phenomenon HeroQuest. Taking as many lessons from Dungeons & Dragons as from its older sibling, AHQ was designed by Jervis Johnson, the legendary creator of Blood Bowl, and offered brutal…
https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/journal/connectist/announcements/call-for-papers-special-issue-on-game-studies
On LinkedIn, I read a posting from Athanasios Mazarakis, where he stated: "In our new paper, "AI-driven game design: the EMPAMOS gamification framework", we analyzed around 8,300 board game manuals to systematically understand which design elements and their structured combinations ("design patterns") make games and gamification engaging and motivating." And ... it's OA! Here you go: https://peerj.com/articles/cs-3633/
For the German speaking audience here, I got two news today:
I’m delighted to celebrate the release of „Could this be a dog? Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven auf ‚Elden Ring‘ und ‚Shadow of the Erdtree‘“ (published by Verlag Werner Hülsbusch), a project I had the pleasure of co-editing together with Franziska Ascher and Pascal Marc Wagner. Bringing together diverse voices from across disciplines, the volume explores the rich aesthetic, narrative, and ludic dimensions of Elden Ring and its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, opening new perspectives on how these worlds resonate within game studies and beyond. It has been an inspiring collaborative journey, and we hope the book invites readers to engage with these games in new, thoughtful, and sometimes unexpected ways. Get your copy right here: https://www.vwh-verlag-shop.de/epages/61236266.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61236266/Products/978-3-86488-217-3
We are pleased to invite submissions for our upcoming volume via Mythos Hyrule, a games studies anthology dedicated to exploring the rich mythological, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions of the The Legend of Zelda series. As co-editors (yes, there's four of us!), we seek contributions that engage with Hyrule as a site of interdisciplinary inquiry, ranging from narrative theory and game studies to mythology, media history, and cultural analysis. In line with broader developments in mythological game studies, which examine how games both represent and generate mythic structures , we welcome abstracts that open new perspectives on the enduring resonance and scholarly potential of this iconic series. More info: https://mythos-hyrule.com/
... by the way, my heart’s been racing since yesterday because my publisher has let me know that my thesis is now being printed, which means that I’ll hopefully soon be able to hand in my statutory copies to the university library, bringing me another small step closer to my final PhD certificate – exciting times indeed! And if you really need to know, yeah, it's still Arc Raiders all the way. Have you seen that sunset? HAVE YOU? 🥲
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
On LinkedIn, I read a posting from Athanasios Mazarakis, where he stated: "In our new paper, "AI-driven game design: the EMPAMOS gamification framework", we analyzed around 8,300 board game manuals to systematically understand which design elements and their structured combinations ("design patterns") make games and gamification engaging and motivating." And ... it's OA! Here you go: https://peerj.com/articles/cs-3633/
For the German speaking audience here, I got two news today:
I’m delighted to celebrate the release of „Could this be a dog? Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven auf ‚Elden Ring‘ und ‚Shadow of the Erdtree‘“ (published by Verlag Werner Hülsbusch), a project I had the pleasure of co-editing together with Franziska Ascher and Pascal Marc Wagner. Bringing together diverse voices from across disciplines, the volume explores the rich aesthetic, narrative, and ludic dimensions of Elden Ring and its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, opening new perspectives on how these worlds resonate within game studies and beyond. It has been an inspiring collaborative journey, and we hope the book invites readers to engage with these games in new, thoughtful, and sometimes unexpected ways. Get your copy right here: https://www.vwh-verlag-shop.de/epages/61236266.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61236266/Products/978-3-86488-217-3
We are pleased to invite submissions for our upcoming volume via Mythos Hyrule, a games studies anthology dedicated to exploring the rich mythological, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions of the The Legend of Zelda series. As co-editors (yes, there's four of us!), we seek contributions that engage with Hyrule as a site of interdisciplinary inquiry, ranging from narrative theory and game studies to mythology, media history, and cultural analysis. In line with broader developments in mythological game studies, which examine how games both represent and generate mythic structures , we welcome abstracts that open new perspectives on the enduring resonance and scholarly potential of this iconic series. More info: https://mythos-hyrule.com/
... by the way, my heart’s been racing since yesterday because my publisher has let me know that my thesis is now being printed, which means that I’ll hopefully soon be able to hand in my statutory copies to the university library, bringing me another small step closer to my final PhD certificate – exciting times indeed! And if you really need to know, yeah, it's still Arc Raiders all the way. Have you seen that sunset? HAVE YOU? 🥲
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
Okay, okay, from time to time, all you need is a deep and honest declaration of affection and love. And today, I will give to you one of "those" videos. I turned on the news this morning and thought to myself, yes, THIS is exactly the right time for an short essay like this one. So, here we go (and thanks, Innuendo Studios, for finding the right words!)
https://youtu.be/YkVrbAC4_eY?si=4CqU14cJ6m53NVMm
The Outer Worlds is a rich case study in narrative design, ethics, and player agency. To me, this game really is some sort of microcosm of what Game Studies examines: how games tell stories, simulate worlds, engage players, and reflect societal values; the title demonstrates how player choice can meaningfully shape not only narrative outcomes but also the moral framework through which a game world is understood. The Outer Worlds highlights the medium’s unique ability to critique real-world systems, such as capitalism and corporate power, by embedding them directly into your interactive experience. So, let's enjoy this essay together and hope, that someday we get more than five minutes!^^
***
Play Story Press has announced a call for proposals for the second edition of Teaching the Game, an edited volume focused on innovative approaches to game education. The book aims to bring together educators, designers, and researchers who teach with and about games, highlighting course designs, pedagogical strategies, and practical experiences from diverse contexts. Contributors are invited to submit proposals that showcase how games are used in teaching, whether through design, analysis, or critical engagement, with an emphasis on sharing adaptable syllabi and teaching practices. The collection continues the mission of the first volume by making game-based learning visible, actionable, and relevant across disciplines. More info: https://playstorypress.org/2026/04/07/call-for-proposal-teaching-the-game-second-edition/
When The Guadian's one and only Keza MacDonald writes about one of my favorite gaming memories, I have to point to it: "Life Is Strange has always been corny but it has also always been earnest, grounded in friendship and feelings." Read the whole article right here: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/apr/02/life-is-strange-reunion-review-deck-nine?CMP=share_btn_url
Starting Fall 2026, the Master’s in Game Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding games as cultural, social, and media phenomena. Students explore the history, production, and reception of digital and non-digital games, combining theory with practical insights. This two-year, English-language programme prepares graduates for careers in the games industry, media, research, or cultural institutions. Applications are open until April 30, 2026. More info: https://study.fsv.cuni.cz/study-programs/master-programs/game
Have I mentioned before, that I l o v e image films? Yes, even the tiny ones! https://youtu.be/pjMgohq_u0E?si=B7Y_AUTC87XW0_Qc
From 31 August to 2 September 2026, Cologne Game Lab at TH Köln is hosting a three‑day intensive Planetary Futures summer school on how games engage with ecological crises and sustainability. Participants, including game designers, researchers, and early‑career creatives, will explore ecological narratives, sustainable development practices, and responsible game design, with workshops, keynotes, collaborative sessions, and play tests that bridge research and practice. Applications are open until 15 May 2026 with no participation fee; attendees are encouraged to bring poster projects and actively contribute to discussions on games and the planet. More info: https://colognegamelab.de/research/conferences/planetary-futures/
Okay, okay, from time to time, all you need is a deep and honest declaration of affection and love. And today, I will give to you one of "those" videos. I turned on the news this morning and thought to myself, yes, THIS is exactly the right time for an short essay like this one. So, here we go (and thanks, Innuendo Studios, for finding the right words!)
https://youtu.be/YkVrbAC4_eY?si=4CqU14cJ6m53NVMm
The Outer Worlds is a rich case study in narrative design, ethics, and player agency. To me, this game really is some sort of microcosm of what Game Studies examines: how games tell stories, simulate worlds, engage players, and reflect societal values; the title demonstrates how player choice can meaningfully shape not only narrative outcomes but also the moral framework through which a game world is understood. The Outer Worlds highlights the medium’s unique ability to critique real-world systems, such as capitalism and corporate power, by embedding them directly into your interactive experience. So, let's enjoy this essay together and hope, that someday we get more than five minutes!^^
***
Play Story Press has announced a call for proposals for the second edition of Teaching the Game, an edited volume focused on innovative approaches to game education. The book aims to bring together educators, designers, and researchers who teach with and about games, highlighting course designs, pedagogical strategies, and practical experiences from diverse contexts. Contributors are invited to submit proposals that showcase how games are used in teaching, whether through design, analysis, or critical engagement, with an emphasis on sharing adaptable syllabi and teaching practices. The collection continues the mission of the first volume by making game-based learning visible, actionable, and relevant across disciplines. More info: https://playstorypress.org/2026/04/07/call-for-proposal-teaching-the-game-second-edition/
When The Guadian's one and only Keza MacDonald writes about one of my favorite gaming memories, I have to point to it: "Life Is Strange has always been corny but it has also always been earnest, grounded in friendship and feelings." Read the whole article right here: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/apr/02/life-is-strange-reunion-review-deck-nine?CMP=share_btn_url
Starting Fall 2026, the Master’s in Game Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding games as cultural, social, and media phenomena. Students explore the history, production, and reception of digital and non-digital games, combining theory with practical insights. This two-year, English-language programme prepares graduates for careers in the games industry, media, research, or cultural institutions. Applications are open until April 30, 2026. More info: https://study.fsv.cuni.cz/study-programs/master-programs/game
Have I mentioned before, that I l o v e image films? Yes, even the tiny ones! https://youtu.be/pjMgohq_u0E?si=B7Y_AUTC87XW0_Qc
From 31 August to 2 September 2026, Cologne Game Lab at TH Köln is hosting a three‑day intensive Planetary Futures summer school on how games engage with ecological crises and sustainability. Participants, including game designers, researchers, and early‑career creatives, will explore ecological narratives, sustainable development practices, and responsible game design, with workshops, keynotes, collaborative sessions, and play tests that bridge research and practice. Applications are open until 15 May 2026 with no participation fee; attendees are encouraged to bring poster projects and actively contribute to discussions on games and the planet. More info: https://colognegamelab.de/research/conferences/planetary-futures/
YouTube
Outer Wilds | The World We Are About To Lose
excerpt from Extremely Overdetermined Adventure Game Tier List: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJA_jUddXvY5Bcb9ojzgvQ4aEyCYxx2AA
patreon: http://patreon.com/InnuendoStudios
tumblr: http://innuendostudios.tumblr.com
bluesky: https://bsky.app/prof…
patreon: http://patreon.com/InnuendoStudios
tumblr: http://innuendostudios.tumblr.com
bluesky: https://bsky.app/prof…
Indie horror games rooted in the Backrooms creepypasta phenomenon have surged in popularity over the past few years, with standout titles like Exit 8 and The Complex: Found Footage. A recent MIT feature leverages these games to dissect the concept of “institutional gothic”, a bold, contemporary reimagining of Victorian horror staged in sterile office blocks and sprawling shopping malls. Thank you very much, Keith Stuart for notifying! More info: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/backrooms-and-the-rise-of-the-institutional-gothic
Here's a little something for our German-speaking readers: Jörg Luibl has informed us on LinkedIn, that spielvertiefung.de is online with a new website! "Faster, more maritime, even with a hand-drawn sea dragon in the depths! Without ads, without clickbait, without AI, but with a lot of gaming culture for all Steady supporters".
... unfortunately, my Japanese is not good enough for this new publication: https://books.sekaibunka.com/book/b10160779.html
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
Here's a little something for our German-speaking readers: Jörg Luibl has informed us on LinkedIn, that spielvertiefung.de is online with a new website! "Faster, more maritime, even with a hand-drawn sea dragon in the depths! Without ads, without clickbait, without AI, but with a lot of gaming culture for all Steady supporters".
... unfortunately, my Japanese is not good enough for this new publication: https://books.sekaibunka.com/book/b10160779.html
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
The MIT Press Reader
‘Backrooms’ and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic
A new spin on an old genre replaces flesh-and-blood monsters with the mundanity of modern bureaucracy.
🔊 AHOI there, game studies operators!
On his channel, The Game Overanalyser is exploring "the stories, themes, design and art of gaming" and I am a vivid guest (and listener). This time, it was time to go back to the basics and refresh my memory about two terms I tend to throw around quite often ...
https://youtu.be/nvLZbOkVu38?si=wOltXhdhOjtYUDlD
Emergence and Progression are often seen as two opposing design methodologies that are foundational to games. This video examines the history of this design dichotomy, how theorists have conceptualized the divide , and how it is far more permeable than people might think.
So, yes, I was thinking, that all-too-'familiar' opposition between emergence and progression becomes much less stable once we look at actual play practices rather than abstract design categories. Many contemporary games thrive precisely by staging moments where tightly scripted sequences give way to player-driven unpredictability and vice versa. From this perspective, the dichotomy is less a binary than a productive tension, one that designers actively orchestrate to balance control and openness, guidance and discovery.
--
I found an interesting article (Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: Semiotic Landscapes, Labour, and Ideology in The Last of Us) from Kate Spowage. It offers a compelling close reading of The Last of Us by shifting attention from narrative and dialogue to the game’s semiotic landscapes and it argues that the dilapidated, post-apocalyptic spaces of the game do more than set the scene. They open up a critical reflection on capitalism, labor, and inequality. While the game’s dialogue often reinforces familiar late-capitalist values, its environments tell a more unsettling story, hinting at exploitation and the uneven realities behind “apocalypse.” By bringing together ideology critique and the study of spatial meaning, the piece makes a strong case for reading videogame worlds as complex, even contradictory sites of cultural expression and suggests a promising new direction for game studies at the intersection with linguistic landscape research. Find it right here: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.25607
A particularly exciting opportunity for those working at the intersection of game studies, queer theory, and media psychology: the University of Groningen is currently advertising an interdisciplinary PhD position titled “Putting the Gay in Gaming: How Queer Youth Navigate Identity Development in Online Gaymer Communities” (Deadline: 22nd of April). The project explores how young queer players use online gaming spaces to experiment with identity, find community, and negotiate cultural expectations, while also addressing the tensions of heteronormative gamer culture and exclusion within supposedly inclusive spaces. Methodologically, the PhD combines qualitative approaches such as interviews, discourse analysis, and ethnography, making it especially relevant for scholars interested in interpretive and critical work on games and digital cultures. More info: https://www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/359352/interdisciplinary-phd-position-young-academy-groningen-2026-putting-the-gay-in-gaming-how-queer-youth-navigate-identity-devel
A useful addition for anyone teaching or researching in game studies with a methodological focus: Research Methods and Project Management in Games by Pooya Soltani is now available for pre-order. The book positions itself as an interdisciplinary guide that brings together research design, mixed methods, and project management specifically for game development contexts. Covering everything from literature reviews and data analysis to player studies, accessibility, and emerging areas like AI, it offers a structured roadmap for navigating both academic and industry-facing research in games. Particularly appealing is its attempt to bridge creative practice and research workflows—making it relevant not only for students, but also for practitioners looking to formalise their research processes. More info:
On his channel, The Game Overanalyser is exploring "the stories, themes, design and art of gaming" and I am a vivid guest (and listener). This time, it was time to go back to the basics and refresh my memory about two terms I tend to throw around quite often ...
https://youtu.be/nvLZbOkVu38?si=wOltXhdhOjtYUDlD
Emergence and Progression are often seen as two opposing design methodologies that are foundational to games. This video examines the history of this design dichotomy, how theorists have conceptualized the divide , and how it is far more permeable than people might think.
So, yes, I was thinking, that all-too-'familiar' opposition between emergence and progression becomes much less stable once we look at actual play practices rather than abstract design categories. Many contemporary games thrive precisely by staging moments where tightly scripted sequences give way to player-driven unpredictability and vice versa. From this perspective, the dichotomy is less a binary than a productive tension, one that designers actively orchestrate to balance control and openness, guidance and discovery.
--
I found an interesting article (Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: Semiotic Landscapes, Labour, and Ideology in The Last of Us) from Kate Spowage. It offers a compelling close reading of The Last of Us by shifting attention from narrative and dialogue to the game’s semiotic landscapes and it argues that the dilapidated, post-apocalyptic spaces of the game do more than set the scene. They open up a critical reflection on capitalism, labor, and inequality. While the game’s dialogue often reinforces familiar late-capitalist values, its environments tell a more unsettling story, hinting at exploitation and the uneven realities behind “apocalypse.” By bringing together ideology critique and the study of spatial meaning, the piece makes a strong case for reading videogame worlds as complex, even contradictory sites of cultural expression and suggests a promising new direction for game studies at the intersection with linguistic landscape research. Find it right here: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.25607
A particularly exciting opportunity for those working at the intersection of game studies, queer theory, and media psychology: the University of Groningen is currently advertising an interdisciplinary PhD position titled “Putting the Gay in Gaming: How Queer Youth Navigate Identity Development in Online Gaymer Communities” (Deadline: 22nd of April). The project explores how young queer players use online gaming spaces to experiment with identity, find community, and negotiate cultural expectations, while also addressing the tensions of heteronormative gamer culture and exclusion within supposedly inclusive spaces. Methodologically, the PhD combines qualitative approaches such as interviews, discourse analysis, and ethnography, making it especially relevant for scholars interested in interpretive and critical work on games and digital cultures. More info: https://www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/359352/interdisciplinary-phd-position-young-academy-groningen-2026-putting-the-gay-in-gaming-how-queer-youth-navigate-identity-devel
A useful addition for anyone teaching or researching in game studies with a methodological focus: Research Methods and Project Management in Games by Pooya Soltani is now available for pre-order. The book positions itself as an interdisciplinary guide that brings together research design, mixed methods, and project management specifically for game development contexts. Covering everything from literature reviews and data analysis to player studies, accessibility, and emerging areas like AI, it offers a structured roadmap for navigating both academic and industry-facing research in games. Particularly appealing is its attempt to bridge creative practice and research workflows—making it relevant not only for students, but also for practitioners looking to formalise their research processes. More info:
YouTube
Games of Emergence Vs Games of Progression | A Design Dichotomy
Emergence and Progression are often seen as two opposing design methodologies that are foundational to games. This video examines the history of this design dichotomy, how theorists have conceptualized the divide , and how it is far more permeable than people…
https://www.routledge.com/Research-Methods-and-Project-Management-in-Games/Soltani/p/book/9781032949789
German-speaking readers have a new book to look forward to. Together with Manuel Stübecke, I have edited a new volume in the Game Studies series: it is titled This is my Labyrinth, and you are mine. Forever. Die Spiele von LucasArts - eine interdisziplinäre Erforschung des Erbes der klassischen Adventures and brings together a host of fascinating authors and their essays. You can order it here: https://oldib-verlag.de/
and finally ... "Have you ever finished a game and felt… empty? This feeling now has a name and a way to measure it.
Kamil Janowicz, PhD from SWPS University, together with Piotr Klimczyk from the Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences, developed the Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS), the first tool designed to capture what players experience after completing highly immersive games. The study “Post-game depression scale – a new measure to capture players' experiences after finishing video games” was published in Current Psychology." (Source: SWPS University)
BTW: Released in April 2006 for the GameCube, Odama remains one of Nintendo’s most unusual experiments: a hybrid of feudal warfare and pinball in which players commanded troops via microphone while ricocheting a giant steel ball across the battlefield. It never became a hit, but looking back, it captures a moment when even big publishers were willing to fund ideas that were awkward, ambitious, and unapologetically odd. It is a reminder that innovation in games once meant not just bigger productions, but stranger ones.
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
German-speaking readers have a new book to look forward to. Together with Manuel Stübecke, I have edited a new volume in the Game Studies series: it is titled This is my Labyrinth, and you are mine. Forever. Die Spiele von LucasArts - eine interdisziplinäre Erforschung des Erbes der klassischen Adventures and brings together a host of fascinating authors and their essays. You can order it here: https://oldib-verlag.de/
and finally ... "Have you ever finished a game and felt… empty? This feeling now has a name and a way to measure it.
Kamil Janowicz, PhD from SWPS University, together with Piotr Klimczyk from the Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences, developed the Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS), the first tool designed to capture what players experience after completing highly immersive games. The study “Post-game depression scale – a new measure to capture players' experiences after finishing video games” was published in Current Psychology." (Source: SWPS University)
BTW: Released in April 2006 for the GameCube, Odama remains one of Nintendo’s most unusual experiments: a hybrid of feudal warfare and pinball in which players commanded troops via microphone while ricocheting a giant steel ball across the battlefield. It never became a hit, but looking back, it captures a moment when even big publishers were willing to fund ideas that were awkward, ambitious, and unapologetically odd. It is a reminder that innovation in games once meant not just bigger productions, but stranger ones.
P l e a s e support my work in game research & culture, consider contributing via Buy Me a Coffee. ☕️ 💸
Cheers and stay healthy, Rudolf
Routledge & CRC Press
Research Methods and Project Management in Games
This is an interdisciplinary guide designed to equip aspiring and professional practitioners across game development and related creative fields with the essential research knowledge and skills to excel. It offers artists, designers, technologists, programmers…