Academic

Reading Miguel Sicart’s Against Procedurality

“Players don’t need the designer”, says Miguel Sicart, “they need a game, an excuse and a frame for play.” How much power do rule systems have over the performative process of play? And how is meaning actualized in between the two? We discuss Sicart’s argument Against Procedurality. In our side quests, we then go into the…

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What Makes a Good Research Question

Coming up with a good research question can be exceedingly difficult. But it is well worth it, considering that it is your chance to most precisely define what your paper is actually about. Don’t worry though, we are here to help you out with seven essential tips.

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Spiritual Experiences (with Dr. Felix Schniz)

Have you ever made a spiritual experience when playing a video game? Some downright lend themselves to it, such as Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture or Journey. But how would you know whether any experience is spiritual and aren’t video games with their technological foundation pretty much the opposite of transcendental? We discuss exactly such questions with Dr….

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Reading Ian Bogost: The Rhetoric of Video Games

Video games do not just tell stories and show us more or less pretty pictures. By means of their procedural rhetoric, they “make claims about the world, which players can understand, evaluate, and deliberate”, says Ian Bogost in his influential article The Rhetoric of Video Games (2008). Join us as we unpack the concept of procedural rhetoric…

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Computer Education (with Linda Liukas)

Understanding the workings of computers, coding, and technological infrastructure is one of the most imperative skills of the 21st century. Even more important then is to introduce children to such concepts. But how? – With the award winning children’s book series Hello Ruby, our guest Linda Liukas rethinks how to convey computer education in an approachable yet equally…

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10 Tips to Nail Your Next Presentation

If you only so much as look at a university building from afar you will probably be asked to do a group presentation. While the entire process can be tedious, there are many ways to make the most of it. We have combined ten tips that you should definitely be aware of.

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The Swastika Taboo (with Eugen Pfister)

The swastika is certainly one of the most affective historical symbols. Under its banner, terror, hatred, racism, and profound crimes against humanity have been committed. In Germany, video games were not allowed to display the swastika for a long time at all, which has only changed in recent years. Together with the cultural historian Dr….

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Reading Gonzalo Frasca: Simulation vs Narrative

In the early days of video game studies, or so the story is told, there was a raging conflict between narratologists and ludologists. However much of an exaggeration this might be, Gonzalo Frasca’s Simulation vs Narrative is still an important contribution to this debate. That is why we revisit it—and you are invited to come…

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Games in the Box (with Claudius Clüver)

We might nostalgically look back at the beauty of game boxes and fail to realize how strongly they are linked to the economization of games. With our guest, game studies scholar Claudius Clüver, we trace how games got into the box and how, with the advent of digital distribution, they made their way back out….

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Why are all games about time loops these days? (with Federico Alvarez Igarzábal)

What if we could start all over again? – These days, a whole bunch of games tries to answer this question. From Hades to Returnal, from Loop Hero to 12 Minutes, and most recently: Deathloop. To help us understand why there is such an abundance of time loop games, we are joined by game studies scholar Federico Alvarez Igarzábal. Shownotes 00:05:24 Why are all…

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