#GameUXsummit '25 was a blast! SO MANY GREAT TALKS (see gamaste.net/game-ux-summ...) I presented my research on how players' personal, social, and game-related factors impact 𝐄𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬. A huge thanks to the organizers! @gameuxsummit.com @celiahodent.com AP Hogeschool & Gamaste

DiGRA 2026 will be hosted at Maynooth University in Maynooth, Ireland from 14 to 18 June 2026. The 2026 conference theme is Intersectional Pleasures. digra.org/digra-2026-h...

Recently had a very interesting talk with Dr. David Dobson in his podcast about my research on 𝐞𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, or why games can create personal growth You can watch the full conversation on YT: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNFx... Or you can listen to it on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/668c...

🚨PUB ALERT🚨 We conducted an online survey among 581 players to study the relationship between boredom types (e.g. under and overstimulation) and players' preferences for hedonic (fun), eudaimonic (appreciation), & recovery-based (e.g. relaxation, mastery) game experiences. doi.org/10.3389/fcom...

Incredibly excited to share this collaborative article with @richardcole.bsky.social, out now in Convergence! We hosted an active play experiment to explore how players make choices in historical games, and which role history plays (or doesn't) in this process: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

(Some of) DiGRA Belgium et al. at #DiGRA2025! 😀 Been having a great time in beautiful, sunny Valletta.

A snapshot of Belgian game studies (loosely defined) at #DiGRA2025 - and a nice showcase of the variety of games research being done in our little country! Really looking forward to the conference. Thanks to @evagrosemans.bsky.social for the infographic! 👏

DiGRA Announcement! 📣📣 Excited to share that both the Conference Programme and the Evening Events schedule are now live. Start planning your trip—we can’t wait to see you soon! 📅Conference Programme: easychair.org/smart-progra... 🌙 Evening Events: digraconference2025.org/schedule-eve...

I wrote a book chapter! "Empowering the Digital Citizen" provides an overview of digital & media literacy research in Flanders. Together with my @gameable.bsky.social colleagues, I wrote a chapter on gaming and gambling in Flemish adolescents. Find the book here: library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...

New paper alert! 📢 In this article, I explore how different game design motivations impact mythological characters in video games, based on interviews with the people behind Apotheon, Hades, and Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island: academic.oup.com/crj/advance-...

Fascinating research being done by Zhiyu Chen & @biekezaman.bsky.social on video games, monetization, and longitudinal impact! If you're 18+ and love to play games, please check out the link below to participate ⬇️

We're excited to announce Alexander Vandewalle as the new co-chair of DiGRA Belgium! Together with Pierre-Yves Houlmont, Alexander aims to strengthen the visibility and accessibility of Belgian game studies, and make DiGRA Belgium a more dynamic space for researchers, students, and industry alike.

The #DiGRA2025 registrations are NOW OFFICALLY OPEN! 📢 🚨 digraconference2025.org/conference-r... 🚨

DiGRA 2025 paper and abstract notifications sent out! Who's joining us in Malta in June/July? digraconference2025.org

Yesterday, I presented my research on gaming motives and problematic gaming in Flemish adolescents at #Etmaal2025 🎮

Yesterday, Stefano Gualeni @gua-le-ni.com (University of Malta) came to Ghent University for a talk on Conceptual Games, or how games can communicate philosophical ideas! Thanks, Stefano, for this great presentation, and thanks to Marco Caracciolo for organizing this!

Next Tuesday >> January the 28th at 14:00 << I will talk about the conceptual use of games and video games at the University of Ghent (Belgium). Come join us if you're interested! #gamestudies CC @digrabelgium.bsky.social @alexvandewalle.bsky.social

Wishing everyone a very playful 2025! 🎉 We're happy to announce an open call for two positions on the DiGRA Belgium board: (1) Co-Chair and (2) Treasurer. Deadline: 10 February 2025. If interested, please contact Pierre-Yves Houlmont with a letter of motivation!

REMINDER: CfP Mythological Game Studies Conference (May 2025, online) Send @maciejpaprocki.bsky.social and me your abstracts on everything games, myth, mythology & mythologies before February 2!

Help! We're thrilled that DiGRA 2025 has shattered DiGRA's previous record number of submissions - 541 is a lot! But this means we need a lot more reviewers - so, please, I know everyone's busy (tell me about it), but if you can spare some time, please volunteer. forms.gle/832RH4rwh4Ug...

Really interesting VR research taking place! ⬇️ If you have experience with VR, and some time to spare, please fill in @dwalewijns.bsky.social's survey!

CfP alert! 📢 Mythological Game Studies Conference @maciejpaprocki.bsky.social and I are organizing an online conference on mythology & video games (May 2025). We're interested in everything games, myth, mythology & mythologies! Abstract deadline: Feb 2! For more: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Some snapshots of our DiGRA Belgium symposium at Ghent University last week, featuring presentations by Larian Studios on Baldur's Gate 3, Jan-Noël Thon on games and narratology, and hands-on demos of Baldur's Gate 3, Black Myth: Wukong, and Hades II! Thank you to everyone for joining!

So starts our third DiGRA Belgium symposium, this time at Ghent University and focused on games and narrative!

Congratulations to dr. Eva Grosemans for defending her multi-method PhD research on gaming and gambling! 🎉🥳

We're pleased to send out this invitation for our next DiGRA Belgium symposium, at Ghent University on October 18, focused on games and narrative. With presentations by UGent scholars, Larian Studios on #BaldursGate3, and narratologist Jan-Noël Thon! Sign up here: event.ugent.be/registration...

Busy week for Belgian #gamestudies, as both Maarten Denoo and @alexvandewalle.bsky.social defended their PhD theses: the former on games and gambling 🎮🎲, the latter on games and Greco-Roman antiquity 🎮🏺!

Some snapshots of our live VR drawing session this afternoon!

Now, Ekaterina Muravevskaia discusses the use of game design as an educational aid to foster empathy among primary school children.

After a short break, Yiling Hu describes her work on experimental game design, philosophy, and Gilles Deleuze.

Next, Steven Malliet presents the Meaningful Play research cluster, and how games can be studied via the lens of artistic research. A call to experiment with games and game concepts!

The day opens with a presentation by Robin Gielis on the Game Design and REPLAY Master programmes at LUCA School of Arts.

And so starts the second DiGRA Belgium symposium, at C-Mine in Genk! Looking forward to an interesting day on games and artistic research!

Reminder! 📢 You can still sign up for the second DiGRA Belgium symposium (24 January, C-mine Genk). The event will focus on artistic research in gaming, with live VR sessions and LARP! Please register by 15 January: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Last Monday we had the last session of a lecture series at the Uni Bern that was organized by A. mauch and T. Hodel The focus was on perspective on #VideoGameStudies from the #DigitalHumanities. To round up the series we had a roundtable with P.Y. Hurel, M. Kocher, @pachuki.bsky.social and T. Wildi.

Mark your calendars! Our second symposium will take place on 24 January 2024, at Campus C-mine of LUCA School of Arts (Genk). We'll focus on artistic research in gaming, including live VR sessions and LARP! Want to join us? Please register by Jan 15 via docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F....

Bingo! Nu volle gas naar de officiële aankondiging volgende week! #SunkenTower #Anjou

Excited to share the publication of my chapter in the (open access) volume "Classical Heroes in the 21st Century", reflecting on cinematic influences on the aesthetics of mythological heroes in video games! Archaeogaming / ClassicsBluesky / AncientBluesky nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/9783...

Hello, everyone! DiGRA Belgium is the Belgian chapter of the Digital Games Research Association. Follow us for posts related to game research in Belgium!