Game Research Lab

The full report is openly available at: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

Our Larpocracy project team has published their first report on larp festivals and conventions, describing these as sites of play and cultural co-creation that are sometimes cultural institutions and always part of a cultural public sphere. More in the thread quoted here:

You can read more about the PEGASUS project from their final report: urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978... 7/7

As such, in the future, the team hopes to see more game companies and game cultural organisations defining what DEI means for them, setting tangible DEI goals, and following their DEI development progress. 6/7

Based on the study, Finnish game cultural organisations view DEI as a pathway for their success as well as for building better game culture. However, it was not always clear if these organisations had set specific goals for their DEI work and if they were following their progress in this area. 5/7

They described DEI practices and processes in 3 areas:
1) administrative practices and procedures (strategy work and resources, good governance practices)
2) inclusive design and marketing (practices and contents)
3) and building safe and inclusive environments (inclusion and belonging, safety) 4/7

The organisations defined DEI in three different ways, through:
1) DEI (and related) terms
2) DEI challenges, i.e. ideologies and actions preventing DEI
3) DEI framings, i.e. how DEI translates to the organisation’s societal impact and success 3/7

18 public DEI documents from 11 organisations (game companies, industry organisations, gaming event organisations, an esports organisation, and a public organisation with gaming-related activities) included codes of conduct, DEI guides, DEI statements, and DEI strategies. 2/7

Our PEGASUS project team investigated how different types of (digital) game cultural organisations in Finland understand DEI in their own activities, and what kind of guidelines and practices they have for promoting DEI. The publication is openly available: revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ij... 1/7

2026 | Call for Papers Events are at the heart of game and play cultures. They are organized for many reasons and purposes, bringing people together to play, socialize, compete, learn and teach, network, sell, perform, c…

Please note that the deadline for our spring seminar 'Events and communities' has been extended! The new deadline is 21 January 2026. You can find the CfP and full details here: springseminar.org/2026-call-fo...

The seminar will be organised at Tampere University, Finland, on 5–6 May 2026.

Suomi voi olla yhdenvertaisemman pelikulttuurin edelläkävijämaa Olemme kahden vuoden ajan toteuttaneet Suomen Akatemian rahoittamaa PEGASUS-hanketta, jossa olemme yhteistyössä suomalaisten toimijoiden kanssa pyrkineet kehittämään kulttuurisesti, sosiaalisesti j…

PEGASUS-hankkeessamme olemme havainneet, että Suomessa tehdään uraauurtavaa, kansainvälisesti merkittävää työtä pelikulttuurin yhdenvertaisuuden eteen. Kansallinen #pelikulttuuristrategia mahdollistaisi tämän työn järjestelmällisen kehittämisen. Lue lisää: gameresearchlab.tuni.fi/suomi-voi-ol...

Brand new publication from our researchers Julián Gutiérrez Carrera and Joleen Blom:

Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies – Matilda Ståhl, Aska Mayer, Robyn Hope, Rainforest Scully-Blaker, Nick Taylor: Looking to the future? Intersections between survival games and survivalism... This post introduces SURVIVE, a project that has been a site of collaborative inquiry since 2025, looking at the intersections of ideas and practices of survivalism and preparedness in digital game…

Busy week for the CoE blog! Have a look at this blog post where Matilda Ståhl, Aska Mayer (@amayer.bsky.social), Robyn Hope, Rainforest Scully-Blaker (@rainforestsb.bsky.social) and Nick Taylor (@nickttaylor.bsky.social) discuss intersections between survival games and survivalism.

Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies – Article Summary: Game videos addressing the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna as a form and tool of cultural memory (Malinen, 2025) This blog post provides an English summary of an article that explores the relationship between simulative game videos and cultural memory through the fatal crash of Formula One driver Ayrton Senna…

The last article summary of the CoE blog is here! Ville Malinen discusses game videos addressing the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna as a form and tool of cultural memory based on his article originally written in Finnish. Read the summary here: coe-gamecult.org/2025/12/18/a...

The Foundation for Economic Education awards funding to Timonen’s doctoral research We are happy to share that the Foundation for Economic Education has granted funding for MA Aasa Timonen for her doctoral research project Transmedia worldbuilding in massive game franchises. Descr…

We're delighted to share the news that the Foundation for Economic Education has granted funding for our Doctoral Researcher Aasa Timonen's dissertation study 'Transmedia worldbuilding in massive game franchises.' Read more about Aasa's project: gameresearchlab.tuni.fi/the-foundati...

Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies – Jaakko Suominen: Stories of the Origin of the Finnish Game Industry The search for a definitive “first” Finnish digital game or the singular origin of the Finnish game industry has shaped historical narratives, even though such beginnings are often complex, contest…

The search for a definitive “first” Finnish digital game or the singular origin of the Finnish game industry has shaped historical narratives, even though such beginnings are often complex, contested, and continuously pushed earlier by new discoveries. More in the CoE blog post by Jaakko Suominen:

New project funded by Kone Foundation Photo: Project PI Mikko Meriläinen. Photo by Antti Yrjönen. We are happy to announce that Kone Foundation has granted funding for the ‘Against the stream of manhood’ project for 2026–20…

We are very happy to announce that @koneensaatio.fi has granted funding for the ‘Against the stream of manhood’ project led by @merilainen.bsky.social for 2026–2027. Congratulations to Mikko and his team! You can read more about the project here: gameresearchlab.tuni.fi/new-project-...

Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies – Article Summary: “Me and Friends Got into Computing” – The Arrival of Computers at Finnish homes in the 1980s. (Reunanen, Saarikoski & Joelsson, 2025) In this blog post, Markku Reunanen, Petri Saarikoski and Tapani Joelsson discuss how home computers arrived at Finnish homes in the 1980s based on an online survey conducted in 2022.

New article summary at the CoE blog: Markku Reunanen, Petri Saarikoski and Tapani Joelsson discuss how home computers arrived at Finnish homes in the 1980s based on an online survey conducted in 2022.

OASIS Lunchtime Talk: A Framework for Mapping Digital Game Mechanics A Framework for Mapping Digital Game Mechanics by Rafael Marques de Albuquerque This talk presents an ongoing research project focused on developing a comprehensive framework of game mechanics. The g...

Rafael Marques de Albuquerque will give an Oasis Lunchtime Talk on "A Framework for Mapping Digital Game Mechanics” on Thursday 27 November at 12:00-13:00 EEST. Join us at Oasis, Tampere University, or follow online: www.youtube.com/live/1fkLl6Q...

The publication is also available in English: urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978...

Lisäksi käytännön työkalut (mallipohjat julkaisussa):
- DEI-jamit: testattu työpajapohjainen yhteissuunnittelumenetelmä kulttuurisesti kestävämpien uusien toimintamallien luomiseksi
- sosiaalisen turvallisuuden suunnitelma: kertaluontoisen pelikulttuuritoiminnan järjestäjien turvallisuustyökalu

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Julkaisu sisältää:
- oivalluksia työpajoista tutkimuksen työvälineinä
- analyysin suomalaisten pelikulttuuriorganisaatioiden yhdenvertaisuusmääritelmistä ja -käytännöistä
- yhteenvedon suomalaisten pelikulttuuriorganisaatioiden yhdenvertaisuustyön onnistumisista, haasteista ja ratkaisuista

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Piirroskuva. Viisi eri näköistä ja ikäistä henkilöä istuvat hyväntuulisena pöydän äärellä. Yksi henkilö pelaa käsikonsolilla ja kaksi muuta keskustelevat keskenään. Loput kaksi henkilöä katsovat läppärin ruutua. Taustalla on kaksi julistetta. Toisessa on kuva pegasos-olennosta ja toisessa lukee Games for everyone.

PEGASUS-hankkeen raportti on nyt julkaistu: urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978... 🎉

Raportissa kuvataan hankkeen keskeiset tulokset (yhteenveto kommenteissa) ja miten niitä voidaan hyödyntää kestävämmän pelikulttuurin rakentamiseksi käytännön tasolla.

Hanketta rahoitti #SuomenAkatemia
Kansikuva: Tuuli Hypén

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OASIS Lunchtime Talk: Playing with Asynchronies YouTube video by oasis_tuni

Juan F. Belmonte-Ávila (juanbeaumont.bsky.social) will give an Oasis Lunchtime Talk on "Playing with Asynchronies” on Thursday 20 November at 12:00-13:00 EEST. Join us at Oasis, Tampere University, or follow online: www.youtube.com/live/2I5M9Oe...

2026 | Call for Papers Events are at the heart of game and play cultures. They are organized for many reasons and purposes, bringing people together to play, socialize, compete, learn and teach, network, sell, perform, c…

The Spring Seminar 2026 CfP is out now! This time, the theme is “Events and Communities”. Please have a look at the full CfP on the Spring Seminar website: springseminar.org/2026-call-fo...

⏰Abstract submission deadline is 14 January 2026.

📍The seminar is organised on 5-6 May 2026 in Tampere.

OASIS Lunchtime Talk: Rhythm, Orgasm, & Chrononormativity in Orgasm Simulator & NSFWare YouTube video by oasis_tuni

Jean Ketterling (@ jeanketterling.bsky.social) will give an Oasis Lunchtime Talk on "Rhythm, Orgasm, & Chrononormativity in Orgasm Simulator & NSFWare” on Thursday 13 November at 12:00-13:00 EEST. Join us at Oasis, Tampere University, or follow online: www.youtube.com/live/fQXNBXs...

OASIS Lunchtime Talk: Interface Theory and Critical Technical Cultures YouTube video by oasis_tuni

Florence Chee (@ cheeflo.bsky.social) gives an Oasis Lunchtime Talk on "Games growing up (again)? Intersections of Ethics, Law, and Policy in our public and private spaces” on Monday 10 November at 12:00-13:00 EEST. Join us at Oasis, Tampere University, or online: www.youtube.com/live/Mo8ZUOJ...

YouTube video by oasis_tuni OASIS Lunchtime Talk: Learning to E-sport

Azul Romo Flores will give an Oasis Lunchtime Talk on "Learning to E-sport: A Swedish case study of the organization of E-sport education in upper-secondary schools” on Wednesday 29 October at 12:00-13:00 EET. Join us at Oasis, Tampere University, or follow online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrGt...

3 Postdoctoral Researchers (cultural game studies) / 3 tutkijatohtoria (kulttuurinen pelitutkimus)

A reminder of our open call for postdoctoral researchers focusing on cultural game studies, closing on Friday this week, 31 October at 23.59.00 EET / UTC+2 (Finland time): tuni.rekrytointi.com/paikat/index...

Tarvitseeko Suomi pelikulttuuristrategiaa peliharrastustoiminnan, pelinkehitystoiminnan sekä pelikulttuurin kestävämpään kehittämiseen? Tule pelikulttuuristrategiapäivään kuulemaan lisää ja keskustelemaan Tampereella / verkossa 5.11.

Ohjelma ja ilmoittautuminen:
pelikasvatus.fi/pelikulttuur...