Game Changers

Our speaker, Laura, is a HCI researcher with a background in psychology, currently examining how features of games might be beneficial to wellbeing and mood. She is particularly interested in how people with persistent low mood play and experience games, and what this might mean for their wellbeing.

Where does one game end and another begin? Board games like chess have variants - Crazyhouse, Infinite, Kriegsspiel, to name a few. How different can a variant be before it’s no longer the same game - how many rules can we change before we’re no longer playing chess? It turns out it’s not all that clear. We look at some of the core characteristics of chess, specifically to do with the spatial structures it represents. Then, we compare it to a game that models space radically differently (and that we’re pretty sure isn’t chess) - Dungeons and Dragons - to answer this question.

Audio description (AD) traditionally aids visually impaired individuals in accessing audiovisual content. However, Monika's presentation explores innovative applications of AD, extending its benefits to a wider audience. This talk delves into the significance of audio description and audio introductions, with a special focus on their role in video games. Join us to discover how these tools foster equality in accessibility across diverse communities.

Join Océane to explore how using games can improve education! The talk will discuss how the psychology of games can help us understand engagement and motivation and how this can be used to enhance the educational experience for children and adults.