Thursday Oct 9th
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Host: Olli Sotamaa University of Tampere, Hypermedialaboratorio

Olli Sotamaa is a Senior Assistant in the Hypermedia Lab, University of Tampere. He is currently completing his PhD on player production among computer game cultures. With a background in cultural studies, Sotamaa has published articles on computer game modding, player-centred game design, and mobile games.

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FRANS MÄYRÄ University of Tampere, Hypermedialaboratorio

Frans Mäyrä has studied the relationship of culture and technology from the early nineties. He has specialised in the cultural analysis of technology, particularly on the ambiguous, conflicting and heterogeneous elements in this relationship, and has published on topics that range from information technologies, science fiction and fantasy to the demonic tradition, the concept of identity and role-playing games. He is currently teaching, researching and heading numerous research projects in the study and development of games, new media and digital culture. He has also served as the founding President of Digital Games Research Association, DiGRA. Publications: Koneihminen (Man-Machine; ed., 1997), Demonic Texts and Textual Demons (1999), Johdatus digitaaliseen kulttuuriin (Introduction to Digital Culture; ed., 1999), CGDC Conference Proceedings (ed., 2002), Lapsuus mediamaailmassa (Childhood in the World of Media, ed. 2005), The Metamorphosis of Home (ed. 2005), An Introduction to Game Studies (2008).

"SoPlay - Social Play with Media"
Play is an essential element in human social interaction. Latest development trends prove this true both in online social media and in digital gaming. Game consoles and mobile phones have followed personal computers in providing players access to online services with enhanced social interaction capabilities. Simultaneously many social media services have grown into explicitly or implicitly game-like directions: e.g. photo sharing service Flickr is famous for originating as a game project, and Facebook is rich in multiple forms of social play, media sharing and casual gaming applications. In his talk professor Mäyrä will introduce new research that looks into the underlying mechanisms behind the integration of social media and games.
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STAFFAN BJÖRK Gothenburg University

Staffan Björk is a game researcher that works as an associate professor at Gothenburg University where he heads the Interaction Design unit at the department of Computer Science and Engineering. He also works at the Interactive Institute where he did his PhD studies, headed the PLAY studio, and current works as a senior researcher at the GAME studio.

His research areas include gameplay design, pervasive games, ubiquitous computing, information visualization, and interaction design. A common theme in his research is to develop a design language for gameplay design, of which one result is gameplay design patterns, which has been resulted in a book “Patterns in Game Design” co-written by Jussi Holopainen and published by Charles River Media. Other results from his research have been published as book chapters in “The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology”, “Space Time Play. On the Synergy Between Computer Games, Architecture, and Urbanism”, “Concepts and Technologies for Pervasive Games A Reader for Pervasive Gaming Research”, and “Virtuella lekar och digitala berättelser - Perspektiv på datorspel”. His research results have also been published at conference such as UIST, ACE, DiGRA, TIDSE, and INTERACT.

He has been active in promoting game research as a research discipline, being on of the founders of the Digital Games Research Association, co-organizing events such as Spelforum 2003, PerGames 2006, Pergames 2007, and reviewing for conferences such as CHI, ACE, and DiGRA. He is currently involved in the EU-funded project TA2 on future family entertainment forms and teaches courses in gameplay design and supervises various student game projects.

"Games, Gaming, and Gamers - Understanding Game Research "
Game research has during recent years grown into a distinct interdisciplinary research field. Building upon theories and methods from a variety of approaches this has provided a source for rapid grown of knowledge about the field but also disagreements about concepts and research practice. Based upon the view that game research needs input from many fields, a unifying model is introduced with the intention of helping to explain how different research position and contributions can co-exist fruitfully.

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VALENTINA RAO Factory Girl Games

Facebook Applications and Playful Mood: the Construction of Facebook as a “Third Place”
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PETER LJUNGSTRAND Interactive Institute

Nurturing Group-to-Group Relationships in Disparate Home Environments with Computer-augmented Games
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