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Rowan Daneels

@rowandaneels.bsky.social
173 followers 239 following 21 posts

PhD in Communication Studies Affiliated researcher @UAntwerp Studying eudaimonia, games and more DiGRA Belgium board member

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Reposted by Rowan Daneels
gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 10/04/2026
The videos from the Game UX Summit '25 are now live! And we’re starting the call for speakers for the 2026 summit in Kuala Lumpur Oct 12-14 ☺️ m.youtube.com/watch?v=37lc... #ux #gamedev #gameuxsummit
m.youtube.com
Game UX Summit '25 - Antwerp - Overview
YouTube video by Game Master Classes
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Martin James Flanagan @mjflanagan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
As we get more 'Daredevil: Born Again' on our screens, with Wilson Fisk, Jessica and more, it might be a good time to have a look at this piece by @alexvandewalle.bsky.social and I, published at the end of 2025. #DaredevilBornAgain (1/3) playstorypress.org/books/the-ps...
A book chapter called 'the Hero this city needs, or Not?' from the book : 'The Psychgeist of Pop Culture - the Marvel Cinematic Universe' (free download, link in #1 post)Cover of the book : 'The Psychgeist of Pop Culture - the Marvel Cinematic Universe' (free download, link in #1 post). It shows Thor's hammer sparkling
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
New pub out in Eludamos! 🎉 277 cozy game players self-reported more Light Triad (prosocial) traits (vs. Dark Triad). Key motives to play were moral self-reflection, agency, escapism, eudaimonic emotions, and cozy game narrative. Full article (open access): septentrio.uit.no/index.php/el...
septentrio.uit.no
Curled up with a good game: A survey study on personality traits and game motives of cozy game players | Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture
Andiloro, A. (2024). Comfortably numb: An ideological analysis of coziness in videogames. Replay: The Polish Journal of Game Studies, 11(1), 79-92. https://doi.org/10.18778/2391–8551.11.06
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Larian Studios @larianstudios.com · 12/12/2025
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxzy...
youtube.com
Divinity - Cinematic Announcement Trailer
YouTube video by Larian Studios
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Just a friendly reminder, the deadline for submissions for The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: K Pop Demon Hunters is approaching! (December 20) playstorypress.org/2025/11/13/c...
playstorypress.org
Call for Papers! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: KPop Demon Hunters – Play Story Press
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Alexander Vandewalle @alexvandewalle.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
It's amazing to see that "The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Marvel Cinematic Universe" (co-edited with real-life superhero @rowandaneels.bsky.social) is finally out - available in OPEN ACCESS thanks to Play Story Press and Psychgeist editor @drkowert.bsky.social! ⚡ Massive thanks to everyone involved!
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐠𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐩 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, co-edited with the marvelous @alexvandewalle.bsky.social, is ALIVE! This scholarly-based book addresses the underlying psychological themes of the MCU’s superhero storytelling. Book is OPEN ACCESS: playstorypress.org/books/the-ps...
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Annayah M.B. Prosser @annayahprosser.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Interested in the social impact of video games? Want to understand how games can make our world better? Attend this webinar at @uniofbathsom.bsky.social on 13/11! Special guests include experts @drkowert.bsky.social & @kathrynbfrancis.bsky.social! Pls share www.bath.ac.uk/events/explo... #videogames
bath.ac.uk
Exploring the Social Impact of Games – ‘The Psychgeist of Popular Culture: The Legend of Zelda’
Join us for this book launch webinar looking at the positive impact of video games.
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DiGRA Belgium @digrabelgium.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Looking forward to the next DiGRA Belgium Symposium: Namur on December 19! Thanks to @ypsenn.bsky.social and Pierre-Yves Houlmont for organizing!
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Game Research Lab @gameresearchlab.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
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...
tuni.rekrytointi.com
3 Postdoctoral Researchers (cultural game studies) / 3 tutkijatohtoria (kulttuurinen pelitutkimus)
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
It's dangerous to go alone. Take this. youtube.com/shorts/vp8Gb...
youtube.com
The Psychgeist of Pop Culture | The Legend of Zelda
YouTube video by Psychgeist
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Super happy to see this chapter published! Anisha and I discuss how 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 are represented in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Link to the book (FREE): playstorypress.org/books/the-ps... @annayahprosser.bsky.social @drkowert.bsky.social
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The Video Game Library 📚 @thevideogamelibrary.org · 24/10/2025
The latest #Psychgeist entry has arrived! THE LEGEND OF ZELDA 🗡️ I’m SO excited to read it this weekend ♥️ Thank you @annayahprosser.bsky.social @drkowert.bsky.social 🙏
A book called the Psychgeist of pop culture, the legend of Zelda sitting on top five other books in the same series. The background is a mountain landscape.
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
NEW PUBLICATION ALERT ✨ The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us is here! As always, free to download but who wouldn't want that beautiful cover on their shelf?! #TLOU www.youtube.com/shorts/pdS0R...
youtube.com
The Psychgeist of Pop Culture | The Last of Us
YouTube video by Psychgeist
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Arvy @arvy.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
I love this analytical take on video game categorization from Antoine Mayerowitz and Julie Belzanne: hushcrasher.substack.com/p/taxonomy-o... Instead of trying to vibe-intuit the definition of an "indie" game, the authors analyzed the data from the perspective of game size and credits length
A graph titled Scope of video games according to Hushcrasher Classification System. The Y axis shows Game Size (from 10 MB to 100GB), the X axis shows Credits count (sourced from Mobygames).

The clustered dots on the graph represent 4 distinct scale categories of games - Kei, Midi, AA, AAA. The larger correlation between the size and the credits means larger category of a game.
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
#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
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
It’s a wrap for the #GameUXsummit ‘25! Thank you so much everyone and see y’all next year ☺️
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
This is already our last session at the #GameUXsummit… Our keynote speaker today is David Sears, creative director (most recently on South of Midnight) and writer. He takes us on a journey: “Life takes you to unexpected places, love brings you home”.
Photo of David Sears presenting his title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
We now welcome on stage Jennifer Lufau, Authenticity consultant and Founder of @afrogameuses.bsky.social. She talks about “Demystifying Sensitivity Reading to create better games”. #GameUXsummit
Photo of Jennifer Lufau presenting her title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
Now at the #GameUXsummit we listen to insights from Artem Ivanov & Dmitrii Sokolov (user researchers at Wargaming on the World of Warship franchise). They talk about “Making sense of player satisfaction: Why it matters and how to measure it”.
Photo of Artem Ivanov and Dmitrii Sokolov presenting their title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
First session of the afternoon at the #GameUXsummit: Colleen Macklin and Ben Van Buren, coming all the way from New York City (Parsons School of Design)! They talk about “Perception in Virtual Worlds: Psychology and design students collaborate to study user experience in videogames”.
Colleen Macklin and Ben Van Buren presenting in front of an auditorium.
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
It’s Pecha Kucha time at the #GameUXsummit! Our first PK speaker, Maria Amirkhanyan (Head of Gaming Division at Duamentes) wasn’t sadly able to join us because of extremely frustrating visa issues. But she recorded her talk “Make me stay, don’t make me play” so that we can still hear her insights.
Photo of a video playing Maria Amirkhanyan’s slides (the slide shown introduces her)
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
Next up at the #GameUXsummit: Holger Wurst (Lead UX designer at Wooga) talks about “Changing the FTUE* after 7 years live: Lessons from June’s Journey” *First-Time User Experience
Photo of Holger Wurst presenting his title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
Our next speaker is Kamila Isaeva, senior UX researcher at Wargaming (in collaboration with Rich Davis, research supervisor). Her talk is about biometrics: “EEG or not EEG? Reflections on Using Biometrics in Game UX Research”. #GameUXsummit
Photo of Kamila Isaeva presenting her title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
Next up at the #GameUXsummit: Mike Ambinder (founder & chief research officer at Cognitive Experiences) talking about “A Science of Game Design”. Time for some SCIENZZZZ!!! 😊
Photo of Mike Ambinder presenting his title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 09/09/2025
Welcome to Day 2 of the #GameUXsummit! Daekon Kim and Mihyun Ko (Product designers at Ubisoft) are kicking off the day. Their talk is about “Surviving the Game Production Wild: Essential tips for internal tool design”. #GameUXsummit
Photo of Daekeon Kim in front of the auditorium presenting the title slidePhoto of Mihyun Ko showing a slide presenting herself
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
And.. that’s a wrap for Day 1 of the #GameUXsummit! Thanks again to all speakers, organizers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees! ❤️ See you tomorrow ☺️
Photo of all the speakers and attendees in the amphitheater. People look like they are cheering and joyful.
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
For those who cannot be with us, you can follow this great thread by Robin-Yann Storm! ☺️ #GameUXsummit
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Our next speaker is Olivier Nourry, Chief #a11y Officer (Games Accessibility Hub), in collaboration with Alice Grégoire (Producer at Abiding Bridge): “Wordatro: From awesome to awesome AND accessible”. #GameUXsummit
Photo of Olivier Nourry on stage with a slide presenting him and Alice Grégoire
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Next up at the #GameUXsummit: Alex Tokmakchiev (senior UI/UX designer at Raw Power Games), talking about “Applying object-oriented ux design to break up complex game systems”.
Photo of Alex Tokmakchiev presenting his title slide.
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Corinna Rath is giving the last Pecha Kucha session of the day: “Some learnings while developing Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew” #GameUXsummit
Picture of Corinna Rath presenting her title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
And now, our AP University hosts Laura Herrewijn and Sven Charleer are doing their Pecha Kucha on “From game metrics to meaning: designing ux across play, learning, and XR” #GameUXsummit
Laura and Sven on stage presenting the title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Now that our bellies are full, we listen to our next speaker: Morgane Ruiz (lead user researcher), talking about Leveling up game ux research with ludology and play theory. #GameUXsummit
Photo of Morgane Ruiz introducing her talk, with her title slide displayed.
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Never said that many words in such a small amount of time 😅 #GameUXsummit
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Coming all the way from Canada, Jess Butler (Presentation Directeur at @hinterland.bsky.social) talks about her work on The Long Dark: A UX permaculture for genre-defining survival games. Now at the #GameUXsummit!
Photo of Jess Butler presenting her title slide
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Now on the #GameUXsummit stage we listen to Jean-Luc Potte (researcher, ex Rockstar Games) sharing the lessons he learned (including existential ones) from working at 4 different studios as the new team!
Photo of Jean Luc Potte presenting his title slide: I have no buy-in and I must UX: lessons learned from being the new team at 4 different studios
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
Our first speaker at the #GameUXsummit is Samuel Austin, UX designer at NetEase Games, talking about Cross-Cultural Game UX Design: Lessons adapting between China and the West.
Photo of Samuel Austin presenting in front of the audience at a University amphitheater
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gameuxsummit.com @gameuxsummit.com · 08/09/2025
We’re on!! Happy #GameUXsummit to all!
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Rebekka Kreling @rkreling.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Longitudinal evidence on media entertainment effects, anyone? New paper out w/ @leonardreinecke.bsky.social looking at links between entertainment use and meaning making daily, weekly, & over 6 months. Two studies, 1,872 participants, 15,290 observations. Summary 👇 doi.org/10.1177/0093...
doi.org
Entertainment Contributes to Adaptive Coping: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Interplay Between Hedonic and Eudaimonic Entertainment, Escapism, and Meaning Making - Rebekka J. Kreling, Leonard Rei...
Traditionally, research has focused on investigating short-term effects of entertainment media use. This paper, however, takes a salutogenetic perspective in ex...
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
There has been a lot of excitement for The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: World of Warcraft. Get your proposals in! playstorypress.org/2025/07/15/c...
playstorypress.org
Call for Papers! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: World of Warcraft – Play Story Press
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
🚨 New publication! 🚨 Master's thesis ➡️ top student paper @icahdq.bsky.social ➡️ published in Communications! Together with Chen Yeung, we explored how #elevation (= heartwarming responses to good deeds) can be elicited by #superhero entertainment. More info: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
degruyterbrill.com
‘I love you 3000’: Elevation experiences in superhero media entertainment
Eudaimonic experiences such as elevation, where people feel touched and uplifted in response to witnessing good deeds and human connectedness, can be elicited by media entertainment. This study focuse...
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Excited to announce that, in three weeks, I'll be speaking at the @gameuxsummit.com '25 in Antwerp! This talk provides an overview of more profound or '𝐞𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜' 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 (𝐏𝐗), and how players' personal, social, and game-related factors shape such PX. #GameUXsummit @celiahodent.com
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
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...
youtube.com
The Eudaimonic Potential of Digital Games with Dr. Rowan Daneels
YouTube video by David Dobson, PhD
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
ICYMI: We are currently seeking proposals for the Psychgeist of Pop Culture: 🧠 Severance 🗡️ World of Warcraft rkowert.com/call-for-pap...
rkowert.com
Call for Papers | Rachel Kowert, PhD
Here is where you can find all of the call for submissions currently open for the Psychgeist® of Pop Culture series.
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Alexander Vandewalle @alexvandewalle.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
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...
journals.sagepub.com
‘As you write your Odyssey…’: An empirical study of Classics students’ play interests and ergodic characterization in historical video games - Alexander Vandewalle, Richard Cole, 2025
The various ways that players actually play historical games, and how history – or players’ conceptualization thereof – impacts play processes, remains understu...
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Rowan Daneels @rowandaneels.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
🚨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...
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Press Start Journal @psjournal.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
🌟New Issue Published!!🌟 We are thrilled to announce the publication of the latest issue of Press Start! Huge thanks to all our authors and reviewers for their hard work and dedication. Please check it out and share widely: press-start.gla.ac.uk/press-start/...
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Marc Lajeunesse @marclaj.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Very excited to announce that we are now accepting submissions for The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: World of Warcraft! playstorypress.org/2025/07/15/c... Deadline is August 31st. See the full details and a list of possible topics by visiting the link above :).
playstorypress.org
Call for Papers! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: World of Warcraft – Play Story Press
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Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Introducing EXP: The New Psychgeist Video Series! Based on The Psychgeist of Pop Culture series, EXP explores how the media we love—games, shows, movies—shapes how we think, feel, and act. It's like a TED Talk but for pop culture. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGCm...
youtube.com
The Witcher’s Guide to Non-Toxic Masculinity | EXP Talk
YouTube video by Psychgeist
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Alexander Vandewalle @alexvandewalle.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
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-...
academic.oup.com
Where was Apollo in Supergiant’s Hades? Developer motivations and mythological characters in video games
Abstract. Academic interest in classical reception and video games is thriving, but one dimension that has so far escaped scholarly attention regards the v
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