On top of this page you see a screenshot from a game we produced at the Gamification Lab in Lüneburg/ Germany. This image is indicative for the changes in perception, aesthetics and ‘Welterzeugung’ we encounter today.
The medium of video games influences every aspect of contemporary life, via methods, metaphors, values and attributes that are translated into non-gaming contexts. The Gamification Lab investigates the aesthetic, ethical and political implications of gamification and works on innovative formats of ‘gamified’ apps, civic technology, and socially aware intervention with ludic methods.
The Gamification Lab team (2024), from left to right: Jieyan Gu, Benjamin Egger, Eduardo Harry, Julian Baller, Matteo Cremonesi and Mathias Fuchs
The Gamification Lab team (2019), from left to right: Kristian Lukić, Sebastián Goméz, Julian Baller, Lies van Roessel, Matteo Cremonesi, Eduardo Harry and Mathias Fuchs
The Gamification Lab team (2017), from left to right: Lies van Roessel, Jorge Oceja, Vincenzo Idone Cassone, Jonathan Barbara, Matteo Cremonesi, Kristian Lukić, and Mathias Fuchs
The Gamification Lab team (2015), from left to right: Fuchs, Fizek, Ruffino, Perez, Schrape, Torabi, Poltronieri and Cerezo
Game technology, rule structures and interfaces are used by corporations to manage brand communities and to create value. The very same elements, however, are also used by artists, activists and non-governmental organizations to question existing structures. But what are the ethical and political implications of using game elements in a non-game context?
Among the outcomes of our work we can mention a book, scientific papers, participation at prestigious game conferences and art festivals, workshops, teaching at BA and MA programmes, and the design of several digital and analog games.