🎮 PRE-CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT – DiGRA 2025
When East, West, and the Mediterranean Meet: A Global Conversation in Game Studies!
Join us for a dynamic pre-conference event that sets the stage for DiGRA 2025! Prof. Stefano Gualeni (Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta) will host an engaging conversation with two international game studies scholars: Prof. Martin Roth (Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto) and Erick Verran (University of Utah, Salt Lake City).
After brief introductions to their individual work, the dialogue will dive into how their research not only shapes but is also shaped by the academic environments of Japan and the United States. Together, the speakers will reflect on how game studies is unfolding in their respective regions—offering a fascinating glimpse into the global diversity of the field.
Expect an inspiring exchange of perspectives that previews key themes from DiGRA 2025, hosted right here by the Institute of Digital Games from June 30th to July 4th.
Event details:
📅 27th June, 2025
📍 Location: Room CHBO-206
🕒 Time: 15:00 onwards
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BIO:
Prof. Martin Roth
Martin's research focuses on videogames, play, and digital culture, from a critical theoretical perspective and with a regional focus on Japan and Asia. Methodologically, he mixes interpretive analysis with data-centered quantitative methods. His monographs, Thought-Provoking Play (ETC Press, 2017) and Unboxing Japanese Videogames (MIT Press, 2025), are available open access. He is also the reviews editor for Asiascape: Digital Asia, and the co-editor-in-chief for the journal Replaying Japan. For more information about Martin's work, please visit Ritsumeikan’s Researcher Database or check out my personal website for more information on my projects at
http://www.asobiba.de/martin/.
Eric Verran:
Erick Verran is the author of Obiter Dicta (Punctum Books, 2021) and a PhD candidate at the University of Utah. His research appears in Game Studies, Press Start, the Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, Postmodern Culture, and the Journal of Sound and Music in Games. He received his MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Florida and lives in Salt Lake City.
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