Barroso, D., & Huang, Z. (2026, August). Beneath the dragon: the evolving topography and scenography of Kamurocho. In Replaying Japan 2026: The 14th International Japan Game Studies Conference. Diego Barroso and Zidong Huang By analyzing models and architectural drawings across different scales, this research reveals the specific spatial translation strategies employed by RGG Studio. At the macro-urban scale (first modality), drawing upon Kevin Lynch's "Five Elements of the C

Huang, Z., & Barroso, D. (2026, August). Ludoforming strategies in small-scale open worlds. The design philosophy of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (pp. 1-14). Zidong Huang and Diego Barroso This study examines how the ludoforming strategies of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio) serve not only as methods for translating real urban spaces into virtual environments but also as core principles within t

Wang, Z., & Holopainen, J. (2026, August). Fostering Social Interaction Through Game Design: A Case Study of It Takes Two and Overcooked! 2. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (pp. 1-4). Ziyi Wang and Jussi Holopainen Video games are increasingly recognized for fostering social interaction, yet limited research examines how specific mechanics influence social dynamics during co-located play. This qualitative case study comp

04 July-25 October 2026 This exhibition focuses on the core aspects of what games are, and what we think they do, and it will also puncture some myths and false beliefs about play. Are violent games making children violent? Will games lead to addiction? Are games in the classroom a better way to learn? What, if anything, can we learn from games? Can they make the world a better place? The selection presented in this exhibition is meant to show the variety of play, from games

25-27 June 2026 History is often divided into epochs, be they ages, periods, dynasties or eras. The history of popular culture is no different: cinema, for example, has the cinema of attractions, the silent period, the age of vanguards, post-war movements such as the New Waves or the Italian Neorealism, the New Hollywood, the age of V-Cinema and OVA, and the international rise of independent films. Similarly, games and video games have Golden Ages, revolutions, generations, c

Professor: Paolo Pedercini This three-day intensive learning experience, led by acclaimed game designer Paolo Pedercini, invites SCM students and faculty members into hands-on, practice-based inquiry. Designed to complement SCM’s undergraduate curriculum, the workshop explores the intersection of technology, culture, and creative practice. Participants will develop original works and prototypes while gaining exclusive exposure to contemporary methodologies that extend beyond

Leino, O., Hao, Y., & Möring, S. (2026, June). Sketch for a Phenomenology of Gameplay (as) Performance: Bodies, Systems, Worlds. In Abstract Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. Olli Leino and Morgan Yu This ongoing work contributes to performance studies by extending concepts ofembodiment, co-presence, and liveness into environments shaped by algorithms andplatforms. It contributes to game studies by offering a phenomenological account ofgameplay as performance that does not rely on d

Barroso, D. (2026, June). The'Chinese'Non-city: Thematic (in) coherence and level design in Sifu. In Abstract Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. Diego Barroso The fragmentary nature of Sifu’s (Sloclap 2022) game world, underlying its thematic design, leads us to an overwhelming question: 1. Can a video game with discrete levels/stages construct a coherent and cohesive (all-encompassing) spatial environment, such as a city? And, more importantly, is this urban environment actually con

Xu, H. (2026, June). Playing Across the Strait: Chinese WoW Diasporas on Taiwanese Servers. In 17th Digital Games Research Association Conference (DiGRA 2026): Intersectional Pleasures. Xu Honglan This study shows that the Chinese WoW shutdown produced a digital diaspora marked by uncertainty, fractured social worlds, and cultural friction. At a broader level, this case highlights how regional identities, linguistic norms, and political histories travel with players across se

Barroso, D., & Huang, Z. (2026, June). The final frontier of space in video games. Spatio-narrative design in Judgment by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. Diego Barroso and Zidong Huang In video game environments that hold a referential relationship to preexisting spaces, such as Kamurocho from the Yakuza/Judgment series and Kabukicho in Shinjuku, the narrative and ludic content in the virtual world reflects the personal urban understanding/experiences of t

Xiang, K. (2026, June). Embodied Engagement with Environmental Storytelling in Walking Simulators: A Case Study of What Remains of Edith Finch (2017). In Abstract Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. Kexin Xiang This article examines how game environments can be narratively experienced and interpreted through a case study of the award-winning What Remains of Edith Finch. The analysis is guided by the 4E cognition framework and adopts the method of playthrough poetics. It reveals four l

Barney, C., Björk, S., & Holopainen, J. (2026, June). Twenty Years of Design Patterns in Games. In Abstract Proceedings of DiGRA 2026. Jussi Holopainen The introduction of Alexandrian design patterns into the discipline of game development was proposed twenty-five years ago by Bernd Kreimeier (2002). In the quarter-century since its introduction, a significant number of scholars and developers have explored possible implementations of these concepts. This work has reached a l

The Gam(bl)ing Conference: Thinking Outside the Loot Box at the City University of Hong Kong welcomes research on topics including, but not limited to, loot boxes, gacha games, skin gambling, social casino games, gam(bl)ing advertising, regulation, youth protection, and physical gambling-like products.

Micro RPGs Presenter: Jussi Holopainen 05 June 2026 To close this first season of City U GameLab's "Gameplay Lectures", Professor Jussi Holopainen, one of the leads of the lab, will guide us in a surprise session of roleplaying with micro RPGs.

Xu, H., & de Wildt, L. (2026). Grieving World of Warcraft’s Chinese server shutdown. Global Media and China, 11(2), 157-176. Honglan Xu Twenty years of game scholarship established that players form profound attachments to the virtual worlds and inhabitants of Massively Multiplayer Online [MMO-]games, that are near-indistinguishable from their attachment to offline relationships. However, the shutdown of World of Warcraft’s Chinese servers on January 24th, 2023, ended those a

Huang, Z., & Barroso, D. (2026, May). Ludoforming strategies in small-scale open worlds. The design philosophy of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. In Foundations of Digital Games 2026 (FDG 2026): Research through Games; Research for Games. Association for Computing Machinery. Zidong Huang and Diego Barroso This study examines how the ludoforming strategies of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio) serve not only as methods for translating real urban spaces into virtual environments but also

"Somebody Must Die" mode. Self-imposed challenges in video games Presenter: Diego Barroso 08 May 2026 We present an ontological analysis of the relationship between players and “self-imposed” challenges in video games. We take these as frames for diverse challenges enabled by gameplay/game engines, but not always envisioned or implemented explicitly by the designers. We will reflect upon the nature of the commitment presented by challenges aligned with both types of rules. We

Demaking as a research method? Making Caravan Sand Witch for the NES Presenter: Callum Deery 27 March 2026 A "Demake" is the recreation of a modern game on a historical console, embracing retro limitations as an aesthetic. Examples include "Bloodborne for the PS1", "Retro Wild", a SNES remake of Breath of the Wild. This gameplay lecture will propose using demaking as a research method, exploring the idea through playing Caravan Sand Witch, and demake of it for the NES

Ziyi Wang This study explores the game mechanics and design features in It Takes Two and Overcooked! 2 that can potentially enhance social interaction and relationship building. The mechanisms and features in both games are different. It Takes Two mainly incorporates narrative-driven cooperation while overcooked!2 relies on task-driven chaos. However, there is limited comparative research examining how the specific game mechanics and design elements in It Takes Two and Overco

Ziyi Wang Player-character bonds are an important factor for building a successful Otome Game. However, a lack of specialized design tools often forces creators to repurpose frameworks from other genres, such as VR, whose design priorities (e.g., spatial exploration) may not fully align with otome games' focus on relational intimacy. This study investigates how a narrative framework originally designed for VR story-world creation can be adapted for otome game ideation. It exp