Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/frans-m%C3%A4yr%C3%A4
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6283-417X
Websites: https://www.unet.fi https://fransmayra.fi
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/olli-sotamaa
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2169-8685
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/jaakko-stenros
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0320-7042
Website: https://jaakkostenros.wordpress.com
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/kati-alha
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0160-7376
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/thomas-apperley
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6390-6593
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/mikko-meril%C3%A4inen
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9621-684X
Website: https://mikkomerilainen.com
Usva Friman (PhD) is a game culture researcher whose research is focused on the themes of equity, cultural participation, and cultural agency in digital gaming and esports, particularly from the perspective of women and other marginalised players. She is currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies and Tampere University Game Research Lab in Finland. Friman serves as the President of The Finnish Association for Game Research since 2023. She is the first editor of book Pelit kulttuurina (‘Games as Culture’, Vastapaino, 2022).
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/usva-friman
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1537-5297
Website: https://usvafriman.net
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/johanna-blom
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2206-4497
Website: https://joleenblom.com
Matilda Ståhl (PhD in Education from Åbo Akademi University) is currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies and the Game Research Lab at Tampere University in Finland. Her research is focused on social interaction and playing games as a shared experience and how is that is shaped by social norms. Matilda primarily does ethnographic work, either entirely or partially online.
Profile and publications:
https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/matilda-ståhl
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/heikki-tyni
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0140-4755
Rainforest Scully-Blaker (he/him) earned his PhD in Informatics from the University of California, Irvine in 2022 and most recently worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Game Design at Uppsala University (Campus Gotland). His research is concerned with critical approaches to the study of games and those who play them, and he is interested in exploring how play can both uphold and dismantle hegemony. His dissertation research focused on systemic ‘exhaustion’ and how video games enable and may yet operate against the oppressive stasis of neoliberal, late capitalism.
Profile and publications:
https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/rainforest-scully-blaker
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/elina-koskinen
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4082-6582
Jani Kinnunen (PhD, MSocSci) is a researcher in Tampere University, Finland. His research has focused on blurring lines between gambling and digital gaming and how money and other game-related currencies influence players’ experiences.
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/jani-kinnunen
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/elisa-wiik
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2434-4935
Aska Mayer (M.A.) is a Doctoral Researcher at Tampere University, working on the exploration of human augmentation in/through/as games. Within the doctoral research project, the goal is to provide a holistic and systemic perspective on augmented human bodies through the combined application of Game Studies, Somaesthetics, and HCI, as well as locating the fictional and real body as a playground for experimental bio technological modifications. Additional research interests include idea-historical approaches to digital games, philosophy of the neo-baroque, and apocalyptic media culture.
Profile and publications:
https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/aska-mayer
Taina Myöhänen is a doctoral researcher studying diversity in the game industry. Myöhänen has over 15 years of background in the game industry in project, people and company management, and is one of the founding members and the first chairperson (2019-2022) of We in Games Finland ry, the organisation supporting diversity in the Finnish game industry. Myöhänen has two MA degrees, one in Cultural Studies and the other in New Media.
Profile and publications:
https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/taina-myöhänen
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/leland-masek
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2694-9129
Profile and publictions: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/hanne-grasmo
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1959-3072
Website: https://hannegrasmo.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3123-9500
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/fi/persons/kalle-laakso
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1682-9580
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/julian-alejandro-gutierrez-carrera
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2505-2578
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/essi-taino
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5119-9712
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/aasa-halla-aurora-timonen
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2505-2578
Josephine Baird (MSc.) is a doctoral researcher at Tampere University Game Research Lab. Her thesis by publication examines how players might explore, express, and embody (trans) gender subjectivities through role-playing games. She has published on this and related topics since 2021 and the work is nearing completion. She has over two decades experience working professionally in different art mediums, including film and television, music, stage performance and acting, and game design. She is a lecturer at the University of Uppsala Game Design Department. For a list of her publications and presentations, as well as artistic work and credits see https://josephinebaird.com.
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/josephine-baird
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2393-811X
Brazilian game designer and professor of Game Design at PUCPR currently researching the relationship between game design and emotions. MSc. on Communication at the Escola de Comunicação e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo (ECA-USP) researching the relationship between player and game design. Has Bachelor degree both in Journalism and in Fashion Design by the Centro Universitário de Maringá (2005-2008).
Profile and publications: https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/persons/thais-arrias-weiller
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4598-0837
Affiliated researchers
J. Tuomas Harviainen (PhD, MBA) is Professor of Information Studies and Interactive Media at Tampere University. His research work deals with the information sharing practices of various marginal or professional communities, ranging from game developers to drug traders, swingers and early blockchain adopters. He very frequently co-authors works with Gamelab scholars and alumni, and as a library scientist, will probably suggest you a few books related to any topic you’re currently writing about.
Niklas Nylund is a museum researcher and curator working for the Finnish Museum of Games in Tampere, Finland. His PhD Game Heritage: Digital Games in Museum Collections and Exhibitions (2020) deals with the heritagization of games in museums and hobbyist heritage communities. His research interests include game preservation, game history, exhibition design and questions of cultural heritage and inclusivity.
Alumni
Gamelab alumni
Maria Alaoja
Paula Alavesa
Riikka Aurava
Mila Bujić
Inger Ekman
Laura Ermi
Juho Hamari
Emil Lundedal Hammar
Martin Harmala
Sabine Harrer
Lobna Hassan
Satu Heliö
Mika Isomaa
Anu Jäppinen
Aki Järvinen
Kirsikka Kaipainen
Kirsi Pauliina Kallio
Ville Kankainen
Tero Karppi
Juho Karvinen
Lauri Keronen
Jonna Koivisto
Jussi Kuittinen
Annakaisa Kultima
Juha Köönikkä
Jussi Lahti
Petri Lankoski
Tero Laukkanen
Miikka Lehtonen
Dale Leorke
Joe Macey
Mikko Malinen
Tiina Malinen
Markus Montola
Johannes Niemelä
Jani Nummela
Timo Nummenmaa
Niklas Nylund
Janne Paavilainen
Eetu Paloheimo
Satu Prykäri
Pauliina Raento
Erkka Rautio
Hannamari Saarenpää
Tuuli Saarinen
Mikko Seppänen
Tanja Sihvonen
Max Sjöblom
Mikko Svartsjö
Jukka Särkijärvi
Jan Švelch
Antti Syvänen
Mattia Thibault
Saara Toivonen
Milla Tuomela
Maria Törhönen
Jukka Vahlo
Chienting Wen
VISITORS
Gamelab visitors
Mayara Araujo Caetano
Paula Alavesa
Roberto Cappai
Jorge Castanedo Oceja
Lars de Wildt
Felipe Garcia-Soriano
Alison Harvey
Troy Innocent
Darshana Jayemanne
Giacomo Lauritano
Thomas Malaby
David Matencio Durán
Corinne Mazzoli
Alan Meades
Diego A Mejía-Alandia
Souvik Mukherjee
Victor Navarro
Casey O’Donnel
Inmaculada Parra Martinez
Carlos Ramirez
Ana Valeria Rodriguez Barrientos
Doris Rusch
Ian Sturrock
Evan Torner