Recurring events
GameCult Talks: Discussing games in culture and society

GameCult Talks is an event series aiming to create and strengthen dialogue between researchers and other societal actors on current game cultural topics in our culture and society. The events are organised by the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies with various partners. They bring together game studies researchers, industry experts, cultural institutions, community representatives, activists, and policy makers to develop and highlight new initiatives into building sustainable game culture for our future.
GameCult Talks events:
- Event #1: Equity in games and play
On Friday 13 November 2020, 12:00–16:00, online event
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gamecult-talks-1-equity-in-games-and-play - Event #2: Sustainability in games
On Monday 25 January 2021, 18:00–19:30, online event
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gamecult-talks-event-2-sustainability-in-games - Event #3: Collaborative game histories
On Thursday 10 June 2021, 13:00–15:00, online event
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gameculttalks-3-collaborative-game-histories - Event #4: Competitive gaming, youth, and youth work
On Wednesday 10 November 2021, 13:00–16:00, online event
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gamecult-talks-4-competitive-gamingyouth-and-youth-work - Event #5: Cultures of Gamework
On Monday 7 November 2022, 13:00–15:00
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gamecult-talks-5-cultures-of-gamework - Event #6: Games, philosophy, and utopias
On Tuesday 16 May 2023, 12:00–16:00, online event
Event page: https://coe-gamecult.org/gamecult-talks-event-6-games-philosophy-and-utopias
Meaning of Games Talks
The Meaning of Games series of talks are organised by the University of Jyväskylä CoE group and focus on research Theme 1, Meaning and Form of Games. Each month, we invite researchers to share their latest scholarship on aesthetics, philosophy, and culture of games with the CoE GameCult. Feel like you have something to share or want to know what the CoE researchers think about your research? Contact the JYU coordinator.
Meaning of Games Talks events:
- 5 October 2020, Daniel Vella: Virtual Existentialism: Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds
- 2 November 2020, Johnathan Harrington: Workshops of Our Own: Analysing Constraint Play in Digital Games
- 7 December 2020, Torill Mortensen & Kristine Jørgensen: The Paradox of Transgression in Games
- 8 February 2021, Larissa Hjorth & Ingrid Richardson: Ambient Play
- 12 April 2021, Olli Tapio Leino: Existential Hermeneutics and the Tragedy of the Art Game
- 14 June 2021, Sebastian Möring: Caring for the environment in and of games
- 4 October 2021, Laura op de Beke: Anthropocene temporalities
- 15 March 2022, Aleena Chia: Automating Creativity in Digital Game Production
- 6 June 2022, Yaewon Jin: On technicity of esports (LCK): A way of understanding the becoming of technoculture
- 16 September 2022, Astrid Ennslin: Videogames, Digital Fiction and the Unnatural
OASIS Talks

Tampere University Game Research Lab’s OASIS hosts various talks on academic and non-academic topics. These talks are always free and open to everyone. The current talk series is called OASIS Lunchtime Talks and you can find the schedule and information about the talks on the OASIS website: https://oasis.uta.fi/oasis-talks
The talks are live streamed whenever possible, and you can find them on the OASIS Facebook-page and Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies YouTube channel.
Collaborative Game Histories events
The aim of the Collaborative Game Histories events is to provide a forum for a focused discussion on issues related to game history research and preservation.
Read more from the event website: https://sites.utu.fi/pelimuseoseminar
Jyväskylä game studies conference series
The University of Jyväskylä games research group has organised several conferences related to games and play over the years.
Past conferences and seminars in the series:
- Celebrities of Gaming, 21.–22.11.2019
- Seminar on eSports, Exergaming, and Fantasy Leagues, 21.–23.11.2018
- Symposium on Game Sound and Game Music, 16.–17.11.2017
- Play Cultures, 2016
Tampere Game Research Lab Spring Seminar
The longest running game studies seminar, Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar, has been organised since 2003, and in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies since 2018. Each year, there is a different theme and different expert commentators offering feedback on the seminar papers.
The seminar emphasises work-in-progress submissions and strongly encourages submitting late breaking results, working papers, and submissions from graduate and PhD students. The purpose of the seminar is to have peer-to-peer discussions and thereby provide support in refining and improving research work in this area.
Read more from the seminar website: https://springseminar.org
Museum exhibitions
The Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies researchers have been involved in organising several museum exhibitions and events:
- MuseoCon roleplaying event at the Finnish Museum of Games 4.11.2018
- Collaboration with Nopista Bitteihin exhibition at the National Library of Finland in 2019
- Astuit ansaan! – Roolipelaaminen Suomessa (Eng. It’s a Trap! – Role-Playing in Finland), 9.9.2018–1.2019, the Finnish Museum of Games
- The City as Game Board: From Geocaching to Harry Potter, 13.9.–1.12.2019, the Finnish Museum of Games
- The Cake is a Lie – Video game food culture, 24.1.–31.8.2021, the Finnish Museum of Games
- Game art installation at Kokemuspisteitä: videopelien taidetta exhibition, 28.1.–31.5.2022, Jyväskylä Art Museum
Other past events
- Pelialan koulutus Suomessa -seminaari (Game Education in Finland seminar), 18.3.2022, Jyväskylä/online
- Playing with (non-)violence workshop, 25.9.2019, Vimma, Turku