Mission Statement

At GAP we do not limit ourselves to games and their surrounding culture as such, but also want to view games and play from the larger viewpoint of cultural transformation. We are witnessing a “ludification of culture” in which our (social) identities have become progressively more playful. Games and playing increasingly saturate other cultural practices, both in terms of content and use. Playful and gaming perspectives can be found everywhere from traditional media like film and television to new media like mobile technologies and social network sites, as well as in the growing emphasis of learning through games. These cultural and medial changes form the focal points of our research.

We believe that such developments call for a re-evaluation of the manner in which we study media and culture. One approach we use for this purpose is the notion of play as a conceptual framework for the analysis of media use. The study of digital games and play therefore enables us to address fundamental changes in the way we create and use media. Through this website we want to share our research with the world.

GAP regularly organizes international events dedicated to sharing expertise about the study of computer games and other forms of digital play. An overview of upcoming and a selection of past events can be found on this website.