Elisa Mekler
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elisamekler.bsky.social
Elisa Mekler
@elisamekler.bsky.social

sullen assoc prof @itu.dk
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Games, Theory;
ERC StG Theorycraft (2022 - 2027);
I like weird games and JRPGs (header image: Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor)

Psychology 36%
Computer science 21%

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

THE FIRST 3 YEARS PROJECT

Inspired by first3yearsproject.com

In my class on games as cultural industries, 60 students created a white paper on the first years as a games worker. Good practices, production processes, and labour issues.

Please share!

tinyurl.com/first3yearstcm

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

CH Ludens the Podast is here! 🎙️👾 In this premiere episode, hosts @eugenpfister.bsky.social & @pachuki.bsky.social present our project.
What is Confoederatio Ludens?
In this premiere episode of the CH Ludens podcast, hosts Eugen Pfister and Arno Görgen present the project ‘Confederatio Ludens. Swiss History of Games, Play and Game Design 1968-2000’. They explain t...
letscast.fm

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

From "Luca", the first Japanese indie short film by Nina (who had previously directed music videos for Ado, Yaosobi, Olivia Rodrigo...).
Full 12-min film >> www.catsuka.com/news/2026-02...

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Good morning.

Still 49% 😬😬😬😬😬

www.kickstarter.com/projects/637...

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for now it might be useful to know that I'll be hiring a postdoc to work on computational methods to detect online misogyny. If this is something you find interesting: let's have chat.

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Second news of the day. As part of a stellar group led by @gboccia.bsky.social our FemVision project was funded by @horizoneu.bsky.social in the context of the "CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05 - Countering and preventing radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation" call. More will come but

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

i have been looking to antifascist art from the post-WWII era for perspective. recently i learned about a great queer Czech artist, Toyen, who did antiwar work and also delved into bodies and roles. as in our era, you can't question the machinery of the world around you without questioning gender.

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

In the early 90s, the increase in cartridge size allowed Ayano Koshiro to give full rein to her artistic talent. This chapter discusses Actraiser 2, Story of Thor, Götzendiener, Terranigma, Lunar Game Gear and Sister Sonic.
vgdensetsu.net/ayanokoshiro5/
Dispo en VF :
vgdensetsu.net/ayanokoshiro...

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Stop waiting on the Vengabus that is coming, and start focusing on the Vengabus that is already here.

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My latest indie game roundup featuring experimental tabletop and video games, and just other games that I thought were cool

virtualmoose.org/2026/02/06/i...

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NEW VIDEO: In 1974 Barbra Streisand started dating her hairdresser. 25 years later Will Smith fights a giant mechanical spider. There's also a videogame. Here's the full story:

youtu.be/tQS1GXzy7Dc
The Wild Wild West: The Game situation is... well...
YouTube video by Alien Bob
youtu.be

Ooooh got my first DiGRA full paper accepted — spearheaded by @dooleymurphy.bsky.social. See you in Maynooth!

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

A new issue of our digi-zine, Between the Scanlines, is now out!

This issue: features on Jerry Lawson, 2000AD games on microcomputer, and the early days of id!

betweenthescanlines.itch.io/issue-thirty...

As much as we can spare from sales will be donated to the Black History Foundation.

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Trust Me, I Nailed It: FREE turn-based strategy game where you edit video clips to make a screwed up warrior into a monster-slaying legend. Edit, stitch, and fake your way to epic battle videos. Make every fight look like a glorious win store.steampowered.com/app/4311000/...

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

New video is live! "How Well Can I Paint Ethel Cain in the Oldest Art Program (MacPaint)?" youtu.be/895cnrsKWvs
How Well Can I Paint Ethel Cain in the Oldest Art Program (MacPaint)?
YouTube video by Cat Graffam
youtu.be

Oh! I've only seen this now. Sounds very relevant to some of our more recent work w @vongnome.bsky.social. Are you also considering late submissions? (Say, submitted next week?)

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This week in The Bathysphere I have a piece on "Moogles as a Designable Surface," in which I consider the Moogle Paint feature in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles as an example of a cosy ritual and mechanic:

buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...

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My beloved studio @chillasart.bsky.social, qui excelle dans la mise en scène de l'horreur du quotidien, sort aujourd'hui Umigari... un jeu de pêche, évidemment !

Une chose est sûre, ça va prendre aux tripes.
Une autre chose est sûre : ça va partir. 🎣

store.steampowered.com/app/3772960/...
Save 20% on UMIGARI | ウミガリ on Steam
UMIGARI is a first-person harpoon fishing game set in the foggy waters off the coast of Japan. Hunt fish with your harpoon, sell your catch, buy fuel, and upgrade your gear. Alone at sea, the more you...
store.steampowered.com

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I'm thrilled to announce that the 2nd edition of my book #TheGamersBrain is now available for pre-order on your favorite platform!!
The book contains 2 new chapters (incl. one on #ethics) & is getting a new format inside and out (I love the new cover) ☺️.
#gamedev #ux

www.amazon.com/Gamers-Brain...
The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design
The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design - Kindle edition by Hodent, Celia. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design.
www.amazon.com

Ooh neat paper! Will likely include this in the next iteration of Jonas’ and my HCI theory course

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Announcing Localization Lore, a new series dedicated to learning more about the history of video game localization! 🎉Featuring new interviews personally conducted by me, this first entry is on Ys 1 and the people behind its first three English translations. lizbushouse.com/localization...

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

As you may know, we are running a conference on games, play, and climate futures in May at the ITU Copenhagen: playingfutures.today
Some news: the deadline for abstracts has been extended to February 20th. Now you have no excuses left not to submit!
Playing Futures
Playing Futures is a conference about the role of games and play during and after the impending climate and energy catastrophes. The goal of the conference is to serve as a meeting point for the commu...
playingfutures.today

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

[NEW VIDEO] Ico, Design by Subtraction & Meta-Physical Art. A dive into the design ideals and aesthetics of Ico as well as other texts that share some fun aspects.

SHARES AND REPOSTS GREATLY APPRECIATED THANK YOU!
Ico, Design by Subtraction & Meta-Physical Art
YouTube video by GhoolyTV
youtu.be

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

The PinKeep Demo has just received another patch with some fixes and improvements, thank you all for your feedback!!

Details here: store.steampowered.com/news/app/414...

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Upset how accurate these prices are in 2026

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You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization - Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

"Angel's Egg Image Boards" artbook (Yoshitaka Amano / limited print run).
>> www.catsuka.com/shopping/ind...

Reposted by Elisa D. Mekler

"a series he made with Google DeepMind and Salesforce, which will unfurl on Time Magazine’s YouTube channel every week"
Darren Aronofsky Has Reconstructed the Revolutionary War Using AI
That's the conceit of a series he made with Google DeepMind and Salesforce, which will unfurl on Time Magazine’s YouTube channel every week through the end of the year.
www.hollywoodreporter.com