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)
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Games, Theory;
ERC StG Theorycraft (2022 - 2027);
I like weird games and JRPGs (header image: Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor)
Pinned
Elisa Mekler
@elisamekler.bsky.social
· Oct 10
Don't usually care for my papers' download numbers and don't fully trust the ACM metrics. But hey, I'm v proud of this one and it would've annoyed April to see me brag about it.
1000 downloads on ACM DL. let's gooo!
(pls also actually read the paper. it's pretty good)
doi.org/10.1145/3673...
1000 downloads on ACM DL. let's gooo!
(pls also actually read the paper. it's pretty good)
doi.org/10.1145/3673...
@danieljakob.net You might appreciate this too
Some people (cowards) would say that this is a flaw, but they're all wrong.
November 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM
@danieljakob.net You might appreciate this too
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Oh hey look, it's my first piece for the AV Club!
The HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest might modernize these ancient RPGs, but could anything recreate the experience of playing them on the NES? www.avclub.com/dragon-quest...
A quest for relevance: Dragon Quest’s remakes search for the impact it had in the ‘80s
The HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest might modernize these ancient RPGs, but could anything recreate the experience of playing Dragon Warrior on the NES?
www.avclub.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Oh hey look, it's my first piece for the AV Club!
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
here's a quick thread on one of those papers (all three are with @elisamekler.bsky.social)
bsky.app/profile/comi...
bsky.app/profile/comi...
A paper I'm very proud of just got published!
I'll do an overview thread for this soon, but for now:
It's the first meaty empirical work I've done on issues I've been thinking about since the start of my PhD. A stab at dealing with what I think are important gaps in HCI UX/Well-being research
I'll do an overview thread for this soon, but for now:
It's the first meaty empirical work I've done on issues I've been thinking about since the start of my PhD. A stab at dealing with what I think are important gaps in HCI UX/Well-being research
One of my fav papers just got accepted to TOCHI!
Spearheaded by @comic-sans-soleil.bsky.social, we investigated how UX differs as a function of motivation (as per self-determination theory). Some really neat and nuanced findings here, imo
doi.org/10.1145/3689...
Spearheaded by @comic-sans-soleil.bsky.social, we investigated how UX differs as a function of motivation (as per self-determination theory). Some really neat and nuanced findings here, imo
doi.org/10.1145/3689...
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
here's a quick thread on one of those papers (all three are with @elisamekler.bsky.social)
bsky.app/profile/comi...
bsky.app/profile/comi...
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
3) this may be particularly relevant when we're thinking about digital self control and the attention economy and the intention economy
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Musk is unambiguously describing an escalation of the problems we identify in these last two papers.
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Musk is unambiguously describing an escalation of the problems we identify in these last two papers.
Autonomous Regulation of Social Media Use: Implications for Self-control, Well-Being, and UX | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
dl.acm.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
3) this may be particularly relevant when we're thinking about digital self control and the attention economy and the intention economy
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Musk is unambiguously describing an escalation of the problems we identify in these last two papers.
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Musk is unambiguously describing an escalation of the problems we identify in these last two papers.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
2) we have operational theories that address scales of user motivation but we (and sometimes the psychologists) neglect the implications of those different scales
dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
November 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
2) we have operational theories that address scales of user motivation but we (and sometimes the psychologists) neglect the implications of those different scales
dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
1. even well-meaning tech folk fail to differentiate aspects of agency and autonomy. Particularly we ignore different scales: what aligns with my immediate interests, what aligns with longer term interests, what enables me to engage and adapt flexibly over time
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
How does HCI Understand Human Agency and Autonomy? | Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
dl.acm.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
1. even well-meaning tech folk fail to differentiate aspects of agency and autonomy. Particularly we ignore different scales: what aligns with my immediate interests, what aligns with longer term interests, what enables me to engage and adapt flexibly over time
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
" I don't think there will be ... apps ... the phone will just display what it anticipates you would most like to receive"
An amazing illustration of the pervasive, problematic error in understanding human motivation that I've been going after in recent papers.
An amazing illustration of the pervasive, problematic error in understanding human motivation that I've been going after in recent papers.
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
" I don't think there will be ... apps ... the phone will just display what it anticipates you would most like to receive"
An amazing illustration of the pervasive, problematic error in understanding human motivation that I've been going after in recent papers.
An amazing illustration of the pervasive, problematic error in understanding human motivation that I've been going after in recent papers.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
This is such a cool idea, and also hey, my Roguelike Celebration talk on keepsake games is up!
I've had a vague dream since I got my Glowforge of trying to hack it to build a keepsake game, where it laser-zaps you a physical memento shaped by your play experience.
@florencesn.bsky.social's talk may be the nudge I needed to give that a serious try. 🤓
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kqv...
@florencesn.bsky.social's talk may be the nudge I needed to give that a serious try. 🤓
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kqv...
Florence Smith Nicholls - Roll for Reminiscence: Procedural Keepsake Games
YouTube video by Roguelike Celebration
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:10 AM
This is such a cool idea, and also hey, my Roguelike Celebration talk on keepsake games is up!
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
November 21, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Very much looking forward to talking about my book with old and hopefully new friends at ITU! Do come along if you can.
Friends! On November 26th at 16:00, in Auditorium 3 at the ITU, we are hosting a talk by Dom Ford. The talk is titled Mytholudics. You can read about it here: digitalplay.itu.dk/event/dom-fo...
Mytholudics - A talk by Dom Ford | Center for Digital Play
Mytholudics - A talk by Dom Ford
digitalplay.itu.dk
November 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Very much looking forward to talking about my book with old and hopefully new friends at ITU! Do come along if you can.
Tomorrow at @itu.dk (Auditorium 3)! Don't miss it!
Come to ITU tomorrow at 4pm to see me give a talk on "How to be a Video Game Archaeologist"!
digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
November 18, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Tomorrow at @itu.dk (Auditorium 3)! Don't miss it!
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
And due out any moment now, my most-wanted of the day: Kingdoms Of The Dump.
A JRPG set in a world of garbage, written by a pair of real-life janitors. Featuring boss art from Francis Coulombe, creator of Look Outside.
Been following development of this one for yeaaaaaaaars. Great to see it done.
A JRPG set in a world of garbage, written by a pair of real-life janitors. Featuring boss art from Francis Coulombe, creator of Look Outside.
Been following development of this one for yeaaaaaaaars. Great to see it done.
Kingdoms of the Dump on Steam
A SNES styled JRPG set in a fantasy world of garbage, created by two janitors. Join Trash Can Knight, Dustin Binsley, as he fights his way through the Five and a Half Kingdoms of the Dump!
store.steampowered.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM
And due out any moment now, my most-wanted of the day: Kingdoms Of The Dump.
A JRPG set in a world of garbage, written by a pair of real-life janitors. Featuring boss art from Francis Coulombe, creator of Look Outside.
Been following development of this one for yeaaaaaaaars. Great to see it done.
A JRPG set in a world of garbage, written by a pair of real-life janitors. Featuring boss art from Francis Coulombe, creator of Look Outside.
Been following development of this one for yeaaaaaaaars. Great to see it done.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Florence is both a game scholar and a game developer, and their work on archaeology and game worlds is a must for anybody interested in world building, or the culture of videogames and how to study it.
(If you’re a game developer or game scholar interested in game worlds, this talk is for you)
(If you’re a game developer or game scholar interested in game worlds, this talk is for you)
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Florence is both a game scholar and a game developer, and their work on archaeology and game worlds is a must for anybody interested in world building, or the culture of videogames and how to study it.
(If you’re a game developer or game scholar interested in game worlds, this talk is for you)
(If you’re a game developer or game scholar interested in game worlds, this talk is for you)
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Why should you attend this talk? Florence is one of the most interesting game scholars working on how videogames can be studied as culture, and how to expand the vocabulary we have for analyzing and making games.
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Why should you attend this talk? Florence is one of the most interesting game scholars working on how videogames can be studied as culture, and how to expand the vocabulary we have for analyzing and making games.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Friends! On November 19th at 16:00, in Auditorium 3 at the ITU, we are hosting a talk by Florence Smith Nicholls. The talk is titled How to be a video game archaeologist. You can read about it here: digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls | Center for Digital Play
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls
digitalplay.itu.dk
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Friends! On November 19th at 16:00, in Auditorium 3 at the ITU, we are hosting a talk by Florence Smith Nicholls. The talk is titled How to be a video game archaeologist. You can read about it here: digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Oh hey, that's me! Very much looking forward to giving this talk at ITU next week!
Friends! On November 19th at 16:00, in Auditorium 3 at the ITU, we are hosting a talk by Florence Smith Nicholls. The talk is titled How to be a video game archaeologist. You can read about it here: digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls | Center for Digital Play
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls
digitalplay.itu.dk
November 10, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Oh hey, that's me! Very much looking forward to giving this talk at ITU next week!
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
So excited to see this piece about a larp that's very close to my heart (and a lovely mention of my Eurogamer article)
"It's not a tomb. It's a town. And it will always be."
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
A Czech larp group wrestles with Nazi history by roleplaying in its bones
Exploring Disco Elysium and the power of art in a former concentration camp.
www.rascal.news
November 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
So excited to see this piece about a larp that's very close to my heart (and a lovely mention of my Eurogamer article)
Randomly remembered GamingSymmetry and the featured article series "The JRPG: An Intricate Genre".
Sad to see the site down. But at least the articles are still accessible (sin screenshots)
web.archive.org/web/20210412...
Sad to see the site down. But at least the articles are still accessible (sin screenshots)
web.archive.org/web/20210412...
Conclusion | Gaming Symmetry
web.archive.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Randomly remembered GamingSymmetry and the featured article series "The JRPG: An Intricate Genre".
Sad to see the site down. But at least the articles are still accessible (sin screenshots)
web.archive.org/web/20210412...
Sad to see the site down. But at least the articles are still accessible (sin screenshots)
web.archive.org/web/20210412...
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Why were there gender-balanced teams at Sega in the late 80s, and why was this never the case again afterwards? I also provide a chronology of the industry's pioneers in Japan, while addressing the issue of gender discrimination, before discussing working conditions more broadly in a later chapter.
An overview of the status of women in the video game industry in Japan and in Japanese society more generally
(+ a focus on the career of Miki Morimoto, the second known woman to have directed a game at Sega)
vgdensetsu.net/riekokodama6
dispo en VF
vgdensetsu.net/riekokodamavf6
(+ a focus on the career of Miki Morimoto, the second known woman to have directed a game at Sega)
vgdensetsu.net/riekokodama6
dispo en VF
vgdensetsu.net/riekokodamavf6
November 3, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Why were there gender-balanced teams at Sega in the late 80s, and why was this never the case again afterwards? I also provide a chronology of the industry's pioneers in Japan, while addressing the issue of gender discrimination, before discussing working conditions more broadly in a later chapter.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
Back from my hiatus on here to announce our first study on Digital Ideologies. With @jhaapj.bsky.social and @matnel.bsky.social we explored connections between the affordances of social media and political ideologies.
There are differences… 🧵
📄 Get the #CSCW paper at dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
There are differences… 🧵
📄 Get the #CSCW paper at dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Affordances and Design Principles of The Political Left and Right | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Like any form of technology, social media services embed values. To examine how societal
values may be present in these systems, we focus on exploring political ideology as
a value system. We organise...
dl.acm.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Back from my hiatus on here to announce our first study on Digital Ideologies. With @jhaapj.bsky.social and @matnel.bsky.social we explored connections between the affordances of social media and political ideologies.
There are differences… 🧵
📄 Get the #CSCW paper at dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
There are differences… 🧵
📄 Get the #CSCW paper at dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
For the Shadow of the Colossus story, we interviewed 14 people including project leads Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, hired Gravity Rush concept artist Takeshi Oga to illustrate the cover, and put together a 10,000-word story with help from @milkman.bsky.social @shmuplations.bsky.social and others.
Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history
Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Team Ico’s masterpiece by looking back with 11 people who worked on it (and three who didn’t).
www.designroom.site
October 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
For the Shadow of the Colossus story, we interviewed 14 people including project leads Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, hired Gravity Rush concept artist Takeshi Oga to illustrate the cover, and put together a 10,000-word story with help from @milkman.bsky.social @shmuplations.bsky.social and others.
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
PS1 Stories - Abalaburn is up!
Oh man oh wow neato
I'm doing a premier watch now. Why not?
👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVe...
👆
Oh man oh wow neato
I'm doing a premier watch now. Why not?
👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVe...
👆
October 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
PS1 Stories - Abalaburn is up!
Oh man oh wow neato
I'm doing a premier watch now. Why not?
👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVe...
👆
Oh man oh wow neato
I'm doing a premier watch now. Why not?
👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVe...
👆
Reposted by Elisa Mekler
👀 We heard Nintendo is bringing the Virtual Boy back to gamers. While we can't get you the new add-on, the story behind this unique platform is completely free!
@jzagal.bsky.social & @benjedwards.com's "Seeing Red" is available #OpenAccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204506...
@jzagal.bsky.social & @benjedwards.com's "Seeing Red" is available #OpenAccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204506...
October 13, 2025 at 1:16 PM
👀 We heard Nintendo is bringing the Virtual Boy back to gamers. While we can't get you the new add-on, the story behind this unique platform is completely free!
@jzagal.bsky.social & @benjedwards.com's "Seeing Red" is available #OpenAccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204506...
@jzagal.bsky.social & @benjedwards.com's "Seeing Red" is available #OpenAccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204506...