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)
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
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
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
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.