Events

Date: 28 October 2026   Time: 13:30 - 14:30     

Location: Empire House, Basement, 67-75 New Road, London E1 1HH Map 

Please join the Game AI Group and iGGi CDT for a talk by our invited speaker - Dr Casper Harteveld who will be talking about an applied approach to games research, building games and testing if, indeed, they matter as intended.

Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Time: informal light buffet starts13:00; talk starts 13:30
Location: Empire House, Basement, 67-75 New Road, London E1 1HH
Hybrid option: Teams Link (start 13:30)
Title: Games that Matter: Two Decades of Playing for Real Change

Abstract: What if the games we play could help solve climate change, revolutionize education, or improve mental health? For nearly two decades, Harteveld has been exploring if they can. In this talk, he will take you behind the scenes of his journey to create games that matter. From classrooms where students learn through play, to empowering communities to build their own games, he will share his stories of transformation.
Harteveld's approach to games is simple: don't just study games, build them. Test them with real people facing real challenges. Then iterate based on what actually works, not what we think should work. Through numerous examples, attendees will see how we have gamified everything from sustainability education to health interventions, using cutting-edge technologies and methods that did not exist when he started this work. Whether you are a future game designer, educator, researcher, or simply curious about the untapped potential of play, you will leave with a new perspective on what games can do when we move beyond entertainment.

Bio: Dr. Casper Harteveld is Professor of Game Design at Northeastern University's College of Arts, Media & Design (CAMD). He directs Ghostlab, an interdisciplinary research lab leveraging design, engineering, computer science, and social science to address societal challenges through creative technologies. Research in this lab tends to have an exploratory, design-based approach, where Dr. Harteveld and Ghostlab members create, deploy, and rigorously evaluate games, gamification, and extended reality (XR) systems in real-world settings. Dr. Harteveld earned his PhD, MS, and BS in Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis & Management from Delft University of Technology, along with a BS in Psychology from Leiden University.