Research Games

The Games and Media research program at Breda University of Applied Sciences focuses on Digitally Enhanced Realities (DER). These are new forms of human interaction in environments designed with games and digital media (VR, AR) blended with big data, geo-data, simulations, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). DER create transformative experiences of enjoyment or learning that have value by themselves but are also considered valuable and useful in economic and societal sectors.

In our CRADLE lab, the next generation of games and digital media are designed and created. Professors, researchers, lecturers and students work together with the entertainment game, serious game and digital media industry, with research institutes and societal partners worldwide. A significant part of our R&D funding comes from EU funding, industry clients, and international research partnerships.

Entertainment games

Entertainment games is one of our areas of expertise within the domain of Games. The research area, led by professor Mata Haggis-Burridge, is entitled ‘Content, Creation, and Culture of Artistic and Entertainment Video Games’. This research line conducts studies of the content of video games, the processes and tools of their creation, and the culture that surrounds them. Within this broad field there is focus on issues relating to diversity, storytelling, interface design/feedback, and puzzle design (using ‘escape rooms’ as a thematic entry point). Alongside these research themes is a broader push to enhance policy-level awareness of the importance of supporting research into the arts and entertainment games industry, and so actions are taken to be involved with national and international debates in this area.
 

Serious games

‘Serious Games’ or ‘applied games’ is one of our areas of expertise within the domain of Games. The research area, led by professor Igor Mayer, is entitled ‘Playful Organisations & Learning Systems’. Many industries and societal sectors are interested in harvesting the potential benefits of game-technologies and game concepts. We design, develop, use and study game-technology and game concepts for the deep impact that they can have on professionals, teams, organizations, or complex systems. What are the implications of emerging game-technologies (including VR, AR etc.) as potentially enabling or disruptive technologies in relevant industries such as logistics, planning, tourism, hospitality? To what extent can teams, organizations and complex systems learn from playing games? Application areas are spatial planning, logistics, sustainability / ecology for instance of cities, tourism, oceans, rivers, and topics such as entrepreneurship, management, leadership and change.

Partners

Global game and media companies:

• Sanoma
• Samsung
• Philips

Creative and cultural sector:

• Museums
• Games [4Diversity]
• The Playgrounds festival

Corporate partners:

• Liander
• Zeelandia

Organizations journalism, (mental) health care, ministries and government agencies:

• Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
• Rijkswaterstaat
• Scottish Government.

Universities:

• Tilburg University
• Radboud University
• Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
• CICERO Centre for International Climate Research
• Western Norway Research Institute
• University of Leeds (UK)

Experts

• Igor Mayer
• Mata Haggis-Burridge
• Carlos Santos
• Harald Warmelink
• Jessika Weber-Sabil