Empowering Game Design Education with Transformative Role-playing Games (EDGE) is a joint Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership between two higher education institutions — Uppsala University and Turku University of the Applied Sciences — and three larp design organizations: Chaos League, Dragons Nest, and Avalon Larp Studio.
Contact the project team at edge-speldesign@uu.se.
Team Members
Uppsala University
Sarah Lynne Bowman (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer, Safety Committee) is a scholar, game designer, and event organizer. She received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in Radio-Television-Film and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas in Arts and Humanities. Bowman has taught in the Humanities, English, and Communication. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in Game Design at Uppsala University Campus Gotland. She formerly served as Coordinator for the Peace & Conflict Studies program at Austin Community College, where she teaches Humanities. Bowman is a founding member of the Transformative Play Initiative, who research analog role-playing games as vehicles for personal and social change. She co-edited The Wyrd Con Companion Book (2012-2015) and currently edits for the International Journal of Role-Playing and Nordiclarp.org. Bowman has co-organized several conferences, including Living Games (2014, 2016, 2018), Role-playing and Simulation and Education (2016, 2018), and the Transformative Play Initiative Seminar (2022). More information at http://www.sarahlynnebowman.com/
Josephine Baird (Curriculum and Game Designer, Safety Committee) is a lecturer at the Uppsala University’s Game Design Department and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Vienna in Education. She is a game designer and game design consultant, as well as a writer and visual artist. Her work often relates the intersection between games, identity, gender, and sexualities. Her research and recent publications present the theoretical and methodological basis for her thesis that role-playing games might provide a potent opportunity for people to explore their gender subjectivity in safer environments. Her current research will conclude with the design of a live action role-playing game that puts this theoretical work into practice. She is also an actor, public speaker, and co-host of the podcast It Is Complicated. More information can be found at https://josephinebaird.com/
Kjell Hedgard Hugaas (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer, Safety Committee) is a Northern Norwegian game designer, organizer, writer, theorist, and trained actor. In particular, he is engaged within the Nordic larp tradition, where he has been active for a bit over two decades. The last few years he has explored the transformative potential of games, and has proposed specific intentional game design practices that facilitate transformative effects. Hugaas has theorized how ideas impact players through the processes of memetic bleed, procedural bleed, and identity bleed, culminating in his 2022 Master’s thesis in Game Design at Uppsala University. In 2023, he completed a second thesis for UU on the impacts of larp on participants’ attitudes and anxieties around death. In addition to his project assistant work on EDGE and the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership ROCKET, he works as a project manager for Region Gotland.
Josefin Westborg (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer, Safety Committee) is one of the world’s leading designers in edu-larps. She has a background in game design and pedagogy and is one of the founders of Lajvbyrån (previously LajvVerkstaden Väst). Josefin has worked as a research assistant and teacher at Uppsala University’s Department of Game Design where she was a founding member of the Transformative Play Initiative with focus on analog role-playing games. Westborg co-designed curriculum for Uppsala’s Master’s in Transformative Game Design and has worked as a teacher in its introductory courses, upon which EDGE is based. She has also been a teacher in game design at both Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg. She recently published an article for the International Journal of Role-playing entitled “The Educational Role-Playing Game Design Matrix: Mapping Design Components onto Types of Education.” In addition to EDGE, she also works as a project assistant in the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership ROCKET. Throughout her career Josefin has met thousands of students of all ages, and run and designed larps for them. She is passionate about designing for interaction, storytelling and learning. When she is not involved with games you will probably find her at the dance studio doing ballroom dancing.
Turku University of Applied Sciences
Taisto Suominen (Project Manager, Curriculum and Workshop Designer) is an Associate Professor at the School of Information and Communications Technology of Turku University of Applied Sciences in Game and Interactive Technologies. He holds a Master of Engineering degree and has worked for 20 years in TUAS. He is a cofounder of Turku Game Lab and its predecessor Game Tech Arts Lab. He has been an active and key person on the TUAS game development curriculum design and Turku Game Scene activities. He was a board member of Neogames Finland 2018-2021 and continued in 2022 and 2023 as an observer member of the board. Neogames is a nonprofit association for the game industry to coordinate and support the growth and development of the Finnish game industry. His research interests include utilization of game and interactive technologies on various domains, serious and entertainment games, extended reality, game graphics and content creation.
Pirjoriitta Peltola (Project Manager, Financial Administrator) has been serving as an Administrative Project Manager, Financial Expert, and Project Designer at Turku University of Applied Sciences since March 15, 2021. Prior to this, she was employed at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences in Western Finland for 2,5 years, where she performed similar roles. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Financial Administration and has amassed 5 years of experience in project management. Currently, she is involved in 10 distinct projects, managing a project portfolio worth approximately €22 million, of which Turku University of Applied Sciences’s share is approximately €2 million. In addition to her core project responsibilities, her role also encompasses various project activity development tasks and consulting services. Before transitioning to the university environment, she spent 12 years in the pharmacy industry. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys ice swimming and spending quality time with her cats on the sofa
Dragons Nest
Angie Bandhoesingh (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer) (Antzela-Sita Bandhoesingh) is an educator and larp designer with extensive experience in non-formal education. She has an educator’s degree from the Literature, Philosophy and Psychology department of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and has worked as a private tutor, a child animator, and a non-formal education facilitator since 2010. She has experience in youth work across multiple projects, including several in Erasmus+. Angie is a co-founder of the Dragons’ Nest nonprofit organization (formerly RPG4Kids), is the company manager, and is the educational content supervisor for extracurricular school activities for children aged 5-12. She also co-founded the LARPifiers non-profit organization, where she is an edu-larp designer and organizer, including having co-designed the grant-funded edu-larp Superhero Union. A larper since late 2015, she has been an organizer of local larps from 2016-2019. She has been exploring arts and crafts as a way of personal expression and informal learning activities. Her interest in non-formal education stems from a desire to transform formal education into a children-friendly, student-centric environment.
Elektra Diakolambrianou (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer, Safety Committee) (Ilektra Diakolamprianou) is a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist, a certified adult educator, and a larp designer. She has a B.Sc. in Psychology from Panteion University, a Pg.Dip. in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of Strathclyde, a Prof.Cert. in Art, Drama and Play Therapy from Edexcel, and is a European Certificate of Psychotherapy holder. Currently she is pursuing a M.A. in Creative Writing offered by the Hellenic Open University. A certified trainer of communication skills by Gordon Training International and member of the trainers’ pool of the Greek National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth 2014-2020, Elektra has had continuing education in cinematherapy, music therapy, bibliotherapy, therapeutic writing, gamification methods, game-based education, restorative justice, and social psychology. Since 2012, she has been working as a psychotherapist working with socially vulnerable groups, including: unaccompanied minors, refugees, immigrants, NEETs, unemployed people, former prisoners, and women. Since 2013, she has been an academic staff member at the Institution for Counselling and Psychological Studies in Athens. Her academic work emphasizes the potential of larp as a medium for personal development and psychotherapy. She is also a co-founder of the LARPifiers. Elektra has experience in working as an emotional safety person in games and projects, as well as in curating larp designs for emotional safety.
Chaos League
Alessandro Giovannucci (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer) is an award-winning game designer and theorist working in the field of larp and immersive experience. He co-founded the larp collective Chaos League in 1992 and wrote the manifesto “Southern Way – New Italian Larp.” His work focuses on political and social topics, experienced through the participatory nature of larp. He has worked on different formats and styles of games, going from small ones (First They Came) to some of the bigger and most successful international larps (Sahara Expedition, Miskatonic University). Very active in the field of online larp, he designed games and organised several online festivals in the last years including the International Larp Festival. Alessandro is also regularly invited to host talks, larp design workshops and seminars all over Europe and their games are hosted in some of the most important festivals. Has already participated, both as a partner and leader, in European funded projects related to larp, civil rights and education. Alessandro is also a music teacher at the University of Teramo and University of Chieti, researching the relationship between materialism and storytelling in the arts.
Mafalda Morganti (Project Manager, Curriculum Designer and Game Organizer) has been designing, running and assisting projects related to youth work, adult education and training, both at local and international level since 2010. She holds a specific expertise in coordinating Strategic Partnerships projects and designing both formal and non formal educational activities, which she does also on behalf of the Italian collective Chaos League since 2021. Mafalda works as a free-lance trainer with a wide range of organisations, from small, grassroots level NGOs or informal groups, up to well established international organisations, or public bodies such as National Agencies for Youth or local government agencies. Her main areas of expertise as a trainer are communication, community building, group dynamics, self-directed learning and personal development, mainly through methods such as storytelling, improv theatre and edu-larp.
Cosmo Esposito (Game Designer and Organizer) is a Master’s student in anthropology and game designer of the Chaos League collective. He is passionate about using larp as a tool to promote deep and open conversations, experimenting with new ideas of existence and practicing mindfulness. He’s also the co-founder of Project Campanula (https://progettocompanula.cargo.site) in cooperation with ArciGay Palermo, which focuses on the concept of LGBTQIA+ resistance by reacting to the current social political context, addressing the emotional intimacy of the individual and exploring larp as a tool and method for collaborative research, experience and storytelling. The main aim of his work is tto give voice to marginalised bodies and create tools to make sense of the human network, promoting intimacy, community and togetherness by offering a safe place to explore identity and build meaningful connections.
William Besana (Game Designer and Organizer) has been active in the field of role-playing and larp for almost twenty years, collaborating with the Chaos League collective since 2017. He is currently part of the organising group as a designer, writer, and facilitator, as well as holding technical and logistical support roles. Also on behalf of Chaos League, he has taken part in several international training projects focusing on the use of storytelling and larp as tools to promote social and environmental action.
Avalon Larp Studio
Martine Svanevik (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a content developer at Aschehoug Education and a founding member of Avalon Larp Studio. She is a concept and content developer, game designer and writer. Her work relates to digital learning and education. Her work explores the ways interactive experiences allow you to live the stories of others and see the world from a different perspective. She has been working with computer games since 2012 and with museums and publishers since 2018. Martine’s expertise is in creating concepts, narrative design, and content for interactive museum exhibits, experience centres, and digital learning. Working on digital learning games, physical-digital interaction, and cutting-edge content design, her work ranges from high concept to finished script. She is published in Norwegian and English. She holds a B.A. and Master’s of History from the University of Oslo, as well as education in Creative Writing and Literary Stylistics. Her list of clients includes Funcom Games, Megapop Games, The Vestfold Museums, Sagastad Visitor Centre, Gyldendal Publishing, and the UK Refugee Council.
Simon Brind (Project Manager, Curriculum and Game Designer) is a larp writer and academic from London, England. He received his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from University College London, has a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from the University of Westminster, and a second Master’s in Creative Writing from Middlesex University. He completed his Ph.D. in 2023 at the Digital Cultures Research Centre at the University of the West of England. His thesis, Combat Narratology: Strategies for the Resolution of Narrative Crisis in Participatory Fiction, is available from the Digital Cultures Research Centre, (UWE), Bristol. His research looks at emergent narrative structures in participatory fiction and the tension between authorial and participant agency. He has been a larper since 1983, a larpwright since 1986, and is a founding member of Avalon Larp Studio. He has worked on some of the largest and longest running larp systems in the UK as well as projects across Europe and North America.
Halfdan Keller Justesen (Project Manager and Game Designer) is an event manager and larp producer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has made larps with Avalon Larp Studio since 2017, and been a board member since 2018. In 2019, he completed a MSc in Engineering with specialisation in Sustainable Design from Aalborg University, Copenhagen. Halfdan has larped as long as he can remember. Since 2016, he has volunteered at more than 30 international larp events, where had a designing and leading role in five of those productions, and he slings a mean pizza. Since 2021 he has been one of the organisers behind Blackbox Copenhagen, and in 2023 he became a board member of Gnist. His current design interests are in runtime activities, modularity in character design, and how to include players as participants in the design of their own experience during the workshop process.
Sagalinn Tangen (Project Manager, Game Designer and Organizer)
Volunteers
Josephine Rydberg (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a Ph.D. candidate at Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH). The research project Dramaturgy for Participatory Practices is explored using examples from larp and social VR. Her focus is on designing play for avatars and finding best practices for adapting larp designs to a virtual environment. Rydberg has held a position as a crossmedia developer for the County Council of Gävleborg (Region Gävleborg) since 2014, and has developed a number of innovative projects mixing storytelling and new technology. Current projects include: VR & World Heritage, Games Culture, and the Storytech conference. Rydberg has been a larper since the early 90s and was one of the founding members of Gothenberg’s first larp society. She holds an M.A. in Film & Theatre from the University of Sheffield and M.A.s in film production from the University of Gothenburg (Filmhögskolan, Göteborgs Universitet) and Stockholm Academy of the Arts (Dramatiska Institutet).
Nadja Lipsyc (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a game designer, artist and PhD fellow at The Norwegian Film School with an education in neuroscience and audiovisual production. She works with videogames, film, VR stories, experimental theater, installation art, larp and teaches at the Oslo school of Architecture and Design. Her work often stages surreal and symbolic universes tied to contemporary critical questions.
Nguyen Robertson (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a game designer and writer. He is currently working as one of the founders of the indie games studio Glass Rock Gathering. His academic background is in Game Design, with his Bachelor’s thesis focusing on player attachment to video game characters, with further study done in film theory, specifically feminist theory, queer theory, and post-colonial perspectives. Currently he is studying the Tranformative Game Design curriculum at Uppsala University upon which EDGE will build. In his free time, he enjoys role-playing, film criticism, and longsword fencing.
Guus van Tilborg (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a Game Design Master’s student from the Netherlands. Prior to his studies at Uppsala University Campus Gotland, he received an M.A. in History (American Studies), an M.S. in Social-Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Besides his academic pursuits, Guus has been actively teaching in various settings, ranging from language tutoring college students to teaching immigrants civics and history. Throughout his career, the central theme has been “belongingness” and how to make people feel welcomed and accepted: a theme that also happens to be his main research interest.
Ruoyu Wen (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, with a focus on conversational agents for mental health. His interest extends to exploring the potential of integrating LLM agents into transformative playing experiences. In the last two years, he mainly has focused on player motivation in games, particularly Jubensha (Chinese larp) and pervasive ARGs, and his research was published in the International Journal of Role-Playing. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Science from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, complemented by a Master’s degree in Game Design from Uppsala University.
Caterina Blomgren (Curriculum and Game Designer) is a multifaceted professional encompassing roles as a game designer, graphic designer, researcher, and academic writer. She earned her Master’s degree in Game Design from Uppsala University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising (Media Studies) from the University of Arts London (London College of Communication). Caterina’s career journey has spanned various roles, including working as a research assistant at Uppsala University. Her academic work has been primarily focused on game design and gender studies, stemming from her master thesis on procedural feminism and feminist games. Currently, she is deeply involved in research related to game design, particularly exploring the integration of feminist theories into gaming. In parallel, Caterina is freelancing as a graphic designer and is engaged in a game development project. Her past experience includes a significant role as an Art Director at various advertising agencies, where she managed visual communication strategies and led teams of designers. In addition to her professional endeavors, Caterina is the founder of an educational blog about feminism aimed at making feminist theories more accessible to a wider audience. She is also actively volunteering with organizations dedicated to supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, demonstrating her commitment to social causes and global issues.
Images created by Dall-E Generator and Taisto Suominen.
