Nadja Thiessen represented emergenCITY at the first annual conference of the German Society for Game Studies (DGSW) at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
On June 19, 2026, the first annual conference of the German Society for Game Studies (DGSW) took place at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, chaired by Prof. Stephan Jacob. Over 70 researchers, and students from more than 50 universities, as well as representatives from game publishers and game studios, came together to advance game studies as an independent discipline.
The conference focused on current topics in games research, game technology, and education in the field of games. Discussions covered analog and digital games, game studies, game design and development, as well as gamification, serious games, and research infrastructures—including curricula and funding opportunities.
The key question of the conference—how games can be scientifically studied, designed, taught, and made socially impactful—is also a key concern for emergenCITY researchers working on the Serious Games mission. Krisopolis co-developer Nadja Thiessen therefore used the DGSW conference to engage in professional exchange with other experts from academia and the development sector to gather new perspectives for the further development of emergenCITY’s first mobile serious game on crisis preparedness.
“The 2026 DGSW Conference impressively demonstrated the breadth of game studies. I found the various perspectives particularly enriching; they highlighted just how diverse research involving, through, and about games can be, and how productive the exchange between disciplines can be,” Thiessen concludes.
