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Games as Conceptual Tools - Prof. Gualeni keynotes iGGi 2026

Prof. Stefano Gualeni (Institute of Digital Games) presented his research into how games (both actual and fictional) can serve as platforms for disclosing and challenging theoretical ideas in his iGGi Keynote: On Games as Conceptual Tools. In this talk he explores how epistemic artifacts, games and video games might have a variety of socio-cultural effects.

Virtual Worlds and Philosophy

As philosopher and game designer Stefano Gualeni explores how our ideas, values, and identities circulate and materialize within digital worlds. The keynote draws on his extensive research on using (and designing) games as conceptual devices and on their potential to contribute to contemporary culture in ways that are intellectually relevant. Like conceptual works of art, some games can be designed to convey intellectually significant ideas in ways that are not exclusively linguistic. An area where Stefano is actively experimenting with games such as (2017) that was inspired by the work of Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the recently launched HAMM-3R (2026) that explores the idea that our equipment influences how we understand the world and act within it.

Games Research - Bridging Industry and Academia

The iGGi Conference is organised by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (iGGi), the world's largest PhD research programme focused on games research. Based at the University of York, Queen Mary, Goldsmiths, and Essex, they work closely with more than 80 partner organisations in the games industry and society. Stefano Gualeni was keynote speaker alongside Emily Brown, Lead Designer on Monument Valley 3, and 3 time Bafta nominated designer of Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Daniel Hernandez, Research Scientist at Sony AI.

Games Studies at the University of Malta

The Institute of Digital Games is one of the leading game studies research institutes in the world, with academic staff publishing influential academic monographs such as Prof. Gualeni’s Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Tools (Palgrave, 2015) and more recently Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play (Bloomsbury, 2023). Most recently Dr Daniel Vella and Prof. Stefano Gualeni were co-editors on the beautifully crafted Scholar’s Codex, a collection of philosophical essays centred around the FromSoftware games. Follow the Institute on social media or subscribe to their to keep up to date with research, events, and opportunities.