Game On! The psychology of play, gaming, and esports

// This session will be in English //

Worldwide there are 2.8 billion gamers with an average age of 35 years.

Time spent in gaming, watching others game, money spent on tournaments, prices and skins; the numbers are all superlatives. And yet, many people don't take it as seriously as other forms of entertainment like movies, the theater, or concerts. Let alone as a form of education or as a professionalisation tool. On this Psych-IT evening we explore the psychological facets of the ever-growing worlds of play, gaming, and esports.

Media and cultural scientist René Glas shares his latest insights and research. As assistant professor @ Utrecht University he specialises in new media & digital culture, with a special interest in digital games and play. He gives a unique twist to the old paradigm “Work is good, play is bad.”

Adam Lobel is currently working for Blizzard entertainment, a well known gaming company that produced famous games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo en StarCraft. Adam is expert in the relation between gaming @ emotion regulation development and is now the middleman between the gamer’s experience and game developers.

Joessi Moorman is a professional esport coach for a team of Rocket League gamers. The field of esports is still young, and competitors are being secretive about their best practices. So where does Joessi gets his knowledge and inspiration from? Does technology help him in his coaching? And what about sport psychology? Do these youngsters who get paid to game even listen to him?

Come join us on the 30th of June, 19:00 CEST. Sign up at meetup.com/psych-it to get your link to the live stream event. And get your questions ready, because as always we will incorporate your thoughts and questions in the interviews!