How Industry and Academia Can Co-Author the Future of Play

August 13, 11:00-12:30. AUD 16

The relationship between games research and the games industry has often been viewed through two distinct horizons: academia looks toward the “blue sky” of long-term, foundational theory, while the industry focuses on the immediate, actionable cycles of production and player retention. However, the most profound innovations happen when these horizons overlap.

This panel brings together leading voices from both the commercial game sector and academic institutions to map out domains of mutual, untapped benefit. Because academic researchers possess the structural time, specialized resources, and methodological rigor to explore speculative, high-risk concepts, they are uniquely positioned to pressure-test the frameworks that the industry will rely on tomorrow. The challenge lies in translation—ensuring these deep dives yield results that are realistically actionable within commercial constraints.

Key areas of discussion will include:

  • Identifying High-Yield Domains: Pinpointing fields ripe for collaborative breakthroughs, such as advanced generative AI frameworks, validated psychometric player profiling, inclusive accessibility-by-design templates, and the emerging neuroaesthetics of player immersion.
  • De-Risking Innovation: How academic “sandboxes” can take on the high-risk, experimental R&D that lean development studios cannot afford to pilot independently.
  • Actionable Pipelines: Building better pipelines for transferring knowledge, translating complex academic methodologies into pragmatic tools, design pillars, and production heuristics that developers can deploy in active sprints.

Whether you are a developer looking for rigorous solutions to complex design bottlenecks, or a researcher aiming to ground your theoretical models in real-world data and live-service environments, this panel will provide a concrete roadmap for cross-sector collaboration.

Panelists:

• Kim Krogh (Avalanche Studios)

• Henrique Galvan (Flashbulb Games)

• Cecilie Mosfeldt (Raw Power Labs)

• Annakaisa Kultima (Aalto University)

• Johannes Pfau (Utrecht University)

• Anders Drachen (University of Southern Denmark)