Recently, Games Institute Austria was founded and its website is online since August. In a quick statement Thomas Kunze explains us GIA’s mission:

Games are everywhere. They are our companions every day and a majority of people use games for a lot of different reasons. The games industry has developed very successful strategies to motivate and tie the people who play to their games.

The underlying principles promise great benefit for the education sector, especially in times of digital change. Video games offer a new and interesting approach to tackle recent, complex problem sets.

On the one hand, the Games Institute is trying to tap into the huge potential of GameBased Learning in terms of education and training that is created through game play every day and bring it to good use in educational settings and trainings.

On the other hand, we think it is high time for a productive and intellectually appropriate approach to the culturally relevant medium of video games including all participants in the production and consumption of the medium, from the industry to gamers to education and our society in general.

The Games Institute aims to show and test opportunities of developing new and promising game-related educational content and projects within Austria’s educational sector and beyond. We try to help develop a deeper and more mature understanding within society.

Additionally, the Games Institute supports the creation and development of a network of people and organizations that use games and their potential. We support and develop transdisciplinary projects and courses, we support and educate teachers and learners to use and understand the use of games in education and we try to contribute to the discussion around games in general and especially in education and training.

We define Games as a comprehensive concept, including computer games, social games, mobile games, serious games, games for learning, simulations, augmented reality and virtual worlds, non-digital games and board games, room escape or live action role play.

We focus on game-related and playful design and development within the framework of digital change (in terms of society and education) and national and international cooperation focusing on design and development of such game-related and playful projects and content.

You can reach the Games Institute Austria here:

 

www.gamesinstituteaustria.org or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GamesInstituteAustria

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