On November 18, scholars, researchers and game developers gathered for an inspiring program during the 2025 edition of Dutch DiGRA Symposium at the Playground of Utrecht University, the Netherlands.The Hilversum Hub of EPIC-WE was there, showcasing our research project on youth empowerment and shaping European culture through game-making. Let’s look back on an EPIC day!
DiGRA
The Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) is an international association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena. Its aim is to stimulate high-quality research on games, and to promote collaboration and dissemination of work by its members.
Different futures for the study of games and play are brewing in the present. Through participation and research, scholars are actively shaping the future of the field within The Netherlands and beyond. At the symposium, participants from the Netherlands but also as far as Brazil, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, explored possible directions for game and play research as an interdisciplinary field. Among the keynote speakers, topics like pedagogy and habit-formation and heritage and games were discussed.
Parallel program
EPIC-WE was featured in the parallel program; a program that ran beside the keynote speakers, where projects and games were showcased. We presented EPIC-WE and its quadruple helix methodology, creative research methods and how the project helps young people shape culture and their future through cultural game jams. We had in depth conversations with visitors who ran their own game jams or worked in the field of heritage and games, exchanging lessons learned and speculating on future affordances of the project’s outcomes.
In addition, we showcased two games made during the third and fourth Hilversum Hub cultural game jams:
- Meestromen: a game that allows players to step in the shoes of the regional water authorities. Since the Netherlands is situated below sea level, water crises have happened in the past. Archival material from Sound & Vision’s collection inspired the game, in which the future of water management with rising sea levels was centralized.
- Viral Spiral: a game in which players are influencers who have to decide which news items they will share with their followers. Fake news results in losing followers, but the more useful news players share, the more chances they have of going viral. A game that illustrates perfectly how fact-checking in today’s digital society is more important than ever.
Viral Spiral is currently being developed into a matured game by Dropstuff Media. We hope to share the end result soon with you!
Hilversum Hub Partners
The Hilversum Hub, a dynamic collaboration in the Netherlands, unites three key partners: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) as a higher education research partner, Dropstuff Media representing the creative industries, and the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision (NISV) as a cultural heritage partner, bringing together expertise in value-sensitive design, cultural sensitivity, and societal belonging.
