CURRENT GRANTEES
Making Games Differently Casey O’Donnell PhD, Associate Professor Michigan State University 2023-24 Fulbright-Tampere University Scholar www.fulbright.fi/ tuni-scholar
I
get odd looks when I tell people that I am an
many game developers have come to structure
Associate Professor of games, or that I am a
their work in a “post” COVID time. My first book,
game maker and a game researcher. The study
Developer’s Dilemma: The Secret World of Videogame
of games is not a new academic endeavor. Anthro-
Creators was published in 2014. In that book I posed
pology and sociology have long included games and
several challenges that I believed game developers
sport as one of many aspects of culture. Economics
throughout the world needed to face to cultivate
has long used the language of “game” when refer-
more sustainable workplace practices. Amongst the
ring to models/simulations and mathematics has
mainstream game industries those challenges have
long claimed the sub-field of game theory.
gone unheeded in the last decade.
However, it has only been in the last two decades
My Fulbright project, “Making Games Differ-
that Game Studies has defined itself as a field of
ently,” is about finding and talking with game
academic inquiry. Though I have yet to confirm it,
makers that have attempted to face some of these
I suspect that I am one of the first Game Studies
challenges. Turns out that Finland is an excep-
Fulbright scholars and I could not imagine a more
tional context to begin this research. Many Finnish
important place to spend this time than in Finland
game developers have already worked to unionize
and at Tampere University in particular.
to a greater extent than game makers throughout
The Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies
the world. Many have embraced more sustainable
and the Game Research Lab at Tampere University
work-life balances and most significantly, Finnish
has been the home to many premier scholars in the
game makers have done more to combat the long
field of Game Studies over the years. This commu-
history of sexism in the workplace that has plagued
nity of researchers has served as an international
game developer communities throughout the world.
example of what an exceptional community of
While moving a third of the way across the
game researchers can accomplish when well sup-
world is never a simple undertaking, I have found
ported. This is one of the reasons I came to do games
the experience to be an exceptional one. Too often
research as a Fulbright Finland scholar.
I hear people ask me, “Why come to Finland?” as if
The other reason I chose to pursue a Ful-
I was lost. However, the reality is that this has long
bright-Tampere University Scholar Award is
been an exceptional place when it comes to studying
because of Finland itself. The Finnish game indus-
games and I am honored to have the opportunity to
try is an interesting context for understanding how
work with my Finnish colleagues.
www.fulbright.fi | 13