Games Lab is a new IHGC Lab that will explore phenomenologies of gaming experience, game design and data structure, AI environments, and critiques of gaming culture.

For more information, contact Games Lab Leaders, Samhita Sunya (ss7dn@virginia.edu), Brad Pasanek (bmp7e@virginia.edu), or Anri Yasuda (ay4yq@virginia.edu).

Fall 2025 Events: 

Coming soon.  See the Events page for Games Lab and other IHGC events. 

Past Events:

• Spring 2025

  • "Immersion without Mimesis: Romance of the Three Kingdoms as 15th-century Novel and 21st-century Video Game"
  • "Videogame as Literary Form? JRPGs and the Shishōsetsu"
  • "Loot Drops in the Library: Accessible Teaching with Videogames"
  • "Molleindustria: Video Games at the End of Capitalism"
  • Literary Games Class Workshop
  • "The Game That Never Ends: How Lawyers Shape the Videogame Industry."

• Fall 2024

  • Public Reading with Shehan Karunatilaka
  • Student Meet & Greet with Shehan Karunatilaka

• Spring 2024

  • Tuesday, February 27, 4–6 pm, Wilson 142. Games Lab Lecture: “Wingspan and Beyond" by Elizabeth Hargrave, Game Designer
  • Wednesday, February 28, 11:30 am–2:30 pm, Wilson 142. Games Lab Workshop with Elizabeth Hargrave, "A Guided Playthrough of Undergrove"
  • Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 4 pm, Wilson 142. Games Lab Lecture: “The Privilege of Play: Connecting Games and Race in the Twentieth Century” by Aaron Trammell, Associate Professor of Informatics, University of California, Irvine
  • Wednesday, April 10, 2024, time TBA, Wilson 142. Games Lab Workshop with Aaron Trammell, Associate Professor of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

• Fall 2023 

  • Sept. 20, 11 am-12:30 pm, Wilson 142, Games Lab Reading Group/First Lunch Meeting. RSVP to Anne Gilliam (alg2u@virginia.edu) if joining for lunch.
  • Nov. 16, 4-6 pm, Wilson 142: "Video Games and the Pornography of Death." Lecture by Amanda Phillips, Georgetown University. ZOOM OPTION REGISTRATION HERE: https://virginia.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pduCprjkoG9CW0OfR9x2_6k6JlqzFo1i8
  • Nov. 17, 12-2 pm, Wilson 142: "Gamer Trouble: Feminist Confrontations in Digital Culture" - Seminar with Amanda D. Phillips, Georgetown University. ZOOM OPTION REGISTRATION HERE: https://virginia.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvdempqzgtEtOCaEMZKojO4LnFIFnCEGjp