In Our Shoes: Understanding Forced Migration through Micro-LARP and Ludic Inquiry
This talk presents a practical overview of the game’s development from the perspective of its co-author and researcher, framed through the lens of Ludic Inquiry. It explores how role-play can reflect complex decision-making in crisis situations by allowing participants to engage with difficult choices in a safe, game-based environment. It focuses on the case study In Our Shoes: Stories of Ukrainian Resilience — a series of five 10-minute biographical micro-LARPs in which players navigate real-life dilemmas drawn from interviews with Ukrainians who faced the decision of whether to flee their country during the full-scale war. The project seeks to develop a methodology for fostering empathy and respect toward people with refugee experiences through play.
Dr Alina Potemska is a London based game researcher, artist, and educator. She holds a PhD with a research focus on cognition in game design and has extensive experience in illustration, game design, and digital arts. Her work explores games as a form of art and a transformative tool for cognition, ethics, and social change. Since 2018, she has actively used games as tools for cultural dialogue through various projects and workshops worldwide.
Currently, Dr Potemska is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for Games Art and Design at Arts University Bournemouth, and a Lecturer in Games Art at the University of the Arts London, where she also supervises PhD students in game studies.
In 2024, she was shortlisted for the TIGA Research Excellence Award in the UK.
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