Politics in Games: Rethinking Play and Power
This talk explores the political history of games, their role and usage beyond entertainment, and the ways they reflect the systems we live in. It will examine how power operates within and through games — whether intentionally or not. The talk highlights how games can foster political consciousness, build empathy, and offer tools for resistance against oppression. It also considers the impact of the games industry and player experiences in shaping opinions and enabling transformative encounters.
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 development, and digital arts. Her work explores games as a form of art and as tools for cognition, ethics, and social change. She has contributed to both academic research and practical applications in game studies, examining how games can serve as transformative instruments for social and cultural impact. Dr Potemska is currently 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 UK Research Excellence Award.
Since 2018, she has been actively using games as a tool for cultural dialogue in various games and workshops worldwide. She is co-author of In Our Shoes — biographical micro-LARP where players discuss dilemmas based on real interviews with Ukrainians displaced by the full-scale invasion. In 2023 she founded the charitable initiative “Creatives for Ukraine” in London that fosters artistic power to advocate and fundraise for urgent needs in Ukraine.
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This is an RIT Only Event
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