Student Publications from game design students

Game design students complete their studies with a thesis. The list below is updated with projects that previous game design students have written.

Connecting the Stars: Mapping Players Preferences and Motivation to In-Game Behaviour

Salustri, Guido; Voskanyan, Smbat; Muhamedagic, Kenan

2025
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To Vi or Not to Vi: A Narrative and Visual Analysis and Reinterpretation of Vi From League of Legends

Pössl, Casey Soon-Su; Xing, Jiahe

2025
Comparative Case Study on Game Series Princess Maker: How Shifts in Gender Representation in Princess Maker 1-5 Reflect Changes in Economic Environment and Women Empowerment in Japan from 1991 to 2007?

Jin, Yanjia; Li, Lingxiu

2025
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Underworld Unfolded: How Hades Balances Narrative and Gameplay

Pakkan, Göksen; Akin, Kerem

2025
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The Dungeon Master’s Choice: Dungeon Masters’ attitudes towards new editions of Dungeons & Dragons

Edfast, Martina; Nilsson, Sam; Noghera, Federico

2025
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Tutorial Styles in Multiplayer Games: A Case Study of the Game Haunted Heist

Owén, Joel; Ailikamu, Tuerxun; Sorogovecs, Igors

2025
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I Am V: Player Identification in Cyberpunk 2077

Soad, Soabiba; Haghighi, Kimia

2025
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Comics, games and the space in-between.Terms and Definitions Apply: A Game Design Perspective

Vanrillaer, Birk; Ragnemalm, Teodor

2025
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Sustainable Video Game Development: An exploratory literature review

Carnesecchi, Jean; Miglierini, Pietro; Lönnberg, Antonia

2025
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Analysing the impact of the Proteus effect in a first person puzzle game

Bodrog, Márton; Wang, Ziwei

2025
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Exploring Cultural Identity through Play: The Impact of Ongoing Character Development Mechanics in the Transformative Freeform Role-playing Game Echoes of Hope

Vassiljev, Pavel

2025
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Level Design through the Lens of the Prospect and Refuge Theory

Jonatan, Österberg

2025
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Goal-Directed Play vs. Exploration: Player Behavior in 3D Game Environments

Mattsson, Håkan; Maksimov, Vladislav; Quan, Zhaoxia; Prabhu, Rakshit

2025
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How can the events surrounding the Imprisoning War be described through the lens of retcon?: An in-game and transmedia analysis of The Legend of Zelda franchise

Moldovean, Andrei; Nikiforov, Erik

2025
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Exploring How to Implement Eye-Tracking to Test Static UI: A Case Study on the Game 'Galactic Journey'

Rizzo, Simone; Abbas, Omar; Ebeling, Viktor

2025
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Hole To Another Universe: How does Life Is Strange - Remastered: Episode 5 (Polarized) implement the final moral dilemma to challenge the boundaries of player agency?

Coro, Liv; Kiss, Dóra

2025
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Persistence in the Face of Failure: Analyzing the Impact of Progress Loss on Player Persistence in Getting Over It

Lindvall, Josef; Basu, Yuvaraj; Österlund, Emil

2025
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Real Eyes, Realise; Real Design Principles for the Use of Blinking Mechanics in Games

Howland, Nils; Jansson, Katja; Wennerlund, Jonathan

2025
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Player Experience of Limited Agency: A reflective study on player agency and how players can still enjoy games that lack choice

Styf, Gustaf; Hallgren, Anton; Aalami, Evan

2025
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Aging Fans, Unaging Characters: Exploring the Influence of Aging on the Dynamics of Romantic Parasocial Relationships – A Study on Final Fantasy VII

Yi, Qiuyu; Zhou, Zhou

2025
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Existential Freedom in an Indifferent World: An Auto-Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry into Player Agency, Constraint, and Ambiguity in Dark Souls

Araz, Selin; Hedvall, Jonathan

2025
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Encountering Derrida In Experimental Game Design: A digital re-formulation of Derrida’s critique of binary opposition

Pan, Huajing

2025
Gods and Game Loops: A Deep Dive Into The Mechanics and Progression of the Hades Series

Ryt, Franciszek; Upadhayaya, Rajat

2025
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In the Trenches of Memory: A study on working and long-term memory in educational wargames

Ahlqvist, Lilly; Blom, Philip; Hessler, Alexander

2025
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Not Your Average Waifu: Fostering Immersion through Game Mechanics in a Dating Game

Andersson, Alex; Kovalenko, Daniil; Le Raudsepp, Geil Jasmin; Espinosa Chueca, Maria Jose et al.

2025
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The Cosy Paradox: A feminist examination of the concealed masculinity in Stardew Valley

Bäck, Mirjam; Rydberg, Hannah

2025
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Integrating Light Novel as a Storytelling Component in Board Game: A deductive thematic analysis of its effect on player experience according to the Game Experience Questionnaire

Helsing, Sanna; Hirvioja, Essi Karoliina; Nguyen, Quan

2025
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Evolving Monetization: A Formal Analysis of Gacha Mechanics in Online Multiplayer Games from 2005 to 2025

Attar Zoghi, Mahmood; Sharar, Shekib Jon

2025
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Falling in Love With Procedural Content Generation

Angyal, Miranda; Delhomme, Claire; Maslejak, Tomas

2025
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“Managing to Critique”: Counterfactualism in Resource Management Games for Social Commentary

Bohnsack, Clara; Viu i Duran, Oriol

2025
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Cultural Narratives and Gambling: Traditional Practices vs. Modern Practices in India The Coexistence of Regulatory Challenges and Cultural Norms

Kapadia, Gopi

2025
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An Analysis of Game Developers’ Relationship with Gaming to Cope with Work Stress

Kumar, Adarsh; Lynch, Ciaran; Klemets, Jessica

2025
I Think You're Hysterical!: A Practice-Based Research Through Experimental Design Using Discomfort as a Method for Reflection

Rafy, Fateme

2025
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Character Traits Through Stylized Walks: A Framework-Based Analysis of Expressive Animation in Games

Kola, Venkata Vamsi Krishna

2025
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Experiencing Emotional Labor Through Play: A Research-through-Design Study of Housewife Sim

Wang, Zihan; Baoliri, Baoliri; Luo, Zhewen

2025
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Slay the Princess and the Jungian journey to find yourself

Gunder Lantz, Nea; Andersson, Emma

2025
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Vacillate: Evoking the feeling of displacement through art and game mechanics

Łoboda, Adrian; Prim Liu, Angela; Salembier, Katherine; Sieprawska, Marzena et al.

2025
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Frustration and Motivation in ELDEN RING Boss Fights

Fried, Love; Cornejo, Vicente; Ussawajaruwan, Napat

2025
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Teapot: An Exploration of Asymmetric Design in Board Games

Zhou, Weiyu; Zhou, Zixin

2025
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Why do professional Esports players choose characters and strategies even after developers make great effort to weaken it?: An analytical study about Jett in Valorant

Kalluri, Aaditya; Lupu, Vlad

2025
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Designing Fear: Voluntary Control of Involuntary Inputs in Horror Games

Danielsson, Viktor; Widen, Douty; Shahid Pervaiz, Hammad; Törnlund, Gustav

2025
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How does the visual design of the bosses in Black Myth: Wukong reinterpret or adapt elements from the Chinese novel Journey to the West?

Bergqvist, Wilma; Pham, Laura

2025
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Dyslexia Rules for Board Games

Eriksson, Hanna; Netenbergs, Jekabs; Rosenqvist, Jiao

2025
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Cost of Being a Pokémon Fan

Singh, Shashvat

2025
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Replacing Instruction with Discovery: Understanding the Impact of Inductive Gameplay on Hangul Writing System Acquisition

Ljungberg, Sebastian; Slammert, Dylan

2025
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How does Hogwarts Legacy convey the values of the Slytherin House through the Slytherin Common Room and the Sebastian Sallow Questline?

Kutrolli, Eri; Sköld, Martin Blomgren; Fodor, Tamas David Fodor

2025
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Aesthetics & Mutilation through the Lens of Abjection Theory and Creative Praxis in Horror Games

Hellström Eriksson, Klara; Wijk, Maja; Carnbro, Moa

2025
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Striking Balance: Merging Animation and Control Elements for a Better Feel of Attacks: An Exploration into the Improvement of Visual Feedback and Input Responsiveness in a Hack-&-Slash Game

Barbosa, João; Lindgren, Anton; Dlugoš, Patrik

2025
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From Second to First Language Learning: A Close Reading of Noun Town and Its Theoretical Potential for Early Language Development

LIU, HAO

2025
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Striking Balance: Merging Animation and Control Elements for a Better Feel of Attacks: An Exploration into the Improvement of Visual Feedback and Input Responsiveness in a Hack-&-Slash Game

Lindgren, Anton; Barbosa, João; Dlugoš, Patrik

2025
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