Guest talk by Dr. Ilaria Mariani, an expert in Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs), game design, and AI-enhanced public sector innovation.

Speaker Bio
As an Assistant Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Dr. Mariani has spent the past ten years developing and refining a pedagogical model that leverages IDNs as catalysts for social change. She will share insights from a decade of experimentation, assessment, and transdisciplinary collaboration, exploring the opportunities and challenges in designing interactive systems that engage with and reshape societal narratives.

Talk abstract  
This presentation marks the tenth anniversary of a pedagogical model developed in a design course, focusing on crafting IDNs as catalysts for social change. Over the last decade, this model has been refined through continuous iterative processes within higher education settings. We discuss the specific features of this approach, which integrates transdisciplinary methods and practical tools to design IDNs as complex interactive systems that engage with and potentially alter societal narratives. The talk will highlight the evolution of our educational practices and methodologies, and present the lessons learned through ten years of application, experimentation, and continuous assessment. We will explore insight into the systematic design process that puts together theoretical underpinnings and operational strategies to support the creation of IDNs for social change, sharing key opportunities and challenges from our extensive empirical study. 

Related publication: Design for Narrative Change. A Pedagogical Model for Interactive Digital Narratives – Mariani, Ciancia –2023 – International Journal of Art & Design Education 

The call for papers for ICIDS 2025 in Malta is out. The theme is “Kaleidoscopic Machines” and there is a new focus on updates and replication studies

https://icids2025.ardin.online

Guest talk by Samya Brata Roy, PhD Scholar at IIT Jodhpur & Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Advanced Study, University of London

Speaker Bio
Samya Brata Roy is a leading researcher in Electronic Literature, Digital Humanities, and Video Game Studies. In this talk, he will delve into the emergence of Electronic Literature in India, examining how literary institutions engage with digital narratives and the challenges posed by print-centric traditions.

Talk abstract  
The talk will take a deep dive into “Electronic Literature in India & its Im/Possibilities.” It critically explores the evolving landscape of Electronic Literature in India, its institutional challenges, and the diverse ways readers engage with this emerging field. Samya’s research not only highlights the dominance of print-centric literary institutions but also challenges us to rethink the historiography of Electronic Literature through a decentralized, intersectional lens. Through interviews, field visits, and experimental studies with students from diverse institutions, Samya’s research uncovers how different audiences interpret and interact with Electronic Literature, from shock and awe to critical reflections on interface design. His work highlights the need for decentralized, inclusive approaches in shaping the historiography of this evolving field.

Guest talk by Pratama Wirya Atmaja , Lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jawa Timur

Speaker Bio
Pratama Wirya Atmaja is a lecturer in the Faculty of Computer Science of the University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jawa Timur, Indonesia, with a background in games and software engineering. His research focuses on educational games, interactive digital narratives, and gamification. He leads his faculty’s Game Research Group and is a member of the “IDN in education” committee of ARDIN (Association for Research in Digital Interactive Narratives). He also mentors the “Game and Interactive Narrative Development” (GIND) student research community in his faculty. Before serving as a lecturer, he also contributed stories and world-building ideas to Vandaria Saga, an Indonesian high-fantasy shared universe franchise. 

Talk Abstract
The talk is about Pratama’s Game Research Group’s research and its applications. Operating under the Faculty of Computer Science in the University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur, the Game Research Group’s roadmap revolves around a two-part theory of “ludonarratification,” which explains how ludonarrative media like narrative games can potentially be used to “ludonarratify” activities in society. The theory comprehensively gathers and blends established theories from learning science, cognitive science, game science, and other fields. After introducing the theory, the talk will cover the recent applications of one part of the theory, which is a learning domains- and blending-based model of ludonarrative media. Firstly, the group has applied the model to co-design several educational ludonarrative media at a local school. Its learning domains-based structure has allowed the team to translate lessons and learning goals from textbooks into narrative games and gamification software, and its support for conceptual blending has helped teachers understand how ludonarrative elements, such as game mechanics and narrative patterns, blend together to form the media’s designs. Secondly, the team has begun to explore how best to apply the model in game software engineering, particularly in the context of Indonesia’s game industry. This exploration covers a game design process model, which they have applied in the co-design process, and a narrative game applications syllabus, which accommodates the needs of Indonesian independent game developers.

Guest talk by Dr. Frank Nack, University of Amsterdam

Speaker Bio
Dr. Frank Nack is an associate professor at the Intelligent Data Engineering Lab (INDElab) of the Informatics Institute at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The main thrust of his research is on the authoring of IDNs,  representation and adaptation of experiences, hypermedia systems that enhance human communication and creativity, representation, retrieval and reuse of media in hypermedia systems, context and process aware media knowledge spaces,, computational applications of media theory & semiotics, AI and film (semantics, semiotics, perception) and automated video editing, and computational humour theory. He has published more than 150 papers on these topics. 

Talk abstract  
This presentation explores authoring as a “Design Case” and explores an extensive and AI-driven approach, currently under research by Frank Nack.

Guest talk by Dr. Justin Bortnick, Assistant Teaching Professor of English University of Pittsburgh and president of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation

Speaker Bio
Justin Bortnick’s research centers on digital narratives, game storytelling, political games and worldbuilding. His work has been featured on outlets such as Kotaku, Game Developer, Polygon and more, and he has shown work and given talks at events such as the Electronic Literature Organization, IndieCade and the Game Developers Conference. He has written and/or designed for projects such as the smart toy “Octobo,” the video game Frog Fractions 2 and a currently-unreleased film project, and regularly consults for commercial video games. Dr. Bortnick is also the president of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation and a co-founder of NarraScope, the annual conference on narrative games. Since 2013 he has hosted the game developer interview series, Red Pages Podcast.

Talk abstract  
Justin talks about his educational practice which intersects with his practice as a game designer

Guest talk by Dr. Ágnes Karolina Bakk, Ph.D., head and lead researcher of the Immersion and Interaction Hub at the Innovation Center of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest

Speaker Bio
Ágnes Karolina Bakk, Ph.D., is the head and lead researcher of the Immersion and Interaction Hub at the Innovation Center of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest. As a narrative designer, she focuses on immersive theatrical formats, storytelling, and the science of magic. Her research includes romantic relationships in Metaverse-like environments and psychological restoration in VR. She founded Zip-Scene and co-founded Random Error Studio and Vektor VR section. She teaches and speaks globally, and co-edited Designing Immersive Environments – Enchanting Spaces, forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan in October 2024.

Talk Abstract
Zenctuary VR is a mental health-oriented standalone VR application that simulates natural environment. It can positively enhance mental health by:

– reproducing the effects of nature
– creating an environment that has high-quality graphics
– offering non-gamified interaction possibilities

It is based on interdisciplinary scientific research including health workers and researchers in psychology, design, technology and media theory. The talk discusses how design research emerged into an application that enters clinical trial phase, and how discussions with ARDIN scholars (Christian Roth, Iva Georgieva, Borbála Tölgyesi) helped the application prototype to take shape.

Guest talk by Charles Valsechi, game designer and the leading instigator of the Solarpunk Conference. He will be talking about the Solarpunk Conference and sharing insights into his latest game design project. Get ready to dive deep into the creative process, from initial concepts to development phases.

Guest talk by Juliano Calil (PhD), CEO and Chief Scientist of Virtual Planet. Dr. Calil shares his insights on communicating about climate change, targeting specific communities and demographics.