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K-State Today

August 30, 2024

Fun, games and research: College of Education opens Game Lab to university and Manhattan community

Submitted by Patrice Scott

Seth Lickteig and Brad Burenheide

The Game Lab — a research/play organization in the College of Education created post-pandemic for education majors — was so successful that its creators are now opening it to university faculty, staff, students and the Manhattan community. However, they are taking gaming to a new level: research and publishing.

The Game Lab is currently open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Room 22 of Bluemont Hall. Hours are subject to change once a permanent location is selected in Bluemont Hall.

Programming for the Game Lab includes weekly games of "Dungeons and Dragons," "Magic: The Gathering" and a variety of board games. In addition to playing, the Game Lab offers resources and tools for game research, design and development. The lab also hosts a series of seasonal "Cons," where professionals from the gaming industry, games-based scholars and players can meet and learn from each other.

Seth Lickteig, teaching assistant professor, and Brad Burenheide, associate professor, developed the lab with the mission of fostering academic collaboration and research, building community and providing professional development opportunities.

"We have created a partnership with HMGS-Next Gen, an educational nonprofit, as a way of promoting miniature gaming with younger individuals," Burenheide said. "This, as well as other gaming, should help us develop insights into how gaming can affect learning."

The researchers are also launching Games in Learning and Teaching, an open-source journal that will focus on games-based learning while conducting gaming sessions with members from the university and Manhattan community.

"We ran a weekly gaming session this summer at The Village Geek downtown," Lickteig said. "These gaming sessions helped build our relationships with a local Manhattan business and introduced our students to a setting they may not have experienced otherwise. We are equally as excited about future collaborations with schools and other community groups."

Burenheide explained that the Game Lab came into existence because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We realized that after COVID, many students were having difficulty connecting and socializing, and their social and emotional well-being needed support," he said. "Being gamers, Dr. Lickteig and I realized the power of games could help us engage individuals in a safe and welcoming environment."

Individuals interested in more information about the Game Lab are encouraged to join the Game Lab Discord server or email gamelab@k-state.edu.

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