Prof. dr. Joost Raessens holds the chair of Media Theory at Utrecht University. His research concerns the understanding of how green media - in the broadest sense, including digital media, theatre, film and television – contribute to ecological thought and facilitate different forms of civic engagement on a micro, meso and macro level. His research focuses on the ‘ludification of culture,’ in particular on Games and VR for Change dealing with issues such as sustainability and forced migration.

Utrecht University, Utrecht Center for game Research

Contemporary games and VR are increasingly used not only to entertain, but also to persuade people, raising their awareness and changing or reinforcing their attitudes and behaviour for the good of society. They want to make a difference at an individual, community, and/or societal level. Sustainability games – or ecogames - and VR are imaginative spaces for playing and learning. They seek to contribute to ecological thought and to make people become sustainable citizens. They are used to raise awareness for a variety of sustainability issues, such as renewable energy transition, circular economy, sustainable mobility, and green water use and energy consumption. These persuasive and participatory games/VR installations represent an experiential turn in climate communication and storytelling, trying to reinforce ecological attitudes and behaviour and stimulate collaborative environmental decision making.

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