by Prof. Daniel Heßler (Game Design)

Prof. Andreas Pawlitzki (Werbefotografie)

and Prof.in Dr. Jennifer Tiede (Game Studies & Digital Knowledge)

moderated by Dekan Prof. Prof. h.c. Dirk Gebhardt

Location: Aula, MOP2

Wir freuen uns sehr, mit drei spannenden Kurzvorträgen unserer neuen Lehrenden ins Wintersemester 2024/2025 starten zu dürfen.

Begrüßt mit uns gemeinsam herzlich Daniel Heßler, Andreas Pawlitzki und Dr. Jennifer Tiede

und erfahrt, über was sie an unserem Fachbereich Design zukünftig in den BA/MA-Studiengängen forschen und lehren.

Daniel Heßler: Play and Fun. Seriously.

Immersion, agency, performance, emergence, or simply “BAM!” – there are many terms for gaming experiences, and each is associated with certain expectations. The preferences of different players are just as diverse, ranging from socializers, completionists, gardeners, and masterminds to daredevils. Those who play games communicate in their own way.

Those who develop analog or digital games constantly switch between simulating, designating, and enabling. Game designers balance image and model, text and sound, narrative and mechanics, activity and passivity, rigor and chance. They create experiences of achieving, possessing, losing, and defending. Their daily routine is characterized by teamwork, testing, and dreaming. They plan, try, discard, and refine. They entertain and educate, repeat and innovate, work and play around the edges. They design dynamics. And above all, they communicate.

With this in mind, Daniel Heßler introduces himself as the newly appointed professor of game design. He talks about his journey from theater to the gaming industry, agility and iteration as teaching principles, and games as a way of expressing rules, space, resources, and interfaces.

Andreas Pawlitzki: Setting visual anchors in a sea of information

In advertising photography, the focus is on setting visual anchors that provide support in a sea of information and are eye-catching. This is based on perception, imagination, and representation, resulting in creative impulse and technical excellence.

As a new tool, artificial intelligence in photography offers exciting new possibilities for creating innovative visual worlds and thus must be integrated into the creative process. 

Andreas Pawlitzki understands the term “teaching” as something that is future-oriented and takes into account social relevance and intercultural sensitivity. To him, it is essential to support students, according to their artistic orientation, in translating their ideas into visual concepts that are both aesthetically pleasing, contemporary, and highly functional.

Jennifer Tiede: Learning by Playing.

... But What, How, and Why?

(Digital) games are fascinating. In exciting games, we easily forget time and space while playing. At the same time, playing always means learning: we automatically learn to control the game, follow the rules, and carry out meaningful actions to achieve game goals. Nevertheless, there seems to be a contradiction between the intrinsically motivated, fun-oriented activity of playing and the extensive requirements of formal and informal teaching and learning processes. (Digital) games offer significant potential for education and upbringing, for example, in terms of learning motivation and the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

The connection between playing and learning raises complex questions: how and what can we learn through games? Why does game-based learning work well in some cases and not in others? And how can we meaningfully support learning processes through games?

With this focus, Dr. Jennifer Tiede researches and teaches at the interface of game studies, game-based learning, and media education. Her other research interests include augmented and virtual reality, media education skills, and international comparative educational research.

As part of the dESIGN12+ lecture series, Dr. Jennifer Tiede introduces herself to the design department as the new professor of game studies and digital knowledge. She gives an overview of her previous, current, and future research and teaching activities.

Photo Credits: Daniel Heßler by Pam Scorzin, Andreas Pawlitzki by FH DO, and Dr. Jennifer Tiede by Pam Scorzin, 2024.